Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-10-20
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PEOPLES PULPIT.

The Greatest Evil,

Eddyville, Ia. Oct. 16, 1906.
Editor Courier: We American ,peo-
pie of the present day, are hearing a
great deal about the evils of the trusts,
railroad corporations, impure foods and
other evils. But rum, with the sin,
misery, sorrow and death that 1t causes
Is far greater evil than all those com
bined. Still the government will license
the make and sale of such poisonous
stuff, which is not required for health,
but poisons it's victims body and soul
The statistics shows that the United
States alone consumed 1854, 1892, 785
gallons of all kind of liquor in 1905.
Only eleven or twelve million gallons
Of which was used in manufactures,
arts or any other useful use. The d.
rect cost of the liquor was $1,500, 00O,.
900, while the indirect cost, chat is
the cost of crime, insanity, pauperism,
idiocy and loss of productive labor,
etc., that 1t causes) was another 81 ,000,-
100000, making total of $4,000, 000,-
600. Which is more than twice as
much as the cost of the bread and meat
consumed In the same length of time;
or fifteen times more than the support
Of churches. But the money paid for
drink is by far the smallest part Of the
expense. when compared with the
tears, signs, heartaches, wrecked lives.
desolate homes and ruined characters.
1t costs more than eight times what
Its licenses pay, to say nothing Of the
moral ruin which is wrought and the
untold misery and death that 1T causes.
The use of liquor produces over one
half of the crimes and insanity, and
even moderate drinking increases the
sick rate and shortens the average life
of man at least nine years.
Last year in the British Isles. alone
100000 people died Of drink. Which is
six times as many as were killed In the
entire Russian-Japanese war. While in
this country, three hundred men and
women fall into drunkards graves
every day.
OH Men and women, are you SO
dead. or do you care so little for the
welfare Of this great nation of ours;
that you will stand by, in the face Of
all this misery and death, and not raise
hand to strike out this great evil?
Which would be the end to the life Of
shame, that It's victims leads.
The worst part of the liquor business
is that 1t is kept going, mostly by the
common day laborers and as the result
they and their families live in desolate
circumstances; while the saloon keep.
er. In whose saloon they spend their
earnings, lives in luxury. For that rea-
son, If no other; 1t is our duty to our.
selves and the coming generations, to
put it down as much as it is in our
power.
One out of every five Of the boys in
this nation, we are told, will be drunk
ards. For which the respectable. hon
ored moderate drinker is to certain
extent responsible; because Of the ex.
ample shown to others, who may seek
to follow in their steps, and become
drunkards.
Young men and women, when asked
to drink, think of the mothers and
wives whose hearts it has broken; and
of the lives it has ruined, and say No,
Remember that you are the ones to de.
eide the case against drink; your yer.
dict will settle the thing, and the soon.
er you render 1t the better.
L. Ambrose Shafer.