54 THE EMPLOYMENT OF CAPITAL 



At the head of all forms of waste must be 

 put that caused by drinking. It is unnecessary 

 for any sound man to drink intoxicating liquor. 

 The farmers of Western Canada are a numerous 

 body, drawn from different countries and of 

 various ages : they work for long hours and very 

 hard. In many of their houses liquor is never 

 to be found, for they consume chiefly tea and 

 coffee. When they go on business to the town 

 they may indulge in a glass of beer. If a large 

 number of men can live thus — and it is believed 

 they do — intoxicating liquor cannot be really a 

 necessity of existence. The money spent on it 

 is absolutely wasted, and what is almost worse, 

 owing to the physical and moral deterioration 

 of men who drink much, the work the}'' do must 

 be of an inferior description. Is it not to the 

 interest of the employer to put a stop to this ? 

 Well, he probably argues that a man who falls 

 behind may be discharged and give way to a 

 man who has not fallen behind. It is clear this 

 is a serious loss to the nation. 



A few years ago there were about nine millions 

 of families in the British Isles. The mere revenue 

 from beer and spirits was then more than thirty- 

 one millions of pounds : so that, on an average, 

 each family contributed in a year about ^3 los. 

 But the cost of the beer and spirits consumed 

 was, to those who drank them, three or four 

 times the amount of the tax. So that the families 

 of men who made a habit of drinking, a very 

 great number, must have spent, on an average, 

 from a tenth to an eighth of their wages in drink. 



