Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1878-08-06
1he 9aily 4ress and 1atotaiau
DAKOTA.
tuesday Evening, August s, 1873

tuesday Evening, August 6, 1873
THE USE Of LIQUOR.
Extracts FROM . xernon Preached by Rev.
Henry q. Kinney, Of Chicago.
From The Western Brewer.
CLOSE STUDY OF THE QUESTION.
Now, years ago, I arrived at two conclu.
sions. One, to give the subject Of intemper.
ance as thorough . consideration as I was
able, aiming to find out what was the best
method which the greatest number Of per.
sons would adopt and cling 10 through long
periods, and, secondly, that the answer to
the above question could only be given by
studying census reports and all statistics re-
lating (1) to death rates; ~ to crime; (3)
to arrests for drunkenness; (4) to pauper-
ism ; 10y to national prosperity (6l to
quantity of alcoholic liquor annually manu-
featured, reduced to a common denominator
in absolute alcohol az to effects upon COM
m!unities and individuals Of drinking spir-
its, malt liquor, and wine, and of taking the
pledge. In other words, I determined to
study the subject of intemperance with its
checks; first, geographically and historical
Y; then to consider it in smaller communi-
ties. and finally to watch its operations in
individuals. During my leisure hours these
Investigations in connection with other stu.
dies in social science have been pursued.
Gould l have been able to buy sets Of public
documents of the United Kingdom, France,
Denmark and Germany, which I could not
find in this city, and thus have been able to
throw away information which I have been
obliged to take at second hand /; could I have
been at the same time more minute and more
wide spread in my search, the result would
nave been given to the public before. Ho-
ping that some who are interested in these
questions will place in either the civ or his-
torical library works, without which no one
can arrive at any safe conclusions. concern.
ing communism, labor difficulties, intemper-
ance, prostitution, pauperism, or crime. and
truthfully mentioning every lacuna. let me
now give my present conclusions on the eub-
ject Of the laws of and checks upon intem.
perancc.
BEER H ONLY CIvILIZER.
Along with these views comes the asser-
ton from all that alcohol is either the cause
Of, or is associated with, great misery. Let
US try to ASCERTAIN where the least harm has
has been done by its abuse and the cause of
this %diminution. The police reports of the
cities Of Hartford, Providence, Baltimore.
New Haven, Dayton, and New Orleans as
compared with other American cities, show
the largest number of arrests for drunken
ness per habitant. In these cities the GUAM
tity of fermented liquor therein manufac.
tured was at the yearly rate of nine gallons
per head. Those cities showing the fewest
proportional arrests for this vice (eommenc-
ing with the highest( are St. Louis, with its
twenty-five gallons of beer per habitant, To-
ledo with thirty gallons, Chicago with its
~twenty.aix gallons, and Detroit with twenty
one. The city most free is Cincinnati,
where forty-five gallons Of beer are made to
each man woman and child. Milwaukee is
the only city in the United States which
paroportionally brews more lager than Gin
clnnati. l have never seen a police report
from that place. I will, however, stake all
my knowledge on the temperance question
hat If the number of arrests could be furn-
ished me l could place the Wisconsin me.
tropolis among the last six cities freest from
this vice.
Cities are always the plague spots of ma
tions. When, therefore, going back to
deaths from alcoholism, we find that the
proportion Of deaths from this cause was 80
much. less in Chicago than in the entire
states of either Rhode Island or Massachus-
etts, we see another proof Of the lessening of
evils connected with drinking. If We could
get registration reports of the whole state l
believe that these from beer.drinking ILL
nois would compare favorably with those
from agricultural Vermont. This is less to
be wondered atRhen we consider that the
INo nRoI ut haas n1,,tos- a.. H. -
Of water STEPPED with malt and barley and
from one to one and a half gallons of
alcohol. The. retailer generally gets in
foam and beer about three hundred and
twenty glasses of lager cut Of his barrel.
The drinker swallows then ten glasses before
he gets a gill of alcohol. I cannot UNDER
stand how the mystical Gambrinus can
swallow so much water as is contained in his
thirty-tive drinks, but | can comprehend how
he would feel very little inconvenience from
its alcoholic effects. Knowing, as I do. how
free to the workmen ia the beer il the
brewery, l cannot wonder, when on asking a
policeman whose beat is past " of the
largest breweries in Chicago, how many Of
the two hundred and fifty workmen he has
seen under the influence of liquor, to get
the reply, during two years not one"
NeAtAeE cau 1 WOuuer tnat IN England where
yearly two and a half bushels Of malt per
inhabitant is changed into beer. there is
comparatively less drunkenness than in Ire
land and Scotland where the rate is only a
part Of . bushel. Diminution of evils at
tendant to drinking follows the use of fer.
mented liquor.
When W examine the drinking habits
Of the same nation at different times, We
find that during seasons of prosperity the
quantity Of liquor drank increases, and that
in years of financial trouble il diminishes.
That increase Of intoxication which vas to
be seen all owe the world during the years
Of nlanfx andinn Nth 1879 70 hut aiaf