SYSTEMIC EFFECTS 311 



cut their own wood ; they were marched across Texas 

 from Hempstead to Shreveport, and from Shreveport 

 back to Tyler. On the other hand, there were the confine- 

 ment and depression of imprisonment, the lack of regular 

 work; a climate they were not accustomed to, and some 

 malarial influences. Notwithstanding the latter condi- 

 tions these men improved physically and mentally in such 

 a marked degree that other officers agreed with me, at the 

 time, that enforced total abstinence was the very best 

 condition that could be imposed upon them. 



"And in confirmation of the above, I repeatedly ob- 

 served that many of these men, after they had returned to 

 their homes with all the advantages of civilized life, had 

 run down and did not appear either physically or men- 

 tally to be as fair specimens of manhood as they did while 

 inmates of a Confederate prison camp." * 



This opinion was further borne out during the same 

 war by the experience of the Federal Authorities. "A 

 daily issue of a gill of whiskey to each officer and man of 

 the Army of the Potomac was ordered, half to be given 

 out in the morning and half in the evening. This was 

 brought about by the fact that for several weeks the men 

 had been subjected to unusual hardships and extra duty, 

 and were breaking down under the strain. The issue, 

 which was to continue ' until further orders, ' was greeted 

 with enthusiastic appreciation of the farsightedness of 

 the authorities responsible for it. 'Until further orders' 

 proved to be exactly one month, and hot coffee was 

 substituted for the whiskey, the issue of which was 

 ordered to be 'immediately discontinued.' During the 

 month, the general condition of health of the troops was 

 not only in no way improved, but became markedly worse, 



1 The Physiological Aspects of the Liquor Problem, Committee 

 of Fifty. 



