Fashionable Society and Female Intemperance
An English medical journal, The London Doctor, calls attention to the effect of the demands of fashionable society in furthering the spread of intemperance among women. “There is a growing tendency among women,” it says, “to the indulgence of alcoholic beverages. Among the wealthier and higher classes the habit has become almost universal; and this pernicious example has rapidly extended through the various social substrata, for it is human nature to imitate the actions of those who are better favored. The exhausting effect of the demands of society upon its devotees creates a desire for a stimulant, and hence the ever-present and generous punch bowl is often the most popular feature of the social event.” What is true in England in regard to the desire for stimulants created by the exhausting effects of fashionable society functions, is of course no less true in the United States.