The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-04-16
OLD BRUTAL DAYS.
Eph small Reveals the Rsvases OF Naval
Alcohol.


To THE EDITOR OF THE SuN-ST.
met Mr. Eph Small In Hennessy's yester-
day. II see the curse O. runs fallen on
the navy" he remarked; IAN it's a knock
out blow fer old John Barleycorn, who's
ben a-rais!n' hob with our navy from the
days o. Decatur an Perry down TO the
recent conflict between Dewey an the
Germans.
They amt no teiin' what we'd a. done
to them bloody Algerian pirates back
there In seventeen hundred an somethin'
II the bosun had piped to grape juice
afore we cleared the deck fer action. The
chances are we'd "a signed peace
treaty without FIRM a gun Yes. them
was the brutal days when, with q bit OF
in the hearts O pirates. kings an other
potentates"
Eph sighed regretfuliy.
III Pau. Jones had "a known the blight
IN effects o. rum on the human consti-
tootion," he continued. IAN had served
his men with round o. grape Juice or
sody water afore closin in on the enemy.
they's no telln' what he'd "a done to the
Serapis"
You want to remember" said. that
times have changed"
Yes" he replied. they hev. A mans
no longer a man IL he acts like one. The
fathers OF the country drank when they
an raised families an minded their own
business. They want no male dress
makers then. ner paid reformers, ner
penny line uplifters. ner popeyed men
o. missions Things was normal. In
them days a man was his brothers keeper
fer to see that he want Jailed to-day
he's his keeper fer to see that he is.
sech Is progress an the spread o. civili-
cation an Christianity; an we've made
more o that kind O. progress in the last
twenty years than any other nation in
the world, civilized or uncivlzed. bar
none
An now We see another forward move
ment. restrictin' the officers In the navy
to a milk an water diet"
Well Eph.' ] said as we slipped our
ale. YOU know alcohors bad thing for
the human system"
1T may be. In large quantities" he
answered however. you an me amt
worryin about that. The pint In that
men In command o. the navy ought to be
men. an usually are. Their pers'nal con-
duct don't need to be regulated by others I;
II II had to be, then God save the navy /,
No. sir, let EN- alone. They've got
enough to worry about without ben'
treated like schoolboys at a church pic
mic Wars he'll. an the responsibilities
air great an under sech circumstances
mans entitled TO some privileges an
diversions that Amt needed by the ener-
waited sons o peace. II ye come 10 that
An war comes when We amt lookin' fer
H. an when IL does come neither YOU nor
me wants to be on any hoatn' domicile
that we can't make reasonable excuse
Ter leavin' when we're attacked at one
an the same time by a battleship "A
submarine an an airyplane No. sir I'd
rather b. sittn' any time I'm an inner
room in one OF the departments at WASH
ington sippin' grape juice through a
straw"
Discipline Is discipline" remarked
II is said Eph. AN il some o. these
landlocked patriots had their way ev'ry
man Jack in the navy would have TO
! drink ?'h glls o. parboiled water ev'ry
day afore shutdown: masticate his food
a3 times read the terms a the Carnegie
endowment ev'ry night afore turnln' in :
cut out tobaccy an cuss.n' an thank God
he want Ike other seafar.n' men
An in my opeenion." continued Eph.
that way o Twin would be bad fer the
hghSn' spirit. o. course the spirit a.
peace may be nobler than the spirit a.
war. but somehow 1t don't seem Jest an
propra'c fer navy, leastways not fer
the American navy" SIMON CREyi.
ALBANY, April 10.