The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1904-07-20
THE GREAT DESTROYER
SOME STARTLING FACTS ABOUT
THE VICE OF lNTEMPERANcE.

What Ia Killing England Ia. Drink-Each
Family spends About s1a5 in a Single
Year-what the Hard Drinkers Crave
and What They Get.
"The chief cause Of our industrial de.
cay" writes Margaret Poison Murray. in
the Contemporary Review. 'the real ghost
in the cupboard, is, without any doubt
whatever. our great national hobby. drunk
enness-thc one national and universal
psracen for the ills Of men and women, old
and Young. high and low. rich and poor.
"On this hobby our direct expenditure
last year was 181 millions. about E2j pei
family (Sl2j). plus the cost in poor rates.
homes, refugees. police, prisons. hosnit1ls
and asviums. for the devotees of the habit.
But what is the cost to the country. from
an industrial standnoint. in brain and mus.
Gle. in the deadened mind. the blunted in.
tellect. the unsteady hand. the unreliable.
ity ard unpunctualitv Of habit invincbly
established beyond centuries of tradition.
and .winked at by employer as well as by
emniovet
"ATer A. tho head n our Urge industries
NAV drink il they will No temperance
crusadas invade their sacred proci0cts But
in an industrial competition which is ran
idly becoming IN industrial warfara this
weak point in their armor ia the first to
reveal itself. The two generations from
shirt sleeves TO shirt sleeves are already
telling their tale The middle classes
speaking industriai'v and not socially. fol
low the examDle with which they have be
come 80 familiar.
"The artisan. the backbone Of the cow
try, is in a plight still worse, for in add
tion to his general ignorance. his narrow
horizon. his antiquated tools and methods
his unaiterlble conviction that he has moth.
ing TO learn. he must meet the brunt oi
the warfare handicapped by his intemper
ance.
"And worst Of all. we are in very actual
possession of l20O1,00O. about one in four
of our population, who are in abiect pov
erty, too incapable for anything. even fol
anarchy: men and women who stand
around the streets Of our large cities by
the hundred thousand. bold. bloated. di'
solute black.eved sinful dishonest. ia
graded, debauched, rever sooer except bV
accident. incapable of sc.f.rcspect. and con.
tent to dwell in filth and rags ndescriba
bic,
when a man spends childhood. youth
and manhood in refining surroundings we
anticipate a certain result - the natural
outgrowth Of such conditions. When
man passes his entire life in an atmosphere
more debasing than pen can portray we
are surprised at the natural outgrowth OF
the conditions. We expect 4 miracle, and
III put Nlldgi III we DlI lIilll|t Il IlgpIpHS fIu'
SADIE against the man--not against the con
ditions-and we maintain the crusade un.
til we secure phlanthropic relief by
sweeping the man M into statistic and
arranging him alphabetically in blue bool;
for reference.
an common with humanity this man
has cravings. So have we all | do not
believe that these l2OO0,OOO crave fot
whisky. They crave for something they
do not possess. So do we all. But their
hunger must be for something evil and
ours for good.
at may, indeed, be for food. clothing
rest, warmth, three square meals day, a
warm sleep, a cozy fire, some human JOY.
the charm of a home, the true delight OF
work, the glory of independence. the full
manhood of useful citizenship. Instead OF
an incubus, the man may be a commercial
asset. and the thought is enough to haunt
our philanthropy for the rest OF its life"