The daily progressive-miner., 1916-02-19
AT
 THE FRONT
TOMMY IS TRICKY ON THE
 WATER WAGON

A writer in Lesliess Weekly
 brings out facts from the front
 that makes Miss Addslns' charge ap- pear preposserUus- After relating
 his experiences on the front lines,
 he save in part:
 ~on the fighting line in France and Belgiam methods most drastic
 are used to enforee the orders is
 sued prohibiting the sale or gift of insoxicantS to soldiers For two and sometimes thrse--hours day the estaminets. or cafes, are per
 naissed to sell only the red or white
 wine of the country. or the partic-
 alarsly innocuouS Belgian beer. 10
 soldiers With regard 10 the latter
 beverage can only say that it
 contains less than two per cent al- oohol and ii there Is any man who can drink enough to get intoxi- cated before he gets thoroughly -water-logged" would like to mees him for the purpose of observing him asa scientific curiosity. As one Tony WAS heard to observe as he sat in Belgian setaninet gazing uaournfully St | TOW of esn- ply beer glasses in front of him:
 .Ah've drunk every kind of per Sshing fikker III every hlighte9 country of this ere condemned world. but this tdeleted by censor) swipes fair gives me the 'orrors- Ah've drunk sanguinary barrel full an all Ah've got is 8 pain in me seunanaick and An can't buckle ne gory belt"
 ~AS for the red ard white wine (now very scarcel which costs from 50 centinses 10 francs 1.5O per bottle, Tommy very seldom tries 2 second time. One Tommy said about 1t:
 $ IL looks like red ink. tastes ike vinegar-an' they call it wine"
 I won't say what he proceeded to call it
 Al the outset of last winter, when the trenches were knee deep n frozen slush and ice water. ra- tioEs Of rum lone ounce twice Q dayl were served to the British ! troops This, however. was dis continued as soon as possible, for 1t was found that hot oOcoa or cof- fee answered better as 3 stimulant ! and was most lasting in it's effects i With the wonderful efficiency l shown by the men of the camp kit 1 ehens II was found comparatively ! easy 10 keep the men supplied with plenty of warm drinks and there wss very little-if any-grumbling zs the change
 The French and Belgi2ns found 1hat their u1en missed thier usual glass of red wing with their meals, So arrangements were made 10 sup ply each man with 2 certain am punt each day. Care is taken, however. that no man obtains g sufficient quantity to intoncate and the percentage of alcohol is determined. 90 that II would be rare feat for soldier to drink enough 70 affect his mentality.
 So n the face of all this II came as e great surprise to all of us CT .he flrng line when we heard last sun-zzer that Miss Addans had pos itireIy declared that our regular suztom was to drug and intoxicate .h3 s9'diers before driving them into tho trenches Miss Adams zas unknown To fame as far as most Of us were concerned, but we arg very anxious 10 know from whence she obtained her in- formation
 So far as could be ascertained Dy the few Of Is who were inter aszed ID this good lady's statements she had never been anywhere near the firing lire; certainly she was asTer on the Belgian CT western France front And when I rern- embered the times when even La physician as such qualified to de 1 m4nd spirits-could not obtain 2 drop. TO matter how urgent the I need, I WAS rather given to wonder where the barrels of rum ard bran dy were hidden with which to im- ! bue the troops with courage t would take more than 2 few bar rels Of spirits to intoxicate g mil l lion naen-