Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1900-02-17
FACTS AND FIGURES
The Appauing Results of the Liquor
Traffic I'm This Country Graph
ically Set Forth.

The following statements, doubtless
free from exaggerations, are surpris-
ing, appalling. L give them 10 the read
| ers of The Cumberland Presbyterian
| just as they occur in a responsible jour
| nal. How great the wicked, cruel, de-
| faint foe all the lovers of human we'll
being are called to fight.-Rev. A. b.
Miller.
One million two hundred and fifty
| thousand dollars are spent each year
| in this country of ours for alcoholic
drink, which means that this vast sum
is worse than wasted. 1t does no one
| any good; it does harm to "A million
or more of our people, for it makes
100000 drunkards, and sends 10000 of
them to untimeIy graves, besides ed
ucating 10000 moderate drinkers TO
follow in their footsteps.
Six hundred dollars a year is the
estimated value of the labor of an av-
erage laborer. He is not half man;
but allowing that he is so, the loss to
the country by his patronage of the
saloon is $500, and multiplied by
100000 this equals the sum of $40, 0Oo,-
part sunk, is a serious loss to the
worthy industries of the country. It is
! great loss to the farmer, because
the money ought to 60 for bread and
| meat, potatoes, fruit, butter, eggs and
! other of the products of the farm. Not
quite all the amount should go to the
| farmer, but much the larger share of
it rightfully belongs to him.
1t may be said that the drunkard's
| family is fed in spite of the money
wasted at the saloon, and therefore the
| farmer does not suffer on account of
| it. But the truth is that the drunk
| ards family is so poorly fed that they
| are often on the verge of starvation,
| and in very many cases have not a
1.-THE of the food they would buy if
they had the means.
Careful estimates show that the
| amount wasted for drink added TO the
sum lost by damages, court and crimi-
| nal expenses, time and labor unem-
| ployed as 4 result of drink, reaches
the enormous total of 81 ZOO, 0OO, 900
| yearly, most of which is taken from
the worthy industries of the country,
chief of which is farming. Could the
| great saloon maelstrom be closed
| many hundreds of millions, now worse
than wasted, would be poured into the
farmers pockets for food and clothing
| The home demand would be stimulated
| and prices would materially improve.
II may be thought that the grain re-
| quired for manufacturing liquors forms
considerable part of the farmers
| sales, but this is a mistake. The cost
of the grain for making the one and
/ a quarter billion dollars worth of
| liquor is only about $4,000, or a lit
tie over Is per cent. of the amount
/ wasted.
The revenue TO the government from
| liquor is often referred to as matter
/ Of vast Importance, but the amount.
which is S1s3, 200, 900 year, is insig-
nifcant as compared with the s., OOO,-
/ 100000 wasted and lost on account of
the business-less than ten per cent.
Do away with the liquor traffic and
there would be in this country 500 600
more men, representing 200, 500, 900 per-
sons, as consumers of farmers prod
ucts; for there would be that number
more required to manufacture useful
articles. II the 81, $50, 900, 900 now spent
| for liquors were expended in proper
ways, and $3.50, 200, 900 would be required
for the materials on which these half
million men would labor; and these
materials would be largely furnished
by the farmers, what an enormous
stimulus this would give to agricultural
industry in all its branches.
We have a total of more than SO,-
| 600 paupers, which would be reduced
at least one-half by Temperance, which
would mean saving of not less than
$5,ooO,00o year in cost Of their main
| tenance.
According to different authorities,
from so to 70 per cent. of our insane
| and imbecile people have become such
| directly or indirectly through drink.
! We have more than 265,0 900 of these to
| care for. If one-half the number were
saved from their sad fate by prohibi-
ton the enormous sum of SIS, OOo. 900
| yearly would be saved in their main
| tenance.
We keep from $4,000 to 10000 crimi-
nails on the average in our jails and
| prisons. No one would estimate their
cost to the state or country at less
than 500 year each, notwithstand-
| ing the value of the labor of some of
the convicts. This means about $685.
100000 yearly for this item. With pro-
hibition at least three-fourths of this
amount, or Sos, 75o, 900 would be saved.
! But this is very low estimate. The
real cost of our places of penal pun
ishment alone is not less that $780,
oOO, 900.
No person in Norway may spend
more than six cents at one visit IN a