The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-08-06
4 CHAPTER IN DRINKS.


tor Sprague, OF Narragaselt Pier.
|
4 CHAPTER IN DRINKS.
How Many Gallons or them we Con-
sumc-What they Cost-The Profit on
them.
The New York Evening Post has been ex-
amlning the statistics o: drinks, and submits
them In form that wodd make taking tract
| for the temperance people. Ol course there
Is another side of the drinking question, but
this one is suggestive:
Tn addition to- the 62,3l4,627 gallons OF
| homemade spirits, and 7,159,74O barrels of
| fermented LIQUORS on which taxes were paid
| in 1871, we Imported of wlne 9,7S8, 1888 gallons,
| and 43l, ,562 dozen bottles; of spirits 2,629,326
gallons, and l23.667 dozen bottles, and OF
malt liquors S32,43l gallons. Four millions
out of the nine oil wine cost only 20 cents per
gallon, and 100000 OF them 81 cents per
| from wine at Ga cents anfrum at n cents 10
brandy at 81 g. per gallon. The homemade
articles averaged perhaps GO cents per gallon
| for spirits, and 30 cents for beer, as these
are the prices of our exports of the same ar
tIces. The cost of the foreign Importation
was 1874 $50. If 10 this We add $3S, 900, 900
ofexclse duty and the first cost OF the nome.
made articles, at the ABOVE prices, our , lotal
outlay for one years stock Of drinks will ex-
ceed sl62 1000, 900. Four thousand FIVE hum
dred and twenty-four
DIsT1LLERs
out OF the 1892 registered were employed In
the production of the home contingent OF these
drinks and 522 licsnaesal icsnssls brandy smashea,
mint juleps, gin sllDGs and cocktails; and, OF
course, We paid for them 3, 10, % and 5O cents
glass, for that which cost only from lentn
10 twentieth part Of these amounts, thus
putilnp into the pockets of the dealers the sum
of more than $500, 900, 600. Those thus licensed
to sell liquors make one In 250 OF the popula-
tion. and they hnve, on an average, one or
Two assistants, making one In every 100 10 one
In every 100 ofthe citizens engaged IN driDk-
selling. Leaving out the women and youths
not yet arrived at the drinking age: anu
making some allowance for teetotallers, those
who support those drinking establishments
are less Than twelve millions In number, so
that on an average every
EIGHTY DRINKERS SUPPORT A DRINKING EsTAB.
LIsHMENT
and consume AGO gallons of spirits, 80 gal
| Ions OF wine and 1000 gallons Of beer an
| nually. This would be utterly incredible
| we're 1t not for the Two facts that the census
gives IS. .O0O, 900 as the population, and that
| The Internal revenue department, In thelr
report for 1871, puts down s3.O5l. .4S4 as re-
| ceiyed and accounted for from persons taxing
/ out licenses ut $25 O year each, and II they
| had ali taken full years license 1t would
have required l46.059 IN number TO nave
made ND this sum; but as some OF them paid
\ less thau full years license there must nave
been more than this number licensed. In the
same way The department accounts lor me re-
ceipt OF STAG, ,696 from those VINO pay Sloo o
year for license; and as some OF tnem Would
nav for lpss than wear, there must have been
more than 7.46G of them. These two numbers
added together make at least the number IL
censed as above given, The eighty individu-
ais who supporta drinking store will require
| to nav Its eXpenses--say, on an average, Sl5
| for rent, SIS to $40 for wages paid to servants,
and $40 as profit to the pro2rletor-in oil s45,
or nearly $50 each.
OF THESE STORES THERE ARE NEARLY ONE HUN
| DRED AND FIFTY THREE THOUSAND,
and their total expenses will therefore amount
to six hundred and seVenty-seVen millions oil
dollars, or about the same as The estimate ar
rived at above by different process, In which
| the profits to the licensed dealers were put at
| five hundred millions, and The first cost OF the
| llouors at one hundred and siXty.two millions.
The Stale of New York has 23,S46 licensed
| sellers, or one for every one hundred and
eighty of The population, while one in sixty 10
one In ninety Of Its people are engaged N
these liquor stores.
The City of New York has 7l23 licensed sell
era of drink. or l for every lao OF the popu.
alton, while 10 so to in 10 Of It's people are
engaged In drnk-selling. Massachusetts, in
| 1871, had 1922 Of its people licensed to sell
and In every IS engaged In selling drink.
Pennsylvania had l4.43l licensed, or 10 every
24O. Ohio bad 1887, or 10 every 2l0. I'LL:
nois had 1859 licensed, or IN ESQ. Maine had
1853. or l in GOO. Other States range between
10 200 and In GOO; so that, on an average
everJ 80 families 10 the land support drink
Ing store, with ils TWO OF tnree drink at
teadanls.
| These Two or three attendants make up ar
army of 300. 900 to 100000 persons, who, J.
theV were not thus employed, might be corn
ing on an average $500 TO $1,000 year each
Thus withheld from remunerative WORK, tne
naiion loses thereby from 20O,0C0.0 900 tt
800 600 GOO. which, added to the other out
LAYS already given, make total OF
EIGHT HUNDRED TO A THOUSAND MILLIONS OF
| DOLLARS ANNUALLY
aa tho cost to the nation oil The drinks ii
! Which onr people indulge. Nor is this all. i
we could calculate the amount by which tht
effects OF drink increases our Judicial ant
prison expenses, there would be another large
Item to add to this enormous amount. These
are net imaginative figures, as 100 many sucl
estimates are, but the sober realities of thu
internal revenue reports, so far as the numbe
of licenses is concerned; and II any one shoult
think two to three more than the average
hummer employed in each store, or S45OO tot
mnch for rent, wages, income and other eX
nenses of the stores, let him take his OWL
estimate of these items, and he will ind Ina
by no possible scrlmping" can the cost OF ts on
drinks to the nation be reduced to less thai
seven or eight hundred millions. OF dollar
annually, or from eighty 10 one hundred dol
lars for each family.
The Israelites from Alsace and Lorraine
who are about founding. a congregation u