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MOVEMENT TO RESTORE ARMY CANTEEN RAPPED
HE movement to re-establish the
army beer saloon has little like
lihood of success, but the follow
ing letter from a distinguished
officer of the American and Brit
ish armies is interesting. The
writer is a cavalry officer of great
ability, having served with dis
tinction in Brabant’s Horse, Ba-
T
den-Powell’s scouts, during the Boer war, be
ing twice medaled for gallantry in action, and
has a splendid record in the United States
army. In response to an inquiry from Na
tional headquarters, he writes:
“From the quotation you send me, it would
seem that all was peace and harmony in the
Army before the abolition of beer-selling in
the canteens; no desertions, no disease, no
guard-houses.
“It is quite true that the men do go out
of the army posts to drink, but I do not hesi
tate to say that they drank just as much out
side of the posts prior to the removal of the
sale of liquor from the Post Exchange. That
the establishment of Post saloons could have
any effect whatever upon surrounding dis
reputable places, is foolish. Do high-class
hotel bars affect disreputable houses in the
cities? The Army saloon did incite the
young recruit, unhardened to scenes of vice,
to reckless dissipation in outside resorts;
otherwise it did not affect the matter at all.
“When I was in South Africa, during the
Boer War, the Australian contingent
which arrived in Cape Town during the early
part of 1901 was held up from service be
cause the men were incapacitated by diseases
directly traceable to the army saloon, which
dispensed only ale, beer and porter.
“I see that the clipping you send me says
that men desert because of the non-sale of
beer in the army and also that re-enlistments
are hindered by the loss of the canteen. Such
a statement is a standing insult to the young
men who comprise our fighting forces. Beer
THE CHRISTIAN’S RESPONSIBILITY G £ s w
OD has promised great blessings
to the world through Abraham, a
Jew. The Gospel story was com
mitted to the disciples to give to
the world —all Jews. The first
man who died for our Savior was
Stephen, a Jew. The greatest
missionary sent of God was Paul,
n Jew. When Jesus vielded His
G
glory in human flesh, He came in Jewish flesh
and blood, Christ, the Jew. The greatest
book in the world, God’s revelation to man,
Jewish writers were chosen to write, the
Bible. We learn from that Book that God
has chosen Israel out of all nations, and that
through Israel all the world is to be blessed.
The Christian’s Privilege.
While all this is true, what is the present
attitude of the Jew to Christ? On account of
their unbelief and rejection of their Mes
siah blindness, in part, has come upon them.
Is it not the duty of all those who have the
light of the Gospel to bring the Lord’s hun
gry and lost, but not forsaken sheep, of the
house of Israel to the knowledge and truth,
which is in Christ Jesus, “lest coming sud
denly He find you sleeping?”
Some Reasons Why Not.
Now, why are you not helping to give the
Gospel to the Jew? Some answer, “We do
not care to work among the Jews, we prefer
working for the heathen. Some say, The
Jews have their religion, let them alone, and
Veferan of Two Wars Brands Beer as Greatest Enemy of Anglo-Saxon Soldier.
The Golden Age for May 11,1911.
is not the beverage of the average recruit;
the majority of them have been born in clean
homes and have no appetite for beer. What
class of recruits would be attracted to the
colors by beer? It is undoubtedly true that
the otherwise magnificent German army is
greatly handicapped by the beer-drinking
habits of the line, and high German officers
realize this peril.
“Put a uniform on a whiskey appetite and
it remains the same but the standard of the
army should not be dragged down to such a
plane. The typical fighter of the United
States army is self-respecting, intelligent
and quite as clean as the average. Leave the
vote to American-born soldiers and I should
certainly not be afraid of their verdict on the
canteen question.
“The whole thing in a nutshell is this:
there are certain officers, high and low, com
missioned and non-commissioned, most of
whom are un-American in their education
and habits, who want their daily ‘nip’ them
selves and who resent any effort to protect
the enlisted men as a criticism of their own
private habits.
“As to the figures given by the clipping
sent me, stating that during the Spanish
war only 7 men out of 100 were diseased, and
in 1909 this ratio had become 20 to 100, is
somewhat beyond me, as I do not know the
exact facts. However, Ido know two things:
First, that when men are in active service,
busy, changing stations, marching, fighting
and sleeping in the pure air and under the
sky, diseases are rapidly cleaned out of the
ranks. Second, that such matters are more
closely looked after at present than at that
time and that men who would have escaped
notice in 1898, when diseased, are now cer
tain of detection and hospital sentence.
“At the present time, the men can take up
at the Post Exchange from $4 up according
to their pay, and their company mess profits
according to the amounts so taken up by
God in His own time will save them.” Again,
I hear, “Jewish Missions is not my work.”
Some say, “My hands are so full of other
work, I have no time.” Yet none deny that
the Gospel should be given to the Jew. God
has promised many and rich blessings to
those who give the Gospel to the Jew. Do
you wish Paul’s success in missionary ef
fort? Then adopt Paul’s method, “To the
Jew first.” Pom. 1:16.
Extraordinary Success of Jewish Missions.
In spite of the cry that “Jews are too hard
to reach,” statistics prove quite the contrary.
If we compare the actual conversions among
the heathen nations and Jews, during the
last century, we find there were seven Jews
converted to two heathen, considering the
amount of money invested and the number
of population of each. Is this not encourag
ing? Jewish work in the proper hands is the
most astonishing success of the century. The
greatest missionary China ever had was
Bishop Scherewsky, a Jewish Christian. One
of the greatest statesmen of England was
Disraeli, a Jewish Christian. The greatest mu
sician the world knows was Mendelssohn, a
Jewish Christian. Such examples could be
multiplied.
The Jew’s Attitude.
Thousands of them are daily realizing that
their religion is not substantial, and they are
abandoning it rapidly, shall we not at this
crisis offer them salvation, through Jesus?
They are drifting into socialism, and its kin-
their men. If the canteen were restored this
amount would be doubled, without doubt, and
this extra amount would simply mean BEER.
I have known, under the reign of the can
teen, of men who were frequently censured
for not having taken up their entire allow
ance in the canteen and pressure was brought
to bear upon them which could not fail to
turn a rank prohibitionist into a beer-tub.
The men are supplied with abundant food by
the Quartermaster and the allowance as it
now stands is simply money thrown away
for knick-knacks and similar things.
“Even at the present time, the ‘dividends’
recurring to the various companies are spent
in beer and cigar dinners and the men who
take neither are not supplied with anything
else. Under the canteen, those not patroniz
ing the bar have life made almost unbearable
for them by those men who want to see the
largest possible ‘dividend’ sent back to the
company, this dividend to go for more beer
and cigars.
“The Post Exchange carries pies, cakes,
soft drinks, soap, polish, milk, etc., and ev
ery soldier has occasion to use it. To drive
the abstaining and self-respecting recruit to
a saloon for such necessaries is an outrage,
because the sight and smell of beer with its
attendant seeming good-cheer and treating
puts a cruel temptation upon him.
“I believe it to be the general opinion of
all officers, commissioned and non-commis
sioned, that the army is better off without
beer, but these men are not as loud-mouthed
as the beer advocates. Personally Ido not
believe they will ever be able to foist a dis
credited and out-of-date institution upon the
army again, for the cry is more and more
for ‘efficiency’ and the men are more inter
ested in marksmanship than booze, the offi
cers in tactics, aerial developments and the
evolution of modern cavalry and artillery
methods than in the promotion of the inter
ests of a few foreign beer-makers.
dred evils and against our door will be laid
the sin of neglect.
The Jews are the Brethren of Our Savior.
It may be an unpleasant thought, but the
fact that Christ was of the blood and stock
of the Jew, is true, and if you find no love
in your heart for that Jew and no yearning
for His salvation, you have a reasonable right
to question your love for that Jew of Jews.
This same Savior has said, “Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto the least of these my breth
ren (the Jew), ye have done it unto me.”
The day is swiftly coming when we will
stand in judgment upon the ground, “What
have you done for these, my brethren,” the
Jew? Matt. 25:40.
What We Can Do.
Those having on the robe of righteousness
with willing hearts are prepared to be help
ers in this vineyard of the Lord. These are
commanded not to hold their peace day nor
night, to take no rest, and to give Him no
rest till He establish, and till He make Jeru
salem a praise on earth. Isa. 62:6-7. Yea,
God has chosen human instrumentality for
the restoration of Israel, and until the full
ness of the Gentiles let us “hasten with the
King’s business,” that Israel may soon be
ready to say, “Blessed is he that cometh in
the name of the Lord.” Israel mugt be in a
condition to so declare, before Christ’s re
turn, so let us hasten His coming having the
remnant that would glorify and fill His heart
with rejoicing.
MRS. W. F. CLARK.
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