Washington sentinel., 1900-05-26
local Rotes
Derendst the Oanteen,


question heretofore, the front OF the
stage has been occupied b the w. {.
T, u, and the Reform Bureau Of DIR.
Crafts. The other party-the soldier
has had but little to say. In a commun-
ication to the Washington Post one of
these men has his say, and we gladly
reproduce it,
Editor Post In your edition Of last
Wednesday you published an article
where Mrs. T. lien Foster is said to have
appeared before the House Committee
on Military Affairs, her object being to
h we the csnteen feature OF the post
exchange abolished. She comedies that
"while the canteen NAV keep a lew
hardened soldiers from going to vller
haunts, vet its chief end was in giving the
young recruits, boys from homes and
Sabbath schools, their first introduction
to liquor"
There is, l must admit, some truth in
Mrs. Fosters statement, but exceptions
Co not make a rule. According to
Mrs. Foster, the canteen is a vile haunt.
II is about time for some one to step on
the platform and defend a soldiers
privilege.
The attacks made against the canteeu
by the w. c. T. u. and other temperance
societies are too Often repeated. l
hardly believe that these societies would
appreciate an attack made against them
by the army. have served in the army
in different posts IN the Unite d States
and Cuba; have seen the havoc caused
by the non. existence OF the canteen. If
soldiers wish to have a glass Of beer
once in while, it is their own concern,
/ think. Instead of going outside, they
have at hand beer OF good quality, the
profits of the sale giving an addition to
the diet = No man needs to 60 into the
canteen il he doesn't wish to, and II a
man asked to go in refuses firmly, he
will not be pressed; soldiers are not
drunkards and do not try to make one
out of a comrade.
Should Mrs. + oster chance to see this,
1 would call her attention to the report
of the Secretary Of War for 1899 There
she will meet with the views OF every
officer in the army and the views Of the
staff OF on-commissiO Oned officers; they
have much wider experience than Mrs.
Foster can possibly have. have yet to
meet the officer who has not the interest
of the enlisted men at heart; let US trust
them, With many others, hope that
Mrs. Fosters and other persons endeav-
ors in this direction will be iruitless.
It is a pity that the interest in the
question of the army canteen should
have been revived in the form that it
now assumes. It is not necessary TO
question the good faith OF Representa-
tive Bowersock and the various evan
gelical bodies which have protested
against the army canteen and have tried
to make their protest effective; but the
testimony OF practically every officer in
the army is in favor OF the canteen, not
because they approve of beer selling,
but because they see how good influence
the canteen has been among the enlisted
men.
The army canteen, it may be repeated
here, is the enlisted mans club; he
maintains it, and in it may get beer,
light wines and tobacco, read the papers
asd magazines and play cards and
billiards, il his club is able to own
billiard table, He goes to the canteen
when off duty, without needing a leave
Of absence, and in the canteen is always
gubject to military rule. In posts where
canteens are maintained court martIals
are fewer, the discipline is better, the
condition Of the men is better, bank
deposits are larger than in those where
outside saloons alone are available.
We think that the War Department
can very we'll afford to regard this
incident as closed. When our good men
succeed, through a combination OF pre-
cept and example, in changing human
nature. it is safe to say that the authori-
ties will be only too glad to accommodate
army regulations and rules to the
haleyon transformation. Until then.
however, the Government will have to
take men as they find them and do their
best with the material at their disposal.
After all, it may be just as well to bear
in mind the fact that the founders Of
this Republic were at great pains to
proclaim its absolute hostility to any
and all lpropagandas save that ofpersonal
liberty.