Las Vegas optic., 1914-09-25
ALCOHOL BARRED
FROM MILITARY
CUPBOARDS
1T HAS BEEN FOUND A DlSAD-
VANTAGE TO SOLDIERS
IN THE FIELD

There is food for reflection in the
fact that the exigencies of commerce,
the advantageous pursuit of industrial
operations, and even the preparation
for real or anticipated war may
promptly bring about hygienic re-
forms which widespread preaching
and earnest exhortation are at best
slow in promoting. The safety first"
slogan which one hears in nearly
every city of the United States at the
present time is one aspect of move
ment to increase the personal welfare
of the individual by decreasing the ia
bility to injury through the careless
ness of fellow man. The same spirit
crops out in the "ten trade command
ments" of the worker which are post
ed conspicuously here and there in
factories where personal injuries and
loss of life furnish unfortunate and
let it be frankly added-unprofitable
! incidents in the conduct of manuiac-
turing operations. The reminder
''thou shalt not" gains added force
when its value is expressed in terms
of practice and daily experience rath
er than in the more vague language Of
ethical considerations. And accord
ingly there is a telling force in sucf
direct admonitions as the following
i from a recent compilation for use il
a factory;
Thou shalt take no unnecessar.
risks, nor try to show off, nor pla,
practical jokes, for by thy careless
ness thou mayest do injury which will
have effect unto the third and fourt
generations to follow.
Remember thou are not The onl
one on the job, and that other live
are just as important as thine own.
, Thou shalt not throw matches c
, greasy waste on the floor, as a dirt
worker is a clumsy worker, and
clumsy worker is a menace to hi
2 fellow workers"
, The unexpected situations create
by the war have, in the past, furnisl
ed the stimulus for new invention
and useful processes. The armies an
navies of today represent the mos
!, efficient fighting forces that the nj
tions can command. No device, n
;, agency that will contribute to the
power and preparedness is willingl
neglected. Health is prime consit
Grafton in this respect Field Marsha
Earl Kitchener is reported to hav
counseled the English soldiers to al
stain from drinking while abroad, r.
minding them that their duty cannC
be done unless health is preserved
The men were cautioned to keep col
stantly On guard against excesse
The German emperor is said to hav
forbidden the treating of the so
diers in his armies. The sale of al
sinthe, imported by French soldiers i
an earlier war when alcohol was use
to fight fever, has been restricted
Paris.
1t is of slight consequences, say
, the Journal of the American Medics
Association, whether or not these ri
mors are entirely correct. They rel
resent the current tendencies, whic
are undeniable by any one who ha
watched the recent decisions of Amel
ican naval authorities in the face c
adverse criticism couched in the usus
phrases concerning personal libert.
The truth is, that "the relation of a
cohol and fighting has been SQUARED
: met, and the fact admitted that the
are not compatible" A recent ed
torial writer has expressed this b
saying that temperate army wa
something not conceived of in the oil
theories of war; but drunkard |
today as much out --of-piace in a
army as he would be on al aibattleshiI
AS every great conflict, whether o
church or state, Of labor or commerce
has brought out some permanen
good, however clouded it may ten
porarily have been by the major il
sues at stake. so the horrible strif
which the world is now experiencin
may actually be developing a wa
against intemperance-a permanen
advantage of no mean proportions.