The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-03-27
SOME STARTLING STATISTICS.
One Thousand Million Dollars Spent An
nually IN Drink.

III
One Thousand Million Dollars Spent An
nuaily in Drink.
The Rev. 4. J. Kommers Of the Lafa-
yette Reformed Church, last night
preached a temperance sermon, in which
he gave several startling statistics. The
subject OF the sermon was "Wnat we
spent one thousand million dollars a
year for" Among other things he
said:-
sIhe amount OF money that the people
of the United States spend annually for
drink is more than the majority OF our
citiZeus nave any idea OF. What do we
spend one thousand million dollars d
year for? Some people hin that our
foreign and domestic missions receive a
great deal Of money. But they only
receive SIS. 500. 900. The salaries OF
our ministers aggregate S25, 000, GOO.
proud, only receive SOC. 600. 600. On tea,
coffee and chocolate we spend annually
S145. O0O, 900; on sugar and molasses,
Sl55, 600, 900; on iron and steel, 1926, 000, COO:
On meat, $303, 900. 900; OH cotton u
wooden goods. S452, 900, 900, and on bread,
sos, DOC, 0oo. On what then, do we isspend
this one thousand million dollars? l will
tell you. 1t is on alcoholic drinks that
the people of the United States spend this
vast sum annually. 1t seems almost I'M
possible, but statistics prove this to be
true.
III the'money spent annually for drink
were collected IN one dollar bills, and II
these bills were pasted together, we
would have a string thai would encircle
the world four times. According TO the
census of 1853, there were 206. 973 liquor
saloons In this country. Arrange these
saloons side by side, allowing twenty feet
for each saloon, and we would nave an
unbroken string that would reach from
New York to Cnicago.
'..In Jersey City there are 995 saloons,
which average one to every 1856 people. or
one TO every thirty voters. Some people
may ask What do we get III return for
this vast sum of money? My friends. we
get nothing but crime, wlckeduess,
wretchedness, poverty aud disease. Drink
is the waste hole in the family, through
which carpets. furniture, clothing and
food fall. Everything Is sacrificed to
drink. The majority OF the liquor selle RS
wear diamonds, own fine horses and nag
niicent dwellings. Look at their victims;
what do they wear? Nothing but rags.
The money is paid only tor sorrow and
poverty. Professor Bigelow OF the AL
bany Medical College estimates that %
per cent. of the liver diseases, 35 per cent.
of the kidney diseases. 80 per cent. of the
brain diseases, aud from Is to 20 per cent.
of the lung diseases that have come to his
attention. were caused by drink,
But eyen deeper suffering tnan this is
caused by alcoholic drinks. Listen TO the
cries that come FROM the broken hearts of
mothers and children. There Is no end
of misery falling upon thousands
of families. A drunken husband brings
misery and sorrow to his home. Some
men try to drown their sorrows in drink.
put their sorrows come back deeper thar
before. Besides this. drink is the cause
of untold crime, We do not know where
to begin to furnish examples. They are
all around US. Everyone who drinks is in
danger. If you drink, you will drst of all
lose -FOUR respect for others. Then you
will lose yonr self respect. and finally.
o become a brute. Ii is
an accepted statement that 80
per cent. of crime IS caused either
directly OF indirectly by drink. The final
chapter In the story of the rum traffic Is
that the victims of alcohol go to a drunk
ards grave. Every year $4,000 people go
down to a drunkard's grave, and to a
drunkard's hell, for no drunKard shall
enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. For
your own sake, for your wife's sake, for
your chIldrer's sake, aud for YOU neigh
boris sake, do all you can 60 deliver your
land from the curse of drink"