The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1912-11-22
ARMY OFFICERS
Listen to Ringing Indictment Of
Alcohol.

l. After careful study OF alcOnOi as
beverage and medicine | have been un.
able to discover one single beneficial OF
useful purpose it serves in the human
economy.
| / will briefly enumerate few Of its
most important psychological and Patio
logical effects:
First. Through its inhibitory action
on the brain centers alcohol lowers all OF
the mental faculties, such as intelligent
thought, judgment, caution and quick
ness of action. If continued for years
the intellect is permanently affected and
the mental stigma transmitted to sue
ceeding generations.
Second. Itlowers the moral standard,
lessons self-restraint, is productive OF
unreliability, untruthfulness, dishonesty
and crime.
Third. 1t affects the resisting powers
of the red and white corpuscles and the
blood serum against diseases.
Fourth. 1t lessons working capacity,
marching endurance, accuracy and
rapidity in rifle firing, ability to COM
mand troops and solve military prob
lens, to navigate and maneuver war
vessels, to act as members of court
martial and military boards, to properly
perform administrative work, to develop
the intellect and fit one for the higher
duties and responsibilities of life.
Fifth. 1t has been the cause of count
less unjust court-martial sentences
against officers and men, of harsh Of
fetal decisions and determinations in
assignments, of hopeless aspirations and
ruined careers.
Sixth. 1t causes sickness, impairs
health and usefulness, adds greatly to
the non-efficiency of both officers and
men, imposes additional burden and
cost to the medical department, de-
prives the government of otherwise valu-
able officers and enlisted men, and
forces them on the retired or pension
list, with corresponding increase of
governmental expenditures.
Seventh. Practically all of the crimes
in the Army can be directly traced to
the use of alcohol. Most of the MUIR
ders, suicides, robberies, courts-martial
and dismissal of officers, defalcations
and populations, Implications of pay
accounts, prison and guard-house SEN
fences of enlisted men, assertions, VEN
ereal diseases and insanity are due to
the use of alcoholic beverages.
Medical officers, the proper perform
ance of whose duties involves the safety
and lives of others, should especially be
debarred from the use of alcoholic
drinks while on duty, because it is a
well-known scientific fact that alcohol
effects all of the intellectual functions,
deprives men of judgment and units
them for important duties.
Indeed, total abstinence should be-
come a requirement in the election of
our Presidents, Governors of States,
Senators, Congressman, Judges and all
officers within the suffrage of the people.
Besides no one who uses alcoholic bev-
erages should be appointed to the i'm
portant positions of cabinet officers,
members of the Supreme Bench, or
district courts, heads of government
bureaus, civil or military, to the COM
mand of military or navy forces or any
other position of importance or re-
sponsibility.
Every officer who accepts commits
sion in the army and navy relinquishes,
in part, his civil rights and personal lib
erty. As compensation for submits
sion to regulations, orders, command
and duty the government provides am
Pile pay and allowances and obligates
itself to pension both officers and soldiers
on age or length of service, or for men
tai or physical disability contracted in
the line of duty.
For this reason [ hold that the gov
eminent has the right to require every
officer and enlisted man on the active
list to safeguard himself agaist disease
and vicious habits, which are inimicaI
to health and efficiency.
Only recently the War Department
has issued an order depriving officers
and enlisted men of pay while on sick
report or unable to perform duty as
result of diseases and conditions con-
tracted through drinking or other vicious
practices.
In view of its temporary and perma-
nent disabling and disqualifying effects,
both on the mind and body, let us hope