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102 PROBLEMS CONFRONTING RUSSIA
ness but the abolition of alcohol altogether. Any one who
has made a study of the question of the abuse of alcohol
will have come to the conclusion that entire abstinence is the
only possible way to fight this drink evil, for very patent
reasons. As long as alcohol is obtainable the temptation
will exist, for the great majority, to use it in excess, and
with the avowed intention to get drunk. Vodka is a tasteless
drink. The Russian peasant drinks vodka, not for the
benefit of tickling his palate, but for the mere pleasure of
drunken sensations, and if this fact is fully realized it will
be seen that the only way to sober him is to deprive him
altogether of his vodka. Consequently, so that all classes
of society should pay the same penalty of the law, the same
edict must fall on those to whom the danger of drunkenness
may be no menace. Salus populi supremo, lex esto. Even
opium-smoking indulged in with great reserve may not bring
about serious results to health ; nevertheless the sale of
opium for this purpose has been prohibited entirely, greatly
to the benefit of public welfare. So it must be with regard
to alcohol. It is, however, a fact that even small quantities
of alcohol may do harm, and that, generally speaking, it is
not possible to fix a margin where the use of this drug may
become actually dangerous to health. Its use produces, in
the great majority of cases, a craving for more and more,
thus proving its corrupting influence upon the mind.
The question of drinking alcohol has a totally different
effect in Russia than in England. It endangered the
existence and progress of the Russian nation more than it does
in this country. In comparison with England, Russia is a
country which is backward in cultural development and in
the diffusion of knowledge. The actual result is that
ignorance of the deadly consequences of this pernicious
habit and the absence of so many factors of cultivated life
which stem the tide of drunkenness have aggravated the
whole situation of intemperance in Russia.
More whisky is drunk per head in England than vodka is
consumed per capita in Russia, but the masses in England
have a more nutritious diet of food than the people of
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