Connecticut western news., 1917-05-17
By REX BEACH, Of the Viqilantes.

Of the Viglantes.
 Today I saw two drunken soldiers an the street They were young sol afers, their uniforms were new and sui ficiently unusual, alas, to excite atten- lion. They were ordinary upstanding young fellows, better a lot than many Gf us who passed them by, for they had answered the call-they were not saackers. It came as a shock to see ahe4n swaying in their tracks, waving awkward gestures and grinning fatu unsly. Their eyes were bleared, they were foul mouthed and abusive. A Alock below were the tents of a recruit ing station.
 Some boys-they were nearing the age for enlistment-began to guy the antoxicated guardsmen; they betrayed contempt for both the men and their uniforms.
 Women who were passing hurried Haster It was plain that this exhibi' faoo had not helped the cause of the zecruiting squad down the street.
 Prohibition the Answer.
 Prohibition in the ranks was the first answer that suggested itself to me.
 But why prohibition in the ranks if mot in the f1lef
 We are all soldiers in this war-sol- asers of the lathe, soldiers of the blow, sr we must quickly learn to be, else we shall go down in the general wreck age in the wake of the Hun. Why, Ahen, deny to the man in khaki, who Is physically fit to bear the shock of bat a3c, that privilege which we weaker, Aess courageous brothers prize so high N-the glorious and inalienable privi- Rge of getting drunk? No, manifestly ihat sort of prohibition isn't the right sort.
 John 5arleyeorn Poor DrIllrnaster.
 But If John Barleycorn is a bad re. erufting sergeant he is a worse drill 1nnster and just at this particular cri- sis fin our national affairs that makes xxfl Nor is that the worst that can be safd about him. He is the prince of saackers, the king of waste and the xeriest glutton in all the world. In Afs year of threatened famine he will, uzless he Is curbed, swallow more food than will the wide Atlantic, aided by ese entire fleet of German U boats. Eighty million bushels of sound grain, a2n.OOO,OOO gallons of molasses-that is ~Exx nrk a% %hn %,1FF ho4 wfR go to glut his monstrous appetite And meanwhile Europe starves; our al. Mea cry for food. In answer to that szy we sound the alarm for grain, more grain and ships, more ships, to put 1t au- We suffer panic from our lack of farm lands and farm hands,
 The war will be won in the trenches uf France and in the furrows of Amer Ern. so we are told. We set ourselves As the task of training a million men in E year, of bringing new acres under ahe blow, and yet during the course ss that twelve month we will consume fin the form of alcoholic beverages alone enough grain to feed 16,O0O,O00 mouths
 Waste Is Colossal.
 M is all wrong It is colossal waste. 3f is extravaganza which the world cannot tolerate in this hour of stress. England, France and Russia have aeaFned their lesson. Let us profit by sheir experience
 Ne need alcohol, yes. We will need anore of it in war than in peace, but Rcohol-usable, drinkable alcohol-can he made from swill, from refuse, from damaged grain. In fact, almost any Et,od which is unfit to eat can be made 1t to drink If one goes to the trouble, but of all the uses we can put it to- the drinking of alcohol is the least tmpor- aant.
 "tet's Go Without It."
 Nor is the fact that the byproducts trom the process of liquor-making have a considerable commercial value suf- feient reason to warrant us in devot- aDg to it S0,0O0,00O bushels of our all aoOscanty grain supply. Our live stock ean subsist on other folders than Brewers grains, our dairy cows can De made to give milk from food less Eftal to our own stomachs. So, too, in dhe matter of taxes. We levy a tre- Haendous blackmail on bibulous old .sDhn Barleycorn, but we can raise that asvenue elsewhere. He pays an undue share of taxes anyhow. If alcoholic B9uor is a food we pay too high for sMs privilege of consuming 1t; if it is ass food let's go, without it for awhile zzaa foot the bill out of greater econ aay.
 War Is Sober Business.
 We are in this war to win, and win we must, but war is sober business. RRst now bread is as vital to France as 3ullets; she needs American grain as