SOME STARTLING FIGURES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2735, 15 August 1906, Page 80

SOME STARTLING FIGURES.

In a recent number of ths Pacific Ensign, Reporting an address delivered by Miss Marie Brehm, some ,very interesting figures are given. Speaking of the ninth Nonalcoholic Conference, which was held in Berlin, the statement is -made that 300 physicians were present, and all testified to the evil effects of alcohol wheu used medicinally. The congress went on record as declaring that it is not a food or a medicine, but a subtle, insidious poison, and the time has come for nations to prohibit its manufacture; also, the u»e of alcoholics is large responsible for the scourge of -tuberculosis and *ace suicide. Statistics of 1903 were given to prove this | letter statement. In that year alone 2500 . babies were smothered by drunken mothers ; 3039 wires were murdered by drunken husbands; 5000 gnicides were induced by alcoliql ; 7069 murdeis additional to above ; 40,000 widowed mothers ; 6D.D80 fallen eirls ; IBQjOGO orphans ; 1100,000 insane ; 100,000 in prisons; JE09,000 drunkards die annually; 300,1)00 paopers-; 580,000 boys contracted the ■ babit of drink. These items are taken dbectly from -the statistical records. The speaker displayed a ribbon chart, showing Of inches m a striking object lesson the relative amounts spent aimuallj in America for intoxicants and for useful commodities, j A blood-red ribbon was unrolled, 120 in long, representing 1,200,000,000d0l spent for ' iirink. A brown ribbon 70in long showed 1700,000,000d0l spent for tobacco; a yellow jpae. 27i0, represented 3.75,Q00,000d0l gnjgn.t

foF bread; -!7£in fold of 175,000,000d0l for education :. for church expenses, 15in, 150,000,000'dpL All missionary work, foreign and home, cost about 18,000,000dpl ; all temperance organisations, l,000,000dol ; and W.C.T.F. -work alone, 200, OOOdol—onefourth of an inch.