Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1892-11-10
STARTLING FIGURES.
Some of the Losses Entailed
Through the Liquor Traffic.

ERA drunken workman wastes
time, spoils material, delays
others, and demoralizes a whole
establishment. Employers of la
Dor in nearly every productive in
dustry have to make liberal al-
lowances for this loss of produc.
tive power, and, it may be fairly
assumed, to charge higher prices
than they would have to charge
with the same force of men all
sober. In a table published in the
"Voice" of May IA. 1891, twenty
seven establishments in various
lines of productive industries, and
employing in the aggregate over
5000 workmen, replied to ques-
tions with regard to their expert
ence along this line, and the ten
who had made estimates placed
their loss of productive power from
drink at from s to 80 1-3 per cent.
Suppose the loss averages for pro-
ductive industries throughout the
whole country s per cent. The
total product of such industries is
about 81, $50, 900, 900 annually, ac-
cording to Mulhall's Dictionary Of
Statistics, and the loss therefore
would be about $3.50, 10000
2. PAUPERIsM.-The Census of
1890 gives 70, ,O45 as the number of
paupers in almshouses; the average
cost of their support may be placed
at low estimate at 500 per year,
making a cost to the taxpayers who
support the institutions of $780,
500. In the State of New York
the cost of outdoor relief is about
two thirds as much as the cost of
maintaining paupers in aims
houses; and if the same proportion
holds good throughout the entire
country, the total cost for outdoor
relief would be about 81, 500, 700.
Three-fourths of this pauperism is
estimated by the Encyclopedia of
Temperance and Prohibition" as
due to intemperance, on which
basis the cost of supporting drink
paupers is So, 129, 600 annually.
3. CRIME.-The amount annu-
ally raised by taxation to defend
the community against the raw
ages of crime was estimated by
Fred. II. Wines to be in 1880,
$50, ,O00,O 900. The amount certainly
increases as rapidly as the popula-
ton, which would give for 1890
about s62, 100000. The statistics
of crime show that at lest rs per
cent. is due to drink: therefore the
cost of defending community
against drink crimes is about s46,-
622, 900.
4. INSANITY.-The Census re-
turns for 1890, show 81, 152 insane
persons in the United States con-
fined in public and 6,3S3 in private
institutions. The cost of main
tanning the public institutions was
S13,8 ,463, an average of about
$152 for each inmate. If the cost
in private asylums average one
half more, the total for all institu-
tions, public and private, was
about $15, ,465, 900. If one-fourth
the sum be set down as due to
drink, it would make So, S6S, 900.
This does not by any means in
clude all the insane and mentally
incapacitated in the country, how
ever. The Census of 1880 gave
the number of insane and idiotic
persons in the United States as
169, 9S2. If these increased in
equal ratio with the increase in
population from 1880 to 1890, there
were in 1890 about 211,0 insane
and idiotic persons in the country,
or 113, 400 not confined in insane
asylums. The cost of keeping
them, at 500 each. would be S11,-
$40, 900 a year, and if one-fourth
are due to drink, it gives 50, S45,
900 to be added to the SO, ,86S, 900
above, making in all So, ,713, 900.
S. SIcKNEss.-Dr. Hargreaves,
in ''Worse than Wanted" esti-
mates 10000 persons stimuli.
taneously sick In the United
States through intemperance,
and ike NUMBER OF tenn
perate persons sick through
the intemperance of others; on
which basis, if medical attendance
be counted at 81 day, the annual
cost of sickness due to drink
would be s109, 100000.
6. OTHER ITEMS.-There ara
numerous other items of log en-
tailed by the liquor traffic which
cannot be estimated in dollars and
cents-the loss, for instance, to
farmers through the placing Of
distillery and brewery refuge in
competition with grain as food
for cattle and hogs, and through
putting distillery-fed meat on the
market to compete with granted
meat; the los 8 to all classes from
the loss of productive power; the
cost of cities of saloon controlled
governments; the cost to parents
of raising children to fill places in
the drunkards' army. etc.