The weekly Lancaster gazette. (Lancaster, Ohio) 1852-1855, 1853-09-22

diyiduaI interests, to a future aud abstract
public good.
Are the parties TO this controversy aware
of the extent Of the value Of the investments
involved in it'll II is greatly to be question.
ed, whether either the sanguine advocates OF
a radical destruction 81 this whole property
have sufficiently cstimDted the power OF the
opposition, which. in the end, they must
meet, or whether the persons pecuniarily ln-
teresied themselves, are all aware Of their
own interests, or any Of the aggregate val,
ue Of the property in haznrd.
Take the instance Of the manufacture OF
whisky in Ohio. Ii is chiefly made oil ln'
dian Corn. The market whichlts manulac-
ture creates for that product, is so Important
an element in its price, that without whisky,
farmers, as a matter Of profit, could not at
ford to produce cora at all. Whisky actu-
ally enhances The price Of corn, by more
than the whole difference etween loss and
profit in its production
Feeding TO hogs, cattle, horses, and even
the simple articles Of corn or meal, will not
compensate the producer for his labor and
hired service, not 10 maintain the interest
upon the value Of his land, &c. When corn
was selling in Montgomery county, Ohio,
(With svventy-6ve disiiIleries,) for u to 30
cents per Lushel, il could only obtain on the
Wabash, with few distilleries and a grertly
larger number Of hogs to the same poPula-
ton, l24 cents per bushel. The average
capacity of the acre in Ohio, is about 40
bushels. AT l24 cents, this will yield per
acre but So as a compensation to the farmer
for a years use Of his land, keeping the fem
ces in repair, wear Of tools, horses and la
Dor. The absurdity Of attempting to recon-
cile him TO be content with such remunera-
tions, may be detected by putting them in
juxtaposition with the general facts, that he
can nor get more than that sum, as rent for
each acre of his actual CORTLAND, without
taking his hunds out Of his pockets, either
TO work or pay his laborcrs and the tenent,
SO paying for the use Of the land, compen-
safe himself for all these additional expeii-
SEES, pays somebody else for the rent OF his
houses, stables, &C., and makes money besides!
The reason Ofth;s state Of things is,that
/, the manufacture Of corn into whisky is al
most a clear saving. and therefore addition
10 its market price. For it fattens nearly
as many hogs after being distilled as in it's
native state. Some persons insist that the
~nutritive principle is not all diminished by
I, this change. However this may be as a
theoretical or chemical truth, | should sup
pose, that in practice, il would be found that
the slop:from a given quantity of corn was
scarcely quite a n%utritiVe as the original
; article.
i With these facts and considerations pre-
/. missed, how much corn does Ohio actually
produce! Be not amazed that our last cen-
sus shows this product TO be 59,078, 1884 blu.
r Ohio produces more Indian corn the ele-
y ments Of whisky, than any State in the I'm
: ion-she actually produces one-tenth part
8 of all the corn produced in the United
d States. She is the second State in the
d production of wheat. But her corn pro-
: duct is, per bushel, about six times as great
v as that Of her wheat, and, in money, it is
. twice as valuable. At twenty-five cents
3 per bushel, only, the yearly crop of corn in
r Ohio is worth SIS ,0D0, 900, at the lowest
b price.
d Nor is it possible for agriculture TO shift
its labor at will from one product 10 anoth-
n err. Aside from the social truth that all
changes Of general customs must be gradu-
4 al and slow, land which suits corn does not
8 suit wheat, &C., and Uice persia, Besides,
(as the passion for nervous excitement must
and will find its vent in some other habit, }
: our people do not yet understand the cul-
It ture Of opium, which will come into gener-
G al use if our system of stimulants could be
abolished.
| have been Informed by well posted
v merchants, that Cincinnati herself sells an
nualy 100000 brls of whisky, or one.hali
d gallon TO each man in the United Statesi-
This ought to be another item in that list
Is of horrors, to inflame the Maine Law zealo,
IS to moro desperate exertions. 1t certainly
is q greater reason why the liquor trade
ought to be abolished; but alas! for human
nature, 1t is only an insuperablc reason why
st IL piR not be. Remember! These are only
ID the pecuniary value Of corn and whisky
We have yet to estimate brandy, rum, gin
ale, beer, cider and wine, barley, rye, hops
IS and grapes, and oil the money, land, houses,
O rents, time, labor skill, &c, in any way
connected with the trade, directly, in liq-
uors of all sorts, foreign and domestic.
n Does any common observer, and Judge oil
ri human character, for a moment believe
y, that the Gun, in his long career, ever sbonc
ul upon u people capable of such a sacrifice,
10 from purely benevolent motives! For these
8 exclusive friends and guardians of the pub
lie morals must remember that they have
the misfortune to live in u republic, and
d cannot, by law, save their miserable fellow.
ST citizen against their will. Unfortunately
lQhough we would never suspect il, from the
manners or speech OF these parlor philan.
~thropists) these corn-gfowers, distillers
liquor-venders aud drinkers, continue, nj
least, nineteen-twentieths Of the voters in
our elections. 1t may be a very bold ques'
ID ton for self-styled Luthers TO inquire,
lie "Whether, because A.. owns one hundred
acres of corn, B. two hundred acres of corn
and C.. three hundred acres OF corn, it is
" reason why noe should suffer SO many souls t.
h be destroyed" But as A., b., c., and near
N ly the whole. alphabet are in the same con,
dition and control the whole matter, it woul
be more polite. not to say prudent, if eve
at would ask the boon from A., B., c., etc.
etc.
or Secondly. | have expressed a doubt wheth
er such a law might not, in the present ex
element, and with the advantage of organ
lie ~ization amongst its friends, be enacted ii
X the first instance. The farmers and others
Mt whose interests are involved, may be take
n. by surprise. Many, indeed, are not awar
Or of their own concern in this manGactur
O. or traffic, SO indirect and rami6ed is such
y trade. A farmer, for example, sells fy
ID hundred bushels of corn TO a livery stabl
,s for thirty five cents per bushel. Good, cas-.
Christian, he thinks his corn has done moth
ing to injure or degrace the human race, an
that he has in no way received "the Wape