Project Gutenberg 2016-12-15 Public domain in the USA. 154 Mee, Arthur 1875 1943 17020169 The Fiddlers; Drink in the Witness Box E-text prepared by MWS, ellinora, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) "The Fiddlers; Drink in the Witness Box" by Arthur Mee is a critical examination of the impact of alcohol on society and the war effort, written in the early 20th century, notably during World War I. This work appears to convey strong anti-alcohol sentiments, arguing that the drink trade undermines the country's strength during wartime and contributes to social and economic woes. Mee highlights the detrimental effects of alcohol on both the general population and soldiers, suggesting it is a significant enemy alongside the forces of Germany. The opening of the text establishes a passionate tone as Mee presents a compelling argument against the drink trade, asserting that it prolongs the war and exacerbates dire food shortages. He cites various statistics and examples of the massive quantities of food destroyed for beverage production, claiming that this waste directly threatens national security. Through a series of anecdotes and reports, he builds a case that emphasizes the ruin caused by alcohol at home—neglect, poverty, and broken families—contrasting sharply with the sacrifices of soldiers fighting abroad. The piece serves both as a historical piece and a call to action for societal reform regarding alcohol consumption. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 73.8 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en World War, 1914-1918 Alcoholism HV Text Browsing: Drugs/Alcohol/Pharmacology Browsing: History - Warfare Browsing: Sociology Category: History - Modern (1750+) Category: Drugs/Alcohol/Pharmacology Category: Sociology 188126 2025-06-21T11:41:16.517666 text/html 165415 2024-10-23T01:30:54 text/html 659621 2025-06-21T11:41:22.324674 application/epub+zip 679375 2025-06-21T11:41:17.752647 application/epub+zip 144433 2025-06-21T11:41:17.136701 application/epub+zip 737814 2025-06-21T11:41:25.618626 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 760970 2025-06-21T11:41:21.714677 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 228012 2022-09-24T12:24:37.614079 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 161811 2025-06-21T11:41:15.837655 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 141846 2024-10-23T01:30:54 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 16731 2025-06-21T11:41:25.765627 application/rdf+xml 16754 2025-06-21T11:41:17.231643 image/jpeg 3009 2025-06-21T11:41:17.182648 image/jpeg 629541 2025-06-21T11:41:16.562672 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia