Arizona republican., 1906-02-15
THE ARMY CANTEEN.

| A courageous member of congress from Philadelphia has introduced a bill | to restore the army canteen and it is
 now before. the house military commit | tee. The official report of army officers and that of the secretary of war dis closes the appalling effects that have followed the abolition of the canteen | Disease and degeneration appear among the enlisted men at every post They resort to the pitfalls that sprang ! up when the canteen was abolished and drink poison stuff and are demor- alized by the debauchery that follows Discipline suffers, and the whole sery e ice is injured.
 In the canteen the men had the use
 of beer and light wines, with such food refreshments as they needed to eke out the army ration. But that was not all The canteen was the enlisted mems post club. The profits provided a Ii- brary and reading room and the rec reation of games. Man is a social be- ing. He craves the contact and com pany of his fellows If these be within reach under circumstances that make the association innocent his craving IS
 satisfied, and he is made a better man. whether he is a citizen or a soldier. If his social instincts cannot be satis- fled in an innocent way. especially the soldier will seek that qualification un- der conditions that drag him down in to vice.
 Wise parents let their children play while at home and play with them, and permit them other needed recre- ations innocent in themselves It is safeguard of good habits and a pre- vention of immoral and degrading con tacts. The same principal goes through life, from childhood through manhood. Army officers have their post club. and
 find in it relief from the monotony of
 post routine. If they cannot get such
 relief innocently he will have it vic
 iously.
 What would the enemies of the can
 teen have the soldier to do? In his bar
 racks there are no means of amuse- ment, no chance even to instruct his mind. There is no post school in which
 he can strengthen the weak places in
 his education. He must be an excep-
 tional man if he does not reckIessly seek to break in the monotony by means that finally destroy him mental
 ly and physically. He will not occupy his mind reading tracts upon the dan gers of alcohol and tobacco, nor will he satisfy himself in the perusal of pious
 tracts. Many think, however. that he should find such occupation sufficient
 to satisfy his social hunger, and it was believed by the good and well-meaning people who carried on the canteen cru
 sade that they would be able to turn
 the army into a great and pious camp,
 where tracts and hymns would fill in the giddy round of recreation.
 They were wrong. The medical sta tistics and reports of the officers show they were. We do not expect that any
 of the prepOnderance of testimony will convince them. They will go up like an army with banners against the bill
 to restore the canteen. They will be supported by the vicious element that profits out of the sale of bad whiskey
 in the dead falls that fringe every ar my post. Cunning vice and simple
 minded virtue will go hand in hand to defeat the Philadelphia bill Vice will know just what it is doing and virtue
 will be deaf and blind to the sure con | sequences.