The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-04-17
|sAYS 'CANTEEN is
| MENACE TO ARMY.
Brigadier-G General Daggct De-
clares 1t Source oil Evil That
Should Not BE Restored.


Brigadier- General a. $. Daggett, Of
1.-THE Tinted States Army. discussed the
Army Canteei" before II small au-
dience in the auditorium or the Central
Young Mems Christian Association last
night lie opened his address with Il
tribute to the women Of the Woinans
Christian Temperance Union, Under
whose auspices the meeting was held.
On account OF their efforts, he said,
there are now In tile United States
Army better men and better soldiers
tkan In the. days of the army cantecn.
Having been in tile service more
than forty years, General DHggett has
been able to see what he considers tho
i'll effects OF the canteen since It's foun-
da ton end to note the Improvement
since It's adjustment about seven years
ago. The canteen. as II existed, he de.
ciared. vas nothing more than saloon,
II. which the soldier might get all the
beer he could drink IL he had the price
Did Not Stop Liquor Drinking.
1t has been argued. he said. that the
existence OF canteen in an army post
kept the men from the saloons. On
the contrary, he asserted. 1t almost In
variably occurred that az soon as u
man got slightly under the Influence
of beer he went to the saloons, where
he was almost certain to get beastly
drunk. In the time OF the canteen. he
said the total abstainers became mod
crate drinkers and the moderate drink.
els practically drunkards.
| Showing the first steps toward keep
! ing the soldiers away from the saloons
and still doing without the canteen, he
told OF The commanding officer at Fort
Vancouver, who, with the assistance
OF the women Of the post, fitted up
rooms for soldiers club. In the first
place. these rooms were furnished most
iattractivcly, games of every descrip-
ton being placed at the disposal OF
the men.
Almost from the first this plan was
great success. Later, on visiting the
fort on pay day. General Daggett said
that less than 200 Of the Loo men Of
the post were in the town. Since the
canteen las been abolished such club
| rooms are in every army post. Both
officers and men find them infinitely
more useful and attractive than the
canteen.
Saloon People Want 1t.
In view Of the excellent condition OF
affairs since the canteen went out of
existence. said General Daggett. the
liquor interests have been bending their
efforts TO re-establish it. They have
met with such small success that ap-j'
parently they have almost ceased fight
| ing. There is now but little chance of
| Il return of the evil, he thinks unless
| q measure is gotten through Congress
while the temperance interests arc not
watching.
Aside from the i'll effects on the per-
| sonnet of the army. he said that in
| his opinion, a resurrection OF the can
! teen would be one of the hardest blows
ever struck the temperance cause. In
| the first place, the cantecn is always
in charge of a commissioned officer
generally the captain of a company
which gives prestige to the traffic
| Then. should the government again
| countenance it, those in favor of the
! liquor traffic would at once point to
the fact and say that the government
| had tried prohibition with its soldiers
without success.
or the officers in the army who have
declared themselves in favor of the
canteen. he gave as examples General
Fred Grant and General Funston
While he said that he believed that
| they were both honest and sincere.
| they had seen no service during the
time when the cantcen was a feature
in army life. and hence were not COM
petent judges. General Grant resigned
from the army before it's establish
ment and when he Joined again 1t had
been abolished. General Funsten was
| not in the service until after it was a
thing of the past.