| Show THE CANTEN CANTEEN Conditions Condition in iii i Vogue V ge Previous to Its It Adoption A Edward B Clark in tn Chicago Times Herald Soldiers of the army who have served sered for fifteen len years year or more are smiling a little grimly over the proposed plan of certain certin sisters sister to pray pry for President McKin leys Jeys defeat because bec u he has hs not among other things aided aid d the th cause of tern tem temperance ter perance by putting down the army ay canteen What at the can canteen cn canteen teen has done in in reality ralty to aid the cause cuse of o temperance temper e and ad to better the thern th condition ot ci o the enlisted men has been shown In army any reports report generally and particularly In the he e open letter Ad Adjutant Adjutant General Generl Corbin orlin or Into to Senator Sew Sewell Sewel ell eli el It 1 is not necessary nc to dwell fur further further ther on the te betterment of post and gar garrison risen rison life since the te introduction of the canteen It I seems seeG to be necessary though for the te b benefit of those who have short snort memories to revert to the days when there was a no canteen and to give sortie some specific sp instances of the sort of o thing that then Ulen prevailed Let the good women who would have the world patter pater petitions petItion to heaven h aven compare the present with wih the past pat pictures of army any post drinking Less than fifteen years year ago there ther pre prevailed prevailed at every army station staton of or any anysIe size sIe what was wa known as the store system The suter was wa a civil civilian civilIan ian a man with wih a political pull sum sufficient dent cleat to secure him his appointment and whose sole Interest Int rest in the soldier was centered cantered in what he could make mae out of him The place was sanctioned by law and he was az s a law unto himself He H sold old beer to the sol soldiers soldier diem diers dier without any restrictions what whatever whatever whatever ever He Hc filled fi d the tle men and took their money mone but the te moment one of them became the te least leat obstreperous be because beca because cause ca se of the beer the vender howled for the guard gard and the of offender offender offender fender fender was wa locked up At Davids Davidis Island New harbor a rendezvous rendezvous vow for recruits the writer wrier has ha seen the suter serve s re a man with ten glasses of beer at once in hi order that he might pour them all aU down don d one after the other othern in n quick succession and thus th s hasten the drunk This of course was pay day when the bar ba was wa lined with wih men and the man man who ordered only one oe beer ber might be b d to wait walt two tuo or three th ee minutes before he be could get gt another In I those days the gov government government actually supplied sentries to see that the Interests and be longings did not no suffer st r at the hands of the men me made made drunken dunken that tat his pockets pocket might be b lined In a a single afternoon at Davids Island sixty sity men were thrown Into the guard gard house as the result reul of the sanctioned a right to sell sel as much beer ber as he chose to any soldier he hose chose drunk or I Against the store and its evils eis there arose a a cry cr Army Ary officers I asked that It be b abolished ab and ad the themen themen men themselves them said sid the were were the devils own The Te system was wa abol 4 ls d and ad post o t anA garrison r all oer over 1 j t the thU country we iry r One fact i must be faced fac d The soldier Is essen I 1 taUy social and he will m drink moderately moderately moderately if light Ight drinks drink and proper re ye restraint be b provided heavily It if he be forced fored to t leave garrison grison limits to quench his thirst and hard liquor be put in hi his way wa When the store stor went out of existence there sprang up about the government germent reser reservations reservations all al over the United States blind pigs pig and low The case cas was wa worse wore than ever for bad ba as was the te previous state beer ber was wa the only beverage sold Fort Sheridan thir teen years ers ago offers ofer a case cae In point Two companies of the Sixth In I fantry were ordered to the fort tort Just at the time the anarchists were to be hanged HIghwood where the post was located High land Park to the south Lake L ke Forest and Lake Bluff Blut to the north were all aU no license Icene towns The soldiers had no canteen caten What was vas the result Planes Places Plaes known as hard cider elder shacks sprang up all al about the fort The cider eider was a villainous chemical concoction that made men both drunk and crazy craz It kept the guardhouse fat fat Men used to take from Chicago covered baskets filled with wih bottles bottes of bad whisky baket to the post on pay day and sell sel it at the price of bourbon There was a similar condition of things thing at nearly nearl every ever post DOs in the country countr Desertions were many the sick list was crowded and extra sentinels were necessary to guard gard the prisoners Then came the canteen and reform Unlimited selling and no selling had both been tried tred and th last was worse than the th first Even though the canteen be as a one sister puts it it Ua a compromise with wit the te legions of evil eil evi it certainly has to a great ex tent solved the te problem of army ary gat in temperance Let the te of the praying prYing hain however take this as a subject for thought The saloon keep ers of Highwood are the most earnest earnet supporters supporter of the he movement which has for its is object the abolition of the can n teen at Fort Sheridan |
