The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1907-02-20
FABULOUS SUMS
Spent for Drink Yearly by
the People of the
United States.

The Louisville Courier-Journal says:
That the money expended in the
United States for liquor in 1872 days
would pay off the entire National debt
and that the country's drink bill for
twenty-three days would be sufficient
to build the Panama canal were
among the statistics presented yester
day afternoon at McCauleys Theater
by NJ. j. Tanning, of Philadelphia,
one of the foremost temperance ora
tors of the country. Mr.. Tanning ad
dressed large audience of men at
the regular Sunday afternoon meeting
held under the auspices of the Y.
NJ. C. A. He asserted that the liquor
question was the greatest that ever
knocked at the intelligence of the
American people, and that Uncle Sam
was the chief partner in the liquor
traffic of the United States.
THE liquor traffic is at war with
all that is good and pure and holy"
asserted Mr.. Tanning. 81 defy any
man to point out to me one thing
good that has resulted from it. On
every gallon of whiskey that is man
ufactured Uncle Sam claims $110,
leaving the manufacturer from thirty
to fifty cents for his labor. That is
why / say that Uncle Sam is the
principal partner in the traffic. The
argument has been set forth that If
there was no liquor business in this
country millions of capital and thous-
ands of men would be thrown out of
employment. If the liquor traffic
was wiped out of existence, say that
the capital would be diverted to 9TH
er and more useful employment, for.
mark you, as sure as water seeks its
level capital will seek employment, and
men would be re-employed in other
and more useful pursuits, that would
add to instead of taking away from
the material wealth of your State"
Mr.. Tanning said that $3.50, 600, 900
was expended in the United States
for liquor last year, and $1,5OO,OOO,OOO
of that amount was expended for beer
alone. All of the Kentucky tobacco
crop of last year, he said, would not
pay three days drink bill of the coun-
try; all of the cotton raised in the |
United States during the same per-
iod would not pay siXty-three days |
drink bill, and all of the coal mined |
would not pay siXty-four days drink |
bill. There are $4,000, OOO, 900 invest
ed in the railroads of the country, |
which employ 100000 men. With
all the brain, Drawn and capital back
of the railroads of the United States |
their net earnings for a year would
not equal sixty days drink bill of |
the country. All of the money eX-
pended by the Navy Department last |
year would not pay seventeen days |
drink bill, and seventy-three days |
drink bill would equal the entire in
ternal revenue receipts for last year. |
Mr. Tanning said that he had been /.
the liquor traffic for over
thirty-five years and that he had /
made more speeches against the saloon
than any other man. His heart and |
soul were in the work, he said, and
he was trying to impress upon the /.
American public the necessity of do |.
ing a little missionary work at home
in the matter of combating the liquor
traffic. The liquor habit, he said,
was not only vice, but a sin so helm !
GUS that it even robbed the blood OF !
IeCuc Christ Of ite saving noWar