The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1898-10-20

rad aome effect. These drinks, together
with the deadly ready to-wcar canteen PIE
no doub- added to the sickness Ihis was
az Miami SAD Miami by the sea, as some
genIiis-laden poetess has expressed IL III
The Post.
There ia no need for me to speciaiize
now. 1t Is the duty Of commanding oince's
N ace that their men receive adequate ana
proper food and the duty OF the comnlssary
ldepartment frnm the company quartermas-
ter I'm that the necessary food supply
reached the men. Recent INVESTIGATIONS
are developing the fact that there was
plenty. Incompetency, largely due 10 IN
experience, has been the cause OF most Oh
the suffering. My experience also REMINDS
me that n desire to look handsome and wear
a military gait and be recognized as
military officer, and incidentally TO i'm
press enlisted men with the idea tnat ,he
officer is his superior. in some cases, mas
outH eighed that zeaousness for the phVs-
ical welfare OF the enlisted men tMit char
acterzes the real officer. Here lies tue
difference between regulars ana volunteers
The regulars are recognized as ahiinais
which must be kept in condition 70 'isn''
The volunteer officers lean more 10 the loea
of drill and discipline and too much OF the
time has of necessity been devoted to this.
Discipline and drill are matters OF flct
with the regulars-not altogether so WIN
the volunteers. II your humble servant
had to recruit company the COOK quail
fications would be us closely examined ~
the officers.
An enlisted man In the volunteers puts
1t: Most any man can be an offlcer. put
a, otNt,.a IN, n n
Don't understand me to say | agree OTTO
gether with the enlisted man, or that all
the officers come under this head. Many
untiring, jealous gentlemen hold commits
sions in the Texas regiments, and they Tar
outnumber those whose designations Wouiu
benefit the service. 1t is perhaps an IN
Justice of the worlds creation, however,
that dozen good men VIII be thrown IN
tie shadow by a bad one and only the
shortcomings of the one remembered. This
is no doubt the case in the volunteer army.
but those who could ornament the position
of ex- military officer are not so few as
10 become lonely. And some | VIII not
say how many, OF the conscientious onns
are Just as anxious to get out as the men.
To return to the food question. Nearly.
IL not all the companies now have eXpe-
rienced cooks. One company pays a COOK
$50 per month. The man was secured from
an auxiliary cruiser lately gone out of COM
mission.
1t may be interesting to know where
this $50 comes from Part is donated by
the men. The balance Is made up from the
interest paid by borrowers from q fund
made up by members OF the company. The
captain runs this loan association" Ter
the benefit of the company fund. He re-
ceives deposits from members of the COM
pany The rate Of 10 per cent goes into
the company und and the stockholders WHO
make up the principal get 10 per cent on
their Investments. This may sound like
Il hardship. but it is only an equitable en-
couragement to the men to save their
money. The crap shooters and beer
drinkers" and the shiftless element ure-
dominates among the borrowing class.
They pay the fiddler, or the cook and the
saving members are encouraged to save
The food is good Bacon is still factor.
Better biscuit. however. now appear, and
light bread. Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes.
good beef and plenty of 1t, oatmeal and
milk, macaroni, cheese, cabbage. dried APP
pies. beans, ham, fish, tomatoes and
onions are now found in the various COM
pany messes.
Each company has a kitchen, mess shed
and table. All save one are built of SUP
stantial lumber. solid board tops. Com
pany A. Houston Light Guard, has a can
VAS about 20x60 feet stretched over a frame
work in lieu of a she'd This was more tx
pensivc, perhaps. but the canvas can &c
moved and the sheds can not.
Company commanders are now REQUIRED
TO personally supervise the cooking end
look after the food question. They are re-
CURED to submit weekly reports in writing
to the regimental commander, stating tn.
condition of the mess sheds and Kitchens