The Washington herald., 1919-02-03
VODKA STARTS
RUSS FIGHTS
Peggy Hull Says Foreign
Booze is Worse Than
Horse Liniment.
BY PEGGY HULL.

Nladivostok. Feb. Il have no illu-
siOns about vodka. I drank some 1t
would be as hard for me to learn to
like as it was to create taste for
green olives
My grandfather had many horses
great number of large and small bot
ties around the house. Even then !!
had no control over my curiosity. and.
when 1 opened one once. and liked the
pungent smell, l thought I'd taste it,
The memory of that mistake is with
me still. and vodka is worse than
horse liniment!
The Bolshevist government. whose
influence isn't very great here. has
just proclaimed the country wet"
again. II was made dry by the car
ist government as a war measure. l
can't for the life of me SEC why any,
body should ever want to drink vodka.
The Russians drink it in little
glasses: about two thimblcfuls at Il
time They never stop to taste it or
the stun couldn't go any farther I
nav" seen two kinds. One is pure
white and is stronger than tn" vel
low, in which peppers have been
dropped. Vodka is made from wheat
or rye, and is % per cent pure aIco-
hol
Drink and Fight.
1t is almost awe-inspiring to watch
some Of the Russian officers drink il
by the half tumbleful. and Vet re-
tain their senses and dignity. I know
1t is the exception, although two ex-
planned to me one evening that il was
only the peasant who got drunk and
wanted to fight. A few moments af-
terward a vOdka-filled Russian naval
officer tried to break a bottle over
the head of Gen. Otani's aide de
camp.
1t is against the law to sell vodka
or cognac. so the cafe managers get
around the law by putting the liuuor
IN bottles labeled lemonade" The
AQUARIUM is the largest cafe. and the
only one with cabaret. It opens at
fhldhlSht ana puts on a most pitifuI
performance. The bill is made up,
for the most part, of women singers
o. bNiNis "OlhtIl, WHO DllEht have
had voices one day, but must have
lost them in the long trip across rus
sia to Siberia.
Vodka and Song
The program is so arranged that
they begin their weepy ballads
along about the time the vodka
takes effect. 1 noticed a big man,
alone at a table piled high with
food. I'm sure he was born in Ber-
lin. With that face and form and
appetite, he couldn't have come
from any other place. In the midst
of one heart-rending song, his ewes
began to blink, and, as sure as I'm
| alive. tears as big as raisins berar
TO rail- INTO his soup. This surprised
me so that l looked around and
FOUND little wizened old fellow
with his arm around another derc-
ict, crying for all that was in him
ana betore L had time to realize it
the whole place was bIubberinx.
Americans aren't permitted out af-
ter IL O'Clock, SO three Canadian Of
hcers volunteered to show me the
place. There were several more
numbers. including a classical rem
dition of The Glow Worm" and
"Tipperary" in Russian; but l had
seen enough of the fish pond" as
the Canadians called it. and
thought we had better go home be-
fore we had to hire a boat or swim
out. Someone had a sense of humor
when he named the place the Aqua
rum
Places Closed.
Maj. Gen. Graves has been fortunate
in having the cooperation of the local
authorities, and, when an occasional
American soldier is arrested for being
drunk, the place where he got the
liquor Is located and closed up.