The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1902-01-08
The Decadence of Rum.


While the clergy are making issues
with the ladies with reference to pro-
hibition and Sunday closing of
saloons, attention has been called to
the decline of rum as a drink. So
far as the central and western parts of
this country are concerned rum may
be said to have come prominently into
public notice with the prohibition
propaganda. As is well known pro-
hibition began in New England, and
from that section went out to all
parts of the country missionaries who
declaimed loudly and long on the
demerits of rum.
In what was then called the West
rum was comparatively unknown. Of
the men fond of stimulating beverages
perhaps not one in hundred had any
practical acquaintance with rum as a
beverage. But the lecturers set the
fashion, and it became common even
in the West to descant upons rum as
the fruitful source from which flowed
all the evils of intemperance. To
speak of whisky or brandy was for a
long time regarded as a departure from
the conventional standard. Rum was
regarded as the literary equivalent for
all sorts of intoxicants, and even now
tie word is frequently heard in that
sense. It was the oratorical habit,
combined with fondness for allitera-
ton, which caused the Rev. DR.. Bur
chard to overthrow the Republican
party by his famous allusion to Rum,
Romanism and Rebellion as Demo
cratic favorites.
"a There was a reason for this, though
it was not apparent to many of those
who habituated themselves to the use
of the word. There was time when
rum was very common, if not the
most common, Of intoxicating drinks.
It was so in Great Britain. In the
American colonies it played a great
part in connection with the slave
trade. New England owned most of
the ships and brought molasses from
the West Indies to New England,
where it was made into rum. Much
OF this went to Africa, where it was
exchanged for slaves. In this way, as
remarked by New England divine,
much gayneful pilledge" accrued to
the thrifty Yankee folk. AS late as
1914, after the slave trade was dead. or
at least was no longer tolerated by
law, the enormous quantity Of 0,000,-
coo gallons of rum is said to have been
produced in the United States. The
New England article is reputed to
have been very bad. Artemus Ward
said that a few drinks of it would
make a man throw Stones at his
grandmother. 1t was altogether natu-
raj, therefore, that when the prohibi-
ton propaganda began in New Eng
land, 5he attack should have been
mainly directed against rum. 1t was
cheap drink, SO cheap that for a
penny or two man could buy enough
to produce intoxication.
All that is changed now. Instead
of producing six gallons of rum per
head of population, as in 1914, the
country now produces something like
one-fftieth of gallon or less. In re-
cert years the production has ranged
from a million and quarter to mil
lion and half gallons year, which
is trife when compared with total
production of over a hundred million
gallons of all sorts of spirits. That
which is produced is largely used for
cooking purposes, in hospitals, and
for favoring other drinks. The i'm
ports have practically ceased, reaching
no more than 10000 or 10000 gallons
year. AS an intoxicant rum has
nearly ceased to exist, and it is time
that some other generic term should
be selected to take its place. Courier
| Journal.