SOLDIERS AND LIQUOR.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4862, 7 August 1925, Page 2

SOLDIERS AND LIQUOR.

iTo the Editor!. Sir,— May I add my protest to your . “Two Years’ and “Three Years,” against the statement. made by Mr Edwards in the lastr Chamber of Commerce meeting. I. feel that Mr Edwards has publiclj slighted and slurred the honour of every decent, temperate, and abstaining soldier. As one who served with “The First Hundred Thousand ’ in the early days and took part in the early Ypras battles, when the. enemy first used that diabolical weapon of gas, and remained on the Western Front • during the strenuous days of trench warfare from the coast to the Somme, in the line, supports, reserve,, and at rest until the tide turned and ■ wc inarched over the Rhine, I can claim to have seen all sorts of troops under every condition. I could give you hundreds of instances of men being useless and impeding progress by . being under the influence of liquor, but space will not permit. Let me give you, briefly, four examples .— Battle of Arras, April 9, 1917: A Sergeant-Major under the influence of rum, sent back to dressing station as ■ sick, had to be deprived of rifle and bayonet and revolver or he would have shot wounded men. His men went on without him. Some hard case! A private brought by comrades to , dressing station fighting drunk. .Runishock—not shell-shock. Stretchei - bearers had to gag him and tie him down to keep him quiet and fiom throwing his and other lives away to the enemy. Somme Retreat. March 23, 1918: Private, dead drunk through drinking red wine from houses- of fleeing civilians near Albert. Stretcher-bearers had to risk being captured by carrying this “hard case.” Another drunk on red wine arrested and taken before the colonel. To save a general court-martial and sentence of death the colonel dismisses the case and orders the man to be ducked. This was duly carried, out, and the man became a maniac for several hours, having to be overpowered by ethers and bound with cords. I am prepared to vouch personally for these and many more degrading incidents which I saw. The number of men who. were rendered inefficient by disease, which was largely contracted while under the influence of liquor, greatly weakened our forces; and at the most critical hour, when, every fit man was needed to stem the. h'ords of Huns, these brave men were in hospital at the Base or in England, while B 3 and C 3 men. and lads of 18 . years had to take their places. Every man fought valiantly; the coward was the exception, and the drinkers 1 did not stand head and shoulders above the abstainers in acts of valour. We faced together a common foe, and as. much, and perhaps more, blood has flowed from the abstainers as from any. Will <Mr Edwards please have the decency to withdraw publicly his slander and apologise to every returned man ? - ' FOUR AND A HALF YEARS. [Sufficient has been said on this subject, and the matter is npw closed subject to the right of Mr Edwards to reply if he desires to do so.—Ed.]