III
Allow us to offer a short
digression on the harmful effects
attributed to absinthe.
We are aware of the cam-
paign almost everywhere against
alcoholism; admittedly the goal is
excellent and one can only
applaud the efforts of those who
seek to cure humanity of this
hideous disease. That said, we
have reservations about their
methods, which cannot all be
approved; and with very good cause, they have their zealots
who, by their manifest exaggerations, compromise themselves
in the eyes of reasonable people. Thus condemning moderate
use of alcohol as well as abuse, they want to impose complete
abstinence, and even, finding moral action insufficient and
too slow, they call for forced measures to achieve complete
removal of the production and sale of alcohol, with contempt for freedom of commerce and industry.
