The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1891-11-04
ALCOHOLISM IN FRANCE.


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ALCOHOLISM IN FRANCE.
The Enormous Consumption of Wines by
the French People.
The atrocious crimes and verdicts
that make criminal court in this coun-
try veritable chamber of horrors and
indicate marked affinity between the
criminals and the jurors, are attributed
by many observant Frenchmen to the
alarming prevalence of alcoholism
throughout France.
There is popular error in the United
States that drunkenness does not pre-
vail in wine-producing countries. This
may be true where pure wine is sup.
piled to the people at cheap rates; but
this is thing of the fargone past in
France. The analysis made by M.
Girard, the director of the Paris labora-
tory, shows that ninety two per cent of
the cheap wines offered for sale in the
French market are adulterated, the
adulteration consisting chiefly of
diluted alcohol or the cheaper methy-
lated spirits.
The supply of native wine falls far
below the demand, and hence adultera-
lions are stimulated to meet the gen.
eral thirst for vinous beverages at a
low price. This explains the we'll
known fact that wine, so-called, is
never so cheap and abundant as when
the grape crop fails. Whenever, there
fore, there is general failure of the
grape crop of France the masses of her
people who are addicted to wine biB-
bling should feel a sense of gratitude
akin to that of the Irishman who, on
beholding the vast quantities of food
that poured into Ireland from the United
States during the great famine of 1874,
gratefully exclaimed: 1.-THE Lord bless
the Americans If it hadn't been for
che famine we'd be all starvin' to
DEATH
1t should also be noted that for many
years France has imported more wine
than she has exported, although her
grape crop, even when most bountiful,
is supplemented by immense shipments
OF raisins from Italy, Spain and Portu-
gal. These raisins are fermented in
combination with the juice of grapes
to increase the wine product.
As the consumption of these wines
has attained the enormous rate of forty
gallons per capita per annum, in addi-
s.ion to vast quantity of brandy
equally adulterated, and very consid-
cradle amount of brain-corroding alb
sinthe, it would be very surprising if
the great body of the French people
were not in state of chronic drunken
ness.
have visited fifty-four of the eighty
six departments of France, and l can
attest, with perfect truth, that her
rural population has shared in the gen.
eral deterioration, and no longer ex-
hibits the homely virtues that we asso-
ciate with rustic life. The faces of the
vast majority of French agricultural
laborers are red with wine and eau de
vic, and a very large proportion OF
their earnings is paid to settle their
scores at the pot houses
A recent French writer, referring to
the spread of drunkenness throughout
the hamlets of France, says:
In the villages the women are
obliged, like the wives of workmen il
the cities, to chang about the wine shops
on pay days in order to fight for theil
children's bread with the victims of al
coholic shipwreck. Instead of putting
away his sous and silver in the clothes
press or in corner near his chimney
and saving them for a rainy day as HI
formerly did, the countryman nov
spends them freely in daily visits t.
the tavern" To this degeneration
of her agricultural class may b
imputed the fact that, although Franc
has been favored for many years wit
good crops, yet her imports of foo
products have steadily increased
amounting in the year 1890 to 1, 400, 900,
900 francs, or nearly $3.50, 900, 900, thu
exceeding her exports Of such product
for that year Slls.000,OO0.
Notwithstanding all these evils tina
beset the republic of France, and dc
spite her vast debt of S., 1000, 900, 900, tn
largest ever borne by any nation, sh
still marches bravely forward unde
her mighty burden. For twenty-on
years, the longest period by decad
that republican institutions have SUI
vived within her limits, she has illus
trated in the midst of ''mightiest NOR
arches" the benign principle of gov
eminent by the people and for the pei
ple," of which our own great republi
is the highest embodiment. She is no.
spotent political force. and every yea
of her existence serves to swell tn
current of republican thought that
surely, though slowly, underminin
every throne in Europe from the New
to the Thames.
May her rulers soon learn thu
Righteousness exalteth nation" an
avert retributive justice by removin
from France the stigma Of being Il
Sabbathless land. --Amerious, in N. Y
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THE SALOONS WORK.