The Extent of Intemperance
Some figures showing the present extent of the curse of intemperance in some of the world's leading nations are given by the Washington Times. This authority says:— Recent statistics show that the consumption of alcoholic or strong drinks in the United States is about 150,000,000 gallons per annum; in France, 160,000,000; in Great Britain, 155,000,000, and in Germany, 186,000,000. The United States spends on drink $400,000,000 a year. The number of deaths annually reported from drink in this country is about 7,500; the number of cases of insanity caused by drink annually, 62,000. The above figures touching the various nations do not include beer and wine, of which in the United States 1,500,000,000 gallons are consumed a year, while Great Britain consumes over 1,000,000,000, France nearly 1,200,000,000, and Germany about 1,000,000,000 gallons. The nations of Europe and the United States probably spend $2,500,000,000 a year on alcoholic drinks, beer, and wine. The whole foreign trade of the United States, great as it is, would hardly do more than pay for the world's drinks. The world's luxuries, accordingly, are giving the world a great deal of fun, a great deal of pain, disease, insanity, crime, and death. “The lesson of the hour is the need of self-control.”