The long-expected Report of the War Office on Canteens and
Regimental Institutes was published on Thursday. Since, however, it was not completely issued to the Press, and since the whole matter will, we understand, be discussed in Parliament on Monday, we shall only note here that the majority of the Committee report strongly in favour of the application of the Co-operative system. We are sincerely glad that this is so, for, in spite of certain drawbacks to which it is liable, the Co-operative system, if properly managed, is capable of doing what no other system could in the circum- stances achieve. It will return to the men the whole of the profit made on all goods consumed by them. It will also, if properly managed, allow far less opportunity for corruption than other systems. Finally, it can be so arranged that no one engaged in the work of selling retail will have any interest whatever in pressing the sale of intoxicants on the men. We do not deny that the other systems can also be worked to produce these last two results, but not so perfectly as can the Co-operative system.
Previous page
