The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1870-08-26
Jurisprudence of the Temperance Times
The Devils Tax-IiSt.

ted States special revenue commas
sIoner, Nh. Wells, give US the amt
of money which the retailing runs
sellers of the United States swear
has been paid to them by the peo-
pie of the nation, for liquors, &C.,
sold at retail by them, In the year
1867. How much more they sold
secretly, that they did not swear
to, is known only to God, who keeps
the dark account, and who says.
"Woe unto him that putteth the
bottle to his neighbours lips and ma
keith him drunken"
New York, S246, 617, $50; Pennsyl-
vania, S152, 663 ,495; Illinois, S119,-
933, 1850; Ono, S161, 734,875, Massa-
cbusetts. 27,97O,575; Maryland,
$40. SCI, $40; Missouri, S54.627,8 55;
Indiana, s51 4i8.89S; California,
$50, 924, 900; Kentucky, O,223 lis;
Wisconsin, S43,S SIS ,945; Michigan,
s52,78I,17O; Iowa. $50, So, 695; Con-
necticut, S35, OO1, 23O; New Jersey,
$40, 467. $40; Maine, s8.257, obs;
Rhode Island. S1O.231,2 4O; New
Hampshire, s12,629,175; Minnesota,
e14394, $40; District of Columbia.
S1O.376,450; Vermont, Sc, 1885, 65;
Kansas, 8,5O3, $50; Louisiana, s4S,-
OBJ, $50; Tennessee. $50, 281, G35;
Georgia, s25, 1928. 465; Virginia, $780,
132, 9O5; Alabama, s23, OPS, 1856; Tex
as, S2O.751,250; South Carolina, s10,-
Go Ga North Carolina, S13,22+,-
$40; West Virginia, S8,806 ,235; Ar
kansas, S7,858,320; Delaware, ST.
77O,355; Mississippi, s4,499, 800; Or
egon, s4,261 ,240; Nevada, $685.
1876; Nebraska, S3,290,515; Colora-
do, S3.745,215. The territories,
S14,169,4 400. Total, 1,4S9, 128, OS6.
Thus it will be seen that during
the year 1867 the people Of the UNI
ted States paid over the counter, to
retail dealers, more shat fourteen
hundred and eighty nine million Of
dollars; a sum more than equal to
One~half the principal and the n
nIaI interest of the public debt.
That sum, if applied to the payment
of the debt, would redeem it all in
gold, in two years. The amount of
money paid by actual consumers
for this strong drink, in three years,
would equal the entire debt of the
Union, and of all the states and all
the cities, counties, and towns of the
United States. The people of the
single State of Illinois pay for lIq.
uor a sun almost equal to the annu-
al interest Of the national debt!
Included in receipts of sales from
liquor>dealers are such SIMS as may
have been received for cigars at
their bars, which do not exceed the
value of the liquors imported or pur-
chased at wholesale by consumers,
and the sum of sales by establish
ments which make no returns, or
fraudulent ones. But the cigars and
tobacco sold at the bars of saloons
are but a part of the same reckless
extravaganza which wastes upon
the useless luxury of strong drink
nearly fifteen hundred millions of
dollars a year.
During the last year Of tho war,
when the United States had one
million of men on its pay-rulls,
when it was pay ing two prices, i'll n
appreciated currency, for food and
clothing, and for labor, and for ma
terial of war, The total expenditures
Of the Governpont, including humid
reds of thousands of dollars actual
y stolen, and as much wasted, did
not equal the amount of money /!
PAID last year to saloon-keepers and
other retail liquor-dealers by their
customers.
Terrible as these facts and figures
are, they give no idea of the actual
damage wrought by the hell born
in intoxicating drinks.
Each single dollar IN this vast ag-
5regate may represent I~ncalculable
.oss. A dollar sunk in the sea is a
lost; but a dollar spent for
may cause the loss Of many
more. Each dollars worth of liq-
Tor sold and drank may represent
mans depreciation, woman's infamy,
Ind childhood's bitter sorrow. II
nay represent disease. Infirmity,
madness, p~auperism, and imbecili~
Y. 1t may represent brawls, quar-
els, murders, r%ObberIes, disasters,
'hipwrecks, and defeats. 1t may
'epresent the ruin Of health, the
)lightlng of hopes, the breaking of
the wreck of homes, the
blasting OF life, the damnation of
lell. Every dollar in the devils
ax-list is appropriated for crime,
.orrow, iesOlatloD, and perditIon.
~ a sinful nation, a people laden
With iniquity.
In the year 1860 the United
produced twenty-one million
Iollars' worth oflrquors, fifteer mil
being spIrituous. and five mil
ions malt. In 1860 the total pro-
Iuctlvn was tOrty-one million live
hundred thousand dollars worth,
10000 600 beng malt, and S23,-
00, 900 splrituous. And IN spite of
the efforts made TO stay the evil.
! grows worse and worse. In high
laces and low it sweeps onward
Ike q stream of burning lava,
threatening the world with desoIa-
ion.
A people who pay 1 800, 900 ans
ually TO retail dealers of liquors
nd tobacco; who spend perhaps I
80. 1000 600 more foi liquors import
d or purchased wholesale by con,
Imers, who spend 500, 900. 600 :
early for cigars and tobacco IN i
Their forms, may be held up as pat s
rms and illustrations ofthe worlds
rogress and as promise Of the mills q
.nial glory of the good time COM !
u; but the thoughtful Christian
no knows enough of truo religion {
know the difficulty of converting
en- to God whIIc their heads are
uddled, fuddled, and added with i
LII u