, 1873-06-08
THE BEER QUESTION.

Sir: My attention was called to an article II
your last Sundays issue, under the caption Of
The Beneficial Effects Of Lager-Beer," signed
| by the very appropriate name Of !" Gambrinus.'
Will Gambrinus," OF any other man, be kind
enough to to tell your renders who are the par
tics that receive ' the beneficial effects Of lager
beer ?" I unlesitatingly affirm no one, except
those who manufacture it, and those engaged
in tho traffic, other directly or Indirectly. II
Gambrinus" demurs to the above, and would
have us believe that it ia tho consumer who de-
1ives the beneficial effects from it's consump-
tlon, would call his special attention, aad that
OF others Of like LII, to your very able a1ti-
Gle, contained in the aame issue Us his own, un-
der the head of " Expenditure for Drink, !"
wherein We have the most alarming
facts You very aptly say, e There are persons
who will be startled by these figures )" and why
shouldn't they? Would not the most obtuse and
un1edecting mind bo startled when confronted
with these alarming figures? And here I would
beg Of every 1aborer and mechanic in the City Of
Chicago to ponder over this most important
item to them, which is this: 1850 licensed
houses for the sale OF alcoholic drinks, which re-
celye from their customers $50, ,000, 900 annually
And this enormous sum is spent by tho yery
small number OF $4,000 persona, few Thousand
OF. floating population more or less excepted.
third mora or less, Of this sum is spent in lager
beer. These are some Of the sbenefcial ef1ects''
Of lager. Will "Gambrinus tell M who IT,
celves the same? The natural inference from
all sane persons would be that the consumer was
benefited with a vengeance and, if any Of them
see these figures, they most likely would OK
CLAIM, Save me from my friends!"
But" says "Gambrnus." t'it is 81 nutri-
tious as fruit, and q most invaluable aid to tenn
peranee, and quotes D.. Bowditch and United
n t1Ynv
before b &c that lager was as "nutritiouA as fruit2"
There is nothing new under the sum-" said the
wise = man. But then there was no lager, and no
tha aamn1,5gA Eel15 to e:ing its praises or tell
as fruit" t has ~' GENERALLY @ u'' 'i,eaa BEEN
allowed by naturalists that most all fruits are
capable Of sustaining animal life. Perhape it !
would interest," your readers to know how long !
"dambrlnus thinks he could exist On lager |
alone.
That beer-drinking is an auxiliary to temper
ance u quite as novel, BY way OF argument, az
that Beer is as nutritious az fruit" Now, / |
claim that lager toiH intoucate for have tested !
it, and have seen hundreds made drunk By it, |
Whelming proof in Confederation Of this also.
to ahow that, both On the continent
OF Europe and in this country. where
ever the masses indulge. in such harmless l?)
vii find poverty and misery, and both social and
moral degradation. And. where such is the case,
there is sure to be more than an average Of vice
End crime, "Gamprinus" and the American
Consul to the contrary withstanding. The
1acss 1a N support Of tue above are so Pa1pab]e,
and most nnpleasantly sometimes, that no Other
argument is needed to convince any candid md
minded person Of the faIsity of "Gam- l.
orlnus'" assertions. Il, as he says, lager-beer
?erance is generally understood, then Wa have
lie stIangekt kind OF q paradOI. l.