The citizen., 1914-05-22
INJURING TIE M ERA N @ E
CAUSE BY GROSS BXAG-
GERATION.

| Presbyterian Church in Germantown,
Pa, in which he stated that, counting
/ all who have been killed or wounded in
battle in all of the wars from the Mace
| DOMAIN Wars. 800 years, B C., down to
the present time, he estimated that about
100000 Americans were killed by alco-
hol in one year, or more than the sol
| dlerS, sailors and others OF all nations
sacrificed by war in 1900 years; and he
said that more than 1000 American cit
| liens are slain each day by alcohol.
| Captain HobSon also stated that it was
shown that only the total abstaner lived
beyond the age Of 65; that the average
age Of the moderate drinker is 81, while
the heavy drinker lives only to the age
Of 60.
The "Public Ledger believes that the
cause OF true temperance is damaged.
and not advanced. by such gross exag-
geration and misrepresentation. The
most effective temperance propaganda is
the method employed BY business, COM
mercal and industrial houses, which re-
| quire absolute sobriety among their en-
ployes, holding that the sober man is the
better man in all of the practical affairs
of life. This inflexible rule is doing
more to advance the cause of temper
ance than can ever be done by such
superheated utterances as were made by
Captain Hobson
A study of the census mortality sta
| tistics for 1912 shows the assertions of
Captain Hobson to be ridiculous In
the registered area from which health
statistics are received, representing two
thirds of the entire population, there
| he in, oh
one third as many as Captain
Hobson attributes to alcohol OF the
total 2o4, $50 were children under s years
of age; SIG, ,1S4 were persons who had
passed the age of IS; $4,000 died be-
tween the ages Of S and IA. Deducting
this from the total leaves $50 600 deaths
between the ages of IA and 65. As 49,
900 died between the ages of so and 65,
this would leave total of 24S, 900
deaths of people who would come within
the darger line of al~ohol, from mod.
crate drinking. Applied to the whole
country it would show that the total
deaths between the ages of "a and so
would be 372, 900, or little over 1000
every day from all causes, instead OF
1000 every day from alcohol. The Cen
sus Bureau, however, shows the follow
ing causes of death:
tuberculosis. ............................ 90. $50
Cancer...-.. 90, 53I
| Typhoid fever. er........................... 10000
Measles and scarlet fever (almost) 10000
Whooping cough. h......... (over) 5000
Heart disease. o5 600
| neumonla.".............. $1,000
Accidents. ............"............ $4,000
Suicides 10000
HomlcldeS ...... .................... q 900
Alcohol. ...................,."... 3Io3
Captain Hobson, in his grossly exag-
grated statement, says that alcohol
causes Z. 600 American men to murder
their wives each year and g. 500 to kill
their children. In the census bulletin of
prisoners and juvenile delinquents for
1910 1t is shown that there were 6,S9o
prisoners in the State penitentiaries.
January I, 1910, sentenced for grave of
fenses or for murder; I .S64 OF these were
from the nine prohibition States, which
have IS per cent. of the total population,
while 1880 were from StateS-Massachu-
sets, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, In
diana. Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin,
Missouri and California, licensed
States) which have So per cent OF the
States, II were convicted of murder for
every 100. 900 population, and in the II
licensed States, 36 Ia 100000 were con-
victed. These figures would indicate
either that alcohol does not cause MUIR
der or as IS more likely, that prohibl-
tion does not prohibit.
Kansas had ga prisoners condemned
for murder; New York 43; Pennsyl-
vania, 10; New Jersey, 10; Georgia,
prohibition State, us; Mississippi, pro-
hibtion State, 500; Tennessee, a prohl-
bton State, I2S; North Carolina, a pro-
hbtion State, Io2; Oklahoma, prohlbl-
tion State, ia.
Such exaggerated statements and falsl-
fcations of statistics do a worthy cause
more harm than good. There is strong
temperance wave sweeping over Penn
sylvana, and unless the Vaccinations OF
the Penrose Organization captures a
working majority IN the State Senate,
the State of Pennsylvania will doubtless
enact local option law at its next ses-
sion.
The public Ledger" firmly believes
that the best interests OF the State would
be subserved by properly drawn local
option measure allowing the people OF a
county to decide whether or not they
wish licensed saloons, but the temper
ance question must be handled with dis
creon and conservatism. The prohibit
tion hysteria which swept over the
Southern States has not accomplished Its
purpose, has been fruitful cause OF
malignant, narrow. unrelenting partisan
ship, has divided communities in the
States affected, TO their serious detri-
ment, and in addition has woefully failed
of enforcement, and causing a disre-
spect for the law, which always accom-
panies the non. enforcement of a statute,
and lamentable and deplorable under
mining of confidence in courts and public
officials.