The Alcohol Question.--It is agreed by investigators that in large or continued amounts alcohol has a narcotic effect; that it first dulls or paralyzes the nerve centers which control our judgment, and later acts upon the so-called motor centers, those which control our muscular activities. The reason, then, that a man in the first stages of intoxication talks rapidly and sometimes wittily, is because the centers of judgment are paralyzed. This frees the speech centers from control exercised by our judgment, with the resultant rapid and free flow of speech. In small amounts alcohol is believed by some physiologists to have always this same narcotic effect, while other physiologists think that alcohol does stimulate the brain centers, especially the higher centers, to increased activity. Some scientific and professional men use alcohol in small amounts for this stimulation and report no seeming harm from the indulgence. Others, and by far the larger number, agree that this stimulation from alcohol is only apparent and that even in the smallest amounts alcohol has a narcotic effect. The Paralyzing Effects of Alcohol on the Nervous System.--Alcohol has the effect of temporarily paralyzing the nerve centers. The first effect is that of exhilaration. A man may do more work for a time under the stimulation of alcohol. This stimulation, however, is of short duration and is invariably followed by a period of depression and inertia. In this latter state, a man will do less work than before. In larger quantities, alcohol has the effect of completely paralyzing the nerve centers. This is seen in the case of a man "dead drunk." He falls in a stupor because all of the centers governing speech, sight, locomotion, etc., have been temporarily paralyzed. If a man takes a very large amount of alcohol, even the nerve centers governing respiration and circulation may become poisoned, and the victim will die.