The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-12-29


Scorched his hot, open jaws with rain.
He was dangerous beast; would bite
With fatal fangs mankind or brute;
But he fell in his tracks, despite
His barking at the men who shoot.
Geo. W. Bungay, in National Advocate.
Appalling Figures.
That we are thirsty people is pretty
generally submitted, but few suspect just
how much fluid, besides water, it takes
to keep the throats of our population in
satisfactorily moist condition. The
records of the Internal Revenue Bureau
throw some light on the question, and,
being official besides, leave no room for
doubt or dispute. If all the beer drank
last year by our people was impartially
allotted to every man, woman and child
in the nation, in equal quantities, it
would give each one ten and three-quar-
ter gallons. To this must also be added
one and one-ffth gallons of spirituous
liquors.
But pursuing these figures little more
closely gives US other results worth men
tioning. Not every man or every woman
drinks beer and whisky, and none of the
children. It is safe to assume that one
third of our population, or about twenty
millions of our citizens, absorb all the
strong drinks of the country. This
would make the allotment of beer to
every drinker at least thirty-two gallons
and nearly four gallons of whisky.
But they indulge in other luxuries
also. Enough cigars ore smoked in the
country to give forty,two to every in
habitant, besides several cigarettes and
three and quarter pounds of chewing
tobacco. 1t is estimated the cost to the
American people of drinking and smok-
ing, if equally distributed among that
portion of our population which does
drink and smoke, would give an average
cost to each of $57, or enough to buy all
the food they can consume in year. The
army ration costs the government $3S
per annun, and it gives the soldier more
than he can eat. In short, the drinking
portion of our population consumes
enough beer, tobacco and whisky to buy
them food supplies for the entire year.
But study the following recently COM
piled by a Hartford Comm contem-
orary as showing how we spend our
money:
Tobacco. ............... .'.... ooo,ooV,ooo
Bread. .................... ..... ooo,ooo,ooo
Meat. at.........................3 3O3,OoO, 200
Iron and steel el.................. 9p,OOU,VOJ
Sawed lumber. 223, 10000
Cotton goods. Observation-Disclosures. 2lO,O0o,oO0
Boots and shoes. i96, O,O0o
Sugar and molasses ........... 155, 100000
Public education. ............. S5,00O,00O
Home and Foreign Missions..... $500, 0,0O0
, Thus our liquors cost nine hundred
million dollars $4,000, 900, ,OOW, or
One-eighth more than all our meat
and bread.
Three times as much as our iron and
steel.
Ten times as much as our public edu-
cation.
Our tobacco costs six hundred million
dollars $500, 600, ,OO0,) or
Cne-ffth more than our bread.
Twice as much as our meat and iron.
Three times as much as our boots and
shoes.
Seven times as much as our public
education.
Our liquors and tobacco costs one
billion five hundred million dollars ($1,-
100000, ,OO0), or
Three times as much as our bread.
Five times as much as our meat and
iron.
Seven times as much as our lumber.
Seventeen times as much as our public
education, and these two items alone
cost more than four-fifths of all the rest.
-New YorE Herald.