Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1902-09-24
CURSE OF POVERTY
STRONG DENuNclATioN OF DRINK
BY LABOR LEADER JOHN BURNS.

| Us~tsk"sshra Recommendation de-
cisres the Supreme Remedy Fos
the Peer a. 60 spead ON Improve
mens What Now osoes For Liquor.
John Burns. the distinguished iabor
advocate and member of the English
parliament. recently delivered speech
remarkable for its keen appreciation
OF the drinS curse as Fundamental
cause of the misery and degradation
of SO large per cent Of the laboring
classes. Following are the specially
interesting portions of the address:
am here to- state the problem Of
London poverty rs 1 see it and To sug-
gest to those who are or will be within
its tolls how best il can Ice overcome
yes, and three out of i've in this hall
Will he ere You die. The social problem
in London is mainly begotten OF pow
erty Of means i'm the poor. poverty Of
ideas in the community. and perpctu-
ates itself 10y these Sordid anu charac-
tcristic conditions. I'm this. the great
est wealthicSt aud presumably the best
/ governed city i'm the world. We have a
/ problem that demands much of tie
/ energy and wealth we are diSSipatirg
/ for less worthy causes in the outpoSts
/ of the empire. Solomon has said that
the fool has his eyes in the ends of the
/ earth. That. lay recent events. is la
mentally true. aS can now lee easily
4 seen az the past three years. which
/ proves that there are too many fools in
/ this country. Ihc fact Is there are 0OO,-
/ coo people IN london living i'm over
/ crowded ceilings, al whom nearly
5N".oo" ar' living the life of The one
room ;cl ,.ut.
Eev1nd sa' remedies l have suggest
I cd v.... parliamentary help hy fair rent
courts. building and muuicipal owning
the Oar supreme remedy is Tor she
/ ovcrcrov,loG to think M re- ana drink
I less Of i.icir oVu initiative to help re-
forms that viii hcip themselves tn he
/ p"rS 'Stent in rising upward and not
Ni-il1it iE Sliding downward and to
/ spend oar the Improvement of their lot.
/ even ON rcu,. what Is now devoted to
drink. betting and We Sc.
! Making every allowance for environ
mrnt affecting viii and conduct there
are thousands or homes I'm London
which ar" dirty because She jewellers
are dru.-ci: filthy because heir IN
ants are irnl tovInipouS because thci.
tenants .rc as lazy as their landlords
are cN"ciirg Go INFO some mean
streets N.vic wages are under 80 shil
/ 'n,' .sr home j. clvau bright AT
u~icti,". and iu the same street. with
more money and often more room. 9th
ers are dirty. untidN. uoiSome i'm the,
conditions. Why: Because the work
man works hard five days. but on IT,,
sixth is generally fo1nd at the Corner
Pin" >po ting winners and catching
loScrs
VIII can cOuntrract environment just
rs men are the sport of circumstances
when circumstances should lac the
sport of men" See TO il .hat SO far as
you are concerned the home. however
humble. shall Ice the abode Of men and
women free from the curse Of drink
and thc chlOrofOrniing effect IL has
upon all who come within its power
Ii makes all the difference to the APP
/ pearancc OF home whether little
soap. some love and will are there or
not. But ! deem il my duty To say
that but for drink and it, cOncomitant
evils our problem would Ice smaller
and our remedies more effective.
! Take one phase of last years lunacy
in London. These are the determining
Of contributory causes: out of I,67l
patients received in 1900. intemperance
In drink, 81; domestic troubles. l9S;
adverse circumstances. 1871; worry and
Overwork. 1856; love affairs. ~: reIi
gious excitement. 81. Certainly il is
safe to say that ~ TO 80 per cent OF
lunacy is due To liquor and probably
more ii the transmitted and hereditary
influence Of drink could be accurately
measured No wonder that worldly
paper, written by worldly people for
men Of the world should say. as the
Referee did:
Poverty. insanity, crimes, disease
and death are the fragrant followers Of
drunkenness. There is probably no
other single cause which is one half
so fruitful in mischief TO mankind"
But dark as that picture of drink
and its causes is there is a bright side
as far rs crime is concerned. In 1868
46l per 100000 was the proportion OF
criminals to population. Fortunately.
through education and the humaniZing
OF prison treatment, this had dimin-
ished in 1899 TO 239 per 100000 Blu;
IL cannot Ice said OF drunkenness that
II has hidden its diminished head On
the contrary, ii has increased from 42S
per 100000 to ga per 100000 in 1889.
In London the number of appreheu.
siOns had Increased from 20,65S in 1887
TO 56,O6G in 1899, or from 3ai per 100.
GOO TO 81 per 100000.
Certain it is that drinking is increas-
ing among workingwOmen With a
comfortable income and family. life
is difficult enough for any woman, but
for workingman's wife with fiuc
tuating pound Il week il is herOism
They all deserve the Victoria cross
MOnOtony and drudgery are RESPONSE
bic for the wife doing quietly what tho
husband does openly. To each mar
ried man | make this appeal-wheu
you have spare hour. take the missu.
out
/ believe that the best and most sim
pie remedy for drink is abstinence. bu
this must be supplemented by local oil
legislative action.
|
Temperance Worker Many Years
| - l..