The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-04-27
DOES NOT PAY To DRINK
DEATH RATE LOWER AMONG

.TJlcit ny NtoISS y. IIdWI6IlCo, 0lS-
eussing the prohibition question ron
an economic standpoint. He began
his article with a reference to a nota-
pIe dinner Which was given TWENTY
TWO years ago to q famous physician,
There were nineteen guests, all OF
whom. applied themselves assiduously
TO the rare wines placed before them.
The host, meanwhile, sat at the head
Of the table nibbling dry toast and
slipping mineral water. Isn't thar
p4thetic?' said one of the guests to
the famous physician. Yes" was the
cynical reply, as the medical man
nrised his glass of Wine in m;d-air.
Nineteen fools and one wise man..
1t appears that nineteen years later
rI. tWelVe survivors of this 9atherino
met at another dinner. Ten out OF
,he twelve drank mineral water. For
lessons of health or OF business they
Adu become convinced that LIQUOR
GTinktng did not pay. In that Incl
cent. Mr.. Lawrence thinks, is to be
Iound the true explanation of the
present widespread legislation against
nQuOr-sellnS. Look around among
your friends and associates in bust
ness he says, the men You know
and meet. and note the change within
our own recollection" In the army
1T the close Of the Civil War practi-
cally every officer frank: to-day one
third are total abstainerS. and drunk
cnness costs a a his commission"
Steadily man has been forced to the
conclusion that it does not pay to
drink; that, indeed, it pay not to
drink: that he cannot because the
business world is so set against it,
afford to drink. Viewed from a pure
~ business and economic standpoint,
the drink habit. more surely than ever
before in the history of the world,
leads to failure.
The American Review of Reviews
quotes from Mr.. Lawrence some very
remarkable figures prepared by the
eminent English actuary, SIR Victor
Hershey. Where the average mortal
ity among adult males of all classes
is 1000, that of salOon-keepers is rep
resented by 1,642. and of total alb
Stainers by $50. Out of 100, 600 in
habitants at thirty years of age, only
ordinary persons reach n
age Of seventy years, whereas 55,0o0
4 disclaimers do so. Consequently, reck-
ming the population of the British
l-les at $4,000, 600. it is evident that
I they were all abstainers the king
GOm would be the gamer every year
ny more than 100000 w~ork-years;
and, figuring the average annua
-arning capacity at $500, temperance,
if adopted in England, for
r.asons. would increase the labor out
put by $4,000, 600, 600 annually.
of course Sir Victor Horsley, up to
the time of this writing. had not seen
the fantastic Mayor of beer-soaked
Milwaukee, or dreamed that such fig
ures as his could be made.
In the United States. according to
life insurance tables says the Re
View of Reviews. the percentage OF
the actual death loss to the expected
was; among abstainerS, IS to 100;
among nOn-abstainerS SO to LOO. me
increase in mortality among the IN
dams. when alcoholic liquors We're
sold TO them, is a matter of common
knowledge.
The economic waste of alcohol is
recognized by many classes of profess
men. Lawyers are no longer
drinking men. as many Of them We're
in the days of Aaron Burr and Daniel
Webster. Fifty years ago many a
doctor steadied his nerves for an ope-
ration with whiskey. Today rev. II
any. do SO. Why? Simply because
it Doesn't pay. With the w~orkingman
question is still more vital. Fig
ures show that he. too. is decreasing
consumption of drink. He has
that alcohol is not the right
Kind of fuel for the human
that, therefore,. it is an economic
to use it. In many cases the
use Of intoxicants while on duty is
prohibited. Some firms require their
employees to sign q pledge.
The higher one goes in the soclal
scale the more general is the accept
OF the fact that n use of Dquor
* economically wrong for the lndl-
Nidual; and the same economic law
applies to groups of individuals, the
n cities. This is the eNplana-
ton of the national spread of prom
which has made So per cent
Of the country. with $4,000, 900 inhab-
ItantS, dry territory"