The Winslow mail., 1913-01-25
Mr.. STIMS0N AND
THE CANTEEN

front by Secretary Stimson's re-
port on the manners and the NOR
ais Of the soldier. Probably Mr..
Stimson might Just AS we'll hold
his tongue for all the effect that
his utterances will have upon the
little group of noisy agitators
whose persistence first secured
abolition of the canteen and whose
unyielding prejudices have pre-
vented its restoration. But Mr..
Stimson. as secretary of war, is
bound to present the facts, and it
is well that he should do SO for
the benefit Of those who wish to
know the real causes of army vice
and to lay the blame at the right
doors. And the blame very OBJ
viously lies at the doors of those
who supposed that the soldier
could be discouraged from drink
ing by the simple expedient of
sending him from the barracks,
where he could be supervised and
restrained, to the Infamous dives
outside the barracks, where he
could be neither supervised nor
restrained. That q few pious
wo nen by the mere force of
cla nor should be able to regulate
the barrack life of soldiers and to
enforce their own will against
experience and prudence is one of
the serious marvels of our civil
zation. If it were less serious it
would be laughable. But it is not
laughable that small number of
"reformers" should stand so OBJ
stinately as barrier between the
soldier and his protection from
the most degrading bodily ills.
Mr.. Stimson tells us that he
has personally visited forty-nine
of the army posts. In every in
stance he found nest of vile and
filthy dives just beyond the re-
scrvation gates, laid and baited
as traps for the damnation of the
sollier. He found, upon inquiry.
that certain unmentionahle di-
ceases We're claiming more vic
Ii rs in the American army than
all other important diseases com
bined, more victims than in any
other army III civilization. And
Mr.. Stimson has no doubt as to
the cause for this cruel and abon-
in lble state of things. He tells
US that it is due to the abolition
Of the canteen and to the fact
that maiden aunt legislation has
driven the soldier into these dens
OF iniquity where alcohol is the
very least of the evils that await
him. In the old days the soldier
drank beer III the army canteen.
and resumably it was good beer.
He had neither the temptation
nor the opportunity to drink to
excess, and still less to debauch
himself. Left to himself and
treated as q human being. his
natural tendencies would lead
him to do neither one or the other.
And it may be said incidentally
that the soldier has as good q
right to drink glass of beer as
to eat his dinner, and as good q
right as q woman has to drink q
cup of tea. TO say that he should
not drink glass Of beer in bar
racks has no other effect than to
! send him straight to the dives
that are thus invited to collect
around the reservation gates and
that are no less than miniature
hells in the variety of moral and
physical damnation that they dis
pense.
Mr.. Stimson has said no more
than his predecessors, and prob
ably he has said it just as fruit
lessly. 1t is one of the dishearten-
ing mysteries of our civilization
that small organization of clam
orous prejudices influence the
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