The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-06-03
SOLDIERS MISS CANIEEN
THEY HAVE No PLACE TO SPEND
THEIR LEISURE
HOURS
DRUNKENNESS IS INCREASING
Army officer just Returned From
Philippines Adds His Testi-
mOny in Favor of Regi-
mental Club Room.

An army officer, who recently returned
TO this vicinity after two years of fed
service in the Philippines, said to a re-
porter for the New York Evening Post
that the only persons i'll the East who ap-
peared to be reapIng the benefits of the
abolition of the post cantcens were the
dive-keepers and traders in cheap
whisky. The enlisted men, said this Of
fiCer, whose condition the white ribbon
societies had tried to elevate, had been
made the victims Of well-mtended but
misguided legislation.
johnny Green Cthe sobliquet of the
American soldier will drink declared
the shoulder straps, and we might just
rs well start on these premises calling
black black, and white white. He
drinks just like man of any other class,
and sometimes more and sometimes less.
But out there, especially when you are
stationed in a wilderness, say 200 miles
from your nearest base of supplies and
100 miles from civilization proper. way,
there isn't much else to do when off duty
That does not mean drink your hide full
It's what a soldier calls loosen up In
stead of the men sitting down in the
mud and growing, reciting their woes
and rehearsing every kick they might
nave had coming for a year, they used
to go to the canteen. stretch their legs
under a table, such as it was, play cards,
read the magazines and papers, smoke a
pipe. and drink their beer The canteens
sold good beer at low prices.
IF a man became obstreperous his
mates took him to his quarters. where he
was out of sight till he cooled off. Order
was always mainta ned. The solder
never got any liquor over post cantenn
bar but he could buy sandwiches, canned
food jelly, fruit, and other 6clicacies
And he had the satisfaction of knowing
that every cent he spent there was going
to come back to him in Some way, be-
cause the profits Of the canteen were IL
vided, by the officers, equally among the
companies. With these dividends the
companies bought fresh milk, butter
eggs. fresh meat, and fruit to reduce the
monotony of government rations at their
mess.
GROG-SHOPS START.
'aThen the canteens were abolished It
was easy to see the effect, almost in
stantIy. Most of the small posts could
not support their club rooms. Without
a place to hang out the men became
restless. There was no COO beer to ease
their thirst. The men began to have
grievances. or thought they had The enter
prising natives and Spaniards began to
start grOg-shops and dives in the neigh
borhood of every garrison They sold
poor whisky, a local drink called 'beno,
distilled rec and alcohol, which is said
to be the cause of most of the insanity
on the islands, AMI beer. But the beer
was % cents a bottle, and a soldier can
not afford that. The other drinks look
ed attractive, because they were cheap.
Now, when Johnny Green wanted a drink,
he usually got it, and the risk he ran
in going to these places, especially II
they were forbidden by the commandant,
lent zest to the excursion, AMI resulted,
Oftentimes, in Johnny taking enough to
last him till he could come again That
Is to say, he got his bundle before he
started for camp.
1T often happened that before he land
ed In camp the 'beno' and cheap whisky
had got in their deadly work. and be-
muddled Johnny imagined himself in a
fight. Nine times out Of ten he would be-
come insubOrdinate, curse mis- superiors,
be thrown into the guard house and his
amusement be brought to a close by a
cOurt-martial, which sent him up for a
long term in a military prison.
Those are my impressions Of garrison
life with and without a post canteen.
must say that more drunkenness among
the enlisted men has come to my atten-
ton since the canteen was abolished than
I ever saw in the army in the days of it's
prime"