Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1891-03-27
7uE PRICE OF WHISKY.
yot Greater .han at Least Ono Con
sumner Is willing to Pay.

yos Greater .han at Least Ono Con-
sumner Is willing to Pay.
There is NO such thing as legitimate
.5-cent whisky in this country, said
nan with mathematical turn OF mind,
70 a New York Sun reporter. "Now
ook at the matter fairly. The beat OF
whisky Is worth how much? Eight
dollars a gallon, say. That is allowing
lor eight years OF evaporation or
iouor worth new at the distillery " or
b a gallon. These are liberal figures,
more liberal really than the facts
warrant, and eight-year-old whisky Is
no better than five-year-old. Good
liquor experts will vouch for the state
nent that liquor in the wood does not
improve "a bit after five years, and
hat no improvement goes on at all
after bottling.
"A fair average drink in ID cent
house is one fluid ounce or one-siX-
leenth OF IA pint. Take "A gill OF liquor
and divide il into four drinks and you
will see that each Of them is q fair
irink-not "A dose for snake bites, but
more than well brought up man will
take in friends house. Now figure
il up. Sixteen drinks at ID cents IL
b. 40 pint. That makes 1920 for
gallon. Anybody will agree that this
is an extortionate price for whisky
costing So or IS gallon. At 10 cents
a drink 1913 drinks to the gallon will
net 1880, which one would think
would be good profit and should
satisfy anybody. That is the amount
obtained by men who sell 10 cent
whisky, which costs them all the way
from 81 80 to 81 a gallon.
Now say that the seller Of cheap
whisky gets only three drinks out of IA
gill. he is then getting $3.50 gallon,
which would be more than 80 per cent
profit if he paid Sc gallon for his
liquor. If he pays So he is generous
to the wholesaler and then you see hi,
profit will be more than 200 per cent.
Taking high license, bad debts and all
expenses into consideration the whisky
dealer does well, even to the man who
keeps dead house and sells alleged
whisky at cents a drink and two
drinks TO gill He gets So. 20 a gal
Ion for staff which costs him $l.25 "a
gallon. am not Joking. STUFF sold
as whisky and made of spirits. water
and flavoring extracts can be bought
at wholesale for 81 % gallon. or even
less. and it has paid 80 cents a gallon
tax on the proof spirits contained in il.
Further, will say that lots of it sold
over the bars ia this city at 10 cent,
"A drink. which means from IS 10 $40
profit on every gallon
The other side of this question. IA.
put by practical consumer in reply to
the mathematician was as follows:
1t is true that the profit on glass
Of whisky is very great, but consider
bow many men start in the saloon bus
mess and are sold out. Money is made
by small percentage only Of those who
start in the business, and il is true that
those men who make n good deal OF
money That is TO say the prizes are
high but there are many blanks. Now.
unless the prizes were high there would
be fewer men TO start in the business.
| am satisfied with matters as they are
and for this reason: II | want coat.
IA gill OF turpentine or pound Of oakum
have, perhaps, to make inquiries and
travel several blocks, or even TO another
part OF the city. II want "A drink OF
whisky seldom have to 90 further
than the next corner. For this con-
am willing TO pay. The
few cents extra that ! pay for whisky
yoes TO make my life more comfortable.
for unless the profits were great there
would be much fewer saloons. "