The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1883-06-06
A TEMPERANCE ADDRESS
Delivered at tina Baptist Chapel in
Glendale, Sabbath Evening,
May 81, by the Pastor, Rev. M.
q. Lamb, and Requested for
Publication In the ''Daiiy Miner"
Butte, Montana.
PRELUDE.

luiltate COe example Oh QUO VI u
most illustrious lecturers! of the pre-
ent day-Joseph Cook-and befo
beginning the address of the evenin
give you a brief preliminary talk
a sort of prelude-which, if you a
-. taking account of time, need not
charged to the address.
Official records, gathered from II
ternal Revenue Reports, show, th'
the drink bill of the United Statt
averages about sever hundred an
fifty million dollars per year. Tines
figures, L suppose, are based upon tn
wholesale price of liquors al repnrte
to the officers of the Int. Re,
Bureau.
Estimated at retail, the price actu
ally paid by drinking men them
selves, and then add the cost of SUI
porting the paupers and the criminal
made by the intoxicating cup; tn
cost of the criminal proceedings; tn
loss of time by drinking men; tn
thousands of accidents constantly oc
curing as the result of intOxicatiOn
and all the other expenses that 70!
low in the train, are the children ant
the grandchildren, the true bloot
relatives OF the intoxicating cup; ant
the above figures would have to be
at least, doubled. That is, 150'
million dollars, the annual cost O
strong drink to the people of thi!
country!
The whole national debt contract
ed during four years of terrible war
was a good deal less than twice thai
amount. That is, d years drink
costs eur people more than two years
of war!
The estimated annual cost of foul
and meal for the whole nation is
about $500, 600, 600; of cotton goods,
$ll5, OO0, 600; Of boots and shoes, $780,.
600, 600; of WOODEN goods, $50, OOO, 900;
of clothing, ready made, $70,O 900, 900;
of newspapers and job printing, $40.
OOO, 900; of lawyers, criminal prosecu-
tons. the support of jails, &C., $780,
600, 900 ;of the Clergy, ofall denomina-
tions $l2, 600, Goa.
A total of less than 81, 600, OOOO, 900
for all these purposes combined,
while the cost of drink alone is ST.
500, 000, 0O0-ifty per cent more!
One thousand public libraries,
worth S $1,000 each, put into every
separate State and Territory of the
Union, giving about ten libraries to
each small county all over the coun-
try, would use up only 3 per cent of
this monster sum of money.
If you could select one million poor
families embracing abont one-tenth
of our entire populati,n) and furnish
each family so acres of good farm
land at $3.50 per acre, and an addi-
tional $500, cash, to support them
until they could raise their own sup
port from their farms and even then
you would have used only one-third
OF the immense sum of money every
year squandered upon the "demon of
the STILL"
Some one has made the following
curious, though appalling estimates:
The quantity of liquors drank during
year would fill a canal 4 feet deep,
IA feet wide, and 80 miles long. If
all the hard drinkers could be placed
in a procession, five abreast, they
would make an army 1870 miles long.
A nd if the moderate drinkers were
added, it would extend the procession
7Ol miles further. If those killed by
the Incorporate use Of spirituous
liquors could he brought together, W.
Should sea $50 funerals every day.
And if all the places where intoxi-
c .nts are sold were placed in two
rows, in direct lines, they would
form q solid street 100 miles long.
From the effects of intoxicating
drink, 100000 are annually sent to
prison in this country, $50, 600 to
drunkard's graves, and 200, 900 chill
dren every year reduced to want.
There are 400, 900 more persons en-.
gagged in the liquor business in the |
United States than in preaching the |
Gospel and in school teaching COM
bined.
But all these figures are SO large
tn It we do not and cannot take in
their full meaning. Suppose for a
moment We look at facts upon a
smaller scale. I have counted here
in Glendale eight saloons, aside
from the bars at the two hotels, and
the liquor sold at the stores. To run
the liquor interests of the town re-
quires ornightand day service notices.
than lS men. 1 suppose there are
nearly as many saloons in Lyons
City; there is one between here and
there, and three, 1 believe, in Mel
rose. Twenty saloons for this portion
OF the county, requiring the time of
bet ween thirty and forty men. Now,
to furnish this same region of coun-
try with dry goods and groceries,
food an clothing, require, [ believe
five esta blishments instead of twenty
manned altogether by about a dozen
men: To furnish mental food, school
privileges for the~children of this
same region, three persons are en-
plOyed nine months in the year, ex-
cept when the school money runs
10 ', then seven or eight months
must suffice, while two preachers
look after the moral and religious
wel!-being of the people, though to
secure a support have TO spread their
labors over a large part ofthe county,
even then look to the Eastern
for a goodly share of their
salaries. Three teachers and
preachers to thirty-ive saloon
men! Figures r dry, but then they
lie, and it's well to understand
hem. For facts are stubborn
things; some times very stubborn
[ have no means of ascertainine
how much is spent in this part of the
comfy for drink. We may be able,
to approximate the facts by
sort Of back-handed calculate IN.
Tie amount actually paid out for ill.,
t~nxicating drinks in the United
States per year will average not less
IAN $40 for every man. woman and
child in the country. Taking out
one half for the women, very few of
whom drink; and suppOsing one
To rd of the males to be children too
young to drink; aud the large boys
AMI men will have to drink an aver
age Of $50 each. But of course only q
of the large boys and the
drink strong drink Of any kind
not over u half of them.
|Ience the conclusion is reached that
he drinking men of this country
pend upon an average $l2O each, per
ear, for intoxicating liquors.
Well, now, the price of drink in
;lendale and in Montana is more
.lan double the price in the States;
. cents per drink here; S cents
here. If therefore it costs the drink
ng men of the States an average of