Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1897-03-15
FEEDING CADETS.
A Unique Feature of the Naval
Academy at Annapolis.
Discipline and Hard Work Are
Required in Serving Meals

| up the commonwealth OF the United
States Naval academy at Annapolis,
Ind, is band of the most expert and
perfectly trained walters, on whose
promptness and attention to duty
largely depend the exact movements
OF academic autonomy. The battalion
of cadets must have their fast broken
in time to begin promptly their bustl-
ing day of busy work. For that pur-
pose the first man who starts the
preparations for breakfast reports at
a. m. He is the fireman. He starts
the fires and begins the first opera
tions for the coming meal. At 5
O'Clock the assistant cooks arrive and
begin to round up the meal. At 6
O'Clock all the cooks are in the kitchen,
These are six in number. Three bak-
ers have been Mt work all night making
bread. Warm rolls or some kind of
not bread are given at every break
fast. The meats are started to cook
at 6, for it takes good, large quanti-
ties of meat to serve $50 hearty cadets
Fish and eggs vary with the meat us
relshes. Breakfast Is served on tue
tick of the watch at $40, giving just
live minutes for morning formation
aud inspection by the officer in
charge.
| AT 7.15 breakfast is over, and the
Chaplain comes in and leads morning
service consisting of reading pas
sage of Scripture and prayers. After
that the walters, cooks, and assistants,
forty-eight iu number, have their
breakfast. That over, the service
corps begins to make ready for gen.
eral inspection at 8 by the Assistant
Commandant of Midshipmen. This
inspection goes to the cleanliness of
the mess hall, its utensils, and the en-
tire kitchen, and means that every pan
shall be in order and shining like
new pin
The force, save the cooks, is now
dismissed until II. 45 II. m., when the
head waiter musters his men, calls the
roll, and reports to the officer in
charge, and he inspects the personnel
of the force to see that the white
| md in,l ato THAN
preparations for dinner are rounded
up, for at n. IN. the work had been
begun.
This meal is served with military
promptness at 70 35 p. m. When the
bugle blares for dinner, the four cary
ers start to cut up the joints of meat,
the cooks begin to dip up the soup,
and the walters to serve the butter
and the salads. This is done in a
hurry, and the walters line up await
ing the order to serve the soups. At
this order each waiter starts with four
plates of soup, each having eight ca
diets to serve. Soup ended, every dish
is cleared from the table and the vege-
tables are served, each waiter bring
ing in six dishes ut time. Then the
meat plates are taken to the carvers'
room, when each waiter returns to the
hall carrying eight plates in his hands,
for no trays are ever used by these ex-
perts, who have never had II crash in
all the rush of waiting in the mess hall.
Individual orders nre now filled until
dessert is served. The walters line up
to receive this order.
Dinner takes forty live minutes.
Supper is served after the manner of
breakfa This work means exacting
duty for some of the men and fidelity
in all. Colored men form the waiting
corps entirely, and are drawn from
the best class of colored people in
Annapolis, for only those who are
sober, reliable and alert can hold
these places, where all the regularity
of military order is observed and the
whole body of walters are required to
answer three roll calls daily. The men
who compose this capable corps take
pride in their calling, which has all
the incentive of deserving promotion
in it, for while the steward has the
power of discharge, promotion goes
by conduct, and long service brings
increase of pay, and finally comes
transfer to the cadets quarters, to
keep these in order, where pay is en-
HANGED and position continues as long
as the incumbent is capable and faith
full
Fire Alarm Boxes.
/ Charles L. Hill contributes m arti-
| Il Al