Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-05-29
JOHN BARLEYC0RN
A POOR SOLDIER
LET'S 60 DRY AND VIII War.
prehibitien 10 Needed In che RAMS a.
We'll a. In the File-Mors orain 10
Ussd In Manufacture 81 Liquor Than
Entire Fleet Of German SuenAarinss.
Can Sink In q Year.
BY REX BEAoA,
OF the viailaRtes.

BY REX eEAoA,
OF che visiiantss.
Today I saw two drunken soldiers
On the street. They were young SOL
diers, their uniforms were new ana sur
flciently unusual, alas, to excite atten-
ton. They were ordinary outstanding
young fellows, better lot than many
ef us who passed them By, for they
had answered the call-they were not
slackers. 1t came as q shock to see
them swaying In their tracks, waving
awkward gestures and grinning fat'l-
ously. Their eyes were bleared. they
were foul mouthed and abusive A
block below were the tents of recruit
Ing station.
Some boys-they were nearing the
age for enlistment-began to guy the
intoxicated guardsmen; they betrayed
contempt for both the men and their
uniforms.
Women who were passing hurried
faster. 1t 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 II
not in the file?
We are all soldiers in this war-sol-
diers Of the lathe. soldiers of the pillow.
or we must quickly learn to be, else
we shall 60 down in the general wreck
age In the wake Of the Hun. Why,
then, deny to the man In khaki. who Is
physically fit 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 Barieyeorn Poor DriIImastsr.
But II John Barleycorn is a bad re-
cruiting sergeant he Is a worse drill
master and just at this particular cri-
sis in our national affairs that makes
him a real and potent influence for
evil Nor is that the worst that can bs
said about him. He Is the prince Of
slackers, the king Of waste and the
ver1est 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 q boats.
Eighty million bushels Of sound grain.
120, 100000 gallons Of molasses-that is
only a part Of the good foodstuffs that
will 60 to glut his monstrous appetite.
And meanwhile Europe starves; our a.
Hes cry for food. In answer - that
cry we sound the alarm for grain, more
grain and ships, more ships, to put II
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 burrows Of Amer
lea, 80. we are told. We set ourselves
to the task Of training a million men
in a year, Of bringing new acres under
the pillow. 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 10 Colossal.
It Is all wrong. 1t is colossal waste.
It 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, drinka BILE alcohol-can
be made from swill, from refuse, from
damaged grain. In fact, almost any
food which Is unfit to eat can be made
fit to drink If one goes to the trouble.
but OF oil the uses we can put 1t to, the
drinking Of alcohol is the least impor-
tant
"Lst's Go Without Itr
Nor is the fact that the byproducts
from the process Of liquor making have
fcient reason to warrant us in devot-
ing to it SO,OOO.OOO bushels Of our all
too scanty grain supply. Onr live stock
can subsist on other folders than
brewers grains. our dairy cows can
be made to give milk from food less
vital to our own stomachs So, too, I'm
the matter of taxes. We levy a ire
lnendous blackmail on bibulous old
John BarleycOrn, but We can raise that
revenue elsewhere. He pays an undue
share OF taxes anyhow. II alcoholic
liquor is food we pay too high Tor
the privilege Of consuming It.; IL 1t is
not food let's go without it for awhile
and foot the bill out of a greater econ.
omy.
War Is Sober Business.
We are in this war to win, and win
we must, but war is a sober business.
Just now bread Is as vital to France as
bullets; she needs American grain ~
badly as she needs American troops
The war has come home to US, and
we shall feel it sorely before We are
through. Let us begin our sacrifice by
great big saving. saving Of IL ,0O0,-
900 loaves a day-enough to feed the
armies and the navies Of our allies and
ourselves. II We lose this fight we shall
90 broke. Lets go dry and win.
After we have tried II we NAV like