Evening star., 1898-01-15
ATEMPERANcECoMPARISoN
The Statistics Show That the United States
is Really Abstemious.
The Thirsty English Make and Drink
Not Quite Thirty Gallons Per
Capita of Deer Annually.
From the London Times.

From the London Times.
Apparently the Englishman continues to
drink In a steady fashion, without vacilla-
ton, the drink Of his fathers. About thirty
gallons Of beer q head are made in Eng
land every year, and most of that is drunk
here. In regard to the consumption Of
spirits there is no sign Of any expansion,
such as is noticeable in other countries.
The quantity drunk has increased little dur
ing the last ten years. In 1896 it was LOIS
gallons a head. The Dutch, akin to
us in race. on the whole resemble us in
their tastes, though they drink more spirits
than our countrymen-in fact, the average
consumption is twice as much. Belgium
shows a remarkable all-round capacity for
absorbing alcoholic beverages. 1t drinks
twice as much wine per head and twice as
much spirits, chiefly gin. as England, and
it also consumes more beer-not very
strong, it is true-than any other country
in the world, except Bavaria, the consump-
tion being about forty-two gallons a head.
as compared with five in France and about
thirty in England. Indeed, the average con-
sumption of beer in the whole Of Germany
is much less than in Belgium, the only
country with still larger consumption be-
Ing Bavaria, where fifty gallons head are
drunk Probably no one ever drank so
much Of any fluid as a modern, well-sea-
scned Child Of Munich" One hears much
of the growth of the habit of drinking beer
in the United States, but Mr.. Bateman's
figures go to show that the Americans
drink less than half as much beer as is
consumed here. In fact, that country
seems to be. for time, at all events,
steadily treading the path Of temperance.
Fiscal authorities In America, who
attribute this falling off to depression of
trade, are hopeful that people will drink
more when they make more money. But
the moralfst may be pardoned for believing
that taste for Bourbon whisky Is not a
necessary concomitant of better times In
America, and, indeed, almost everywhere,
the interest of the finaEcer and the aSpira-
tions of the moralist in this matter do not
exactly harmonize; chancellors of the ex-
cfequer being always tempted to hold with
Vaudeville that private vices are public
benefits.
In almost every civilized state an in
creasing proportion of the revenue Is
drawn from taxation of alcoholic bever-
ages. Everywhere temperance comes in
conflict with favorite and facile systems of
taxation. 1t is not altogether satisfactory
in this connection to find that, while the
United States obtain from this source 30
per cent of their revenue, Germany 171a
per cent and France 10, the proportion for
the united kingdom is 80 per cent. We are
little too dependent on thirsty souls, and
might be sadly puzzled to know what to
do If they became sober.
France Is in normal years by far the
largest wine producer and the chief con-
oiiS very Imperfect HsufeS eNlSt
as to the home consumption of wine in that
country, but there Is no reason to think
that it is increasing. Nor do the French,
except in towns, drink much more beer
than they used to do On the other hand,
there is well-founded alarm at the pro-
Gigious increase in the consumption of
spirits, often. 1t may be added, in most
deleterious forms, for many of the vari-
cites of alcool d'industrie are highly active
poisons. The average strength of spirit sold
in France is known to be high; and. max
ing allowance for women and children,
who rarely drink spirits, and assuming the
accuracy of the evidence of several wit
nesses before recent commission as to
the limited proportion of drinkers of spirits,
it follows, we told. that each of the
consumers drinks 81 ltres % centilitres
at 3T.5 degrees of strength, or 3, 19l glasses
(petits verres) in the year, or 1O1a in the
day" Another calculation brings out the
result that each elector drinks on an aver
age five petits verres a day, exclusively Of
spirits surreptitiously made by small pro-
ducers This consumption is not spread
equally over France; 1t is concentrated in
the north and northwest departments.