statements may be motivated by a fear that unless the largest possible
figure is given, the impression created will not be strong enough to
act as a deterrent. All that can be said about the true consequences
of inebriety is sufficiently grave and does not require exaggerated
enforcement. The latter, in the long run, tends to discredit the
teaching," Dr. Roe (1).

 3. Alcohol as a poison Particular care should be taken in using
the word poison when speaking to small children about alcohol. If they
see their parents drink alcoholic beverages with no apparent harm to
them, it sets up confusion in the mind of the child. He may discredit
all teaching about alcohol and about poisons.

 "The chief fault to be found with all the discussions of alcohol
as a poison is the complete disregard, in practically all of the
textbooks, of the question of amount. The toxic effects of alcohol
are limited to those amounts which bring about certain concentrations
in the blood. The fault here lies not so much with the textbook writers
themselves,'but with the habit, into which many writers on alcohol
have fallen, of speaking of the effects of alcohol without reference
to quantities. That alcohol in large amounts produces death is a
fact; it does not, however, follow that any amount of alcohol is toxic,"
Dr. Roe (1).

 4. Amount In many writings concerning alcohol there is no
reference to the amount of alcohol necessary to produce certain
psychological and physiological effects in the body. This, too, may
set up conflict in the mind of the child who sees his parents drink.

 "The actual facts about the misuse of alcohol are sufficiently
disturbing. They do not need embellishing, and to do so is not only
pedagogically unsound, but unwise as well, since it is likely to
result in ultimate defeat of the purpose for which it was done.

 "Although a few textbooks do, in some places, distinguish between
the drinking of small amounts and excessive drinking, they rarely
manage to keep this distinction throughout their discussions, but
tend to slip into indiscriminate generalizations. It is well known
that the immediate effects of alcohol vary with the amount in the
blood stream. This is not a difficult concept to teach, and it is
an important one, since disregard of it renders much of the teaching
in the subject meaningless and inculcates sloppy habits of thought.
This particular error permeates almost all of the discussions of the
physiological and psychological aspects. It is certainly much more
the function of our schools to teach precise and logical habits of
thought than to promote the acceptance of a particular solution of
the problem. Whether or not prohibition is the best solution of the
problem, it should be presented only as one of the possible solutions,"
Dr. Roe (1).

 5. Alcohol as a stimulant Scientists now agree that alcohol


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