Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1900-07-26
THE CANTEEN.
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to prevail in regard to the so-called |
army canteen. M. J. Bowling, writing
from the Philippines TO the Minneapo-
lis Journal, thus comments:
One interesting feature of Iloilo is |
the fact that it contains no saloons. !
There is not saloon on the island of |
Panay. The sale of liquor is limited |
to the army canteen and as this is the |
first opportunity have had of wit
Messing the army canteen in operation
where there were no saloons, became
very much interested in finding out all
about it. / found that before a private
| soldier or civilian could get a drink
of beer or whisky, he would have to
go in person to the provost marshal
and procure permit. This permit is
a printed slip in the blank spaces of
which the officer-in this instance the
son of a New York millionaire-writes
your name and the amount and kind of
| liquor that you are thereby entitled to
purchase | was told that privates are
seldom granted permission to purchase
whisky. Privates are required to
drink their beer on the premises, there
by shutting off the possibility of some
comrade purchasing beer for soldier
whose appetite for liquor is so well
known to the provost marshal that he
is unable to get permit for the pur-
chase of the stuff for himself. The
canteen is not popular with a number
| w 10 RI
go into the saloon business They
abuse the system and declare that the
United States government has no right
to refuse its citizens license to do
business. One man told me that the
canteen would have to 60 asked him
how this would be accomplished. He
said the religious people of the United
States would work upon the sentiment
of the people against the canteen,
while large brewing and distilling cor
porations would look after congress,
and between the two something was
bound to come. This struck me as
rather a peculiar partnership. The
idea of hitching up religious corpora
tions with the brewers and distillers! l
cannot believe that the church people
of the United States VIII be led into
this trap. / can see why the brewers
and dlstillers would prefer the saloon
to the canteen. They would, of course,
sell more liquor. 1t is apparent to
everybody with even limited worldly
experience that liquor will be manu-
featured and sold and l cannot help
thinking that our church people at
home would prefer the we'll regulated
army canteen to the grog shop. Take
it in Manila where saloons are numer-
ous-drunken soldiers are common.
Beer and whisky are both consumed to
excess. Disease follows, hospitals are
crowded and commands crippled. Here
in lloilo | have not seen a drunken
man during the whole week | have
been here. The soldiers look rugged,
the only hospital is comparatively
empty. The men are nearly all from
Massachusetts, where saloons, inns
and roadhouses are numerous and
where the working people are by no
means total abstainers. The health of
the troops, as stated before, is excel
lent in spite of the fact that Iloilo is
built on low, marsny ground, where
the suns rays are as fierce as, If not
fiercer. than in Manila. Inquiry de-
veloped another interesting fact. The
troops stationed at Iloilo have more
money on deposit with the pay master
than any of those in the saloon dis
tricts of Manila have. The profits Of
the canteen go into the company or
regimental fund, the money being
used to buy delicacies for the conva-
lescent sick and books and magazines
for the well. 1t should not be over
looked either that the liquor in the
army canteen is as pure as can be pur-
chased, while that in saloons may or
may not be, according q the character
OF the saloon keeper. Pure liquors are
bad, adulterated liquors are worse.
From what have seen in Manila and
in lloilo, | am unQualifedly in favor
of the army canteen as against the
saloon. 1t may be interesting to state
in this connection that swearing. loud
talking and boisterous conduct are abb
solutely prohibited in and about the
eanteen. Instead OF card playing, |
gambling, obscene story telling and |
kindred pastimes usually found in a |
saloon. the canteen furnishes good |
rer ling matter and prohibits gambling.
Before the church and the breweries |
form their partnership, would suggest
that our churchmen think this over
little. The older We grow. the more
apparent it becomes to every one Of us
that 1t is necessary at times to make a
choice between evils, because we have
learned that we cannot mold this old
world OF ours into shapes that will
agree with our ideals Of integrity and
morality. My observations, OF course.
would have no effect upon a radical
prohihiuonist, but experience in the
states teaches that there Is a large /,
element composed of honest citizens J
which believes in taking a sensible