The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1915-04-14

WINE SERVED
TO SOLDIERS
wAa CORRESPONDENT TELLS or
EXPERIENCE WITH DRINK
ON THE FtRfNc LINE.
tneee tftnsr Way 10 Not Apparent,
but Memo were ever Seen intes-
iessss-srens Drink
Tabooeo.
~ RooERT n. MCCORMICK.
Especial corr-spoadepes OF Tn. InteIli-
EencerD
ARTICLE Nv.
Written Under Shell Fire NJ Ypre,.
March al wonder ~ can write a
thousand words about drink in the al
lied armies without taking one.
II would be easy TO write inspired
stun on either side OF that vexed ques-
ton.
I could truly say. for instnees tina,
In q stay OF nve days with French and
English had not seen a. many drinks
OF vhiskey taken tcheers from the
drysD.
could say with equal truth that
nine out of ten men In both armies.
l.too.eO0 out of 1000. 900 men. or the
n(htfng line drink alcoholic beverages
every dsy-and bring comfort to those
Who hoa1 that beer. not Butcher. beat
Napoleon.
Tho British soldiers are served a
ration OF rum in the trenches. Just as
they are served beef and biscuits.
10 not know whether Tommy takes ~
suhight. with a chaser. In a highball.
or Southern style as a juiep. But the
fact In he gets IL oficiaily from his
government and the statement that
the British army Is on the water
wagon is the biggest canard OF the
war.
Whether the rum cheers him in
hts trials or initiates his overtaxed
nerves. whether Il gives him courage
10 night OF unsteadies his hand and
dims his eye ! must leave for those
With nxed views on the subject 10
decide. ! am writing facts. not propa.
sanda.
Furthermore. at every mess at
tended. both French and British. the
oficers all drnka the wine OF the coun.
Wrv.rv rr.0o, .o,.,.r ., cam, Or -
the trenches is given a bottle OF wine
for supper every night.
The wine il drunk with water or
Ill -
like water. AS far as appearances go
II has the same effect as water.
This Is not the wine" OF the lob
like n "15" and breaks into waves OF
creamy foam.
This wine comes I'm wine bottles or
vichy bottles or cleared out ink bot.
ties. When emptied they are taken
out and refilled by the orderly. from
some cask. suppose. although ] had a
feeling that IL ran from a tap.
There Is no vintage or ancestral
name to this wine. II Is red wine and
white wine, democratic and inter-
changeable. Returning from Arras
our cavalry officer drank FIRST tum-
bier OF red and then a tumbier OF
white lie feu me donne toujours soif, "
tie said. II also gave him appetite,
for the way he ate would have shamed
q hired man.
All the wine shops In the war zone
are open and their owners will all De
Waldorfs and Astors IL the front does
not move soon.
The line il held 10000 men 10 the
mile. men who daily undergo the leu"
and get the "soifF ~
AT Ypres today we lunched at an
inn whose roof had been blown on
by n shell. asked the proprietor
why he did not move into another
building. The license was only Tor
the place. was the reply.
took a picture of a little wine
shop just in the rear OF the English
lines At. IL was within long rine
range OF the German trenches. A
l9an had been hit by a bullet near
there few days before.
on duty the British soldiers drink
beer when they can get IL. the French
wine. Strong drink is available IN
However. he has been through sly
many places. but Is not in demand
An English officer told me that the
army canteen established this naDit
campaigns and at home would not
be allowed to speak on military sub
jects.
In the time I was at the front
never saw a soldier OF either army
who in voice or manner gave any
sign OF intoxication
The two modern department stores Of
. rs,n Sh l6ed made combined annual
IA HonE-kong dollar - %. 4 cantsD Dna