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Show I CHATTER. (Going tho personal opinions of tiio writer and for which no one olso is in any manner responsible.) For tho first tlmo In history wo aro confronted with tho spectacle of tho W. G. T. U. and tho saloonmon, together togeth-er with tho browors and distillers, working in harmony for tho provontlon of legislation. Both sides are working tooth and nail in an effort to influence congress to refrain from enacting a law re-establishing tho army canteen, where tho enlisted men serving their country can buy beor and light wines on tho government reservation, instead in-stead of having to visit tho adjacent towns or cities, where they drink all sorts of Jersey lightning and forty rod whisky and get drunker than lords. Tho W. C. T. U. affects to believe that a great victory was won for tho cause of temperance when tho post canteen was abolished, because it removed re-moved temptation from tho soldier and prevented tho government from "recognizing crime." Tho members of tho organization have been slightly jubilant over since, notwithstanding general ofllcors, regimental and company com-pany commanders havo declared that slnco tho abolition of tho canteen, drunkenness and tho crimes which follow fol-low it havo increased. Tho saloon man takes no such high moral ground. Ho wants tho post canteen abolished, bo-causo bo-causo when tho soldier cannot got beer and light wines at tho post ho comes idown town and Bpends his money over tho bar. Between the two; tho W. C. T. U. and tho liquor dealers, there Is oyery roason for believing that tho canteen will not bo ro cstabllshed; that congress will take no action. Tho manner in which post cantoens woro conducted was such as to limit drunkenness. When the soldier got too much aboard tho keeper of tho place refused to boII him any more, and as a result ho wont to his quarters and wont to bed. Under tho present system ho comes Into town, stands up . in front of a bar and drinks as long as IB ho has tho money to pay for it, and W when too full to stand, is taken into a B back room and loft to sleep It off. If K ho misses "check roll call" or "ro- K velllo" next morning ho goes in "quad" WL and Is punishod, in addition to giving M tho saloon man all of his month's pay. K Under tho post canteen system tho H profits woro usod for tho general good M of tho command; under tho, present K plan tho saloon man buys an automo- n bilo. No wonder the saloon keeper R wants no change made, but what a I marvel that tho good women of tho I W. 0. T. U. cannot seo tho light as it should bo seen. If tho abolishment of tho post canteen increases drunken- i ness, and Its attendant inconvonionces and punishments, and tho ro-establlsh- ment of tho post canteen decreases ! j drunkenness! and increases tho 'sol- I ' dior's comforts and lessons his chances 5f of going to tho dovll, why on earth ftf should any association, pledged to tho Of improvement of mankind, object? i$! Thero aro some odd things In this a.. world, and Mils Is by no means one of i tho It odd. Strange, too, that tho W. C. - i. should object to tho can- f toon and fllo no protest against tho I officers' clubs. Tho man with tho r$ shoulder strap can go to tho club and ii fml get fuller than a tick, but the soldier must hio himself to a dive off tho reservation res-ervation whoro ho Is film flammed and held up and then chased out until next pay day. In another colmun will bo found something about babies born in this state last week. Of course that does not lncludo all, for thero aro babies and babies whoso advents aro never chronicled. All of which leads ono to think of this matter of "race suicide," so-called. Roosevelt was tho man who gave tho subject its greatest airing. Since ho took tho matter up it has boon aired and re-aired. Recently a society of women down east discussed tho matter and decided that parents had a right to restrict tho output of children; decided that It was a crime for tho very poor to bring children into tho world to suffer want and privation. pri-vation. Thoro aro two sides to this question, as thero is to nearly every ono submitted to the candid judgment of a people. Tho anti-race suicide people peo-ple seem to havo tho bettor of tho affair, af-fair, when tho question of morals is considered, but tho other people have some arguments that aro weighty. It is a .delicate question to debate in a public journal, but avoiding tho coarser references, it can bo debated. For instance; in-stance; if it is a crime for a couplo to refrain from having children, is it not equally a crimo for a woman who might havo given birth to a dozen or moro to refrain from marrying, and dying an old maid? If It is a crimo for a married man to dio childless when ho might havo been the father of a family, is it not equally a crime for a fellow to die an old bacho'or? Is it not equally a crimo to reffaln from having children when opportunity presents pre-sents itself? Child murder is an abomination and should not bo tolerated, whether the crimo bo pre-natal or post-natal. But aro thero not many Instances whoro it would bo hotter that children should not bo born than to havo thom brought Into tho world? What Is tho uso of a poor man having a hordo of little ones around him brought up in Ignorance? Why should tho peasantry of Russia Ignorant, unlearned, unlettered, a llt-tlo llt-tlo bit above tho lovel of tho brute, porpotuato Itself, when tho misery that was endured by tho parents and their parents is their only Inheritance? Tho same argument applies In many other cases. Why should certain persons per-sons in our own land have any children chil-dren at all? Tho writer recalls a certain cer-tain caso which' occurred In this city. A man, hunchbacked, cross-eyed and rod-hoaded, married a woman, also hunchbacked and red-headed, with ono leg shorter than tho other. Think of tho progony resulting from such a union. It was a crime to lot thom marry. Anothor caso that camo under my porsonal observation occurred back east. A fellow who all his life had been foolish, or underwltted, was wedded to a woman whoso brain hold but Httlo moro gray matter than his. Tho affair was managed by relatives, because ho had not sense enough, to ask her to marry him and sho hud not enough to assent. Result: Seven children, chil-dren, each combining tho foolishness of both parents. They aro living yet, and In duo tlmo will doubtless marry other foolish people and porpotuato tho race. Still, thoso aro exceptions. Tako the average couplo and what rulo shall apply? Of lato thoro has been an argument ar-gument advanced In favor of permitting permit-ting tho female to say when sho shall bear children and when sho shall not. That is right. At this tlmo tho woman is tho slavo to tho over-present and capricious desires of her lord and master mas-ter (?). It Is not so in tho balanco of tho animal kingdom, from tho highest to tho lowest, and it should not prevail pre-vail among human bolngs. |