The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-03-03
FEW LUxURIEs IN THE LIST.
a Soldiers Bill of Fare Made Up of
the Simplest Kind of Diet.
From the washington Star.


From the Washington Star.
The ration for a soldier in the United
States army considerably exceeds what
is necessary for the support of a man.
1t consists for each day of twenty ounces
Of pork or bacon OF canned beef and
eighteen ounces Of soft bread or flour. In
stead of the meat allowance mentioned.
the soldier may have twenty ounces of
fresh beef or twenty-five ounces of salt
beef. In place of the bread or -four he may
have twenty ounces of cornmeal or six
teen ounces of hard braed. But this is
not all. For every 100 men Uncle Sam al
lows daily fifteen pounds of beans or
peas, eight pounds of roasted coffee, If
teen pounds of sugar four quarts of vim
egar, four pounds of soap, four pounds of
salt, four ounces of pepper and pound
and half of candles. If preferred, ten
pounds of green coffee may be had in
stead of the eight pounds of roasted cof-
fee, or two pounds of tea afford another
alternative. The ration for troops in the
field is the same, with the addition of
four pounds of yeast powder to each 100
rations of flour.
The best that can be made of this is a
very simple diet. But Uncle Sans sol
diers have good many luXuries for the
table without e. pense to themselves.
These they procure chiefly in two ways.
AS a rule, they do not draw from the
commissary department nearly all of the
rations allowed. What is left over is
bought back by the government. This
means that the men get the money value
Of the stun instead, and with this cash
they buy whatever they want in the way
of delicacies for the mess. Whereas one
man, OF two or three together, might
easily use up the whole of the rations al
lowed, the expenditure per man is greatly
diminished when a whole company has a
mess together, and the saving is proper
Tomato The cash rebate above referred
TO is termed company savings"
The other way in which the soldiers get
money to spend on delicacies is through
the post canteen." This is a sort of club
managed by the officers of the post for
the benefit Of the men. 1t is restaurant
and also shop at which many things
are sold, though the chief sale is that Of
beer. The war department would prefer
that the soldiers should not drink beer,
but they are bound to drink something,
! and beer is much less harmful than whis-
| ky. The profits of the "canteen' are used
for the benefit of the soldiers in various
ways part of the money being appropri-
| ated for the purchase of supplies.
Pea soup is manufactured nowadays
! in a condensed form for soldiers ra-
| lions. The peas are roasted and ground
| fine, seasoning being added together with
| a small quantity of beef extract to serve
the purpose of stock. Finally the mix
ture is dried and reduced by pressure to
the condition of yellow solid. This ma
/ terial may be bought by the quantity for
/ 10 cents a pound, and 100 pounds of il will
make 400 pounds of soup. All that is ne
cessary is to mix it with water and boil
1t in order to make 1T ready for use. Peas
are considerably more nutritious than
! beef-steak.
Coffee is put up in the shape of small
! lozenges, one of which serves for a cup.
The lozenge has merely TO be put into the
cup, water being poured upon it, and the
coffee is ready for use. A four-ounce
! package of lozenges is sufficient ration for
a man for one month. The lozenges are
made by condensing ordinary coffee made
In the usual way, and then evaporating
1t. Condensed eggs are already on the mar
ket in half dozen forms, prepared by
| evaporation.