Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1878-11-18
W&M perAMce.
THE COST OF TWO APPETITEs.

Who does not know of whole fortunes
wasted in intoxicating drink ?-who has
not seen profitable and enormous bust
ness-that of a merchant, banker,
lawyer, in fact every kind of business,
overthrow and utterly disappear in
the whirlpool Of the drinking cup?
Suppose man heavily in debt finds he
is laboring under a burden which he
must bequeath to his children, whereas
by saving the amount expended in in
toxicating drink, he could in three years
pay off his entire indebtedness, and
stand on his feet again, yet continues to
drink and spend; would it not be said
that he was on the high road to ruin.
But just this the country is doing; and
how can a nation expect to be free from
the laws which govern the individual,
for what is nation but an aggregation
of individuals Let us look at the mat
ter.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue re-
ports that for the fiscal year ending
June 30th, there were produced $1,000
900 gallons of whiskey, and 318,485,-
COL gallons of ale and beer. 1t is diff
cult to know how much whiskey was
converted into alcohol and used in me-
chanical acts and for medical purposes.
But allowing 100000 gallons for this
and TIE Public, in an able article
on the subject, places the amount at
| 100000 gallons-and we have 3d.
100000 gallons of whiskey drunk every
year. Assuming whiskey to cost the
drinker Sc per gallon (and it costs
more), and beer at five cents a glass to
cost ST per gallon Gale costs more than
this, and we have the result:
whiskey consumed. 100000 $soooooooo
Ale and beer consumed, 3l7,4S5.6ol 3l7.4S56 COL
Total. 8e7, 485.eOl sel7.485sol
The population of the Uuited States,
is, say 100000 one-half of whom
are minors. Assuming one-half of the
100000 adults to be women who do
not drink, and we have 100000 from
which number deduct 20 per cent. who
never drink at all, and it gives 9,O0O.-
900 Woodworking men, business men,
professional men, men of leisure, and
in short, occupying every station in life
who spend over S600.00o.000 annually
for drink. being an average of $75 each
whereas the total Internal taxes paid
by say, 100000 adults average $l1.
10 per capita, SO that while men inveigl
against this burden of Federal taxation
which. some find it SO hard to pay, they
voluntarily tax themselves nearly sever
: times the amount for the purpose o
J gratifying an appetite for strong drink
/ Now add to this the amount expended
r for cigars, cigarettes and tobacco used 70
smoking and chewings and the manu-
7 facture of snuff, as shown by the Repor
r of Commissioner Baum for the year end
ing the 3oth of June here are the fig
9 ures averaging the cigars at 10 cent
e each, the cigarettes at $3.50 per thou
sand, and tobacco at OIL per pound.
Cost to
Quantities Consumer
= Cigars number, 1.so5,o63,743 Sl9O.50e,s1
Tobacco. pounds. los.69i7s9 IOs.7s4,7;
: Cigarettes, number l65.lS9.594 4l2.9
f Total $685. l4Os
Add cost of fermented liquor, 6l7, 4S5, 81
Total expended for liquors aud tobacco Ssl7 l9s 81
. Here, then. the appalling facts stan
. out in burning characters. The peopl
q of the United States, poor men an
= rich men, its working men, mechanic
merchants, bankers, professional men
y men of every calling and every static
: in life. spend over 100000, OoO-nea
ly one billion of dollars-for intoxic;
g ting drink and tobacco. This amour
= if saved, in two years would exceed IL
. entire amount now on deposit in Il
. savings banks Of the country. and
4 three years would pay the entire natiol
= al debt And yet the country will s
!; on spending this money, while fortune
are vanishing into thin air, while indu
? try is paralyzed, while labor and valu
: are deprecated, and the warrior
10 churches are begging for few thousar
!, dollars to enable them to pay what thu
owe the poor missionaries.
But we are told this business supper
= so many who would otherwise SUITE
&c True so does the business of prise
a building and almn-house- building p
. money in the pockets of the laboror, t
20 mason. the carpenter /; but will any o
undertake to assert that the multiplyil
:, of prisons, and alms-houses is to be e
"a couraged? Bat in truth out of the enc
II nous amount of $9OO,OOO,OOO paid
- liquors and tobacco, but $4,000,
a little over two and half per cen
m goes into the laborers' pockets /; and.
A. The Public shows, while the Cover
,or ment, the producer, manufacturer labt
N er, and all others together get but
A. per cent, the retailers profit on
~ sales. without any risk or trouble
20 manufacture, is Ga per cent. in ott
nc words the retailer gets from the consu
err one hundred dollars for what co