Port Royal standard and commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876, 1876-01-13
THE WAY WE WASTE.

HE Wal VIZ w hSAHs
Comparison Between tho United States
and Frnnce--Ssne Startling Figures.
One of the facts brought prominently
before the world during the last few
years is. that France is rich. The ease
with which she has recovered from the
disastrous, war with Prussia, and the
promptness with which she has met, not
only her own, but Prussia's enormous
expenses in that war, have surprised all
her sister nations. Every poor man had
his hoard of ready money, which he
was anxious to lend the state. How did
he get ita How did he save it9 Why
is it that, in country like ours, where
wages are high and the opportunities for
making money exceptionally good, such
wealth and prosperity do not exist 2
These are important questions at this
time with sill of us. Business is low,
industry is paralyzed, and the question
of bread stares multitudes in the face.
Well, France is an Industrious nation,
It is said. But is not ours an industrious
nation, tooG Is it not, indeed, one of
the most hard working and energetic ma
tions in the worldi We believe it to be
aharder-working nation thant the French,
with not only fewer holidays, but no
holidays at all, and with not only less
play, but almost no play st all. 1t Is
said, too, that France Is frugal nation.
They probably have the advantage of us in
this, yet to feed laboring man and to
clothe laboring man and his family
there must be definite, necessary ex-
penditure in both countries. The diff
ference in wages ought to cover the diff
ference In expenses, and probably does.
If the American laborer spends twice
as much, or three times as much
as the French, he earns twice
or three times as much; yet the
American laborer lays up nothing,
while the French laborer and small
farmer have money to lend to the gov
ernment. Their old stockings are long
and are full The wine and the silk
which the French raise for other coun-
tries must be more than counterbalanoed
by our exported gold, cotton, and
breadstufs, 80 that they do not have
any advantage over US, as q nation, In
what they sell to other nationsi We
shall have to look further than this for
the secret We are after.
There lies book before US written
by DR.. William Hargreaves, entitled,
"Our Wasted Resources. We wish
that the politicians and political econ
omists of this country could read this
book, and ponder well its shocking
revelations. They are revelations of
criminal waste-the expenditure of al
most incalculable resources for that
which brings nothing, worse than moth
ing, in return. There are multitudes
of people who regard the temperance
question as one of morals alone. The
men wis drink say simply: "We will
drink what we please, and it's nobody's
business. You temperance men are pes
tilent fellows, meddlesome fellows, who
obtrude your tuppenny standard of
morality upon us, and we do not want,
and will not accept it. Because you
are virtuous, shall there be no more
cakes or ale2" Very well, let us drop it
as a question of morality. You will
surely look at it with us as a question of
national economy aud prosperity; else,
you can hardly regard yourselves as pa
triots. We have common interest in
the national prosperity, and We can dis
cuss amicably any subject on this COM
mon ground.
France produces its own wines, and
drinks mainly cheap wine. 1t is drink
which, while it does them no good, ac-
eording to the showing Of their own
physicians, does them harm enough to
interfere with their industry. Their
drinking wastes neither life nor money
as ours does, and they sell in value to
other countries more than they drink
themselves. During the year 1870, in
the State of New York, there were e1-
pended by consumers for liquor more
than one hundred and six millions of
dollars, q sum which amounted to nearly
two-thirds of all the wages paid to Ia
borers in agriculture and manufacturers,
aud to nearly twice as much as all
receipts of all the railroads in the State,
the sum of the latter being between
sixty-eight and si1ty-nine millions. The
money of our people goes across the bar
all the time faster than it is crowded
into the wickets of all the railroad sta.
tions of the State, and where does it goi
What is the return for ita Diseased
stomaehs, aching heads, discouraged
and slatternly homes, idleness, gout,
crime, degradation, death. These in
various measures, are exactly what We
get for it. We gain of that which IL
good, nothing-no uplift in morality, no
increase Of industry, no accession to
health, No growth of prosperity. Our
State is full of tramps, and every one is
a 6runkard. There is demoralization
everywhere, in consequence of this
wastefl stream of fiery fluid that con-
stantly flows down the gullet of the
State.