Smyrna times., 1882-09-27


liberal discount made to quarterly, semi-annual
and yearly advertisers.
OBITUARY NOTICES will be charged Five Cents
per line
SIZE OF THE TEMPERANCE CUES
PION.-It does no good for men to
sneer at the agitation in regard to the
liquor traffic. The subject is too i'm
portant to be laughed down. 1t may
be that prohibition is not the right way
to settle it, or that license is not, or
that taxation is not; these are fair
questions upon which q difference of
opinion between sincere and candid
men is possible. But the subject has
become altogether too important to be
ignored or passed over without any
serious attempt to settle it. Aside from
the law-defying spirit which it has
elected, aside from all its moral and
religious aspects. the question consid-
cred purely as one of dollars and cents,
in its effects upon the National pros
perity and wealth. is one of the most
important that can be named.
Directly and indirectly, this country
spends in the liquor traffic every year
a sum exceeding half the National debt
The cost of that traffic to the country,
direct and indirect, is greater than the
profits of all its capital not invested in
real estate. 1t costs every year more
than our whole Civil Service, our Army,
our Navy, our Congress, including the
River and Harbor and the Pension bills,
our wasteful local governments, and all
National, State, county and local debts,
besides all the the schools in the coun-
try. In fact, this Nation pays more
for liquor than for every function of
every kind of government. How is Il
question of that size to be put aside
with sneer?
AS these statements may seem sur
prising to those who have not looked
into the matter, few figures may be
of service. A glass of beer costs the
consumer 5 cents, and there are at
least twenty in the gallon, and 640 in
the barrel, so that beer retails at about
$50 barrel, while ale costs still more.
The consumption of beer and ale last
year was about $4,000, 900 barrels; cost
to consumers about $4S0,000,000. The
cheapest kind of liquor used, ordinary
whisky, is rarely sold at cents, and
averages at least cents a drink; at
half q gill to the "hOrn," this makes
$4.4S per gallon. The consumption
last year was about 100000 gallons
cost to consumers about 1913, 900.
Adding wines, there is certainly spent
for drink more than $500, 100000 and
the entire sum raised by taxes of all
kinds, National, State, county, city,
town and school district, is stated on
authority of the Census Bureau to be
not more than about $700,000,000.
But the cost of the liquor drunk is
not by any means the whole cost Of the
liquor traffic. An official report, pre-
pared with much labor by the Bureau
of Statistics of Massachusetts,, under
authority from the Legislature, states
that 81 per cent of all the crime anC
criminal expenses in that State come!
directly from the abuse of liquor
There are at least one in twenty of the
able-bodied men in this country whC
are rendered idle by their habits or in
capacitated for work, and these persons
at the ordinary wages of workingmen
would earn, if industriOusly and fairl,
employed, over $2OO,0OO,0O0 yearly
The proportion of persons in hospital
who reach them because of excess il
drink is very large, but cannot be def
nitely ascertained.
A traffic that costs in actual paymen
and in loss of productive labor NOR
than half the National debt every yea
is not to be ignored by the economist
1t may be assumed that the entire wealt
of the country has risen from $30,000
100000 in 1870 to $50,000,0OO, i
1880, about One-half being in rea
estate. Probably it does not averag
profits exceeding 4 per cent yearly
taking bad investments with good, bU
at that rate the yearly interest on a
personal property OF all kinds onl
81 100000 900, and the direct or indireC
cost of the liquor traffic must be create
These comparisons do not constitut
reasons for doing any unjust or unwis
thing. What ought to be done abOU
the liquor traffic is not to be decide
hastily or without due regard for I'll
rights of all classes Of citizens. Bl
the time has gone by in this countI
when a serious discussion of questiO
that involves such a vast expense
the Nation can be prevented by bull,
ing, intolerance, insolence or ridicul
This very practical people, havin
begun to think about the matter
earnest, perceives that it is much t.
important to be put aside at the dict
ton of saloon-keepers. 10 is certa
that the entire savings of the peOp
and all additions to their wealth a
not twice as much as the sum expen
ed for liquor and because of the abu
of liquor. If any just and reasonab
proposition can be made that will aC
One-half to the savings and the pre-
perity of the Nation, it will not be pl
down by a sneer, nor defeated by
law-breaking mob.-N. Y. Tribune.
Canada is destined to be famous