The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1911-08-17

useful goods, such as clothes, shoes,
/ groceries, hardware and furniture on
the shelf, covered with dust, while its
own poison flows on in a mighty stream
of devastation. 1t causes strikes, fills
jails, and heaps cost on the county,
state and nation. 1t corrupts politics
and politicians, and creeps into the bal
lot box to destroy free suffrage 1t
places men in office who dare not oppose
it, then hinders honest Legislation, and
forces laws upon the public which are a
stencil in the nostrils of all patriotic
citizens.
Three things cooperate to make the
Traffic all the above indictment con-
tains.
First, its vast organized capital, with
stock so distributed as to guarantee the
greatest possible safety from influential
interference. Money is always power.
Second, its great political constitu-
ency. The liquor business got into pol
itics after the Civil War tor self pro-
lection, and purely mercenary purposes.
1t has ever been on hand at the national
and state capitals with a sum sufficient
to hold in line the necessary number of
votes. Its political power at times
seems almost impregnable.
Third, the nature of the business.
The business is such that in most in
stances, only men of depraved charac-
tiers will engage in it. We grant ex-
ceptions, but in the main the rule holds
good. Why are saloons closed on cleo
ton days? Why not dry goods stores,
too? If they are a perfectly safe and
legitimate thing why is it necessary to
close them in any city when there is
riot or serious trouble? The nature of
the business substantiates the above ar
raignment.
Individual character determines ma
tons strength. That which weakens
the Individual, mentally, morally or
physically, weakens the nation. Let US
consider for few moments the effect
of strong drink upon the individual.
Remember we are making the liquor
traffic an anarchist, the enemy of the
race, and of all that's worth while in
human life. If alcohol Injuries and de-
braves the individual then our conten-
ton is maintained.
In that splendid lecture of Captain
Hobson's are two paragraphs based on
scientific verifcation and prove con-
clusively the baneful effects of alcoholic
beverages on the individual. They are
as follows:
IF young man at the age of 20 is a
total abstainer and remains total alb
stainer, his prospect Of life is Al years
and he will live to the average age of
81 years, but if he is temperate reg
ular drinker his prospect of life will be
81 years, after losing 10 years out of
his life. If he is a heavy drinker, his
prospect Of life is - years and he will
die at the average age of 80 years, after
losing % years out Of his life Conser-
V est n ties place the number Of
confirmed drunkards in the United States
at something over 1000, 600, of whom
| 300, 900 die annually; the heavy drinkers
at over 1000, 600; andtemperate regular
drinkers at over 10000, 600. A soldier
wounded in battle and losing 10 years of
/ his life as a consequence would be class
/ ed as seriously wounded. The confirm
ed drunkards and heavy drinkers to-
gether, 5000, eco in number, must be
! looked upon as mortally wounded and
the temperate regular drinkers as ser
iously wounded, making total of over
-. 900, 900 Americans wounded by al
cohol today, more than ten times as
many as wounded in all the battles of
the world since the dawn Of history"
| Alcohol blights the progeny of man.
/ Again Captain Hobson says, THE same
memorable law holds for man as for an
imals and plants. A scientist having
investigated more than 800 cases, an
/ IlOuICGS lildl VI CIllluICll DOlu " dlCO-
holic parents, one of every five will be
hopelessly insane, one out of three will
be hysterical or epileptic. More than
two thirds will be degenerate. Another
scientist located 10 large families in
which both parents were alcoholic, and
in the same localities, with other condi-
tons practically the same, 10 large
families in which both parents were
total abstainers. OF the 81 children of
the alcoholic parents. 10 were deformed,
were epileptic, were idiots, % were
were non-viable, only II per cent. were
normal, SO per cent. being abnormal.
OF the 81 children of the total abstain
ing parents, 1915 per cent. only were
| abnormal, and these chiefly backward,
while 89.5 per cent. were absolutely
normal. Seventeen per cent. were
normal in the one case, and 89.5 per
cent. in the other case, a difference of
1875 per cent. in favor of the total alb
staining parents. Parents by becoming
alcoholic will sacrifice three-fourths of
their children on the altar of drink.