The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1914-05-19
ALCOHOL AND
'''" TIE LABORER

The following essay by Linton
Pickard won the prize in the recent
contest and was requested published
by the W. c. T. u:
il has been proven beyond doubt
that alcohol is menace to the la
borer. 1t rnfits him morally, men
tally and physically. 1t makes him a
pauper and destroys his immortal
soul.
Let us take in the nation at a
glance, in all its wide extent. Lis
tening, we can catch the ring of the
axes in the forest, the rumble of the
great mills and factories, the whir
of,the busy trafficers, the buzz of the
saw mills, and the thrill whistle of
the locomotive as it hastens on with
it's tons of iron ore and coal. We see
the endless procession of labOrers
SURVIVING to and fro. A picture of
perfect harmony. Is it? What is that
sound of discord, like wall and
again like a groan of anguish pierre
ing, penetrating, and never ceasing?
1t sounds like people perishing. Oh!
| see we have overlooked mad
prisons, orphanages, and saloons
that end to end would reach across
the continent. Police to match and
city councils passing laws for crimes,
thousands of breweries pouring out
rivers of yellow swill, and an endless
chain of distilleries.
Have l exaggerated? No, I have
not told half.
In McKeesport, Pa, where there
is population Of forty thousand
with sixty-nine saloons, the banks
say that the saloons draw sixty
thousand dollars to cash pay checks
before each semi-monthly pay day.
The annual liquor bill is double
the national debt, and double the
paid in capital of all our national
banks.
An estimation shows that each sa-
loon takes in annually an average of
ten thousand dollars.
Tn the United States in the year
ending June 80, 1912, there were
about twenty billion nickles spent
for alcohol. The liquor bill for 1912
exceeded the expenditures (respec
tiyely) for meat, iron, steel, print
ing, publishing, lumber cotton
goods, wooden goods, flour, boots,
shoes, education, furniture, potatoes
and brick. The liquor bill was ap-
|proXimately ten times the eXpendi-
lures of the church.
The capital invested in the manu-
facture of liquor is $771,5 5000.
An estimation shows the cost of
liquor for 1912 to be twenty-one
dollars per capita and sos per FAM
| lily.
We readily see the tremendous in
road this monster alcohol is making
upon the laborer.
| A famous statistician of Paris
states that trades exposing work
men to alcohol are the most danger
GUS among the principal causess OF
mortality. The management OF the
State railroads of France will not
allow alcohol to be sold to any of
the employees.
In the majority OF cases of sun
stroke it Is nothing more than a
beer stroke.
/ The bubbling cup on the street
corner beats the sparkling glass in
the bar room sixteen to one.
The morning light is breaking fol
the laborer, the slave is to be SET
free. The best people are uniting
their forces in this mighty struggle
against this awful curse. Temper
ance territory is growing.
The new constitutional provision
limiting the number of saloons t
one for every five hundred inhabit
ants is a great help for Ohio il
cleaning out some of the wine rooms
road houses, and so forth.
Judge G.. A. Pollock of North Da
kota refused the application of
foreigner for citizenship because h,
admitted that he was in the liquor
business. He said he would no
recognize such an application as be
ing desirable.
Manufacturers, railroad officials
mining superintendent, bank presi
dents, and, in fact, all large bust
ness concerns are helping to soun'
the death knell of King Alcohol.
Safety First" is the present mot
to of the New York Central railroad
One hundred and twenty-siN men