Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1899-08-17
Soldiers and Drink.

Sir Garnet Wolseley, in a letter to Mr..
John Bailey, President Granthan Temper
ance Society , on April 21, 1881, wrote:
The cause of temperance is the cause OF
social advancement. Temperance means
less crime, and more thrift, and more COM
fort and prosperity for the people. Near
ly all the crime in our army can be traced
to intoxication, and ] have always found
that when with any army or body OF troops
in the field there was no issue of spirits,
and where their use was prohibited. the
health as we'll the conduct was all that
could be wished for"
On another occasion, in 1881, he wrote:
"About ninety per cent. OF the crime IN
our army Is owing to drunkenness, and
when our men are removed from the temp
tation of Intoxicating liquor crime is prac-
tically unknown among u.s."
After lie had become Lord Wolseley he
wrote, III 1894: ''There are yet some great
battles to be fought, some great enemies
to be encountered by the United Kingdom.
But the most pressing enemy Is drink. 1t
kills more than all our newest weapons or
warfare, and not only destroys the body,
but the mind and soul Also"
On another occasion he said 1.-THE su-
perstitions about grog are only maintained
by those who mistake the cravings or
habit for those of nature. The experiences
OF our armies all over the world show that
the health, character and efficiency OF our
men are improved by substituting other
beverages for strong drink" In support OF
the last gu citation given might be used what
he said in regard to his experience, which
was as follows: During the operations
conducted in South Africa, In 1879, my
own personal escort was composed almost
exclusively of teetotallers. They had very
hard work to do, but grumbling was never
heard from them, and better behaved
set of men / was never assisted with,
fact I attribute to their being almost all
total abstainers."
Sir Evelyn Wood, in 1892 said: Through
out the Crimea those were the best and
most healthy soldiers and sailors who did
not touch Intoxicating drink" He also
served three years in India, including the
last fifteen months Of the mutiny, and he
could positively state that those who drank
nothing were the best men. He went to
the Gold Coast and, during the $50 days
they were 10 one place he put in LAG days
service, only to find himself beaten by
man who was teetotaller During the
last three days he had rounded the Cape
Of Good Hope four times, and he found
that the stokers who had to work in the
heated stoke holes Of the large ocean
steamers never drank anything but barley
water in the tropics.
Sir Henry Havelock says that eat the fall
of Ghuznee, in the Afghan war, the self-de-
nial, mercy and generosity Of the soldiers
lrose from the fact that they had no spirit
rations," and he added: "Since then 1t has
been proved that troops can make forced
marches of forty miles and storm fortress
In forty-five minutes, without the aid of
;um, behaving after success with for
Ocarance and humanity unparalleled in
history"
Stonewall Jackson declared "He was
more afaid OF brandy than bullets in the
army"
Colonel Dawes, Of the Bengal Artillery,
rays: "My experience Is that nearly all the
,~t,, Aa Tn n
india has original I'D in the use of spiritu-
)us liquors."