The San Francisco call., 1899-02-26
THE ARMY CANTEEN.
1sIt Wisa % Aholish Itp

sit Wise 70 Abolish ItF
The HUH army bill mas been sent 70 the
r--f-z5 S+ares Senate from the House
Jz-trn z .srIder-" attached ar the e-1'VL-e-1
hocr. which prohibits the sale o. o1eI .
the post exchanges. OF. as tney are colL-
monty known, the c4ntee1s- ms a--l---- '
rnenr was adopted IN Difference 70 lntsIA-
Ta-.-a -arruerarce sentiment, rendered
v1-at bv the Woman's Christian rem
Ue-ouce Union The amendment IS II
ny ouiniou. unvTIse. II viii not operate
n --ecrfce- 70 the benefit OF the army
Temperance people viii point 10 rl9ts an an
disorders at the camps OF our FoILi--17-
forces during the recent y ar VIII 0s@----
Very well The case Is not IN point us
cfr1irA was VIGOROUSLY bad among forces
orficered o. men who might want q
whose friends might want Ihe votes O
The prtva1es after disbandment- / ne nun
bill : intended 70 apply 10 tHe resl-a-
army. under 2 discipline enforced y
trained. regular officers without Tegaro
for anything but the efficiency o. tAe
army and the credit accrLilS 10 tA5--- -0-
maintaining good discipline
The canteen in the army Is me gro" II
OF centuries. Il IS the OUIgrowLh OF ages
OF military experience II i 2 device IoE
preventing drunkenness among soldlers,
adopted II preference 70 Lhe metnoa oL
furnishing for drunkenness n OSL a4-1-L
strict regulations. me PoSl g - = ;
5 held responsible for the enEoEceL-ltLtt O
the regulations He Is asSlsteC oE c1L--
reel COUNCIL composed o. -1E-S c----u-
one Of whom Is IN immediate cnaEse o
Irs ea1tesn. Il < also under the IIIlL.l1- .
date supervision OF Ln6 OLlceE q ne
day" Al articles disposed O. al tI-s C-1---
-zeu are sold eE 4 hare advance upon t1tc
original cost The pTO1LS 90 70 tl0 NLS-4-
Of the organizations AZ the post ms
money Is expended by the company cum
rnauCiers in the purchase OF tu2urIss, Ike
butter. milk. eggs, game, creSse. StG-s - Agt
T07r-1 Or rhe regular bill OF fare Every
czuteen Is q sort Of club EneTeat LEle E9en
nav resort 70 read, 70 sing 70 pidy
games that are not gambling games, .
regale themselves oeL"een LIS41s - ~ -
light iurcheclS- The regulations ptO-loLt
the sale q anything @ an a-ccLo+-c 1td-
rure except beer IntoXlcaton : nOI
rerr1ftref and neither IS the sale OF oeer
- s1v one who might be intoxicated
Such Is the cante6l aS Il IS Ce9CFlo5l1
seui-Officially and author1taEEs4yl oy Ile
Army and Navy Journal
Il is not such neino4S llslIs 4-t11- -.l On On
the contrary. there Is abundant evidence,
in the army records, that the c4nteel lS
z factor in sustaining the morale OF tAe
force. II keeps the men AZ the posi-. olL
OF vile whisky dives and houses OF IL
repure near the post \ canteen al Fort
Sidney, Neor-- reouced oy onS-Hs-L ne q,
number Of saloons in Sidney. Ine open
ing OF z cauteen a. Fort Porter, near
Buffalo. closed Up many GERS II lne
neighborhood- Every post naFlng q can can
than before the caCteen was established
The establishment Of c5nT6eCS keeps tne
soldiers from being drugged and crazsd
h the roU-gut sold by the WTetcheS VINO
often set up joints near the post, IN
which the soldier is robbed
The testimony OF the adJutant general,
the Judge advocates department, the
medical department, the paymaster gen
erals Office IS that since the establish
meut Of post canteens deserttons nave d!-
uirished, c0UrT-martIats have decreased.
sickness CONSEQUENT upon lnrOnc2U0l,
has become raTer. deposits OF sol
diers' savings from their pay have
good Of the service and -he
good % individual members be aban-
doned2 Does not its benefit outweigh all
the imaginary evils OF the institution II
works for order for morality, for health.
for economy. Those are the things that
make for manhood The canteen has ad-
der far above that OF the class from
which the army is, ordinarily, recruited
The cauteen s0lidifes the men Il unites
them in & sort Of social brotherhood II
fosters that very necessary thing in an
army. the esprit du corps. Il discoUrages
drunkenness. disorder, depTaFtty. extrav-
agance- II IS distinctively 4 temperance
institution
Soldiers viii drink Better let them
drink at the post than outside. Better
let them drink under the eyes Of their su-
periors than carouse in dives and brotheIs-
Better let them drink pure beer than
whisky OF the worst sort, sold By soulless
2 4
cent profit Better let them drink q little
al home than send them outside the post
70 drink too much, get drunk, disorderly
desert and be arrested and court-mar-
tfaled after the harm is done This amend
u2ent will force the soldier who will drink
70 drink the worst stuff with the worst
results 70 the service and 10 himself The
desire for drink cannot be eliminated. II
can only be controlled Discipline can
control it Such control IS possible only
under the system OF the post canteen con-
Quoted under the officers eyes.
Who Is more interested in the s0bTiety,
orderiiness, decency, tone OF the service.
than the officers of the arrny2 They tes-
tify 70 the usefulness Of the cauteen as a
moral influence They know the soldier.
They have 70 depend upon him His cred
table conduct rebounds TO their glory
proves their efficiency They say the can
teen is an institution promotive OF sobrf-
ETY. and good conduct They point 70 the
figures They know They have seen the
canteen improve the force They have not
seen Prohibition improve the morals o.
civilian communities We may trust the
officers Of the army 20 care for the army
II 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 q lot Of people who know
nothing OF what thew sneak Tho sscar
teen smeHGueut' should be wipei out rt-
The Senare-in difference to common
sense and IN difference 70 professional
military testimony against the sifly agi-
tatf0u which created the amendment
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