The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-06-21
THE cANTEEN QUESTION.

III NhNAI
The people who are insisting that the
President shall direct that the sale of
liquor shall be discontinued on all public
reservations and at all military camps
| and garrisons are well meaning but i'm
practicable. Ever since the Attorney Gen
eval decided that the new army law.
doesn't exclude the eanteen from the army
these people have made the life of the
President miserable by the persistency
with which they have insisted that he
shah override the decision Of the Attor-
ney General
Apparently the President wants 10 do
what is best for the army, but he : so
timid-so afraid of offending a few people
who have votes-that he has. as yet
taken no definite action in the matter
Sometime ago however, he asked leading
army officers for a report as TO whether
it would be advisable TO prohibit the sale
of liquor at the canteens. Reports from
these officers are now about all in. and
without exception they show that it would
be a very great mistake for the President
TO listen TO the impraclicable anti-lquor
agitators, who are making war on the
canteen. They show that the canteen is
a sort of general store at which many
needful things are sold at cost to the
soldiers. Strong liquors are not sold to
the soldiers. They can get only beer and
light wines, and these are sold al a small
profit. Ii is the profit on the beer and
wines which makes it possible to have the
canteen. If the sale of beer and wines is
prohibited the canteen must be abolished.
The officers agree that the canteen is
beneficial to the soldiers in every respect.
Where there is no canteen saloons are es-
tabished close TO the military camps or
garrisons. and 1t is practically impossible
to keep the soldiers away from them On
pay days their money goes into them and
there is drunkenness and rowdyism on a
large scale. These saloons and blind
tigers are exceedingly demOrahzing, and
there is no way in which they can be got
rid of, except by permitting beer and wine
to be sold at the canteen Where the
canteen is there are no saloons, and no
drunkenness and rowdyism.
The reports of the army officers are so
uniformly in favor of the cauteen. or
rather the sale of beer and wine at the
canteen. that it is impossible to see why
the President should hesitate to sustain
the decision of the Attorney General The
impracticabe prohibitionists do not I'M
derstand the matter at all. In fact, they |
don't want to understand it. Apparently |
it is a matter of no consequence to them |
what becomes of the soldiers whom they |
pretend they are trying to protect. All |
they care about is having prohibition |
adopted. They seem to think that they |
will have brought about great reform If |
they can gel a law enacted prohibiting |
the sale of liquor. even though its sale I
continues on a much larger scale.
The army officers have dealt with the |
liquor evil in all of its phases at military |
posts and camps, and they are therefore
prepared to give the President valuable
advice on the canteen question. The
mpracticable prohibitionists know moth
ing about it. STILL they insist that their
voice in the matter shall be more potent
than that of the army officers. The Pres
ident ought not to be long in making up
his mind as to the course to be pursued