The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-02-16
ECONOMICS OF, TEMPERANCE
 WORK.
A Paper Read by w. c. Dickinson Be-

\ A Paper Read by w. c. Dickinson Be- fore Harmony Division, S. of T. At the meeting of Harmony Division, Sons of Temperance, held Thursday evening, an interesting paper on Eco monies of Temperance Work" was read l by w. c, DeF. Dickinson. The paper was as follows:
 Economics is the science which treats of wealth, it's production and distribu- ton. To speak of the economies of temperance work, one must describe those conditions of society which call for temperance work. He must recog-
 nize the necessity for the work and it's possibility for the accomplishment of good. He must understand the liquor
 problem, as to statement and solution.
 Of the dangers threatening every
 community, let us consider three; pow
 erty, paupersm and crime. Let us con- |Eider general, not particular, conditions.
 As regards poverty, Henry George has
 said that it is not merely deprivation,
 but shame and degradation. This con-
 dition of society confronts every poor
 man. To one, the possibility is more
 remote than to another. When per-
 son seeks relief, either from an individ-
 ual or society, he has attained poverty.
 Even then he could give you better
 understanding of his idea of prosperity,
 although so far from it. What is pros-
 perity? It is a good home, good health
 and good work. A man who has good
 home and good health is well equipped
 inhis struggle for existence. If he has
 them. he has not reached the depths of
 poverty, if he does not have them, he
 can not reach the heights of prosperity.
 With them, never can he be absolutely
 poor; without them, never absolutely
 rich.
 Let us imagine community of one
 hundred good homes, with the members
 of each family in good health, and the
 heads of the families having good work.
 Each family has house of its own with
 plenty of light, air and water-large
 enough for comfort and not so large as
 to require assistance to take care Of 1t.
 The occupations of the community are so diverse as to character that the pro-
 ducts are able to satisfy the various
 wants of the people. Each worker has his particular line of work and the community lOuhS " AAAAi M AiA1 AAiiS V goods. The profits gained by each man enables him to support and educate his children without the assistance of his wife other than that given as house wife. He can give his wife and chill dren the means for comfortable living, providing some recreation and travel. He can place some money in the bank.
 There are many evils that might be- fall this community. We will consider one-the drinking habit. Just as soon as a saloon is opened in this communi ty we have two new occupations, office holding and liquor selling. The former would be needed to license the latter and to see that he obeyed the laws as given him. The latter would intro- duce product entirely foreign to the necessities of daily life. The official would receive salary, paid by the house holders out tef their profits, or met by each householder increasing his production. Ifs the former were done, there would be less surplus cap- ital; if the latter, more surplus pro- ducts and of less value therefor. For the community, thesopening of saloon would be the introduction of an element of production that would be a hindrance and waste: the former, because men would be taken away from their regular vocation, the latter, because the con- sumption would not yield production. For the individual, there would be the same results. He would give less atten- ton to his business and would take from 1t that which would return noth- Ing This would be the condition in the case of al man who contracted the drink habit. Later, when he had neglected his work so he must seek aid for him. self and family he would bring the trouble to those who were still at their work. It would be at the expense of | he latter that the relief would be given. Soon there would be condition of af- 'airs where some men would have less surplus, if any at all, because they | frank; others, because they were com oelled to aid in the support of the for ner In each instance, the families 1 would be affected as was the head. It | would not be long before there would { ,e those who would suffer from poverty | because others drank. Of the latter ,ome would be poor because they were lrinking; others would be drinking be- ,ause they were poor.
 The changes taking place in this hy- ,othetical community are the changes | ,oing on in our nation. Multiply the fleets shown in the analysis and you rave the problem which confronts us. t is something keener than want, some hing fiercer than misery, something | leeper than degradation; 1t is annihi- ation
 We find that drink as direct or in- Iirect cause of poverty is more evident mong white people than among col- red people; more among men than mong women; more among married vomen than unmarried women, more mong unmarried men than among married men; more among born sub- ects of Great Britain than among born itizens of the United States; more mong those born in this country than | mong those who come from Germany, sussia and Italy; more among natural i zed citizens than among corn citizens.
 We cannot say that intemperance is he sole cause of poverty; nor that it is he most weighty cause Intemperance a cause of poverty; it is also a result. Is not the root of all evil; ut it is the cause of considerable of it. )o away with intemperance, and pov- rty would remain; but the conditions yould be more favorable for the solu- lon of the problem. We hear much of yer production, and too little of under consumption We call it over produc- nn when a million suits of clothes are