Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1894-03-27
COMMON SENSE FACTS.
SOME STARTLING FIGURES ON THE
LIQUOR QUESTION.

A Half Dozen Strong Arguments Proving
tho Rum Business a Curse to the World.
Pauperism, Crime and Insanity.
First-A drunken workman wastes
time, spoils material, delays others and
demoralizes whole establishment. EN-
ployers of labor in nearly every produc-
tive industry have to make liberal al
lowances for this loss of productive
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 table published in
The Voice of May IA, 1891, 81 establish
ments in various lines of productive in
dustries, and employing in the aggre-
gate over 5000 workmen, replied to
questions with regard to their experience
along this line, and the 10 who had made
estimates placed their loss of productive
power from drink at from 8 to 33t 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 ,250, 900, 900
annually, according to Mulhall's "Dic-
tionary of Statistics" and the loss there
fore would be about $3.50, 900.
Second-The census of 1890 gives 49,
045 as the number of paupers in aims
houses. The average cost of their sup
port may be placed at low estimate at
500 per year, making cost to the tax
payers who support the institutions Of
1904, 500. In the state of New York
the cost of outdoor relief is about two
thirds as much as the cost of maintain
ing paupers in almshouses, and if the
same proportion holds good throughout
the entire country the total cost of out
door relief would be about $4,S69, 700.
Three-fourths of this pauperism are esti-
mated by the Encyclopedia of Temper
ance and Prohibition" as due to intem-
perance, on which basis the cost of sup
porting drink paupers is 50, 129, 900 annu-
ally.
Third-The amount annually raised
by taxation to defend the community
against the ravages of crime was esti-
mated by Fred H. Wines to be in 1880
$5O,00O,OOO. The amount certainly in
creased as rapidly as the population,
which would give for 1890 about $62,-
100000 The statistics of crime show
that at least rs per cent is due to drink.
Therefore the cost of defending the COM
munity against drink crimes is about
SAG, 1922. 900.
Fourth-The census returns for 1890
show 81 ,152 insane persons in the United
States confined in public and 6,3S3 in
private institutions. The cost of main
tanning the public institutions was $13,.
618, ,463, an average of about $152 for
each inmate. If the cost in the private
asylums average one half more, the total
for all institutions, public and private,
was about $15, ,465, 900. If one-fourth the
sum be set down as due to drink, it would
make $3,S69,000 This does not by any
means include all the insane and men
tally incapacitated in the country, how
ever. The census of 1880 gave the num-
Der of insane and idiotic persons in the
United States as 16S,9S2. If these in
creased in equal ratio with the increase
in population from 1880 to 1890, there
were in 1890 about ell 900 insane and
idiotic persons in the country, or 113, 400
not confined in insane asylums. The
cost of keeping them, at 800 each, would
be 81, $40, 600 a year, and if one-fourth
are due to drink it gives $s,S45, 900 to be
added to the $3,s6S, 600 above, making
in all $6,713,0O0.
Fifth-Dr. Hargreaves, in "Worse
Than Wanted" estimates $50, 900 persons
simultaneously sick in the United States
through intemperance, and a like num-
Der of temperate persons sick through
the intemperance of others, on which ba-
sis, if medical attendance be counted at
81 day, the annual cost of sickness due
to drink would be $109, 10000
Sixth-There are numerous other items
of loss entailed by theliquor traffic which
cannot be estimated in dollars and cents
the loss, for instance, to farmers
through the placing of distillery and
brewery refuse in competition with grain
as a food for cattle and hogs and through
putting distillery fed meat On the mar
ket to compete with grain fed meat; the
loss to all classes from the loss of pro-
ductive power; the cost to cities of sa-
loon controlled governments; the cost to
parents of raising children to fill places
in the drunkards' army.