[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."]
SIR,—In reply to a letter written by " An Officer in the Front Line " in your issue of February 10th, may I say that I have been in the trenches in winter in France, and was some time in Salonika? Undoubtedly soldiers must have some stimulant, but, as you said in your note below his letter, rum is only a temporary stimulant, and has not half the sustaining power of coffee or something of that kind. During the time we were in Salonika, through all kinds of weather, the men only had about ten runt rations in six months and beer was practically unobtainable, and I have never seen men fitter or work harder and better, till the hot weather came. May I add that it is false to say that drink is not rampant? It is rampant both among officers and men. I have seen young officers going to the devil through it, and every one in the Army knows that the drink is mainly responsible for all the immorality which both in England and abroad is swooping hundreds of good soldiers from the combatant forces to the
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