The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1897-05-13
WElGHTY TESTIMONY.
What a Man of the World Thinks Of
the Drink Habit,


Magistrate Deuel., of the New York
city police court, recently said IN an
swer to the question: What Dip you
consider the chief cause of drunken
ness?"
The chief cause in this country is,
without the slightest doubt, the GUS
tom of treating. That custom has pro-
duced more drunkards, ruined more
homes, blasted more lives, and sent
more men to drunkards' graves than
any other custom that the mind of man
ever conceived. When it shall come to
be considered in this country a mark
of good breeding and good fellowship
for each member of drinking party
to pay for what he himself drinks and
ITO more, then you will see much less
public intoNication than now.
DO you know, though, that public in
toXication is diminishing, rather than
increasing, and that, too, in spite Of
the increase in the population? That
statement surprises you, Ell? Well, it
is a fact, and l could hardly believe it
myself at first. l have given a good
deal of thought and study to this ques-
ton Of drunkenness in connection with
the question of excise laws, and | took
occasion not long ago to find odt wheth-
err public intOXication was increasing
as rapidly as some persons would have
us believe. For my information l con-
suited the records of the police courts
of this city. went carefully over the
records for nearly 20 years, from 1873
to 1895, and this is what l found: In
1875 the number of drunk and disorderly
conduct cases that came into the city
police courts was 1920. The popula-
ton in the city in that year was 1,041,-
$50. In 1880 the population had in
creased to POS, 200, and the number Of
drunk and disorderly cases had de
creased nearly $4,000 or to 44,292.
haven't got here the exact figures for
1875, but the number of these cases, in
proportion to the population, has de-
creased .0354 per cent. In 1890 the per-
centage Of decrease in the cases was
.O35 and in 1895 the population had in
creased by .77G while the number of
cases had only increased .O55 per cent"
When asked to what he attributed the
decrease, he replied as follows:
We'll, there may be, of course, many
reasons. In my opinion the chief rea-
son is to be found in the increased and
constantly increasing general senti-
ment against public intoXicatiOn, and l
believe this general sentiment grows,
hot so much because our standard of
morals has been so much raised as be
cause of the constantly increasing re-
qurements of all business and all pro-
LESSONS. Years ago a man who got
publicly drunk once in awhile, or twice
in awhile, was not 50 greatly fTowned
upon. His ability to do business or
practice his profession was not a ques-
ton on that account. Nowadays it is
very different. Let it be known that
a man conducting a large business is
dissipated and mark how quickly his
business goes to the dogs. We had an
example of that not long ago. There
was Il firm that carried on u very large
business N this city. Rumors went
GDlOCitI NidI LlCllDtlS VI VIC Ill III NtAC
Incorporate and otherwise dissipated.
What happened? The firms credit be-
gan to decline, although it was gen
orally known that there was a great
fortune behind them. Things continued
TO 90 from bad to worse, until the great
house went down. Let an employer
hear that one Of his employees is drink
ing, and that employee is served with
his dismissal without a letter of recon-
mendation so quickly as to take his
breath away. A professional man
known 10 be heavy drinker finds him
self in very short time without any
clients. So far as the social side goes,
let man appear on the streets, or else
where, in the sight of his fellows, in >
state of INVESTIGATION, and from that
moment he loses caste, even with thoss
who drank with him"