Omaha daily bee., 1899-03-03
THE ARMY CANTEEN.
A Practical Promoter of the welfare
of Soldiers.

OF SOlutCrs.
The canteen in the army is the growth of
centuries. 1t is the outgrowth Of ages of
military experience. 1t is device for pre-
venting drunkenness among soldiers,
adopted in preference to the method of
Furnishing for drunkenness. In our army,
says the ST. Louis Mirror the canteen Is
conducted under very strict regulations The
post commandant is held responsible for the
enforcement of the regulations He is as
sisted by "a canteen council" composed of
three officers, one of whom is In immediate
charge OF the canteen. 1t Is also under the
Immediate supervision of the 'otficer of the
day" All articles disposed OF at the can
teen are sold at a bare advance upon the
original cost. The profits go to the credit
of the organizations at the post. This
money is expended by the company com
manders in the purchase OF luXuries, like
butter, milk, eggs, game, cheese ETC., not
found on the regular bill of fare. Every
canteen is a sort of club whereat the men
may resort to read to sing, to play games
that are not gambling games, to regale
themselves between meals of anything of an
alcoholic nature, except beer. 1ntoxlcation
is not permitted and neither is the sale Of
beer to anyone who might be intoxicated.
Such is the canteen as 1t is described, semi
officially and authoritatively, by the Army
and Navy Journal.
1t is not such heinous institution. On
the contrary, there is abundant evidence, in
the army records, that the canteen Is fac
tor in sustaining the morale of the force.
1t keeps the men at the post out OF vile
whisky dives and houses of ill-repute near
the post canteen at Fort Sidney, Neb,
reduced by one-half the number of saloons
in Sidney. The opening of a canteen at
Fort Porter, near Buffalo, closed UP many
dens in the neighborhood. Every post hav-
ing a canteen has been noted for better dis
cipline than before the canteen was estab-
lished. The establishment OF canteens keeps
the soldiers from being drugged and crazed
by the rot-gut sold by the wretches who
often set up joints, near the post, in which
the soldier Is robbed.
The testimony OF the adjutant general,
the judge advocates department, the med
ical department, the paymaster generals Of
flee Is that since the establishment Of post
canteens desertions have diminished, courts
martial have decreased, sickness, consequent
upon intoxication has become rarer, de-
posts of soldiers savings from their pay
have increased. Shall such an agency for
good of the service and the good of the m
dividual members be abandoned? Does not
it's benefit outweigh all the imaginary evils
of the institution? 1t works for order, for
morality, for health, for economy. Those
are the things that make for manhood The
canteen has advanced the condition of the
private soldier far above that of the class
from which the army is, ordinarily, re-
cruited The canteen solidifes the man. 1t
unites them in sort of social brotherhood.
1T fosters that very necessary thing in an
army, the esprit du corps. 1t discourages
drunkenness, disorder depravity, extrav-
agance. 1t is distinctively a temperance in
stitution.
Soldiers will drink. Better let them
drink at the post than outside Better let
them drink under the eyes OF their super1ors
than carouse in dives and brothels. Better
let them drink pure beer than whisky OF the
worst sort, sold by soulless joint-keepers
anxious for thousand per cent profit. Bet
ter let them drink a little at home tnan
send them outside the post to drink too
much, get drunk, disorderly, desert and be
arrested and court martialed after the harm
is done. This amendment will force the
soldier who will drink to drink the WORST
stuff with the worst results to the service
and to himself. The desire for drink can
not be eliminated. 1t can only be controlled.
Discipline can control it. Such control is
canteen conducted under the officers eyes.
Who is more interested in the sobriety,
orderliness decency, tone of the service
than the officers of the army? They testify
to the usefulness of the canteen as moral
influence. They know the soldier. They
have to depend upon him. His creditable
conduct rebounds to their glory, proves
efficiency. They say the canteen Is an In
stitution promotive OF sobriety and good
conduct. They point to the figures. They
know They have seen the canteen improve
the force They have not seen prohibition
improve the morals of civilian communities
We may trust the officers Of the army to
care for the army, If post canteens are
bad no post canteens are much worse. Why
should the army be managed in such an
important matter of discipline as this in
accordance with the views of lot OF peo-
pie who know nothing of what they speak?
Tho "canteen amendment" should be wiped
out by the senato-in Difference to common
sense and in Difference to professional mil
itary testimony against the silly agitation
which created the amendment.