TEE ALCOHOL MOTIVE 251 



In England the per capita consumption of malt liquors is still greater 

 than it is in Germany, while the consumption of wine and distilled 

 liquors is somewhat less than in Germany or in the United States. 



It is little to the point to call attention to the fact, as has often 

 been done, that the cost of alcoholic drinks to the German people, which 

 is about 3,000 million Marks per year, is nearly three and one quarter 

 times the total cost of their army and navy combined; the cost should 

 rather be compared with other " necessities " of life, such as bread and 

 meat. The force of the desire for alcohol is better shown by noting 

 that its cost to the German people is about the same in amount as their 

 total expenditures for meat, fish and fowl combined, and only one eighth 

 less than their total expenditures for bread, meal, bakery goods and 

 potatoes combined. In this country we have no means of determining 

 accurately the outlay of the people for alcoholic liquors, but we know 

 that the wholesale value of the malt, vinous and distilled liquors pro- 

 duced annually in the United States is approximately six hundred 

 million dollars, almost the same as the total value of our wheat crop. 

 These figures do not take into account the value of wines and liquors 

 imported, nor the output of illicit distilleries. Of these illicit stills, 

 according to the last report of the U. S. Commissioner of Internal 

 Eevenue, 2,466 were seized and destroyed during the fiscal year ending 

 June 30, 1912. 



An intense human interest clusters around everything connected 

 with alcohol. The very names of the countless forms of beverages, as 

 well as their odors, tastes and colors are all interesting. Language itself 

 reflects the depth of this interest, particularly in the many synonyms 

 for intoxication. Partridge, in his book on " The Psychology of 

 Intemperance," gives a list of about 370 words and phrases in English 

 expressive of intoxication, and he says that a list of more than 600 

 words in German has been collected. In his opinion nothing except 

 the sexual relation has made a stronger impression upon popular 

 language. 



The praise of wine has been celebrated in the poetry of every age. 

 Drinking songs have a peculiar charm. In the history both of religion 

 and of medicine, alcohol has occupied a prominent place and in some 

 form it has been regarded as a cure for every ill. Huge volumes could 

 be filled with the legislative acts of civilized people in their efforts to 

 regulate its sale and use. In recent years an almost incredible number 

 of books and articles has appeared relating to some phase or other of 

 this subject. 



It is evident, then that there exists in the human mind, for some 

 reason or other, a profound, persistent and intense desire for alcohol. 

 The psychologist is interested in discovering the cause of this desire 

 and the sociologist well knows that it will not be until this cause has 



