case for the spread of syphilis to many
persons. I have now under treatment a girl of nineteen who contracted
syphilis on her summer vacation from having kissed a man once. Avoid
promiscuous kissing! It is a bad practice for more than one reason.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

ALCOHOL, SEX AND VENEREAL DISEASE

Alcoholic Indulgence and Venereal Disease--A Champagne Dinner and
Syphilis--Percentage of Cases of Venereal Infection Due to
Alcohol--Artificial Stimulation of Sex Instinct in Man and in
Woman--Reckless Sexual Indulgence Due to Alcohol--Alcohol as an
Aid to Seduction.

That Bacchus, the god of wine, is the strongest ally of Venus, the
goddess of love, using love in its physical sense, as the French use
the word _amour_, has been well known to the ancient Greeks and
Romans, as it is well known to-day to every saloon-keeper and every
keeper of a disreputable house. And all measures to combat venereal
disease and to prevent girls from making a false step will be only
partially successful if we do not at the same time carry on a strong
educational campaign against alcoholic indulgence. Of what use to
young men is the knowledge of the venereal peril and familiarity with
the use of venereal prophylactics, when under the influence of alcohol
the mind is befuddled, they forget everything and do things that they
never would do in the sober state? Of what use are warnings to a
girl, when under the influence of a heavy dinner and a bottle of
champagne, to which she is unaccustomed, her passion is aroused to a
degree she has never experienced before, her will is paralyzed and she
yields, though deep down in her consciousness something tells her she
shouldn't? Yields, becomes pregnant, and is in the deepest agony for
several months, and has a wound which will probably never heal for the
rest of her life? Of what use have all the lectures, books and
maternal injunctions been to her?

Or this case. Here is a young lawyer, twenty-eight years of age,
engaged to a fine girl, and with everything to look forward to. He
always was very moderate and circumspect in his sexual indulgence,
and, though careful in choosing his partners, he never failed to use a
venereal prophylactic after intercourse. There was too much at stake
for him, and he did not care to take any chances, even if the chances
were one in a thousand. For a period of one year during which he had
been engaged he abstained from sexual intercourse altogether