The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1874-08-26
1874.
Dr.. walden ON the License Issue.

has license law, Ohio no license.
The Report Of the Commissioner for
Internal Revenue" for the year end
ing June 30, 1873, gives these figures:
Ohio, with a population Of 1865, ,260
Census of l87W, manufactures one
hundred and twenty-three times as
much distilled liquors as New Jersey
with population of 906,095 (same
census), and nearly fifty per cent. more
OF fermented liquors; and yet New
Jersey has. according to population,
seventy per cent. more retail dealers
than Ohio-New Jersey having one
for every one hundred and twenty of
her population, while Ohio has one
for every two hundred and four of her
population.
Ii the law of demand and supply
operates the same in New Jersey as
elsewhere. and the same in regard to
liquor as other things, then the de-
mand for, and support of, drinking
houses under her license system is
largely in excess of that under the
Ohio no-license system, notwithstand-
ing the relative extent of the manu-
facture both Of distilled and ferment-
ed liquors in the latter State. What
license has thus done for New jersey
it would have done for Ohio, we may
believe, had it been operative during
the past twenty years; that is, taking
New Jersey as the standard, Ohio,
under a license system, would have
2,2lO retail liquor dealers instead of
| 1888, which she has now under no
license, and with law that recent ex-
| perience, in Cincinnati and elsewhere,
| proves to be difficult to enforce and
easy to evade.
The Farmer has no Interest in Lii
cense.-It is suggested that the Tenn
perance Movement will unfavOrably
affect the market for grain. About
70, 200, 900 bushels of corn of the
1913, ,0OO, 600 bushels raised last year,
were converted into distilled liquor
that is, one bushel in fifty-one fiftieth
part of the crop. Not to mention the
increased demand for breadstuffs
there would have been but for the
means wasted by drink, the increase
in the market-value of meat, had corn
instead of still-slop been fed, would
have yielded more to the farmers than
they received from the distillers for
this grain.
A Dangerous Money Power.-The
large profit in both this manufacture
and traffic tends to create money
power in our country that should
cause alarm.
| Manufacture-The census of 1870
reports the value of the product of
252, 14S Establishments. comprising
800 classes of manufactures, as being
81 ,232 ,325, ,442, being an average OF
$l29 for every dollar invested in la
bor and material. The manufacturers
of -four received SIG for every dol
lar SO invested; of cotton, $l.24 for
every dollar; and of iron, $1.29 for
every dollar; but the manufacturers
of spirituous liquors received $1.67,
and of malt liquors, $l.59 for every
dollar invested in labor and material.
Again, this census shows that the av
erage profit of 2.69l distilleries and
breweries, employing 1854 hands,
was above S13, 600 each, while the av-
erage profit of q ,26O manufactures OF
flour, iron, and cotton, employing
333, ,205 hands, was less than $500
each. Again, in 1873, less than 20,
100000 bushels of corn, and 3O,000,-
600 bushels of barley, valued at about
SIC, ,OOO, 900, yielded 6S,OOO,O0 gallons
OF distilled liquor, and 276 ,0OO, 900 gal
Ions of beer, the wholesale price be
| ing about $164, ,OOO, 900.
1t is impossible to compute the ad-
ditional profit from the adulterations
of various kinds of liquors.
Trafiic.-The profit in the liquo,
traffic is far beyond that of any need
full business. From keg of beer thai
costs two dollars can be drawn about
one hundred glasses, sold at FIVE cents
each. In the sale of distilled liquors
the profit is still greater, as moment:
calculation, that any one can make
will show
| This view is sustained by the recent
Address of the State Central Com
mittee of the Liquor Dealers and
Brewers Association to the People Of
Ohio" (asking them to vote for Ii.
cense), which, after stating the amount
of internal revenue paid by the liquor
interest, says: IF any other manutac
turing or commercial industry of the
country were taxed as high as that, i
might linger for a while, but must
sooner or later, sink beneath tho bur
den."