Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1880-06-03


s70000o,O00. Tho assessed yauo of all
tho real estate and personal property in tho
| United States is about $14,00O,00O, 900:
! 4. C. at that estimate, our people drink down
every 20 years tho entire value of the
country's wealth. Our annual drink bill
is 18th of tho aggregate war expenses of
| North and South during tho Iato strife be-
tween tho States. It would pay off the
national debt in less than three years 1t
| would educate all the illitcrate persons in
tho United States; pay all tho taxes, sup
port oil the paupers, run many of the great
est industries, and build churches for all the
houscless religious societies in tho land,
with vast surplus left over.
The total amount spent in The United
Stat every year for education is S93, 900.
600; for liquor S700, 100000 cost of iiouor
over education SG05, 100000.
The total amount spent to support the
Gospel every year is about $4,000 600
cost of liquor over religion, $3.50 900 900;
amount contributed per inhabitant for cdu-
cation, So 90; for religion, Sill: for liquor
per inhabtont, SIT; eight times as much
for liquor as for education, and fifteen times
as much for liquor as religion. Our pooplo
spend nearly as much every year for liquor
os they do for food; in 1870 moro-s75.25
per family for food, and SS1.GI per family
for LIQUOR
Next look at tho waste Of timo and in
dustry directly aud Indirectly caused by
tho liquor traffic If The COO 900 men
engaged in tho liquor business in the
United States were productivity and profit
employed at $500 piece, it would amount
according to representation made before
our National Congress, to $500, 900, 900
every year. Tho loss of at least half tho
time of 100000 drunkards in our country
would amount, at $500 each, to $3.50, O,OOO,-
600. Tho loss of la or Of one day a week
of 5000 tipping persons would umount
every year to $40, 100000.
Then 800 900 public yaupcrs, caused by
liquor. in our country, with their 100000
dependent children, cost the Republic
10000 OG0 more every year. The loss
at tine md Labor Of about lO, 600 insane
Hc'>nra, madc 80 annually by strong drink,
w"nid noun. . about IS 600, 900. The
'> u tinc and industry Of IDIOTS, made
N 'rtcmpcnnnr, would amount to SIS
IUr,ovU or S2U,O00,0OO every year.
Congressional statcmcnts.)
DR.. Willard Parker says "that 10 per
cent OF the deaths of this country oycry
year arc due to alcohol, aud thpt the aver
ago age of on intcmperatc person is about
half that of n temperate person" Says
Dr. llarsrcavcs, NJ. d., whose statements
were quoted before the American Congress:
owe arc confident that sufficient evidence
can bo adduccd to show that but for the
uso OF Intoxicating drinks the sick rate as
well as tho death rate of our country would
be reduced to pot less than half what il is
to day Says DIR. Hitchcock, President
of tho Michigan Board of Health, "There
are $4,000 persons constantly sick or in.
valid in our country from liquor" and no
wonder, for science states that alcohol is an
'acrd narcotic poison" aud in thcso
United States every year on an average
over five quarts of purcst alcohol in drinks
arc consumed by every man, woman and
child in the nation, or ut that ratio. Can
wo wonder at tho extraordinary siok and
death rate when our people are drinking |
liquid poison? Now tho moucy yeiuo Of
those who do by premature death from
)iquor-at least $50 900 persons every year
and of those who arc sick and invalid |
and disabled, and the value Of their sick |
bill! and the value Il tho time of those who |
nurse them, NC, NO., must cun up into |
inoalculablo millions of doIlagw--an utter
loss to the nation Then the money value
Of tho time aud industry Of tho perhaps
5O0,0O0 men, varIonsIy idle or cmploycd |
all over the land, as direct consequence of
tho liquor traffic, jaiors, detectives, police
men, watchers, constablcs, jurymcn, wit.
ncsscs, clcarks, Judgcs-two thirds Of
whom arc ncccssitatcd by intcmperancc--
mon diverted from productive works---and
tho money value of the hundreds Of officers
and servants and nurses, cto, etc, over
and in our State and county ins,itutions-
so far as being obliged to ho so employed
by liquor would ran up to scores of nit
lions of dollars moro. And we have, at
the very lowest, between two and three
million Of men wasted ovcry year to tho
nation by and in consequence OF the liquor
business.
And now what is the appalling aggre-.
gate Of our natural waste? $1,000, 900 900
unemployed capital in tho country Gin
1860 invested in tho horrible business.
do not know what it is to day. Between
thirty and forty millions Of dollars souan-
dered annually in grain; over $700, 900, 900
spent ovcry year for strong drink direct.
Hundreds Of millions OF dollars of loss
timo and labor, through men engaged in
tho business, or directly and indirectly en-
ployed outside of productive work in conso.
quonoo Of it. And tho vuluo of the va
rious buildings of tho entire country, 80
far as thoy are obliged to exist, on account
of liquor, pcnitentiarlcs, work houses,