The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1870-07-22
A total of over 100000 600

A total of over 400, 600 600
Surprising 1000, 600 drinkers. 100
gallons each yearly, at a total whole
sale Cost of sos, 279,O This is
sold to the consumer for S1.4S3.-
491 .665, leaving a profit to the re-
talIers of S874213,815. The num-
Der of licensed places for selling liz
quor IN the United States. is 1907
900 wholesale, 1921; retail. 800,
600. These retail establishments,
allowing rs feet front to each.
would make a continuous line from
Boston, by way of New York, Phil
adelphia, Washington, to Richmond,
VirgInia-over four hundred miles
or, allowing for the usual inter-
walls of streets, they would reach
well nigh to Charleston, South Car
DINA. The average profit of each
retail establishment, $1,000.
This cost to the consumer, ST.
49, 91 ,865, is SAB for every man,
woman and child in the country /;
and supposing ore-tenth of the pop
ulation to be drinkers. it is S430 to
each. II is equal to the construct
ing and equ1ping of all the Rail-
roads in the United States, exclud-
ing those of the single State of
Pennsylvania. 1t would more than
pay the whole of the National debt
in two years ; more than ten times
the value of all the church proper
ty in the United States, according
to the census of 1860 /; about sixty
two times as much as that spent for
both educational and religious pur>
poses during the same period.
This fifteen hundred millions paid
for liquor would endow, annually, a
University in each of the two thou
sand five hundred counties of the
States and Territories with $685.
600.
The retail liquor sales of Ohio is
above the average. It Is S151, 1874
875, at 3,000,0 600 population, which
is too large--it would be ovcr fifty
dollars a piece; the total value of
her Railroads and equipments,
S149, $40, 95 O.. Average of nearly
two millions to each of the eIghty-
eight counties /; Pennsylvania near
iy two and a half millions to each
of her sIxty-five counties, and New
York over 4,110,000 to each of her
sixty counties. Cincinnati, as a ci-
ty, is prominenf-lts annual liquor
bill is S44, 20,437, which would give
more than half a million to each
county.
There are more than 500, 900 perr
sons engaged in the sale and man
ufacture of this llquor--foGr times
as many as all the ministers and
school teachers Of the United States.
There is a liquor establishment for
every two hundred and sixty of the
population, and one for every SO
families.
There is an enormous amount of
intoxicating drinks, 400, 000, 900,
or one hundred gallons a piece for
100000 drinkers /; and this IN
cludes only that reported to tie
Government Collectors. A great
deal of domestic wine would not be
reported.
This Is an enormous cost, nearly
81. 500. 000, 000--or nearly $500 a
pIeco to the 1000, 000 of drinkers
This is the amount deduced from
the receipts of the Internal Reven-
ne. Whether all manufactured was
given in, and all retalled reported
or not, / leave to each one TO de-
termine in his own mind.
But the cost of this liquor bill Is
not yet made up. The 500, 900 per-
sons employed in manufacturing
and selling this liquor, if engaged
IN some useful employment, at a
dollar a day, for three hundred
days of the year, would give $780,
600, 900. The time lost from work,
by the 1000, 900 drinkers, we may
suppose to be one eighth of their
time, equal to $500, 600 per day, or
for three hundred days, or one
year, $3.50, 000, 600 more. Thus the
time lost from useful labor in maxi
ing, selling. and drinking liquor, is
a 100000 of the population, at a
dollar a day, gives an additional
loss of $500, 600 900. Nor is this yet
the whole cost of liquor to the coun.
try. 1t is the use of these intoXica-
ting drinks that fills the jails, pris-
ons, work>houses, poor houses or
inirmaries, and asyIums of the
land. From one-half to three~
fourths of all the crimes, sevenr
elghths of all the commitments,
nearly all the pauperism, and a
large portion of the insanity of the
country is tracible directly and in>
directly to the influence of liquor.
Thus a large portion of the costs
Of all courts of justice, nearly the
whole cost of the police force, and
of p~auperism, and q large part of
the cost of all prisons and asylums,
is IN consequence of this prevalence
of strong drinks.
Statistics show that sixty thous>
and lives are annually destroyed by
intemperanee in the United States;
one hundred thousand men and wo-
men sent to prison in consequence
of strong drink two hundred thou
sand children are sent to the poor
housa .fbraa murdera are