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Show There Are 12,000 Utah Persons Who Drink Alcoholic Beverages In Excess' H.S. Students Informed "There are 12,000 persons in Utah who drink alcoholic beverages bever-ages in excess," Arthur D. Slater, acting director, Utah State Board of Alocoholism, told Pleasant Grove senior and junior high students stu-dents in assembly Wednesday. With Mr. Slater was a member of Alocholism Annonymous, who gave a realistic lecture on her experiences ex-periences as an alcoholic, and her rehabilitation after joining the organization. A talkie "Drunk Driving" was run off between the talks of Mr. Slater and a former woman alcoholic. "The difference between an alcoholic and a drunkard is that the latter goes out knowing that he is going to get drunk perhaps per-haps a celebration of some event. But an alcoholic does not want to get drunk, but when he decides just to have a "beer" he cannot stop," Mr. Slater told his audience. Alocohlism is not a bit funny. If we had 12,000 cases of polio or some other vicious disease break out in Utah, something would be done about it in a hurry. They are sick people with a disease just as real as any other disease, Mr. Slater stated adding: "It does no good to put these people in jail, because when they get out they immediately start drinking again. Alcoholics Annonymous An-nonymous has helped many thousand thous-and of alcoholics to recover. Recovered Re-covered alocholics know that they are still alcoholics, and if they took a drink, would be back where they started," he said. The woman from Alcoholics Annonymous An-nonymous told of her experiences during "21 years when I was never completely sober," and the 21 months since she had joined the organization. "When I came to Alcoholics Annonymous, I was puffed up and blue in the face. I was a 'wino.' I had no confidence in myself and imagined everyone in the world was against me. I withdrew into myself with an inferiority complex, com-plex, imaging that everyone was better than I would ever be. I had lost God in my heart. "Today God is in my heart and I love every one of you. I love life and know that there are thous- ands of people ready to help me. 'Today I have no inferior complex, and I am standing before you with dignity and with the spirit of helpfulness. I hope that none of you will ever have experiences like mine. Leave alcoholic beverages bever-ages alone and you never will," she concluded. Mr. Slater said that the Utah State Board of Alcoholism, was an educational organization, de-I de-I voted to research and rehabilitation. rehabilitat-ion. His organization, he said, was cooperating with AA, the oldest old-est organization, which helps in recovery of alcoholics, and the Utah Committee on Alcoholism, which is devoted to education of the public. Principal Floyd S. Holm was chairman of the assembly and introduced in-troduced the speakers, both of whom were from Salt Lake City. |