Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-10-07

suited from wthful or careless violation
OF standing orders, and could have been
prevented had thf man himself taken the
which he must have been thoroughly ac-
quainted. In small proportion of cases
the disease may hav4 been unavoidable.
and even acquired while actually engaged
IN the work Of sanitation and quarantine
among the natives, but by far the larger
number has been traced to unauthorized
visiting of native huts or eating and drink
Ing forbidden ararleso The immunity en-
ooyed by troops seems to have been directly
proportionate to the strictness of the dis
cipline maintained
Toward the end 7of tie fiscal year reports
from the Philippine Islands are to the eff
rect that cholera'is still prevalent in some
places LuZon has become much less af
1ected, but the dfsease'still smolders in this
island, and there Is an occasional recru-
descence here and there. The Visayan IS
lands are comparative free, but cholera
is prevalent among the Moros in Mindanao
and Jolo.
Effect Of the Canteen.
While the admission rate for alcoholism
represents only so much of the total intern
perance of the army as comes under the
professional observation of the medical Off
GERS, nevertheless. when taken for long
term of years and for many thousands of
men. it is a very fair index of the drinking
habits of the troops. From the reports of
the surgeon general for the past twenty
years it is found that alcoholism is not
nearly so great an evil in the army as it
was prior to. the establishment of the post
exchange, allowing the sale of beer and
light wines to the soldier. From 1883 to
1883 the annual admission rate for alcohol
ism varied from CD to 40 per 1000. When
this last hgure was reached the surgeon
general reported, in 1889 There is here
manifested gratifying temperance move
ment which 1t is hoped the canteen system
may render more actively progressive" and
in 1880. prohibition on the military reser-
walton has been suggested and tried. but
this has Immediately invited the establish
ment of dens of dissipation and disease just
beyond the jurisdiction of the commanding
ofncer. License on the reservation, in the
opinion of our medical officers, is infinitely
preferable to unbridled license outside of 1t.
1t is believed that the canteen system will
have greater effect in reducing the sta
tistics of alcoholism than any measure that
has yet been tried"
1t is Impossible, Also not to attribute a
large part of the steadily increasing ven
nereal disease of the army to the loss of the
canteen, where the soldier, If he so desired
could get his beer throughout the month
but was not subjected to the template to
lntemperance and vice now attendant upon
the expediture of full months pay at the
low resorts infesting the outskirts of our
military reservations.
A slight dimfnution of insanity occurred
in the army during 1902. There were 13S
new cases, equivalent to an admission rate
OF LII per 1000. which is almost identical
with the rate for the decade 1891 to 1900.
Several years experience seems to demon
strate, says the surgeon general, that trop-
1cal service, while it undoubtedly slightly
increases the insanity among soldiers, will
not materially change the sick rates from
that cause noted in past years.