The Human Cost of Intoxicating Liquor
The barbarian custom of placing a number of human sacrifices under the foundations of their chiefs' residences and council houses is not without its counterpart in "civilized" enterprises. One of the greatest difficulties connected with the Panama Canal is the fearful sacrifice of human life among the laborers. From first to last, a life for every rod is not deemed an extravagant estimate. And when the isthmus railroad was built, the sacrifice was hardly less, if not more. But none of these things are as bad as a prominent "industry" that is fostered and licensed, and thus made to appear legitimate, in all the "civilized" nations of earth. In the United States alone the people sacrifice a hundred thousand human victims every year in order to uphold the intoxicating liquor structure. This in addition to the betrayal of unnumbered souls and the squandering of untold millions of dollars in money and property.