The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-05-22
1 RESTORE THE CANTEEN | TO THE ARMY IS PLEA
 | OF AN EX-CAVALRYMAN
Much Misunderstanding Concerning
 the Alleged Abuses Which Existed While the Canteen Was Sanc- | tiOned.-What Five Years l Without it Has | Shown
(By Louis Duchez, Ex-CavaIryman U. s. Army.)

U. s. Army.)
 Did Congress make a mistake in taking the canteen away from the soldiers? Does this account, in part at least, for the assertions during the l past five years? Is the canteen a de- trlment or benefit to an army post? These questions have been asked many times since the enlisted man lost his canteen. But they are now be- l ing asked oftener than ever. The great increase in assertions and in drunkenness and the spread of dan gerous contagious diseases through | out the Army not only have alarmed Army officials, but citizens as we'll. Also the extensive use of dope in the form of morphine, cocaine, opi-
 um, etc, with the resulting increase l of insanity in nearly every Army post, has aroused the heads of the Nation to the fact that there is some | thing radically wrong in connection
 with the regular Army of the United States.
 What are the facts? What is the canteen, anyway? What part did it play in the social life of the regular? Finally, should it be restored? Few people outside the Army seem- ed to know exactly what the canteen was. Many thought it meant that the Government had a large store muse toF ali sofls or lntoxlcanIs'
 where the soldier could go with his
 canteen, get it filled. then drink
 booze" to his eternal satisfaction.
 Few citizens thought it meant any
 thing else but a grand place for sold 1ers to carouse and disgrace them selves. As g. matter of fact the can teen was the social club of the sol diers. It was conducted solely for enlisted men along the same lines Inc offioarc' o111h ic o0n6nofaH
 day. Only beer and soft drinks were handled; the stronger alcoholic bev- erages, such as whisky, were prohibit ted in the canteen.
 The canteen was the general gath
 ring place of the post. Cards, check ers and dOminoes were generally sup piled During the afternoons and
 evenings the men off duty gathered in these canteens, played games, chatted and met their friends. In this way the dull routine of military life was
 made less burdensome. Those who care1 to read could look through the
 magazines, which were furnished al-
 so. Those who wished to spend an
 hour or so in the gymnasium which
 was located in the same building, were privileged to do that. Often there
 was piano in the same building, and, with the assistance of musical talent, of which there is considerable amons the regulars, harmless fun was furn
 ished for an entire gathering. The
 glass or so of beer which the soldiers
 drank rarely intoxicated any of them.
 It was more as social club, as a
 medium for social intercourse rather
 than a saloon" that the regulars
 valued the canteen.
 A commissioned officer was placed
 in charge of every canteen. Under
 him was a non-commissioned officer
 Ga sergeant or a corporaD, who had
 immediate charge and attended to
 the clerical work of the institution.
 The profits made from the canteen
 were divided among the various troops
 and companies, and used to swell the
 company funds. Every month a
 statement was made to the command
 ing officer of each outfit" Many
 a fancy Sunday dinner was furnished
 the soldiers as a result of these monthly dividends, which were used
 to purchase foods not issued by the regular rations. Every week can- teen checks were issued by the ''top" sergeant. These chcks could be re- deemed at the canteen for cardboard or brass chips designating purchas- es from one to fifty cents.
 To-day the canteen is no more. The enlisted man no longer has his social
 
 whim of temperance organizations unacquainted with inside conditions in the Army, practically compelled the soldiers who drank, and many who didn't, to run to saloons and dives outside the posts. At the same time it abolished the enlisted mems social club Now, instead of drinking beer, which underwent close inspection when the canteen existed, the soldiers drink "rotgut'' and 'varnish.''
 When the canteen existed a large percentage of the regulars seldom left the Army posts. They found com panionship and social intercourse among their comrades in the canteen. | To-day most of the soldiers spend dives and dens in the vicinity of the Army posts and beyond military in- spectors As a rule, the soldiers who were subject to excessive drinking | could be taken care of when the canteen existed. The officers in charge had them spotted and watched that they did not drink too much, which | was seldom when the drinking was confined to beer. Then the canteen was located @ few yards from the bar racks, and the intoxicated ones could | be sent to their bunks-or placed in the guard house until they sobered up. The canteen officers exercised the same authority as ponce OHlcer in civil life. Besides, when the hab- l itual drunkards could draw checks for beer during the month, they gen. orally spent all their money in the canteen before payday and, therefore, did not have any money left to ca rouse outside the posts. This worked to the advantage of the mess funds of the various outfits instead of en- couraging the development of a horde of "boot-leggers" and parasites, which | may be observed around every Army post
 To-day the outskirts of nearly every Army post proves the mistake and the folly of abolishing the can teen. Now every Army post, nearly, has its "can-dump." In the lockers of the soldiers may be found tin buckets which are used to carry beer from these "can-dumps." At Jeffer- son Barracks, about eight miles from St. Louis, Mo-, there is one that is a disgrace to the State and to the Ma tion. It is located just outside the reservation. No police of ficers are there to see that the laws are obeyed. In and around it scores of the most debased women live from one months end to the other and leech upon the soldiers. Jefferson Barracks is a recruiting rendezvous where rockies" are given the first tS nf ai,ojr nd