The Hawaiian gazette., 1912-10-25
Letters From
The People
SOLDIER ON SALOONS.

Editor Advertiser:-I wish TO ask
your acceptance of this letter. dealing
with the temperance question among
the soldiers.
/ may here state that the article is
correct, as il comes from a person who
knows, and it may be regarded as the
truth.
For the present we will confine our
attention to the army on Oahu. There
are about 1000 men on this Island con
neeted with the military posts, whose
pay will average 500 per man, and the
people Of this city may safely figure
on nearly three quarters of this money
coming into circulation in Honolulu.
Let us stop here to ask ourselves who
gets the most benefit from this money,
the respectable business man or the sa
loonl Also, Mr.. Voter, let me ask you
whether you want this money to 90
towards the good of the city, or do
YOU want to see it go towards the sup
port of crime and the institutions where
crime is bred and rearedl
1t may be that the majority of citi-
zens hold the idea that all, or nearly all,
of the men in the service are drinkers,
more or less, but nevertheless, hard as
it may be Tor some to believe after hav-
ing seen so many soldiers in drunken
condition, the fact still remains that the
hard drinker or the habitual drinker is
in the minority. So, Mr.. Voter, the men
of the United States Army who are tenn
perate and well behaved would, without
doubt, appreciate it if you help them
protect the name of the army by pro
tecting them; by not classifying them
rs whole with their less temperate
comrades.
We have one condition in the army
here in Oahu that is hard to be met
by any other means than the abolish
ment of the saloon AS you people of
Honolulu know, the men of the service
are restricted to the wearing of the uni
form at all times. Now the men of the
service are in the main backward or
shy when in uniform, as they realize
that they are conspicuous, and all have
the somewhat mistaken idea that they
are not welcome in most public places
when so dressed. Thus we have the
fact lid bare to us that there is only
one public place that the soldier thinks
emporium, where he is really welcome
as long as his money lasts.
| / ask YOU people of Honolulu if you
don't think that it would be for the
] good of the whole city if these men
could be kept away from drink and pos
sible crime (for crime goes hand in
/ hand with liquor), and thus be made
into fine and honorable body of men,
ready at moments notice to go out
TO battle for the safety and protection
of the United States and this place
where you have your honest
1t is a sad but true fact that the
guardhouses of this Island are full of
young men, who are for the most part
young fellows who, were it not foI
liquor, would be credit to any com,
munity. There are at one of the city
posts upwards of forty men in confne
ment, of whom over half are men dis
honorably discharged from the army
and in the majority of cases the cause
of their misfortune was the present
liquor demon.
Get together, You good citizens, and
he is welcome at, and that is the drink
fight for the men of the army, as wei
as your kin, for the men of the army
will fight for you in times of need.
J Can you appreciate what it means tC
this place when Uncle Sam puts about
. $4,000 men here? II so, let us show
, it NOW.
In closing | will say to you peopl,
, of Honolulu who have boys of your own
. either at home or away: Put yourselves
in the place of the parents of the arm.
boys and see if you would not find i
in your hearts to thank the people o.
the community of which your boy wa
) part if they helped protect him, al
well as yourselves, from the demon rum
A SOLDIER.