ALCOHOL'S OTHER SIDE

 

Annual crime rate in Texas is over One Billion dollars! Annual cost  for dependent, neglected children is over $20,000,000! Annual highway deaths cost over $88,000,000

(2600 deaths at #34,000 for each life. The F.B.I. estimates that 60% of all crimes are alcohol involved; 28 Texas district judges state that 62% of all dependent, neglected  children are wards of the state because of alcohol. Homer Garrison, Jr. states that 34% of all highway deaths are alcohol caused. In these areas alone, the citizens of Texas lose $546,000,000.

(The above figures  appeared in the Dallas Times Herald, April 2, 1960.)

 

        Who pays the 546 million dollar annual bill? The alcohol advocates tell us that the liquor tax will cover all expenses, however, this is not the truth. Recent figures (reported by AP, 1960) show that Texas collected $2,364,861 for the two months of February and March. The  annual average liquor tax will amount to less than $15 million. The  liquor tax will pay less than 5% of its total expense. Who pays the  bill? The citizens of Texas pay the bill.

 

    These figures show findings in 1960. This writer is confident that the situation is still the same, only to a greater degree. But, let us  suppose, just for arguments sake, that the liquor tax covered every dollar that was spent to correct the evils brought about through the consumption of liquor. I s there any way to place a dollar value upon  the broken homes, neglected children, the unwarranted deaths of innocent  people upon the highways, the continual evil brought about by those who  have bowed before the devil's beverage? Let the liquor advocates tell us the value of a husband and father whose death was brought about by a drunken fool. "24% of all highway deaths are alcohol caused."

Can tax money equalize these deaths? Ask the orphaned children, the widows, the neglected.

 

Yet, in spite of all this (not counting the condemnation of God's  Word), there are religious (?) people who seek to justify social drinking. There is no place in the life of one who desires to please Jehovah for moderate, social, or any other kind of drinking of alcohol beverages.Pr 20:1   ¶ Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Isa 5:22   Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: Isa 28:7    But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.

 

-- Jack Thompson, -