The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1891-10-30
sOoIErY,s LATEST PERIL.


ed itself upon one young womanin every
three. One of the others uses gum occas-
ionally, and is on the high road to de-
struction. Six million dollars are expen-
ded annually by the young women of this
city for gum. Think how many pairs of
shoes and stockings this appalling sum
would buy for barefooted children, OF
how many hungry mouths it would fill
with food. Still the habit grows, and
every year sees thousands of young
women take to the vice and begin the
long, rhythmical swing or short, jerky
chop of the lower jaw on the deadly
gum.
Before going further we hasten to say
that these figures are not our own. Nor
are they the figures of any man preju-
diced as men are so apt to be against
young women. They are the Official
figures put forth by the State Woman's
Christian Temperance Union, which has
just closed an important meeting in this
city. They were furnished to the union
by the superintendent of the department
of narcotics, chewing gum being right
fully thrown in with opium cocaine,
hashish and so forth. The union, of
course comes out strongly against chew
ing gum in any form. The figures which
we have quoted are certainly alarming.
Six million dollars is large sum to be
expended on gum. We doubt if the
amount put into bread or tobacco is
much greater. More interesting figures
can doubtless be evolved with these as a
foundation. Gum, if we mistake not.
comes at the rate of one cent cake, a
cake being enough for one chew. This
gives us 600,000,000 "cudsn of gum used
by the young women of New York in a
year. We do not know how many young
women have the gum habit, but say
1OO,O00-there cannot be more than this
This gives each young woman addicted
to the habit 5000 cuds each year, or over
sixteen day! These are probably the
most appalling figures ever set before a
thinking public, especially remembering
that cud of gum can be and usually is,
several times, it being deity de-
posted, when not in use, beneath the
piano, showcase, typewriter or else
where. Startling and bewildering as
these figures ale, no one can dispute
them. 1t is more probable that there
are not above $4,000 habitual young
women gum chewers in this city, which
gives each of them thirty-three cakes
per day.
But more interesting consideration is
the fact that at least the women haye
come out and confessed the whole terri
bic state of affairs. For years they have
claimed that it is tobacco which is sap
ping the vitality of the American nation,
when all the time it appears that it was
gum. Tobacco is now universally
acknowledged by physicians to be gen
orally harmless and often beneficial. 1t
aids digestion. A man died in this city
last week at the age of 1O1, who had used
tobacco since he was boy, averaging,
for the last 10 or so years, upward of a
dozen strong cigars day. Three wives
preceded him, cut down, it is fair to
presume, by gum. 1t is exasperating to
realize that the women have known all
the while that tobacco was harmless and
gum injurious. 1t is still more provok-
ing to think that some men have actu-
ally been weak enough to give up tobacco
under steady fire of female eloquence
which should have been directed against
gum within the agitators' own ranks
But happily these men can return to
their tobacco. Now the thing to be done
is for everybody to turn his or her atten-
ton to the suppression of the gum habit.
The best way to proceed would seem to
be to strike at the root of the evil. Let
the manufacture or sale of gum be pro-
hibited. Let us invoke our old friend,
the strong arm of the law. To this end
there should be third political party
formed Immediately. Let its motto be
this: Pulverize the gum power -Ne,o
York Tribune EDITORIAL