Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1885-08-03
TIE LtOroR rRlEELc

AlhpHH lnuHl olutl lt'lll~ VI HcuclUl lh-
tcrcst to be CLEANED from the report OF
the bureau Of statistics of the treasury
department the history and exposition OF
the liquor traffic will be found OF peculiar
Importance. The reports since 1870,
taken by decades, will doubtless disabusc
the minds OF many who are of the opin-
and that more of the liquid is being con-
sumcd nowadays than formerly. We
mast confess at the outset that we were
not prepared to learn that slnce the good
old tunes Of which SO many speak there
has been constant decrease in the
amount OF whisky consumed per capita
But the facts remain to show that we con
sumo 10 per cent less at present than we
did iorty-tiyc years ago. Forty per cent
less. And this, too, when the amount
used In the arts l. so much moro con
siderable than II was formerly We
should rccollect, however, that these
figures are only for pure spirits and do
not include the millions OF gallons of
"cut goods" that is, whisky compound
cd of vile drugs and poisonous dccoc-
lions which floods the country and which
has enriched SO many since the high
revenue tax has made it profitable to
counterfeit the pure article. We should
not congratulate ourselves too much
over this falin" off in the amount con
sumed without taking into consideration
the fact that large proportion of the
actual amount consumed was smuggcd
through without being taxed by the gov
eminent, and, of course, without being
included in the grand total Those who
have read the records OF the various
whisky rings will see how much the gov
eminent has lost and how the figures
would have been changed had the proper
tax been paid. There viii he less cause
tor congratulation, also, when we con
slider that by the aid of drugs one barrel
of the stuff can he Swcllcd and
is Swcllcd into four or tive.
Thus, while the nominal consumption is
one barrel, by the aid Of vicious auXlia-
ric>, the actual consumption is much
greater SO while temperance, prohibit
tlon and high license can claim to have re-
duccd the nominal amount consumed,
there are the causes above mentioned TO
augment the real amount. Few people
will bc ready to accept the figures of the
treasury, which show a reduction of 10
per cent per capita; casual observation
would incline most of MS TO the opinion
that there is fully rs much of what, by
custom, is called "whlsky," consumed AT
/ present, per capita, rs ever was. Assum-
Ing, for the sake of argument, that there
has been no decrease in the amount CON
/ stunned, and we trust our prohibition
| friends will allow us to use a hypothe teal
case, We may ask is whisky our greatest
enemy The same report referred To gives
also the statistics OF wine and
beer. OF the former there has
been constant Increase in the
amount consumed ercapita untila at pres
! cnt il is 80 per cent greater than it was
in 1910. There have been no awinc
rings and therefore It Is reasonable to
suppose that these figures are as nearly
accurate as the character of the subject
viii allow Ii the increase In wlnc-drlnk-
ing is so per cent, have we not some
thing To lcarOn this Scorcy Is not Wine
drinking ms had nN whisky drinL in,,g
Some think not; and yet, 10 use COM
mon expression, "it makes the drunk
come us well as whisky, and the head
ache Is none the less severe ON the tlay fol.
lowing the dcbauch. II may he OF inter.
est here TO refer to the subject o( "m.
ported wines" There Is hardly dram
shop or saloon which can afford mirror
behind the bar and the second dozcu of
glasses but which boasts "huc Imported
wines Many of those selling II believe
that the goods they handle are really a
( transatlantic product What does the
treasury Sayy In lst0 little more than
W per cent, OF the wine consumed
In this country was Imported. In
7 1870 just % per cent was i'm.
ported and IN 1854 only 10 per cent.
/ was imported OF the wine consumed
annually IN America 100000 gallons
are imported and over nineteen millions
lare a domestic product, And vet.
iot this 5,oonoo0 gallons every