CONSUMPTION OF BEER

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, Cal. · Jan 10, 1900

CONSUMPTION OF BEER.

A RECENT issue of the Scientific American says:—

“In 1897 in Germany 1,383,700,000 gallons of beer were consumed; 1,192,000,000 were drunk in Great Britain, 180,000,000 in France, and 90,000,000 in Russia. It is estimated that 36 gallons per head are drunk in Belgium, 32 in Great Britain, 25 in Germany, 21 in Denmark, 12 in Switzerland, 10 in the United States, 9 in Holland, 5 in France, 3 1/2 in Norway, 2 3/4 in Sweden, and 1 in Russia. A writer in the North American Review declares that a large quantity of beer is consumed in order to satisfy the craving for the elements which are eliminated from wheat in making white bread.”

It will be observed that the foregoing figures represent nothing more than the beer that has been drunk; they do not include wines, whiskies, and numerous other alcoholic drinks. The suggestion of the doctor who writes for the North American Review is worthy of consideration. And in connection with the thought that the system is being deprived of the natural food elements that are taken out of the flour for making white bread, there are some other points that should be thought about.

This is an age of stimulants and stimulation. Every nerve is drawn to the highest possible tension in prosecuting business or pleasure, or, more frequently, in trying to prosecute both. Flesh foods, which form the most stimulating diet that can be eaten, have come to be almost universally used. A beefsteak or a mutton roast is not merely a food; it is a stimulant as well. And this flesh food stimulant calls for other stimulants and irritants. The flesh-eater desires with his meat such things as pepper, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and other similar stimulants and irritants. And by thus stimulating the body through the foods that are eaten daily, the system clamors for stronger and still stronger stimulants. At first tea and coffee seem to satisfy the demand. But in thousands of instances wines, beer, and other strong drinks are soon indulged, so that this increasing craving may be satisfied.

The tendency, however, is strongly running toward a more and more exciting life, and, consequently, toward a more and more exciting diet, and along with the diet a still greater demand for strong drink. The tastes and habits of the people are becoming more and more luxuriant and extravagant. Debasing luxuries that only a prince could afford a few decades ago are freely indulged by the common people to-day. So-called “high living” is becoming well-nigh universal, and the spread of the drink habit is alarmingly enormous.

Should we leave the utterances of divine prophecy out of the question, any philosopher who is not blinded by prejudice would be able to see that the race can not continue in its present course without soon destroying itself. Every sincere person should honestly and earnestly study the conditions of today. T.

A DESPATCH from Dallas, Texas, under date of December 25, says: “This has been a bloody Christmas for Dallas, and the coroner has been kept busy. Six men have been shot since last night, three fatally. Newspaper reports from over the State announce thirty-one affrays in which guns or knives were used, with fatal results in most cases.” This is but an index to the violence of these times. Does it look as tho the millennium was dawning? God says, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.” 2 Tim. 3:1. Observe that the text says perilous times shall come “in the last days,” and not a millennium of righteousness. God knew beforehand what would be the condition of things, and He told it as it would be. And are not these times becoming indeed “perilous”? Lynchings, and murders, and robberies, and wars, and rumors of wars, all show the increasing perils of these times. The very last of the last days are right here. Everything shows it. Not one or two things merely testify to it in an obscure way, but multiplied evidences testify positively to the fact that the great and final day is right at hand. Get ready for it, and then do all in your power to carry the message to others, and help them to get ready.