The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-06-09
OUR WOMEN SIGN AN UNTRUE PETITION.
And Show that They are Tools Of Ignorant or
go Dishonest Men. 4.

Mrs. G. @. Starr, Mrs. Margaret G. Ellis, and
Mrs. Helen Moffat, of Moline and Rock Isl
and, and by them, under Sister" Feaster's
pilotage, introduced into the board of SUI
pervisors of this county. last week. The
petition was probably prepared for them
by some fanatical Parson who knows very
little Of what he writes, or who supposed
that no one would expose the fallacies it
contains. But, however that may be, we
must treat the petition as expressing the
views Of those who sign 1.-THE women
whose names we have given, above.
Leaving out of view the ridiculous and
spread-eagle platitudes it contains, we call
attention to the following choice extract
from it, viz:
From the licensed saloons these schools of
crime-graduate every year;an army of 6OOO0 strong
into the hopeless sorrow of drunkard's grave and
drunkards eternity.
We suppose these women mean to say,
in the language quoted above, that the
habit of drunkenness is an objectionable
sin, and that the unfortunate victim of an
uncomfortable appetite for intoxicating
drink will go to hell eternally. Those who
are killed by the use of opium or other
stimulants they don't seem to include in
their absurd category-it is only the wills.
ky and beer drinkers who are going to he'll
forever.
Without stopping to comment upon this
absurd and unchristian position as to the
drunkard's hopeless eternity, we should
like to know how these women arrived al
the conclusion that 10000 people
in this country die annually from the
use Of strong drink obtained in saloons
They give us no reason for their statement
no authority for such a startling assertion
We do not suppose that these women who
signed that statement mean to assert
what is not true, but they have done so
We do not suppose they would, knowingly
place their signatures to such monstrou:
| falsehood and stand up before the Super
visors and ask them to believe it. They
have probably done it at the instance 10
some man who neither knew or cared
whether it was true or not, and who sup
posed it would be suffered to go unchal
should give some authority for their asser
ton, for the people are not going to TAKE
the mere assertion Of these women on /;
subject they cannot know anything about
They must give US facts, frC 4 reliable data
A few weeks ago Ha1pers Weekly,in al
article on Temperance and Prohibition, con
tanned the statement that over 10000 PEG
pie were annually brought TO their grave
in this country from drinking spiritiuou
liquors. A few days afterwards, In supper
Of the motion to welcome the praying cru
saders IN the Capitol of Ohio, a membe
on the floor of the House Of Representa-
tives increased that number to $4,000
Then ex- Supreme Judge West, a presen
member of the Constitutional Convention
of Ohio, in a speech in favor of the women
praying movement got the number 0
deaths caused by liquor up to 100000
And next, the Rev. f. i. Rexford in hi
sermon on the liquor traffic, deplored tina
100000 men annually are destroyed by il
toxicating drink! But our women, though
they beat Hayper's Weekly in their will
statement, are not as eXtravagant as tn
other temperance fanatics we have named
1t seems to US that these crusaders ough
to agree on their statement OF facts. The
vary from $4,000 to 200, 000-Which show
that it is all guess-work, and that none G
them have any reliable data to refer to.
The only reliable authority we know Of
on the subject Of mortality, is that Of tn
sworn official census of the United State
taken by authority Of Congress-
The volume of vital statistics Of the Tn
ted States census of 1870, gives the tot
number of deaths in this country, durin
the year, at 492, 264 of these 200, 673 bein
males and 23l 400 females. Of the male
13I ,405 were under the age of Is year
and Of the females ll4,ll6, This leaves
balance of both sexes of 246, 745 upward
, that age which died from all causes wha
ever during that year. The census spec
fies over a hundred different diseases whic
contributed to this result. Consumptic
alone took off q ,243 men between Il
ages of fifteen and fifty; pneumonia est
, males of the same age, and both nearly
many females, How many is alcoh
charged with? Just 1,16l males and 2
females. a scorce of other causes of deaf
can be picked out which take off create
numbers, and which could be reduce
I largely by proper attention to the laws
health, by common foresight. and eve
Y reasonable care These figures certain
J do not sustain the exorbltant statemen
of total abstinence mathematicians.
1t may be said that death does not {
n ways result so directly from the use of 8
: cohol that it becomes charged with it, b.
n that it enters, nevertheless, largely in
e diseases, aggravating them. This is pro
ably true. How, then, can we arrive at
J, fair statement of deaths which are caus,
. from diseases aggravated by the use
stimulants? The most reliable statistic
!, probably, to be found are the mortal
Il statistics of New York City, and they gil
t the details of the cause of 1861 dealt
y which took place in 1872, in a populate
e Of 100000 people These statistics she
j., that of the causes referred to alcohol
. held for 3l4 instances, and that intempe
! ance was certified as either the direct
cOmplicating cause in, all together, s.
cases-not quite three times the number
deaths charged directly, which would gi
e for the United States at the same propc
: ton, about three thousand men in a
! This may certainly be enough in itself, b
1t is not $4,000, as stated by our crusader
Our Moline and Rock Island women W
g sign the petition alluded to, also say, in
is that, america is today nation of drup
ards. This is libel on the Americ
% people, aud one which these women shou
# have prepared themselves to prove befc
they signed their names to it. Supervis
y Dart, when tue petition was read in t
board, denounced the statement
W the face OF these women, as it q
g served to be denounced. These v
- men will not add to their reputation for
- telligence or honesty by such an attem
II to obscure the judgment of the people a
E. to obstruct the proper consideration of {
.e subject by unwarranted representation
| civ khfss Al.