Semi-weekly herald., 1909-09-23

every measure advanced by the frien,
of temperance and to repeal evei
existing law that interiors with Il
drunkard making traffic. In this cou
try We consume annually on an ave
age OF uinety-fiye million gallons
distilled liquor; forty-five million bs
rels of beer, and twenty-five milliu
gallons of wine. The amount .per
last year per capital for stimulani
was slS.15 for the seventy-nine MI
lion population. Our liquor bill las
year was the largest In the history G
our country. In round numbers, bt
ing one billion Ave hundred million
There was enough spent for liquor Il
this country last year to build twelv
railroads from New York City to Sal
Francisco and to equip them witt
passenger and freight trains and al
the appliances of great railway sys
ten. We find crime constantly on the
increase. In 1907 there were nine
thousand three hundred and fifty mur
ders and homicides In this country
| The Chicago Tribune states that whis
KY causes five thousand murders in
| tliis country annually. Great country
this 10 legalize murder factories. One
hundred and ten thousand drunkards
fall into drunkard's graves every year
and one hundred and ten thousand
boys and young men fall in line filling
up the ranks OF the drunkards that
have fallen. We find that poverty Is
on the Increase. What is the difficulty
lhat the lnborlng man has TO meet to
nnderpaid in many Instances. but his
greatest enemy is the open saloon
III 1901 In Chicago n body OF working
npen, eighteen Thousand strong. march
ed through the streets of that city
cirrying a banner inscribed with these
words: Our children cry for bread"
and they marched to Il picnic ground
and that day drank one thousand. four
hundred kegs of beer. Never, since
white man landed upon the American
soil has there been so many people
in want, and 80 per cent of this pov-
city is due to the saloon. The poll
ticians OF today have a great deal to
say about the money question and
about the tariff question, the national
bank question, the railroad rates, and
the divorce question, but the greatest
issue before the American people to
day is the licensed saloon Robert
Hunter, who became prominent in
charity work, who recently wrote
book in which he has shown that there
are ten million persons in this country
who are in want He calls four mil
lions of them paupers, and six mil
lion wage earners. The paupers de-
pend upon charity; the others work,
some of them night and day, and are
yet unable to obtain the necessities
of life. It Is said that at least seventy
five thousand children In New York
City alone go to school every day. so
hungry that they are unable to learn
their lessons. and yet New York is
no exception.
But" says one, I'VE must carry on
this business for the sake Of the rev.
enue" There was never bigger lie
given to an unsuspecting people than
that we must have the revenue from
the saloon to run our nation. Let us
consider this mater from an econom-
ical standpoint First. take the United
States as a whole. Mr.. William Har-
graves of Philadelphia. who is an
authority on the liquor statistics, gives
the direct cost of the liquor consumed.
In 1900 in our country. namely, one
billion four hundred and seventy-four
million. And j. b. Dunn sums up the
indirect cost of the liquor traffic for
the same year; namely, value of grain
destroyed, cost of crime, insanity and
pauperism and loss OF productive Ia
Dor: one billion six hundred and sew
enty.six million more making grand
total of three DILLON one hundred and
fifty-one million.
Now this being the data OF the cost
OF tue liquor trade for one year In the
United States, what revenue did the
government derive from IL? The rev
enue by taxation paid to federal. state
and local was two hundred and eighty
three million. A net loss to the ma
tion of over two and a half billion
dollars. So then we see that the
| United States instead of gaining In
| having the saloon In our land Is los
ing at the enormous rate of two ant
a half billion each year. Take th'
matter of revenue by states. l wan
TO call attention 10 two, and what II
true of these two states will be cor
lrespondingly true Of other state
where the licensed saloon Is found
MIR Locke In his excellent book, says
Pennsylvania has one hundred an
ninety-seven distilleries, three hur
, dred and thirty-one breweries. fiftee
, thousand retailers, and the busines
makes n market for large amour
! nf grain while the traffic pays Int
P the treasury of the state one miliio
eight hundred thousand the state III