Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1875-12-10
5Miscftlnnu.
The Cost of the Liquor Traffic

|
excessive or habitual use of alcoholic
drinks to public health and public well
fare" by Homer 0. Hitchcock, M. d.,
President of the State Board Of Health,
Kalamazoo, Mich, was read. 1t gave
statistical account of the manufacture of
distilled and brewed liquors in the Uni
ted States the hundreds of millions of
gallons annually consumed and the
number of insane, of idiots, and of GRIM
inals, made so by the use of alcoholic
drinks. We copy portion of this pa
per, relating to the economies of the
question, the facts and figures of which
are sufficiently startling
What do the $4,000 deaths annually
caused By alcohol cost the nation : The
average cost of burial cannot be less than
$40 per capita, giving the sum of $780,
900. These $4,000 persons should each
have had, according to table of work
ing years (calcnlated from life tables by
DIR. Edward Jarvis, and published in the
fifth annual report of the Massachusetts,
State Board of Health), 81 46 years of
effective life. From the best data OBJ
tainable we have been led to conclude
that alcohol shortens the lives of those
who use it habitually or excessively,
twenty weight per cent. As this percent
age pertains to the whole life, including
both the developing and the effective pc
riods, il follows that these 49, 900 persons
have each lost to the nation twenty-eight
per cent of 81 .46 years, or 1908 years
of effective life, giving a total Of 7S4, 900
years. These figures are much below
the actual loss according to the expect
ancies of Incorporate persons given
above; for, according to the whole ex-
pectancies, the average loss of effective
life is twenty three years, within small
fraction. On this basis the annual loss
e of the nation of effective life from alco-
hol is ,127 900 years. If each effective
year of life is valued at $3.50, the nation
> loses on the first calculation SILT 600,
600, and on the second S169,050,000
g English actuaries, from careful observa
"A ton and calculations, estimate that TO
y every death there are two persons con
stantly sick. We may therefore calcu
late that for these $4,000 deaths iron
p alcohol there are $4,000 constantly sicl
from the same cause. Thus, in singl
. year, $4,000 years of effective life ar
lost to the State, which, valued at S15
per year, gives loss of s14, 100000
N The cost of this sickness, at the yer
ad lowest estimate, cannot be less than SO
NJ per year, or total of S14,700000.
'R What do the insane caused By alcoho
actually cost the nation each year w
have already seen that in a very model
:, ate estimate twenty-five per cent of ih
insane are made so by alcohol. Thu
9,358 of the 81, ,432 insane persons enl
merated in the census tables are thr
lie. caused. These represent in each yes
ed loss of effective life of 9,358 year
"a which valued $3.50 per year, gives lo'
IA u to the nation of s1,403,700. The ave
Vi age cost of maintaining and caring fC
er. these people cannot be less than s4 pr
A' week for each, which is the average CO.
in three State asylums of Massachusett
). This will present loss to the State
1885, $50. But, according to a tab
ID constructed by Mr.. John L. Copelan
~ y. and also to the English Life Tabl
r.; r.; QUOTED by DR.. Edward Jarvis, page 3s
q. of the Fifth Annual Report of Mass
chusetts State Board of Health), the a
Ter erage loss of effective life by their pr
mature deaths is 63 years each. Nor
y over, as those made by alcohol are ge
erally made so at or before forty yea
of age, the loss of effective life of Il
insane should be based upon the loss
the three first decades, viz, from TWEEN
to forty inclusive, which is an averai
IOT edCU ptisOu, hinlC anu AOAi"iS, VI =
years. This gives total loss of efecti
life for 9,35S insane of 9S,259 yea
9ws CTs which at value $3.50 per year, gives
ing loss to the nation of s14,738.S50.
now, we adopt Lord Shaftsbury's es
mate of the percentage of insanity cat
ed by alcohol, these figures should all
increased by 140 per cent, and we shou
have for loss of effective life 1888
years, with an estimate value of 50
373,150. The annual cost ofsupporti
: the insane, rendered so by alcohol, won
we then be raised to s4,715,432.
What does the nation lose By her idic
re, re: made so By atcohoI3 The whole numt
of idiotic persons reported in the Gems
'ins ne tables is "a ,527, of which, on the ba
of DIR. Howe's statistics. 1883 {
}. caused by alcohol-the degenerate
II spring of drunkards. If we correct tn
tables according to the views of t.
. Sanborn, we have as the probable VIII
is number of idiot persons 35,040 and