El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-09-09
Economic Effects of Temperance

ICOuOhlAo
A careful study of the liquor problem
as it exists in the United States is be-
ing made by "the committee of fifty
of which President Seth Low of Co
lumbia university, is president, and
which is made up of prominent educa-
tors and sociologists. Now comes a
volume from the press OF Houghdon,
Mtf1in & Co., on the Economic As
poets of the Liquor Problem" written
largely by John Koren and embody1ng
the results of an inquiry made under
the immediate direction of Prof.. Henry
F. Farnum, of Yale, and the general
direction of a subcommittee composed
of Col. Carroll D. Wright, DR.. q. R.
Brockway. DR.. John Graham Brooks,
Prof. E. R. L. Gould, Prof. j. F. n
and Prof. Farnum. b volumes to
come from the committee will treat OF
the physiological side of the question,
and the substitutes for saloons in the
large cities. Economic science began
to point out some time ago the disa-
greement of intoxicating liquor with
the modern industrial organism. The
parts of this body have become too
complicated and its functions too nice
" adjusted to put up with the devil
may-care consequences of INDUCING in
liquor on the part Of operators OF cost
ly machinery and those holding posts
way Indusdft ii mzhhbb cases
imposes p%rohibitory rules upon en-
ployes, and factories are gradually be-
ing forced to enlist on the side of tenn
perance as a mere business necessity.
One by one the doors Of industry are
| PfnSfn0 fn tho drin Limo 1o60~a- D~,%
the phase Of the question dealt with in
the present volume is mor especially
the relation of drink to poverty and
crime. The committee has not the
means to conduct a sweeping industry
had not for the closer study of certain
typical districts or institutions will
yield thoroughly representative, and
hence quite as truthful and valuable,
results. Accordingly the investigation
was confined to II prisons or reforma-
tories, containing over Is 5000 inmates.
whose individual cases were looked
into, to learn of the relation of LIQUOR
to crime; and to nan charitable or
CARNATIONS, almshOfseS n children's
aid societies, to learn of its relation to
poverty, restitution and pauperism. OF
the poverty coming within the observa-
ton OF the charity societies included in
the inquiry, about 25 per cent could be
traced directly or indirectly to liquor.
Of the poverty found in almshouses, 81
per cent could be traced to liquor. and
in the case of restitution of children as
per cent was found to be due to in
temperance of parents or guardians or
Others. Thes figures closely accord
with those given by the Massachusetts,
bureau of labor statistics, which found
by Investigation three years ago that
about SO per cent of the paupers IN
almShOuseS in that state had been
brought to that condition by the per-
sonal use of liquor, and that 10 Der
cent could trace their misfortunes to
the ~intemperance Of parents and
others Crime canno be attributed to
a single cause so easily as poverty. and
in the committee's tables, made I'D
from personal inquiries among 13. O
conv1cts, an attempt is made to show
how far fntemperance was a second or
third cause as we'll as a first. 1t is
found that liquor was one OF the
causes OF crime in nearly sc per cent
of the cases studied Intemperance
was always only one Of sever causes |
crime IT appeared as a leading
causes in less b one-third of the !
cases, and as the sole cause in 16 Der
cent.