The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-12-31

tNNONe VI ~aassNseA4 S~eAWass~aae ass ~ssw stalled surveys og drinking habits in Ire large troop concentrations, was drawn up by 0Wt investigators and was immediately interpreted in many quarters AS Q rehuke Go drys who have been agltating for pro. hlhltlon around army centers.
 "The American soldier needs neither curtain lecture nor apology" the report said. "iio behaves well; he trains we'll, and in the far.flung places of the earth he is fighting we'll"
 Not only Is the American army more orderly than any other army, but it also drinks vastly less than the American army of 1917, due mainly to the "health and sensible arrangement" of serving S,2 per cent beer in camps, the report said,
 "In the last war, camps were bono dry" it said. "As . result, boot leggers did 6 thriving business"
 Sale of S,a beer by post exchanges, tho report said, provides soldiers with mild relaxation, mlnlml1es hard liquor drinking, is easily controlled and keeps troops out ot trouble, But there was no indication that beer sales lower the total number of ahStasners since soda pop still is the most popular army drink,
 "The American soda pop habit will wear no mans collar" the 10. port said,
 Tho oWI investigators, who talked to army otiicers, ohaplAins, and civilian authorities and visited all major areas except Florida, blamed tall stories and sensational gossip" for q mistaken Idea that drunkenness among soldiers is conn mon.
 There is drinking in the army" the report said, "there will continue to be drinking In the army, The ap. proaeh of the military authorities to the problem Is not prohibition but control. It Is legal for . civilian to take Q drink in this country; it would be discriminatory Co deny the same right to tho soldier who has already relinqulshed many privi- legeS the civilian considered his rights. The American Army may or may not be the best in the history of armies, but it Is certainly the best behaved"
 The report found conditions worse ia some areas. especially in the south and southwest where camps and posts for tens of thousands oi men were thrown up almost over. night far from any large cities, bringing back conditions of the careless frontiers"
 But it praised the work Of both army and civilian authorities tn meeting the situation. particularly the military police who during the last war were considered by the soldiers as enemies, but have found now that there Is more In persua. sion than in the hutt-end of 0 billy club"
 The N, P. is the soldiers best friend in strange communities and the intelligent soldier knows it." the report added,
 The report noted that "there seems to be a definite correlation between adequate reereational facil. ities and soldier sohriety"--a fact found to be true In sections of the south and west where no large cities are within travelling distance of large camps,
 The result Is that pay-days and weekends see thousands of liberty troops descend on small eommuni- les which are ill-eQuipped to take care of them. Soldiers fill the streets and the railroad stations and the public parks, They jam the movie theaters and the cafes. They walk the streets all night because there are no hotel rooms-and somtimes out of preference because they are hunting fun .. the plain fact is that many of these soldiers have nothing on their minds and time on their hands, One result oi | pOfeGUkn IS tlAC p1S VA SHapG SSNss~s in the alleyway: another is busy weekend for the military police"
 But despite these conditions, the investigators found that the best selling beverages around camps are coffee, milk, matted milk and soft drinks: that approximately o1 out of every 100 soldiers drink no al- coholic beverages even on pay day; that & of the remaining 4S drink nothing stronger than beer.
 This is q civilian army, as Q selective service army must be-" the report said. "Men do not change character when they put on a uni- form. If they drank as civilians they will probably drink as soldiers but probably not so much. 1T they found their fun in tawdry places as civilians, they will hunt out the tawdry places as soldiers. Particu- larly in large cities, troops tend to seek their own level of amusement" !"