Thrift of Temperance

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Dec 24, 1902

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 28, No. 52.

Thrift of Temperance

We are told that the greatest, most pushing, most enterprising publisher of newspapers in the United States, Mr. W. R. Hearst, does not make use of alcohol or tobacco in any form, and has not done so for many years. The great newspaper cartoonist, Homer Davenport, has throughout his life been a total abstainer, not only from whisky and tobacco, but also from tea and coffee. His work shows it. Lady Henry Somerset finds “greater alertness and energy” in Americans than in other people. Is it not because they are more temperate? Of beer, spirits, and wine, Great Britain consumes 33.21 gallons per person; Germany 30.89 gallons per person; France 33.62; while the United States consumes 14.73 gallons. Of beer, Great Britain consumes 31.7 gallons per head; Germany 27.5 gallons; France 6.2 gallons; United States 13.3 gallons. Of spirits, Great Britain 1.12 gallons; Germany 1.94; France 2.02; United States 1.13. Of wines France leads with 27.4 gallons per head; Germany 1.45; England 3.9; United States 3.3. But, O, think of it all—the great sea of woe and misery which engulfs in its relentless depths millions of the children of earth.