In a recent number of the MEDICAL MISSIONARY reference was made to a positive indication of the nearness of the end, found in Dr. Maudsley’s statement that mankind had exhausted all the possible ways of sinning, and that the human body had exhausted the possibilities of disease, that is, that the limit of the inventive power of evil had been reached. Another and still more striking sign is found in facts set forth by that eminent physiologist, Professor Bunge, of Basel, in a recent article on “Alcoholic Poisoning and Degeneration.”MEDM July 17, 1906, par. 1

The article in question is devoted chiefly to statistical and physiological proof that the consumption of alcohol by the father leads to such physical degeneracy in the daughter that she cannot nurse her offspring, and that the artificial feeding thus made necessary tends to still further physical degeneracy, laying the foundation for many diseases. Through the use of alcohol the tissues of the body lose their power of resistance to the noxious bacteria that are continually lying in wait to devour. “How is it that the tissues have lost their power of resistance?-For the simple reason that they have without ceasing, day in and day out, year in and year out, from generation to generation, been deluged with a particular poison, the poisonous excretion of a fungus, the yeast fungus.”MEDM July 17, 1906, par. 2

Under natural conditions the yeast fungus could do us no harm, for the digestive juices have power to destroy them; “but the issues are very different when these fungi are cultivated in enormous numbers by purely artificial means outside our own bodies, their poisonous secretion collected, and the organs of our body deluged by it. Nature has not armed us against such attacks as these.”MEDM July 17, 1906, par. 3

Bunge continues: “Let us for a moment pause to realize the madness of such a proceeding as this. Every year gigantic loads of our most valuable food products, various grains, fruits, berries, are sacrificed to provide nourishment for these yeast fungi. A tenth of the whole working power of the civilized nations is devoted to this service. The fungi eat up of our best, and what they leave us in return-their poisonous excrement-is collected in enormous quantities, put into casks and bottles, sent to all lands, and distributed among mankind in general. And then begins the daily swamping of all the organs, all the tissues, of the human body with this poison-among the tissues those also which separate the germ cells, and hence arises the general debility, the general lack of resisting power, which is passed on as an inheritance to all the following generations.MEDM July 17, 1906, par. 4

“I do not wish to be misunderstood. I do not assert that the alcoholic poisoning of the individual or of relations is absolutely the one and only cause of all known suffering and infirmity. Above all, I should not wish to affirm this with regard to tuberculosis; for we know for certain that this disease is due to many other causes. Everything which tends to lessen the power of resistance at the time, gives the advantage to our worst enemies in the struggle for existence, the bacteria, and makes it easier for them to enter into possession. But what I do assert is: that alcoholic poisoning is one of the causes-I go further, and say, that it is a chief cause.”MEDM July 17, 1906, par. 5

Then, after mention of the task which the total abstinence movement has before it, Professor Bunge makes this most remarkable statement:-MEDM July 17, 1906, par. 6

“Let us not forget that we are the last of the reserve forces. When the Roman Empire fell, there were barbaric nations of the finest race, ready and fit to enter upon the inheritance of culture-but it is not so with us. If we go down we leave only inferior physiques for our heirs, who will be unable to lift themselves up on our shoulders, and to carry forward the work of civilization. And if, in spite of this, men still give themselves up to habits of drink, and thus further the work of degeneration, they can but be urged to it by that most unworthy of principles—‘apres nous le deluge!’”—“after us the deluge.”MEDM July 17, 1906, par. 7

And this is just the inevitable end. When of old “all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth,” there was no alternative but the destruction of man with the earth; and the Scriptures foretell that the same conditions will produce a similar result. The same conditions are nearly fulfilled, and that end cannot be long delayed.MEDM July 17, 1906, par. 8

Such things as this are more than signs of the coming of the Lord; they are absolute proofs that he must come to save the work begun at the creation from undergoing utter destruction. There may not be future generations as heirs of this degenerate race, but there will be a righteous nation of people who are heirs of God, who have sown to the Spirit, and who of the Spirit reap life everlasting. The part of all reformers and missionaries is to help along that glorious consummation.MEDM July 17, 1906, par. 9

E. J. W.