Milford chronicle., 1917-05-18
JOHN BARLEYCORN
A POOR SOLDIER
LET'S 60 DRY AND WIN WAR
Prohibition Is Needed In the Ranks as
We'll as In the Fie-More Grain 10
Used In Manufacture Of Liquors Than
Entire Fleet Of German Submarines
Can Sink In q Year.
BY REX BEACH,
Of TIE Viailantes.

Today / saw two drunken soldiers
on the street They were young sol
diers. their uniforms were new and suf-
fciently unusual. alas, to excite atten-
ton They were ordinary outstanding
young fellows. better a lot than many
Of us who passed them by, for they
had answered the call-they were not
slackers. II came as Il shock to see
them swaying in their tracks, waving
awkward gestures and grinning fatu-
ously. Their eyes were bleared, they
were foul mouthed and abusive. A
block below were the tents Of recruit
ing station.
Some hoys they were nearing the
age for enlistment began 10 guy the
intoxicated guardSmcn; they betrayed
contempt for both the men and their
uniforms
Women who were passing hurried
faster II was plain that this exhibit
ton had not helped the cause OF the
recruiting 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 il
not in the lille?
We are all soldiers in this war-sOl-
diers OF the lathe. soldiers OF the plOw,
or we must quickly learn to be, else
we shall 90 down In the general wreck
age in the wake OF the Hun. Why,
then. deny to the man in khaki. who is
physically iit to bear the shock Of bat
tie. that privilege which we weaker,
less courageous brothers prize so high
ly-the glorious and inalienable privi-
lege Of getting drunk? No. manifestly
that sort Of prohibition isn't the right
sort.
John Barleyeorn Poor Drillnaster.
But II John Barleycorn is a bad re
cruiting sergeant he is worse drill !
master aud just at this particular cri- |
sis in our national affails that makes |
him a real and potent influence for |
evil Nor is thar the worst that can be |
said about him. lie is the prince Of |
slackers. the king OF waste and the |
veriest glutton In all the world. In |
his year OF threatened famine he will !
unless he is curbed swallow more food |
than will the wide Atlantic, aided by |
the entire fleet OF German L boats. |
Eighty million bushels OF sound grain, |
12O.OOO.OO0 gallons Of mOlasses-that is /
only part Of the good fO0dstuffs that /
will go to glut his mOnstr0us appetite. |
And meanwhile Europe starves; our al |
lies cry for food. In answer to that
cry we sound the alarm for grain, more /
grain and ships. more ships, to put it |
in. We suffer panic from our lack Of |
farm lands and farm hands.
The war will be won in the trenches
Of France and in the furrOws OF Amer
lea. so we are told We set ourselves
to the task Of training a million men
in a year. of bringing new acres under
the plow. and yet during the course
Of that twelve month we will consume
in the form of alcoholic beverages
alone enough grain to feed 10000 600
mouths.
Waste Is Colossal
II is all wrong. II is colossal waste.
1t is extravaganza which the world
cannot tolerate in this hour OF stress.
England. France and Russia have
learned their lesson. Let us profit by
their experience.
We need alcohol yes We will need
more Of it in war than in peace, but
alcohol-usable. drinkable alcohol-can
be made from swill. from refuse, from
damaged grain In fact almost any
food which is unfit TO eat can be made
it to drink II one goes to the trouble.
but OF all the uses we can put it to, the
drinking Of alcohol is the least impcr-
tant
Lets Go Without IT,"
Nor Is the fact that the byprOducts
from TIE process of liquor-making have
considerable commercial value a suf- {
ilcient reason 10 warrant us In devot
ing 10 it S0.G;0O bushels OF our all
too-scanty grain supply. Our live stock
can subSiSt on other folders than
brewers grains. our dairy COWS can
be made 10 give milk from food less :
vital to our own Stomachs. So, too, in !
the matter of taxes. We levy tre- G
mendous b'ackmail on bibulous old
John Bar!eycOrli. but we can raise that t
revenue elsewhere He pays an undue t
share Of taxes anyhow. II alcoholic
liquor Is food we pay too high for
the privilege OF consuming It; il it is
not food let's go without it for awhile
and foot the bill out Of greater econ
Omy.
War Is Sober Business. a
We are IN this war to win, and win
we must. but war is a sober business.
Just now bread is a. vital to France as
bullets; she needs American grain as
badly as she needs American troops Z
The war has come home to us, and Z
we shall feel 1t sorely before we are
through. Let US begin our sacrifice by v
a great big saving. a saving OF 1I.OOO.- \
900 l0aves a day--enOugh to feed the y
armies and the navies OF our allies and !,
II we lose this fight we shall