The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-02-28
The War and the w. c. T. u.

| The War and the w. Z. L. U.
| '1f we want Germany to win the wa
the best thing we can do is to send Gig
arettes TO our soldiers. Aside from -hes,
facts, the cigarette smoker. if wounded
i'm battle, does not stand half the chanc,
for recovery that the nonsmoker does
Letter from Albert Abbott of More
town.
Surely The Col said: "To our mind
the W. C. T. u. commits a conspicuous
bmnder in Withholding cigarettes from
the comfort kits it is sending over
there"
What we have to say now shall not
be said forensieally. Nor shall we re-
cant.
If il be mo cigarettes for Sammies, -
dissentients are we. Yet we admit
everybody Everybody who read the com
munication from the Moretown clergy
man in The Times admits--that Rev
Albert Abbott undoubtedly is sincere in
| his belief
Nevertheless, we cannot help feeling
that neither The Col. nor any depart
ment OF The Times is the place for. a
man TO speak out in meeting and say,
III we want Germany to win the war
the best thing we can do is to send Gig
arettes to our soldiers
To experience the real force of the
answer that inevitably would come from
the Sammie upon any suggestion, one
should save such an utterance for the
trenches
For the SHAMELESS where the best we
breed" are giving their all for democ
racy's sake.
Talk of nicotine. carbon monoxide. fur |
fural and other toxic properties charged !,
to the cigarette is Greek to the Sammie. |
1t has peace time flair and is i'm no |
wise a part of the serious business in
hand, Give us flag" begs the Amer |
lean soldier over there, or so we hear !
him begging, and while he puffs away
contentedly ON a Camel, Fat or the
makin's, he Is experiencing the only re-
deeming sensation in the awful hell of
life, OF life even on the quietest sector
OF the western front.
We mean no disrespeet, but the weight
Of the testimony is with the young men
OF America who have offered their all in
the maelstrom overseas.
And does it matter that the ear OF the
Darlor reformer is not clearly attuned to
he crying demand for smokes over
-herey
Hardly. Read the adventures of Every
nan from France, whether he be Arthur
suy Empey, Private Peat or Capt. Louis
lcene. Over and over again the mes
age. we want fags' And thousands
II stayat homes, keenly alive to the de-
nand, are answering the prayers of the
moking fighters with cargo after cargo
# that which nine out of ten soldiers
'adly need.
Reading and rereading letters almost
Without number. each with its own pc
uliar slant on the backbone exhorta-
ion, send Us smokes" has convinced us
hat the cigarette contains something
esides poison for the soldier
That the W. c. +. L. formula is based
II a moral precept or scientific yiew as
on viii, which means little or nothing
, the great majority of the soldiers of
Re American expeditionary forces.
The stand taken by the w. c. T. L.
-eathes too much of the smugness of
he holier -than-thou attitude and fails r
} take into account the fact that our HI
lmediate task-if we are to win the hi
ar-is not to reform the soldier, but to Wy Wy
axe the fight ahead of him as congenial HI
the rough work Of fighting Huns can M
made. It's large contract at best. HI
The men of the American army in HI
-ance left their homes to fight our bat Il
es while We are lodged in safety. III
They are fighting now-and some of WI
en- will fall-for the flag we love. M
lall we deny them the small measure Nj
relief afforded by a flag? No, and III
again, for
Are not these the men who went in
opardy Of their hvesy~
lave You Ever Been in This Corner?
There is an old refrain which runs.
SIX me no questions. III tell You no III
- ] am inclined to think that II is
\ II social philosophy. Most Of u.
nhahy, have put up our hardest fights
! veracity en- occasions when questions
We been asked Va that never should y
We been asked.-katherine Fullerton -
rould
Next to aood news from France j.
re anything brighter than February 4