The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1885-08-13
Over 100000 Spent for Whisky in Pu-
loci;


Capt. j. H. Russell addressed the
Giles County Temperance Alliance
last Tuesday night and discussed
in an able and very interesting
manner the question of prohibition.
His long experience as attorney
general mas enabled him to become
more thoroughly acquainted with
all sorts of immortality than any
other man in the district, perhaps,
and his zeal for the temperance
cause has led him to compile an
array of facts and figures, showing
the evil results of the whisky traffic,
which in many instances are per-
fectly startling. Those of our citi-
zens who attended the meeting last
Thursday night listened to his
speech with the profoundest inter
est, and the prohibitionists present
were greatly strengthened in their
faith and encouraged by what they
heard of the progress of the TEN
perance work in Tennessee. No
one present was more interested in
Capt. FusselPs address than the
writer and there is not a stronger
prORlbitiOnist in the state, but he
made wide mistake when he spoke
of the amount of whisky sold last
year in Pulaski, one which we be-
lieve weakened the force of his
speech. 1t is not through any de-
sire to criticise but to correct that
we call attention to it. He made
the figures too big entirely when he
said that the fourteen saloons that
were open in Pulaski last year sold
over 100000 worth of whisky,
We do not say or mean to insinu.
ate that Capt. RUSSELL intention
ally misrepresented facts. He is
man whose integrity we would dare
not To- assail even though we should
loose the high respect we now en-
terrain for BIN and become so in
clined. He simply made mistake
and made our whisky dealers too
rich. He said he had ascertained
that over 500 barrels of whisky
were sold here last year by the
fourteen saloons then open. This
he reduced to drinks, al
lowing 40 gallons to the barrel and
90 drinks to the gallon. He then
the cost of this whis-
ky at 10 cents a drink, to which he
added a reasonable amount for
wine, beer, &c, making a grand to-
tai of something over $2OO,OOO-we
Gisremember his exact figures.
Now the speaker may have been
right in regard to the number of
barrels sold, and right in regard to
The number of drinks in the entire
quantity of whisky, but he was
wrong in the superstition that it
was all sold at the rate of 10 cents
a drink. Much of it was sold at 30.
cents quart, or according to his
estimate of 60 drinks to the gallon,
at about 3 cents per drink. Much
of it was sold at retail for cents a
drink. So that the basis of the
calculation being wrong, the result
was necessarily erroneous. 1t Isles
timated by those II q position to
know the facts that the amount re-
allied by the sale of whisky and
other Intoxicating drinks here last
year would not exceed 100000.
The thought that this large amount
Of money, or an amount approXima-
ting it, was expended in a single
year in 3 town the size of Pulaski
tor that which does not the least
good but causes incalculable evil,
ought to be sufficient to make
prohibitionist of every voter in the
county, and to magnify 1t can do
more for the cause of tenn
perance in Giles. We are afraid
the zeal of temperance speakers too
often leads them into making exag-
Grated statements which do injury
to the cause they advocate. We
hope that Capt. RUSSELL is not often
so misled, and believe that in the
haste of his calculation he made
this mistake.