Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1877-04-12
=. Sc .. r. r.
GOING EAsI.
A Temperance Lecture from the
Bench.

The Grand Jury for the March term
at Philadelphia on Saturday of last
week made their presentmenf, and
among other things of municipal con-
Icern called the attention of the Court
to the fact that Large proportion Of
the bills acted upon by them had been
caused by intoxicating liquors and to
theincrease of bar rooms, sample rooms
and grogshops, and the easy manner
IN which licenses could be obtained."
Judge Pierce, in receiving the present.
ment, made some remarks which were
aot only pertinent, but in their conden-
,ation of fact and strong presentation
o the growth OF the means and evil in
nuences of intemperance, justify his
expression of wonder that the COM
inunity is 80 supine In its efforts to re-
iieve itself of the great evil. Perhaps
some of his Statements may be slightly
Exaggerated, but in the main tEey are
ttr.ghifuliy true. He said:
The number of licensed taverns in
Phiiadelphia are 5000; unlicensed
taverns, about 1900. This gives one
tavern to every one hundred inbabi-
tants, or one tavern to every fifty of the
adult inhabitants t the city. AS these
tsverns are principally rtsurted to by
men, this gives one tavern to every
twenty-five male Inhabitants of Pila-
delph;a. Let US look at the fruits of
this traffic. The arrests reported By
the Mayor for 1876, were, for intoxica-
tiun, Is, ,053; for intox cation, and dis
orderly conduct, 5,448; selling liquor
without license, 2; selling liquor on
Sunday, 8; total, Il ,511, or more than
one-half of the whole number of ar
rests for all causes, which were A,9l9,
or A, iOS more than arrests for allOlher
Causes whatever. The number of ar
rests for the sale of liquor without
lice nse, as reported by the Mayor, does
not exhibit the whole number of ar
rests TOR this cause, as, by law, il is
made the duty of the constables to
return to court the number of licensed
and uDlict nse houses, aud bills of in
dicmtent are then sent in by the Dis
trlct Attorney against the keepers OF
the unlicensed houses, who are requir-
ed to tome in and give bail. The
Mayor, therefore, Is not specially eharg-
I'd with this duty. About three hun
dred bills have been tried against the
keepers of unlicensed houses during
the present year.
''TO look at the fruits of the traffic, at
least one-half of the police force of the
city are employed day and night, say
600 patrOlmen, at cost of $500, 900; half
of the expenses of the County Prison,
$50, 900; the House Of Correction, $685.
900, half of the expenses of the Aims
house, S250,000; other incidental ex-
penses, such as proportion of pay oft
police magistrates, jurors, Court off,
GERS, District Attorneys office, &c.,
S74 ,0O0.- Total, 81, 100000. This is a
moderate estimate of what the traffic
in liquor costs the city OF Philadelphia
in cash. Besides the direct expenses to
the city as municipality, the cost to
those who frequent and pstronize these
taverns Is simply enormous. 1t is a
moderate estimate that these seven
thousand do an average business of
three thousand dollars q year each,
which gives Us the enormous sum OF
twenty-One millions of dollars; and
this worse than useless outlay of money
is largely borne by the working classes.
1t is wonder that when hard times
come there is so much suffering among
that class of our citizens whose hard
earnings are thus Inverted from the
savings institutions to indulgences
which are destruc i've to both health
and happiness But this deplOrable
traffic comes treighted to US with great
er burdens than those which affect
material wealth. 1t brings in its train
the broken health and squandered for
lunes Of thousands; aud sighs and
orOken hearts of mothers, wives, sis
ters and children; ruined characters
md desolated homes; widows and
orphans, whose bitter tears are doubly
bitter when they remember the causes
of their desoidti0n. 1t is not wonder,
then, that As citizens having regard to
our Material interests, as men having
d sympathy with our fellow-men, ard
as Christians having regard to he high
est moral interests of our fei " beings,
we are so supine in our efforts to re-
lieve US of this great evil"