St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1885-01-01
The Drink Bill of the Nation


the chart, now familiar in all parts o.
our country, showing the National
Drink Bill and it's relation to other ma
tional expenditures. The long black
column which represents S900,0OO 900
spent annually in drink, looms up so
menacingly in this period of Onr finan-
cial distress, that political economists,
statisticians and financiers are begin
ming to take an interest in it's startling
revelations.
The first step of their scrutiny, how
ever, as is usual with the investigation
of statements made by social reform
ers, indicates Incredibly. And we do
not wonder. If things have gone on
from bad to worse in tho fashion and
to the degree which these figures sng
gest, their occupation and their pro-
fessiOn have not been Of that value to
the community which they have led us
To expect. Their natural effort is to
discrcdit statements which it true,
! tend to discredit their own worth. The
Inter Ocean, basing its argument on
the census of 1880, proves to its own
satisfaction at least, that our figures
are false, the showing of the census
being that the whole amount paid an
nually by brewers and distillers for
producing the liquors which go to
make up the Drink Bill, is only $l42, =
I22,O4S.
| Now the report of the commissioner
of internal revenue for the year ending
June 30, 1884, shows that IS, 435, 739
gallons of spirits and 588, 957 ,l89 gal
Ions of fermented liquors were pro-
duced and withdrawn by payment of
tax during the year. Now if the CEN
matter for the year 1894, the liquors
thus produced, must have cost the
| producers less than five cents II gallon.
| 1t is very clear therefore that the cen
sus figures do not include the tax of
ninety cents per gallon on spirits, and
one dollar per barrel on the beer, paid
/ 1891, added to the $l42, l22 ,O4S,
makes an acknowledged total of 1927,
557 ,935. The, then; is simply the eost
of producing. A profit must be added
which will scarcely be less than 80 per
cent. of the original cost of production,
before the government received its
share Add this, which amounts to
some 81 ,06I 1924 more, and we have
the drink produced by the brewers
and distllers of the country put upon
the mark ct at the round sum of $685.
64S, $50, very nearly three hundred
million of dollars.
| The rOcean gives the total mum
Der of traders in spirits of all kinds,
bar tenders, etc, at ia 900 and calcu-
lates that each of these will have by
the figures of our chart, entitled The
Nations Drink Bill, an income of
$1,000 per year.
| Now the Internal Revenue report
gives poe, $40 special tax payers for
the year 1881. These special tax
payers are brewers and beer sellers,
diStillers, wholesale dealers in liquor
and saloon keepers--ea one of whom
represents ut least two more engaged
with him in business as employees, the
/ whole constituting an army of not less
than 600, 900 men. Divide the 5000
OO0,O 900 of Drink Bill equally among
these and each man will have only the
modest revenue of ; 500 year. Not
SO very extravagant surely-and not
so tempting as to entice young men in
to the business, AS the Inter Ocean So
gravely intimates is being done 10y
the prohibitionists in their effort to
properly represent the drink bill OF
America.
But go back to the bill itself We
have round three hundred million OF
dollars az the cost of producing and
putting on the market the alcoholic
liquors manufactured in our own conn
try, and not exported out of the cOun-
try.
The wholesale dealers ought to make
AS much from the the sale of liquors
bought by them, rs the brewer and
distiIler from whom they were pur-
chased. Add fifty per cent. as their
profit and we have $450, 000, 900 as the
cost of the goods delivered to the retail
dealers or saloon keeper. Now it is
the boast of that individual that there
is san eight-cent profit Oh a ten cent
drink" or 400 per cent. Admit that he
does not tell the truth, and that all his
actual profit will be covered 10y IUC
per cent, which with authorizations
watering etc, is but modest estimate,
and the $500, OOO, 900 claimed as the
Drink Bill of the country is easily
reached without taking any account
of the imported liquors which enter
into our national consumption of alec
holie beverages.
Or, if moresatisfactory, take the
mode of estimating this fearful expen-
diture, followed 10y the Christian
Union of March %, 1884. Let the
75, 435, 7:}9 gallons of spirits produced
last year, he averaged AS costing the
consumer $500 a gallon. "a glass Ot
distilled liquor such as brandy Ol
wbiskey, averages one-half gill. 1t i.
sold at from Is to % cents glass
There will be at least sixty glasses in 3
gallon. At only 10 cents glass, ths
gallon Yields 600 WORTHY We hav.