The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1886-03-24

Of the 60 entries on these four pages
80 are for whisky, beer and drinks "
almost one-half the number. The
total amount of purchases is $l0.G3,
but of this x4.35 is for these internal
poisons. These eptries are but fair
sample of the whole book. Any four
pages, taken 1t random, would show
similar fign,es.
That Tie owner of this book is poor,
is evident from the character and the
small quantity of his purchases. As
there are no entries, save at one or two
places in the book, of vegetables pur-
chased, we infer that he raised his own,
which were probably stored in the cell
lar, and afforded part of the subsist-
ence of his family. If they ate any
meat except the behring's mentioned, It
was probably bought elsewhere. But
leaving these items out Of the question.
what picture of poor fare and pinched
housekeeping do these entries show!
That there is at least one child in the
family is probable from the item, "doll,
seven cents" What chance has that
poor starveling little one, think you,
to grow to perfect manhood or woman
hood, with sound body, with full physi-
cal powers, and education enough to
battle with the world on terms of equal
ity with the children of men who are
free from the domination of the &C.
cursed drink habit? None. 1t is one
of the worst of the unnumbered woes
that follow the drink habit, that the
curse falls heavily upon the children.
To grow into strong adult, capable
of bearing life's burdens, a child must
have plenty of good, nourishing food,
must be warmly clad, must be well
cared for physically; and in our mod
ern civilization, an education is as
necessary q preparation for the life
battle as a strong, healthy body. And
the children of drunken parents very
rarely have strong, well-balanced
minds; they inherit the enfeeblOd brain
Of the rum-poisoned parent.
In the two weeks we Judge these en-
tries to cover, this man guzzled $l.55
in beer, 81. O5 in whisky, and Is cents
in rum and drinks" In the same
time, he and his family purchased %. q
in flour. Compare e4.35 spent in
drunkenness with an expenditure o.
S3. rs for flour in the same time! Look
over the rest of the list of purchases
there is but one thing that can by any
stretch of imagination be called lux
ury-jelly-and that purchased q few
cents worth at time, probably Il
render the bread and oleomargsrint
butter palatable to the little child!
But why comment longer on thi'
text! The bare facts are enough FOL
any thinking man. He can fill out thu
painful picture without aid. He cal
imagine the bare, comfortless home
the careworn wife, the ill-fed child, tn
coarsely-clad, bloated husband ant
father. Unfortunately, such cases ART
all too common. Any one familia
with the life of the poor in cities vii
recognize this unknown case as bu
one Of thousands and tens of thousand
of men going surely down to poverty
misery and death, dragging thei
xretched wives and innocent childrel
along with them. 1t is only the com
mon instance of man upon whom tn
rum demon has its internal grasp, tina
Is all; a laboring man. nearly half Q
whose outlay, the first week in thi
month of February, was for drink.
Is there any argument for the dan
nable rum traffic that can stand for
moment'in the sight Of such shown
one which is simply Representative
Of uncounted others in all the cities an
GOWNS of our land? What is there s
i sacred in rum that it must be above
60 continue its hellish work of maxim
: men insensible to the needs of wife an
children. deliberately brutalizing al
running themselves day by day. stead
~ sinking deeper into the horrid
= which shall sooner or later engu
them? What is there in this damn
hot chnvpIA ho q