Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1893-09-12

ttiN 7btOOts
Perhaps the most thorough ex-
animation of this question that
has ever been made was given to
the public in 1871, by Edward
Young, then Chief of the Bureau
of Statistics at Washington. Mr..
Young, after careful examina-
tion of the question, concluded
that the total cost to the con-
sumers of alcoholic liquors for
the year 1870 was not less than
six hundred millions of dollars, a
sum more than the combined
manufactures of cotton goods,
woolen goods, boots and shoes,
molasses and sugar, for the same
year, a sum nearly equal to the
aggregate wages paid by all man
ufactories in the nation.
Assuming that Mr.. Young's in
vestigations in 1871 led him to
reasonably accurate conclusions,
and comparing the total amount
of alcoholic liquor imported and
manufactured in this country for
1892 with the corresponding fig
ures for 1870, we find that the
cost to the consumers must have
exceeded for 1892 the vast total
of one billion, two hundred mil
lions of dollars. This sum so far
transcends the power of human
thought that we can form but the
faintest conception of its magni-
tude.
What would such an amount of
money do!
1t would build six thousand
miles of railroad, stretching twice
across the continent, at an aver
age cost of two hundred thousand
dollars per mile, or more than
thirty-seven dollars per linear
foot, and do it in a single year.
The money paid for intoxicat-
ing drinks in thirteen months
would pay both principal and in
terest of our enormous national
debt.
Illustration fails us when we un-
! dertake to obtain or convey a ust
conception of such vast amount
of money. Place at our disposal
the amount directly squandered
for drink in single year, and
with it we can build two hundred
thousand comfortable homes,
costing two thousand dollars each,
furnish every one of them at a
cost of fifteen hundred dollars
each, add thousand dollars tc
the salary of every Christian min
lister in the country, place hun
dred dollars in the hands of each
of two million tipplers as re-
ward for his abstinence, and still
have cash enough at command tc
give five dollar gold piece tc
every human being, male and fe-
male, black and white, within
the borders of the republic.
So much then for the imme.
diate and direct cost of drink.
To this must be added a large,
though perhaps an unknown
amount, to represent the decrease
in producing power caused by the
consumption of alcoholic bever
ages.
a recent concensus of opinion
among a large number of manu-
featuring concerns places the loss
of productive. power due to in
competency and efficiency produc
cd by intemperance, at from
eight to twelve per cent.
Add to all this the vast expense
entailed upon the public by pau
perism, insanity and crime trace
able to the consumption of alec
holic liquors, and we have a tota
; far exceeding the figures named
above.
Important though other finan
cial problems are, none of then
compare in magnitude with this
The tariff, coinage, the nationa
banks, transportation, land, mo
nopolies, all present problems IL
!, which Prohibitionists are interest
ed, and upon which they are gen
orally found to have correct anc
progressive views, but none o
, them, nor all combined, represen
an issue of such Immediate impor
: tance and startling proportions.
Not only is this issue large il
its aggregate, but it comes hom
intimately to every citizen. N
3 decent business but feels the fl
: nancial oppression of the saloon
G Every industry must pay
tribute. Danish the saloon ant