The labor advocate. [volume] (Cincinnati, Ohio) 1912-1937, 1915-07-31
ARE ALL OF US DRUNK? :?
louisville Courier.J .Journal.)

Do half of your acquaintances-or
half of the citizens of your town and
your state and your countryside Of al
coholism? If they do, what shocking
conditions exist
DR.. Z. S. Allen, of Cherokee Road, is
quoted as saying that he is opposed to a
saloon in his section of Louisville "be-
cause it has been proved that 100000
persons die in the United States an
nually as a result of drinking liquor"
He quotes Richmond P. Hobson as his
authority, or one of them, for the state
ment.
Capt Hobson is vehement, rather than
authoritative, upon any subject that in
terests him. He asserts, rather than
proves, amazing things about our inter
nal and foreign affairs. 1t is reckless
to quote reckless persons when asked for
proof.
DIR. Allen may be right in opposing a
saloon as an additional facility in his
neighborhood, but it is one thing to pro-
test against groggery being established
next door, and quite another to repre-
sent drunkenness as being so common
that half of those who die do SO as
result of drink That, substantially, is
the Hobsonian allegation which DR..
Allen. somewhat incautiously, adopts as
proof
Sense and Nonsense.
The mortality statistics for 1912, pub
lished by the United States Census Blu
reau. give the deaths from all causes i'll
the registration area including about
two-thirds of the continental area OF the
United States, as S3s,251, a death rate
of 1879 This death rate, assuming the
population to be 90000,0O0, would cause
about 100000 deaths year in the
United States. If 100000 persons die
of alcoholism each year more than half
of the deaths that occur are caused by
drink
When we consider the fact that about
half of those who die in year are
women. we must, if we adopt the Hob
sonan allegation as truth, reach the de-
conclusion that more than half
of the women of all ages and social sta
tons are habitually or periodically
drunk. and pay for their excesses with
their lives unless we take the other horn
of the dilemma and say that the women
are sober. but that all of the men are
drunkards and all of them die of drink
Between 100000 and 100000 of those
who die in year are between 20 and
100 Another large fraction of the total
is composed of babies in arms, boys III
and girls in short skirts:
The shocking dissipation of these old
people and young people is reflected in
Captain Hobson's figures unless we as
sumo that all persons of both sexes
who die after childhood and before they
have passed three score and ten stagger
to their graves arm-in-arm with John
Barleycorn, who dumps them in and
goes back from the brink after new vic
tins.
Dying i'm America.
Dying in America in these circum-
stances lays man--for that matter
woman-open to suspicion AS long as
any one is alive he may prove by not
staggering. and by other means, that he
is sober But when he dies the chances
are more than one to one that the rum
demon personally conducted him to the
regions of the damned. And dead men
can make no arguments in self-detense,
The assertion of the Census Bureau
that 3,1S3 persons died in year OF al
coholism in the registration area, is more
encouraging to Americans who value
their country's reputation, if less inspir-
ing to Prohibitionists, than Captain Hob
sons shocking allegation. This is true
even when due allowance is made for
the willingness of physicians to give. the
deceased the benefit of the doubt if there
is any other cause than alcoholism that
can, with reason, be assigned.
If all of us were as drunk as were
painted by Captain Hobson, or as many
Of us drunk as must be in order for half
or two-thirds of us to die of drink,
would enough of us be sober to put the
rest of us to bed? And who would
transact business ?-Louisvile Courier
Journal,