The Hawaiian gazette., 1901-05-14

Last year" says writer IN one df
the current mynthlitH. 1--WE spent Uu
account ~ war about 1900 600 900. 10
meet the losses and expenditures of
.trlme, We expended more than 5000 09U
900 our drink uill during the twely.
months amounted go the munsttous
sum ~ ii.i520O0 900 cast up together
1--WE have here an annual expenditure of
more than g. 600 600 OUu. ail " which ~
AZ wholly lost 40 thoulh Il were poured
into the sea. our drink bill was nearly
ns much az our total exports II was
more than the total production Of
wheat and corn IL Was more than the
sum total Of all the gold In the coun-
try. The marvel Ia that our country
and our countrymen can exist at all In
the face Of such gigantic losses as
those"
And here We find curious confound-
ing Of moral and economic questions.
Nothing would be wider from the truth.
says the Kansas city Journal, than the
belief that money expended for war,
on account OF crime or In the purchase
OF drink Is a material loss to the cour-
try. The mere statement Of the total
Is proof enough that these sums are
not taken from the resources of the
country, for It is obvious that no such
sum as 81, 900 900 could be lost each
year in the economy of our existence
without bringing everybody to ruin.
The Journal says that the eXpendi-
ture of money on war, crime or drink
is, in an economical sense, no more
than taking something from one divi-
sion of the population and giving 1t to
another. The money paid for drink,
for example, filters through thousands
of hands, many of them undeservinS,
no doubt but 1t does not leave the
country and Is not lost from the total
of our assets From the economic
standpoint the production and sale of
liquor is no more to be demonstrated
into dead loss than is the production
of sugar.
We are not saying, however, that
there is no economic phase to the
drinking of liquor. Anything which re-
duces the strength of an individual in
his productive capacity is bound to
nave bad effect on the material well
fare of the whole. The vast quantities
of earnings which daily are swallowed
up in the vortex of drink have been
diverted largely from The support CT
families. 1t is notorious That most or
the money spent for drink comes from
those least able to pay. and that by
drinking they are rendered even more
inefficient. And in this sense the ques-
ton of intemperance is n profoundly
economic one.
While we may not agree with our
writer in this foolish view that money
spent for war, on crime or fJr hNuo'
is las wholly lost as though IL We're
poured into the seas" we may at least
appreciate some of his statistics. FOR
example, his showing that crime cost
the United States a round $500 1000 ooo
every year is Of deepest intcres.. lie
tolls us that no less than 25e.OOO peo-
ple in the United States are making
their living by criminal practices. Each
takes, on the average, 81 500 worth OF
property, making an aggregate OF S4oo'-
900, 900, of which honest people are
despoiled. To this he adds s"oo0 o,ooo
expended in maintaining prisons, oPer-
ating courts and maintaining the po-
lice and other guardians. But, strange
ly enough, he overlooks another eie-
ment of cost which would swell the to-
tai EXPENSE on account OF crime by per-
Ehaps hundreds of millions This is
the vast expenditure which is met by
the private citizen in buying safes'
strongboxes, locks and other Tarapher-
MALTA for the protection of his property.
II we could reach an absolutely idea
existence, and abolish every species OF
crime, the total saving would be near
er 81. 900 O00,0 600 per annum than sooo'-
000O 900. At the same time the sale-
makers, locksmiths, police, jailers, ct al
would be minus their jobs and Compel
ing for living with the rest of u.s.