244 THE FAT OF THE LAND 
and to what end? That some dozen harpies 
may fatten on your flesh; that your labor may 
give them leisure; that your suffering may give 
them pleasure; that your sweat may cool their 
brows, and your money fill their tills! 
« What do you get in return? Whiskey, to 
poison your bodies and pervert your minds; 
whiskey, to make you fierce beasts or dull 
brutes; whiskey, to make your eyes red and 
your hands unsteady; whiskey, to make your 
homes sties and yourselves fit occupants for 
them; whiskey, to make you beat your wives 
and children; whiskey, to cast you into the 
gutter, the most loathsome animal in all the 
world. This is cheap whiskey, but it costs you 
dear. All that makes life worth living, all that 
raises man above the brute, and all the hope of 
a future life, are freely given for this poor 
whiskey. The man who sells it to you robs 
you of your money and also of your manhood. 
You pay him ten times (often twenty times) as 
much as it cost him, and yet he poses as your 
friend. 
«I’m not going to say anything against beer, 
for I don’t think good beer is very likely to 
hurt a man. I will say this, however, — you 
pay more than twice what it is worth. This is 
the point I would make: beer is a food of some 
value, and it should be put on a food basis in 
price. It isn’t more than half as valuable as 
milk, and it shouldn’t cost more than half as 
