The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-06-28
LUCKY UNCLE SANS MEN.
OUR SOLDIERS BETTER FED THAN
THOSE OF ANY OTHER COUNTRY.


They Are Their own Caterers ana
Are Permitted to Get and 10 Eat
Pretty Much Anything They want.
Their Allowance From the Gov
eminent Army Canteens and
Their Advantages-The Daily Bin
of Fare.
From the New York Times.
Now look here" said the enthusiastic
army officer, looking up from his copy OF
the New York Times, simply regard
the difference. Here are a lot Of German
soldiers. who. they tell us. are tho finest
on the earth, living on what soldiers call
chuck which. II given to the rank and
file OF Uncle Sans blue-coated defenders
would lead to a riot.
This. according to the long-awaited an
nual from the military information divis-
ION Of the war department. is what one
regiment of the Garde lives on, even
when auartered IN Berlin:
Breaixfast-Bread and coffee.
Dlnner-Bread and coffee. with meat and
peas.
supper-Bread and coffee, with the adj
dition Of meat on Tuesdays and Thurs
days
Bread and coffee. coffee and bread.
Why such a bin Of fare constantly set be-
fore our troops on the frontier would be
a tie something like a disintegration of the
army. The men wouldnt-couidn't-
IL. They would, FIRST II such fare were
by any possibility decided upon by their
superiors, raise their voices in vocal
howl that would reach high heaven; then
they'd desert. and that would be the end
OF them.
"As a matter OF fact, our soldiers are
fed better than are the majority Of what
European people call the middle class
They get good, wholesome food, plenty
Of It, and they see to II themselves that
II is properly cooked. They are practi-
cally their own caterers and our govern
ment allows them, under the supervision
of the amiable company commander. to
get and TO eat pretty much anything they
want.
THE system is a splendid one. Tenn
perance people may preach against the
army canteen as factor In promoting
drunkenness In the ranks, but their kick
is simply a theoretical one, following out
a principle. AS a rule they don't know
what they are talking about. Men In the
army. from the colonel down TO the high
private in the rear rank, recognize the
fact that since the introduction of the
canteen system the soldier is better fed
in consequences Of II, better contented with
his individual lot, and soberer IL you'll
pardon the word, than ever It was be-
"But the consideration of that much
mooted question is in better hands than
mine, and we will drag ourselves back to
the discussion Of the graver question of
our army chuck
"Of course, every one knows that the
government supplies ration to its sol
d!ers. This consists Of per capita al
haNnp
coffee, bread, sugar, salt vinegar, pepper,
potatoes and onions-in fact, quite enough
to make in itself a good living. Each
man is allowed enough each day to keep
himself fat for twenty-four hours, and
when the first sergeant of troop of cav
airy, for instance, goes TO draw his ra-
tions for sixty men for ten days. as Is
the army custom, he gets more of some
of the details Of the ration than his men
can possibly consume.
For example, the coffee allowance is a
tenth Of pound per man per day. This,
for sixty men for ten days gives sixty
pounds for that time Making the inspir-
iting liquid as do army cooks ii takes
about three or three and half pounds
day for the troop mess, and so in ten DAYS
using at the most three and half pounds
each day, a balance of twenty-five pounds
Is accumulated. In a month this makes
over seventy-hve pounds, and coffee in
pound.
This IS where we get down to the sys-
tenn. The government allows munifcent-
ly the troop mess to dispose Of its savings
thus made to the highest bidder. and the
money so obtained goes into what Is call
ed company fund. Coffee is not the
| only article Of the ration on which saving
can, be made. Pork and bacon are fur
nished on the basis that they form three
tenths Of the meat consumed by soldiers;
as a matter Of fact, they don't form one
twentieth of the flesh food he disposes Of
Other things, like beans. are furnished in
M ri nd
being readily salable, go to swell the
company fund at the end of each month
And here, having shown one source OF
that received from the canteen. That bib
ulous institution Is run on general lines
laid down by the war department., by an
| officer selected from those OF each garri-
vision Of the commanding officer, through
council made up of three members of