, 1900-12-24
OPPOSES WOMEN
CAPTAIN VARNUM'S IDEA OF
THE VIC. T. U.
WORK.
He Defends the Canteen-Says That
the Liquor Traffic is Best Con-
trolIed When Under Inspection Of
the Army Officers.

Il am glad the house canteen pro
vision was amended in the bill for ar
my reorganization so as to permit the
sale of beer" said Captain c.. A. Var
mum this morning. The beer is sold
under government supervision. the of
iCers know where the men are, n 1t
is altogether satisfactory. The young
fellows will go to the canteen. sit
around and talk or play an innocent
game of cards, drink a few glasses of
beer and go home in due eason If
the cantecn were to be abolished all
sorts of low dives would be establish
ed and the soldiers would become
drunk and disordcrly and probably be
under arrest half of the time.
These well-intentioned w. c. T. U.
women are unconsCiously doing all in
their power to aid in the maintenance
of the dives about Fort Logan by max
ing such a tremendous ado about the
selling of liquor to the soldiers in can
teen. They look upOn the officers as
maliciously encouraging vice and
drunkenness because they favor the
canteen. when, as a matter of fact, no
woman upon earth has One-tenth the
interest in keeping the men sober and
steady as has the captain Of his com
pany.
Officers realize that. unless the liq-
uor traffic is legalized to a certain de-
gree drunkenness. with accompanying
evils. becomes prevalent in the army.
| remember DR.. Taylor said to me one
time: Wouldn't it be a good thing if
were dead
Prohibition is Impossible.
Temperance enthusiasts cannot be
made to appreciate that people who
wish to drink will get liquor some way.
| remember in Junction City. Kan, the
women would not believe hat any
liquor was $ in the town, and wen
when the reports of the internal rev.
enue department showed that more IL
Quor had been sold in that prohibition
town than in any other town in the
United States OF an equal size. the wo-
men would o believe it.
Officers Prefer the Canteen.
The greater part of the army Off.
GERS believe as | do. In 1899 the COM
handing officers in every part OF the
United States We're asked to express
their views in regard to the Canteen,
to me hat the corps organization of
the artillery. which the house accept
ed and the subcommittee does not ap-
prove OF, is a good thing. 1t holds a
certain body of men together. II es-
tablishes pride in a particular organi-
cation, where there is no attachment
to an especial troop. and it destroys
reglmental pride and interest. When
a troop is mustered in under a certain
,aptain. he naturally desires to make
it one of the best troops in service and
SOUu TtSullS are accomplished
1t seems to me a mistake to at
taCh those who work in the adjutant
generals or paymaster's department
to the line, as is anticipated. When a
quartermaster. for instance. gains eX-
perienCc in his department. and IS do
ing first rate, it seems foolish to send
him back to the line and put a new man
in his place. who has the whole BUSH
ness to learn. However, this measure
will undoubtedly be passed
Favors Native Regiments.
Il favor the formation Of native Fill
Pine. Cuban and Porto Rican Iegi-
ments. Already there are eight Ia
tive regiments in Porto Rico. 1t is a
good thing for them to be differed by
Americans, for they learn something
about military methods. They can in
crease the number of men in the ar
tillery. cavalry and infantry to about
100. 600 men.
"As for the establishment of corps
Of women nurses, | do not like the idea.
Men make better nurses in the army.
and what We need is a school for the
training of men as nurses"