The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-09-30
SOLDIER AND CANTEEN
WHAT GEN. o. O. HOWARD, TEMPER
ANCE ADVOCATE, SAYS or THEM.
Since Drinking Cannot he Prevented
Ii Must be Regulated, ard Cam
teen Offers Best Means.

WHICH TUES llou NlLSCu clCClc dl0 AZ
seems TO contradict all ordinary rules. but
genius OF this type is so rare that IL II
scarcely worth consideration. To obtain
success the young soldier must set before
himself the lines Of his duty and should
work along those lines INCREASINGLY He
should be careful, conscientious, studious
and unforgetting. War. like every other
art. grows more complex as the years
pass by. and IL requires an ever broaden
ing intelligence 10 keep in touch and TO
master the constantly multiplying number
OF details.
A trained intelligence is a hundred times
better and more efficient than unframed
unintelligence So far as mere bravery 10
concerned the great Author OF our being
has made men in more or less the same
mold. The Indian and the Turk. the Der
wish and the coolie. the Mslay and the
Ashantee have repeatedly displayed as high
a heroism and as reckless a courage as any
civilized nation. But when Il comes TO the
conflict between bravery and ignorance on
the one side and bravery and intelligence
on the other he former is invariably
routed.
The young soldier should remember the
old adge OF a healthy mind In a healthy
body and should be as careful with his
physical frame as with his mental or
ganization. This fact is now known and
appreciated by the military authorities of
the world. so that every hrst-class army
is a school and a gymnasium, as well as a
camp. No one who studies the work going
on in such educational Institutions as West
Point and Annapolis or the corresponding
schools in Germany, France and England
can help realizing the importance TO mill
tary success of the highest training. II Is
well illustrated by the fact that in the
university clubs of the old world and the
new the graduates OF the military and ma
val schools of the nation stand on a perfect
par with the alumni OF the best colleges.
I noticed the other day that at the Uni
versity Club Of New York the seal Of West
Point is sculptured on the same wall with
those of Harvard. Yale and Columbia
MORAL LAWS PREVAIL.
The young soldier, who studies hard and
keeps in fine corporal condition is bound
TO pass the laggard and sluggard. II this
is true in peace IL is doubly true in time Of
war. He is the man who is selected for
important missions, for dangerous UNDER
takings and for the command OF those
less gifted than himself. He rises some
times step by step and sometimes by leaps
and bounds. and If he lives is bound 10 at
tain distinction and high rank Let no
young man ever forget that the principles
Of morality and righteousness are as potent
In military as in secular affairs. There are
no two laws of right and wrong. one for
war and one for peace. Truthfulness. pur-
ity. honesty and sobriety, hopefulness and
piety are a better equipment than any steel
forged by men. There is a prevalent i'm
preston that a little dissipation does a SOL
der good or else that it does him no HARM
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Dissipation works evil enough in the quiet
times of peace. but in war Its ravages are
unreasonable. There is a strain and pres
sure i'm military life which demand rugged
strength and health on the part OF the in
dividual. When TO this strain Is added the
loss occasioned by any and an
forms OF dissipation, the man is weakened
and undermined to a sorrowful degree. IL
wounded he stands much less chance OF
recovery than the moral man, and even
| where he does recover his commissioners
Is much slower. Around every army Is
an atmosphere Of camp and typhoid fever.
| dysentery and other deadly Ills. A healthy
man goes through these with impunity.
but a dissipated one is liable TO succumb
at any moment.
OF the thousands and tens Of thousands
| who die in every war q small fraction sue
cumb to the bullet, the bayonet and the
| sword. Two-thirds. and it has been said
as high as three-fourths, are the victims
| of disease, and this word disease in most
instances is a polite mask for dissipa-
ton. Liquor and immortality cut OF five
| times more men than all the weapons yet
invented by man.
ADVOCATES TEMPERANCE.
I know 1T is not fashionable for an old
| soldier to be a temperance advocate. but I
must. as a matter OF duty. bear testimony
against the use OF intoxicants. and es-
pecialIy the strong distillates, on the part
of the soldiers. Ar army OF 10000 men who
never drank or dissipated would conquer
one of 10000 which INDUCED in those prac-
tees. This is the real secret of the success
of the bodies known as fanatics. whose
exploits ill so many pages in history. The
Puritans under Cromwell. the Spanish war
riors I'm the Moorish wars. the Moslem
hordes under Saladin. were religious en-
thusiasts each in his own way. but all alike
I'm being free from the vices Of everyday
4 Dlt. HIS 41aAAAg 80 N@C- "a
vincible and irresistible.
But it is difficult If not impossible to
keep all men up 10 the same high standard.
Some take pleasure in exercise and in de-
veIoping their bodies. while others are in
dolent and neglectful OF themselves. Some
love 10 study and become accomplished.
while others are lethargic and apathetic.
Some conscientiousIy follow high moral
ideals. while others drift with the tide OF
events. An enthusiast will insist upon all
men behaving and living alike. but a wise
man will satisfy himself with doing the
best which circumstances allow
Thus in respect TO the army ~canteen, con-
corning which so much has been said by
those who are informed upon the subject
as well as others who know nothing at all
about the matter, / must say that IL meets
with the wants of the average soldier. and.
while Ii does much harm. its evils are
much less than its benefits. and the harm
that IL does is small compared with that
which takes place I'm its absence. From my
own personal view point I do not believe
in the army canteen and I would not have
them IL every soldier was like myself. but
the experience OF every army in the world
has shown TO It's leaders that the use OF
~ 80 ~.1.rr,u eho T~rrE~,-.-- -