The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-06-15
VIRTUES OF ARMY FARE.
GOOD SOLDIERS MADE By A STEADY
DIET OF PORK AND BEANS.

1t Has Beon Tested b, Our Army In Unbpsnk-
able Heat az We'll no In Cold, nnd ReHs
uiars Get to Liz We or Goveru-
meat Straight Underwear and BroEans.
SWAsHINGToN, June 14.-Old campaigners
arc beginning to smile over the stories of star
walton among the encamped volunteers. They
are not biting their. thumbs at tho volunteers,
for they are fully aware that the soldiers them
solves arc not com planning Of the quality of their
grub. But they are poking all manner of mild fun
at the relatives and friends Of the soldiers. for the
non'oombatantS are the people who are setting
up the dismal wall about the heating and
"non-adaptable" character of the foodHishOd out
to tho men under arms. Tho batantB
are numbering the express offices with hundreds
Of boxes Of perishable STUFF designed to solece
and comfort the stomachs Of the lads in the
fold, and they are thereby giving the old cam
~pGigners the opportunity to formulate ridicu-
lous bills of fare, covering the threS'daily meals
of the young fellows at the front.
The complaints arc based chiefly upon the
fact. which nobody in authority makes tho
slightest effort to cover up. that tho main arti-
Gle Of diet OF tho soldiers, regulars and volun.
teerS, no matter whore they happen to DO sta
toned, 10 pork and beans. Pork and beans
may be all right In GOLD climates" people say,
but it is simply dreadful to infict pork and
beans upon men basted by the rays Of a sub
tropical sun" This sounds all right In theory.
for pork and beans is no doubt a heating COM
bInAtion. AZ well as.boing "fllin'." hut it surely
goes to pieces In practice. Not to revert to the
fact that tho heftiest war Of modern times.
namely. the American civil war. was fought
to a proper finish by men who derived their
lighting strength almost entirely from pork and
beans three times . day, when They could get
it-Whioh many of them couldn't awayB-it
only needs to BIO pointed out that the regular
army Of tho United States, since the close Of
tho civil war. and right up to tho beginning of
the present war, has dono some tall Indian fight
ing. sscouting, and practice campaigning on the
standard diet Of pork and beans. Tho regulars
OF our service have breakfasted. dined, and
supped on pork and beans ia parts of the country
q whole lot hotter than Tampa over will be.
and the diet has never prevented them from
doing red-hot work in the way of rounding up
Indians. Down in Arizona, for example-and
the levels of Arizona are about as hot Us eqHR-
torial Africa the regular troops have boon
chasing renegade ApacheS any time these past
twenty years with little more than pork and"
TO bolster Thorn up, and when these bronzed and
bearded regulars have returned TO garrison
| aftor such expedition 8 they have presented a
magnificent spectacle OF rugged, trim, clipper
tBh, keyod-up men.
Moreover the old;tipers among these regu-
lars don't want much else, to eat on these cam
paiEns besides pork and beans. Whereas the
younger follows, recruits. on such a cSmpGign
VIII. whom they pass through a town. dive for
the first restaurant In sight and proceed TO
gorge themselves on fresh meats, vegetable,
ana all manner OF sweet stuffs. the lhon who
know the game OF soldering wait till mess call
goes and SIT down TO their accustomed PORK
and" II you ask them why they do this they
1 Will tell you that. after "a continuous diet of
pork and beans. the freTh stun would be bound
10 make them slok for q ~week-Inako them
heavy, logRy, and incapable and that they pre-
fer TO stick TO the Government StraiGhtS until
they return to garrison, when they know They
can get frebh stun regularly, and become &C
customed to II again. II the present critics
who don't know anything about regular army
last war broke out, were doing their iorty'mlie
practice marches a day under the torrid suns
or Arizona and New Mexico, on a diet made up
entirely of pork and beans, hRrdtRCk, and col
foe, they would perhaps Withdraw some OF
their propositions bearing upon tho ~QiatTtbu-
tion OF strawberry jam, dc, TO the volunteers
now in tho Held.
IL Is mol alone the gearoued soldiers of the
regular army who adhere strictly TO tho service
diet when thoY nave got actual work to per
form, hut tho Oid-tlners among tho enii9ted
men OF the navy do precisely the same thing.
On long cruises even the enlisted mon on ships
Of war to-day are practically never without
fresh provisions. Fresh meats and vegetables
are taken aboard for all the nesse1 AT every
port where the ships stop to coal, and the new
men in tho navy feed themselves fat on this
diet and, in low lEutudos, eat themselVes Into
the sick bay by boat Crows-for IL mu 81 be re-
mombered that, ice machines or no ice machines,
aboard snip in the tropics. and whom a meas
pRrtRkeB.of something tina. has become slightly
stale. that mess IL Almost bound to 20 IN d body
10 the sick bay. The old nAtfeet very rarely
low lstitudes. and there are many OF them who
do not eat trSAhsnsRt and frosh vegetables for
whole thros-yeqr cruises ~ a stretch. IL can
probably 10 tAksA Ter granted AAt Asss -