Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1913-05-23
PROGRESS FOR CANTEEN
Movement to Restore Army CHntccn
Gaining observation-disclosures Want II.


Throughout the country wherever
the subject is discussed by those ia.
miliar with conditions as they are, the
movement for the restoration of the
army canteen for the moral improve
ment Of the army itself is rapidly gain
ing growth
The movement is pretty strong in
the opinion of Harplrs Weekly, which
said recently:
Mrs. Alice Burbank, representing
the wives and daughters of the enlisted
men OF the army, brought last week TO
the house committee on military af
fairs a petition for it signed by 2,30o
women. Secretary Stimson bears wit.
ness that since the canteen has been
abolished the health of the army has
gone from bad to worse Surgeon Gen
eral Torney estimates from statistics
that alcoholism has increased one hun
dred per cent. since the canteen was
abolished. There is no army in the
world, he says, which has such a bad
health record as the American army
"There seems no room for doub;
about the effect of the abolition of the
canteen on the morals and health of the
army. Has not this experiment now
gone far enough? Congress knows the
truth. 1t is perfectly we'll aware that
! it would not permit the influence OF
the Women's Christian Temperance
Union to prescribe the beverages of its
own members, and that past Congress
es, in permitting that influence to abol-
ish the canteen, have done the army
great injustice and damage. And Con-
gress must also be aware that it's pred
ecessors in dealing with this subject
have been cowardly; that they have not
considered the good of the service nor
the health of the enlisted men, but
chiefly politics; and because the w. c.
T. U. and its allies could influence a
good many votes and the army very
few, they have sacrificed the army to
the threats of political women
"The resolution before the New Yor.;
legislature calling upon Congress to
restore the army canteen embodies a
Legitimate concern of the state" says
the New York World. Through the
canteen, soldiers at the regular army
posts were sold beer and light wines
and provided with social center un-
der official supervision. 1t was abol
ished in the name of temperance, and
an intemperance unknown before has
resulted. It's abolition was to promote
morality in army life, and an immoral
ity greater than that known in any
other army has resulted from driving
the soldiers for diversion into the dives
which have been substituted outside
the posts.
Seldom has fanaticism in a good
cause so overreached and undone it.
self as in this case. Let US have the
help of Governor Sulzer and the legis.
lature in restoring the army canteen."
The Newark IN. J.) Star points out
that endorsement by the national con-
gress of the Daughters of the American
Revolution Of the bill to restore the ar
my canteen shows that the ignorant
and mawkish sentiment that impelled
a foolish Congress to abolish the call
teen and do infinite injury to the reg
ular army Is not shared by the Ameri-
can women generally but is confined to
the comparative few whose ideas are
Influenced by q narrow-minded coup-
try clergy of prohibition prejudices.
The d. A. r. rep.S sents the best type
of American womanhood and American
patriotism and its endorsement of the
bill should go far to encourage weak
minded and timid congressman to per-
form national duty and undo great
wrong.