Bridgeton pioneer., 1917-05-17
G|RARD TALKS
TO BARLEYCORN
Predicts Dry Country by
July Fourth.
and STAY DRY.
Writer in Philadelphia Ledger
Presents Very Interesting
Letter.
by Girard, in Philadelphia Ledger

(By Girard, in Philadelphia Ledger
One end of Congress has decreed a
dry United States during the war. If
the other end and President Wilson
concur-a fair bet that they will--you
won't be able to buy a drink on the
Fourth of July.
And l record my guess here and
now: Once dry, the United States will
remain dry, right or wrong, war or no
war.
Repeating a national prohibition
law would be even harder TO do than
to wipe out the. Pennsylvania blue
law of 1894, and no legislature aas
had tne nerve to do that, absurd as
the law is.
So it looks like farewell for you,
Mr. Barleycorn. You've had a merry
party while you stayed, but it cost us
pretty penny to foot the bill.
Judges tell me- Mr.. Barleycorn, that
you bring a third of the grist to the
criminal court mill.
Doctors are my authority that you
occupy three times your rigatful
share of indigent hospital beds.
Statistics prove that you contribute
a larger number to the inmates of in
sane asylums than any other one
force.
| nave quoted life insurance figures
which indict you, Mr.. Barleycorn, of
leading strong men such a rapid pace
that you drop them into their grave
long before other men who are stran-
gers to you 60 to their last sleep.
A Salvation Army major said to me
once: Liquor makes more children
barefoot in winter and hungry all the
time than lack of work for their par
ents ever did.
About a third of all the homicides
WHO are brought to trial plead that
you had so befuddled their brains they
were not responsible for killing some
body.
Sad indictments, Mr. Barleycorn
Now what have you to say in your
own defense?
Il paid to the United States last
year $247,OO0,0OO of taxes, says Mr..
Barleycorn. "Taat is by far the big
Gest sum paid by any industry in Am
erica.''
And what else do you do?
Employ $4,000 persons in 440O Ii
quor and malt establishments in this
country. And I make products worth
$375, 100000 in a year.
On tnat tax proposition Mr.. Barley
corn is right. He pays a bigger tax
than anybody else upon the value of
his products. Having conceded that
let me open another page of the rec
ord.
| find by the United States census
report that in the State of Pennsyl-
vania Mr.. Barleycorn in one year by
taking products worth $4,000, 900 and
by turning them into beverages which
fill the cup that cheers he added just
$10,000,O00 to their value.
What does that prove 1t proves
that the profit made by Mr. Barley
corn is very great
You can see what l mean wnen l
put it this way: The malt and liquor
industry in Pennsylvania adds $40 in
value to crude product worth onlv
$14
Leather takes $24 and in manufac-
ture adds only 81. Other factories
take 81 and add SO by making shoes
The carpet mills adds 1925 to raw
materials worth $23. The furniture
factory put little more than 81 to
lumber worth $S.
Even candy is not worth twice az
much as the ingredients that compose
it and iron and steel are worth onlv
double their raw state.
You will notice that whatever good
Or bad Mr.. Barleycorn has done for
us he has not failed to make us nav a
fancy price for mis- services.