The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-09-28
THE GREAT DESTROYER
SOME STARTLING FACTS ABOUT
THE VICE OF lNTGMPERANCE.
Our Drink Bill is 81, f51,G33,3.9 Only
For One Year, OF SCI For Each Drink
enlarge Increase In Consumption Of
Ii beverages,

Our Drink Bill is 81, f51,G33,3.a Only
For One Year, OF SCI For Each Drink
enlarge Increase In Consumption OF
Alcoholic Beverages.
One-fourth of all the people in the Uni
ted States drink alcoholic beverages. The
amount of money spent in this way during
1903 was Sl,45l 49,, 1919, or an average eX-
Ipenditure for euch drinker OF SG2.l IL. All
this is, according to the American Gro
GERS annual estimate of the nations drink
bill. based upon official United States re-
ports and carefully compiled statistics. and
not announced i'll the interests OF the w.
G.. T. u. or intended for anything but
cold, actual information, Tor the nation to
face and ponder upon. ~:.
These statistics show. also. that every
man in the United States who drinks at
all drinks twice as much as his foreiatl-
era did-or' as he himself did if he was
drinking twenty-three years ago. For i'll
1890. the consumption OF alcoholic drinks
per capita was 1880 gallons. To-day it is
1898 gallons. All of which goes to prove
that prosperity leads to an increased Use
Of stimulants; that as the American peop.e
grow bigger and richer they drink harder.
or else, as they drink harder they grow
richer. But. this is rejected by the White
Ribbon workers. &It
At any rate, the fact remains that in the
last twenty years the desire for strong
drink-but particularly for beer-has in
creased az steadily as the years have
passed, and more steadily and far more
rapidly than even the increase in popu.a-
ton has justified.
The use Of spirits is now more general
than ever before and, according to the re-
port, if there was not a tax OF Sl.l0 per
gallon OIL whisky the nation would have
been debauched with cheap qualities of the
illicit distillcries seized during the past
year and 66,444 gallons OF moonshine
whisky reported for seizure. While. were
beer as cheap as it's rivals. coffee and tea.
It is further determined it would be
placed at. once as the king Of American
beverages.
As it is, however. coffee still leads Inc
list. The United States drinks more or it
than any other nation, using approximate
" 1000, 0OO, 900 pounds Of raw coffee every
year. at a cost Of about Sl60 ,000. 900, which
represents about $50. 9O2, GA gallons.
Then comes beer, a strong second, with
LAS, S79, 1852 gallons in 1893. or an aver.
age for each father, mother and child OF
about 1904 gallons annually. OF this
amount only 100000 gallons are Of the
imported quality. The total expense to
the nation for its beer alone last year was
1921, 042, 245.
There is more tea drinking. too, since
the duties were decreased. Tea comes
third on the list as far as the quantity
consumed is concerned, 10000, 900 pounds
being imported in 1903. or about one-half
the amount of coffee (450. 1000 g~allons).
at a cost Of about one-tenth. And last in
quantity, but with a thump. m the fiery
liquors and spirits that make up the insiG-
ious cocktail and iridescent and potent
after-dinnsr cordials.
The years consumption here is notable
for an increase of one-tenth OF one gallon
per capita. the largest increase for one
year since Columbus discovered America.
Summed up, the total represents l2O,-
$1,000 gallons. less than one-tenth the
amount of beer, but the money. value is
many times as much. the revenue OF i'm
ported spirits alone amounting to nearly
Sl26, 0OO, 1000. This shows in a relative es-
innate that the average cost or coffee. tea
and cocoa per capita every year Is S2.6l;
while for spirits and liquors it is Sl5.34,
Or about seven times as much.
The report shows further that we are
drinking more imported wine and less do
nestle than we were two years ago, the
ratio being about 10000 900 gallons to
5000. 900, while beer is turning just the
other way. the United States exporting
many gallons annually.