The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1912-10-31

e
tell you that eighty percent 81 pow
erty Is due to the liquor business. IL
- not true and never was true. II n
were true. then the vets would all be
poor and the drys would all be rich
u that were true you would have
eighty percent less poverty In Turkey
Than YOU have In France. Germany
ana The United states where Ne
drink. But the reverse IL true
Ny friends. poverty is due to four
things First. TO incapacity.-th in
ability 20 get money or the inability
To keep II. I would always get g.
but never could keep IT, They tell
me that money talks. Wei. II never
said anything to me except Good
bye. And IL has been saying this to
thousands OF people in the world ana
keeping them poor. But poverty IS
also due To- had luck You may in
vest your last dollar I'm some enter
prise ana IL proves worthless. You
buy some real estate because IL -
near the depot. ana the railroad NOV
"a the depot to the other side OF
town. You think YOU can beat the
stock market or the grain market.
sou hear every body talking about
prices going down. and YOU Get IN
with the crowd. and YOU sell wheat.
Tor Instances. and put up the last dol
lar you have ia margins To protect
your trade. We'll. being with the
crowd. you are doomed to get fceced.
because the crowd in Is there for that
purpose. Wheat goes up and wipes
You out. There are two things hat
make grain so up.-a short crop an
crop Of shorts, and when there is a
big crop OF shorts. YOU can bot yuur
last dollar that wheat is going up.
ell. YOU lose out on account os bad
luck or on account Of poor Judgment.
And fourthly. poverty Is due To- our
Industrial or Uncontrolled trust Sys-
tenn under which "a few men get %
much that there isn't great deal left
for the rest Of us. tApplauscJ.
You know all the political parties
lambast the trusts. u u popular u
do SO. Eut aNor all. trusts are i
good deal like babies. nobody likes
them until they Ect one Of their own.
daughter. I want to say % YOU. nay
friends. that the system which PR
vents a just distribution 90 wealth ss
created, accounts for vast deal Or
poverty IN this world.
Last night you were told that Kan
sas had the greatest amount of do
posits IN banks Ter capita OF any state
in the Union ! want To- say 10 YOU
that that is not true. California has
twice - much per capita on deposit
In savings banks as Kansas. aud
quote you the figures from the United
states census bureau. I call your At
tentlOn TO Georgia. that j. a dry state
10 show you that property is not due
TO the liquor business. ] have a dis
patch from Washington dated Fcbru-
airy -, which says that the most sor-
did tan Of the poverty of labor ever
told IN a government publication was
unioldcd in report of the standard
ot living among the southern cotton
mill workers. Government invcstiga-
trs selected tWcnty-one cotton mill
families and studied their incomes
and condition. The father and TWO or
three of the older children were at
work in the mill. and yet the total
annual income OF the family OF bread
winners was less than a thousand dol
lars year. The account at the store
steadily increased, and at the end OF
the year another child was sent TO
work and so on until the family had
sent all its children into the NAV Of
the mill. Corn bread. biscuit. pork
and coffee formed large par; OF tho
diet. Nowhere was there any cXpen-
diture noted for alcoholic liquors.
When n man Is too poor 10 buy
his poverty. The drys 500 a working
man spend a nickel for scuttle OF
suds. and they argue that II the poor
devil did not spend his money for
booze he would own an automobile
Ask the dry man where his automo-
bile is and he will excuse himself as
quickly as possible and start down an
alley. Why is il that he has not an
automobile DO his logic IS sound II
is Just as foolish 20 say that in watch
ing working man spend "a nickel for
glass OF beer that drinking the beer
is the cause OF his poverty as it would
be when you see a rich man paying
four dollars Tor bottle Of champacnr
that spending money for champagne
makes his rich. The cause al pow
erty and the occasion Of riches lies
entirely outside Of She glass OF beer
or bottle Of champagne II Is due TO
tse four things I have mentioned.
When q man Is intoxicated on pro-
hibitiou he is liable 10 tell YOU that
ninety per cent OF crime Is due 10 The
liquor business. That Is not true and
never was. n that were true there
would be little crime in Turkey. where
they have no liquor business. where
no intoxicating liquor b. consumed of
Guy = Hafi 'lf.NfIs allfA . fN IIhfN - ono
Of the most criminal nations in the
world ~ that were true 10 would give
The lie 20 the criminal statistics Of
Tho world Criminal statistics show
That f0rff els per cent Of all criminals
were abandoned iu childhood. and
that seventy min" per cent ~ aii Grim.
inals have 90 trade or profession. Put
these things together. add them. my
friends. 90 greed. to jealousy. to lust
and revenge and Won account for
ninety rcr cent ~ 400 tho crime boo tho
world. and you d0 not have ten per
cent l'ff fu divide with fhr Hqupr
business and 600 other causes OF yos-
crft put together
Tho criminal statistics OF The world
how tHlf -"vnufs Eve percent Of ail
crime Is committed bI people be-
-N""u 'no ages of twelve and twenty
ht" Their criminal record I. made
before fhny form fln habit off drink.
fnd fHrY.d"r They grow the joss Ir-
cIlurd fN't arc fu commit crime.
though iI's may drink more aud
moro I'D frn fliuf. Men who commit
Grim" drink w.rs 0' fInm aud .Omc
np not The greatest criminals 300
fNo world are frafo.tfsrs. hrta1sr
'N'F refuse fp fI." H chance. and thr
crimes they commit arr or such 90
character thar up ulu under fho loo.
hffnco o. liquor could commit tho
rrIWc ana e' away With fhr goods