Rensselaer Republican, Volume 15, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 October 1882 — FROM REMINGTON. [ARTICLE]

FROM REMINGTON.

Dear Republican:— We intended to try to write a political letter this week, but have concluded to leave the subject to those "Whose art it is to write such letters We will only say that we deeply feel the importance of the)*coming election, knowing how much depends upon the election of the right men. We hope that every man who casts a vote will do it earnestly and thoughtfnlly, as men, and not as craven cowards, bought with the whiskey which is to be poured out, free as water, the day before the election. We only wish the whiskey could be free for a week preceding the election, and we would have no fear of the result. Those who survived would be ineapable of voting. We cannot understand why there is snch apathy on the part of the temper, ance people. {Societies i hould be organized “vigilance committees” appointed, and every c lfuit made to defeat the foe. An article re. cently appeared in the N. Tribune headed “The Size of the Temperance Question” which should be printed iu every paper and read by every voter in the suite Reminqtc.nian.

Tub followiu-f is the Tribune article above alluded to ( iki.) “It does uo gpo»l lor uiori to sneer at the agitation in regard to the liquor tiaihe. The sauject is tf>o impovtiau: to be iuuglicd dovvi:. It may be prohibit ton is not t,lu Tight way to settle it, or that li,-, is not, or that taxation is. not, tin e are fair questions upon wiiieii <\ differeince of opuu<*u i>otween sincere and candid men if. possil-j! i3ut the hits beyoine- altugether too important U> !;e j^i !( Ted, or pi»ss>eo. owr vscitiuiiit >'t serious atteuipL to settle it. A--'..e from the law delving .*q> l1 ■ i» wnieh ilhfts elicited, aside from all ml aaorai aiul religions aspects, the questum cousitered lmih.v as oae d duUajis and. cents; Li its ell'eet Upon, the Nathuial prosperity and "Weahh, is one oi the >uot,t importaat that can, be named. Directly aud. indirectly, thj*> tountry spends iu the Liquor traffic ♦very year a sam exceedin'/ half the National debt. The, cost of tliat traffic to the. country., direct end indirect, is greater than the profits of All its capual not investr •din real estate. Jt costs every •ear more thau our whole Civil mrtifttear Army, our Navy, our

Congress, including the River and Harbor and the pension bills, our wasteful local* governments, and all National, State’ County and local debts, besides all the schools in the country. In fact, this Nation pays more for liquor than for every function of every kind of government* How is a question of that size to be put aside with a sneer?

As these statements may seem surprising to those who nave not looked into the matter, a few figures may be of service. A glass of beer costs the consumer 5 cents, and there are at least twenty in the gallon, and 640 in the barrel, so that beer retails at about SB2 a barrel, while ale costs still more. The comsumption of beer and ale was about 15,000,000 barrels; cost to consumers about $480,000,000. The cheapest kind of liquor used, ordinary whiskey, is rarely sold at 5 cents, and averages at least 7 cents a drink; at half a gill to the “horn,” this makes $4.48 per gallon. The consumption last year was about 70,000,000 gallons; cost to consumers about $313,000,000. Adding wines, there is certainly scent for drink more than SB,OOO, 000,000, and the entire sum raised by taxes of all kinds, National, State, county, city, town and school district, is stated on authority of the Census Bureau to be not more than about $7.00,000,000. But the cost of the liquor drunk is not by any means the whole cost of the liduor traffic. An official report, prepared with much labor by the Bureau of Statistics of Massachusetts, under authority from the Leislature, states that 84 per cent of all the crime and criminal expenses in that State comes directly from the abuse of liquor. There are at least one in twenty of the able-bodied men in this coun try who are rendered idle by their ha} its or incapacitated for work, and these persons, at the ordinary wages of workingmen would earn, if industrious and fairly employed, over $200,000,000 yearly. The proportion of persons in hospitals who reach them because of excess in drink is very large, but canuot be definitely ascertained. A traffic that costs in actual payment and in loss of productive labor more than one half the National debt every year is not to be ignored by the economist It may be assumed that the entire wealth of the country has risen from S3O, 000,000,000 in 1870 to $50,000,000, 000 in 1880, nbout one-half bbing in real estate- Probably it does not average profits exceeding 4 per cent yearly, taking bad investments with good, but at this rate the yearly interests on allpersonal property of all kinds is only sl, 000,000,000. and the direct or indirect cost of the liquor traffic must be greater.

o These comparisons do not constitute reasons for doing any unjust or other unwise thing. What ought to be done about the liquor traffic is not to be desided hastily or without due regard for the rights of . all classes of citizens. But the time has gone by m this country when a serious discussion of the question that involves such a vast expense to the Nation enn be prevented by bullying’ intolerance, insolence or ridicule. This very practical people, having begun to think about the matter in earnest, preceivea that it is much too important to be put aside at the dictation of saloon keepers. It is certain that the entire savings of the people and all additions to choir wealth are not twice as much as the sum expended for liquor and because of tlie abuse of liquor It any just as reasonable propositi" a can be made that will add one-half to the savings aindto the prosperity of the Nution, it will not be put down by the sneer, nor defeated bv a law breaking mob. — V. V. Tribune.