The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-09-02
eERMANY's IRON TREASURES
Vast Stores of Army Rations and
Money in Readiness for War.

Money in Readiness for War.
From the st. Louis Post Dispatch
In the fortress of Spandau there is
stored the celebrated emergency fund of
the German empire-the so-called iron
treasure, millions of silver pieces, most
of them minted with the head of Napoleon
III. Derived from that colossal indem-
nifty which victorious Germany imposed
upon humbled France in the hope of per-
manently Gripping the hereditary foe,
the payment of which and recuperation
Of It's loss is the financial wonder OF the
world, this hoard Of coined money is
kept for the contingency OF war This
treasure is sacred. There is no crisis
through which the German empire may
pass, save that of foreign war, which
makes this vast sum available. The
| Germans are very fond of the word
'iron' in its sense of rude frmness, of
harsh endurance, of severe tenacity They
have applied it to their greatest historf-
cal characterize iron chancellOr-to
his policy of absolute inf1exibility and to
their most-prized reward-the iron cross
of which there is but one degree, an d
which can be earned only by actual
bravery on the field. They have used the
word to designate the treasure at Span
dau and they have also adopted 1t to
D
minute and comprehensive scheme of mil
litary organization TO which they attach
great Importance When the German
army is transformed from a huge reserve
OF precautionary power into a massive in
strument of aggressive force, its units,
! the individual soldiers, are put into abso-
( lutely new uniforms The purposes of
this step are numerous. 1t makes the
| operation of mobilization more simple and
systematic, and with the contingency of
! prolonged warfare it makes the continu-
ance of military operations more economi-
cal. There is a sentimental issue in
volved-the personal pride of the soldier
is stimulated and his zeal in service in
! creased.
In equipment and accouterment a SINH
lar system is followed. The result is that
the soldier starts out in the condition
practically that he should be theoreti-
cally. His equipment is a heavy one, but
the knowledge that every pound of
weight he carries represents something
useful to his occupation and his comfort
and convenience while engaged in it
lightens his load. He realizes that he is
provided for every emergency. In his
knapsack are his clothes and his
store of cartridges. Each one of his
pockets has a particular purpose.
The lining Of the one on the left of his
tuntc is medically prepared, to be used
! When necessity arises as an antiSeptic
| bandage. In his haversack is his loaf of
| bread-the staff of life-and the so-called
Iron ration" This is the institution to
| which reference has been made. It is the
| reserve fund Of the soldiers food, his
| sustenance when deprived of all other
| resources of mess, commissariat and for
! age. There is huge factory in Mayence
| devoted to the packing of these Iron
rations" in small bags, in pre-.
| served and com pressed shape. These ra-
| lions consist of coffee, rice, hard tack
and tobacco, in a quantity sufficient to
! provide for three days use. The cavalry
| receives in addition similarly prepared
ratiOns for its horses, consisting of hay
and oats sufficient for five days These
rattons are to serve only in cases of ex-
| IRENE necessity. They are sacred when
! ever the trooper is provided by the COM
mlssary department with the necessary
| food or when he can procure it by
! requisition or forage. The Iron ra-
ton" cannot be touched except by
command of superior officer. In
the preparation Of these rations chemical
science has been at work, and it is be-
| lieved Ia the articles provided the greatest
amount OF nutrition has been secured in
the most compressed and endurable
shape. In the grand maneuvers which
annually take place in Germany, and in
which the soldiers are exposed to every
contingency save that of an ememy's
death-dealing powers, the "iron rations"
are carried, and their purpose made clear
TO the men.