Evening star., 1898-12-24

rack. Under ordinary cOndltlOnS Tree Is
sues Of stimulants to the French soldiers
may be made when the war minister de-
cides. When there Is a review Of honor"
the Inspector general may issue ration
apiece of wine or brandy. When corps
commander takes possession of his post
he orders review of installation" and
generally good ration of spirits all around
is ordered with this. Commanders of reg
iments or companies on days. OF fatigue are
permitted to issue a stimulant ration and
charge 1t against the mess fund. OF course
it is almost difficult to find Frenchman
who will drink straight" water 1t is to
locate fish which prefers to imbibe alco-
hol. All enlisted men are daily allowed
| brandy to make their drinking water whole
some from July 10 to August 81. All troops
In bivouac are allowed this the year around.
A French daily portion of wine, beer or
cider for the army ration measures a half
liter, of brandy a sixteenth liter.
The Dutch war ration allows one-half
liter of gin under special circumstances
and by order Of the commanding general.
In fortified places in time of war officers
get half liter of wine daily, and both
officers and "non-coms' a half liter of
beer. On Sundays each Dutchman in the
ranks gets a half liter extra of beer Once
a week every man in the army is given a
herring, two Kilograms of tobacco and
seven cigars.
In the Italian army instead of coffee,
wine may be issued as the drink portion Of
the ration. but one portion of wine is count
together 1t amounts to only a quarter Of a
liter At 4:30 in the afternoon of every
feast day each Italian soldier gets an extra
twenty-five centiliters of wine. During
maneuvers the same is given each evening.
When the Swiss soldier is exposed to Sc
we're work or cold weather his superiors
allow him from three TO five decilters of
wine and from six to ten centiliters of
brandy, or the wine may be issued alone.
Valuable Substitutes.
Previous to the war with Spain the sub
sistence department of our army consid-
cred the advisability of Introducing a
drink portion of the emergency ration such
as might impart the beneficial effects of
alcoholic stimulants, but which would
leave no depressing after effects. 1t was
proposed by some to introduce such bev-
erage for the revival of tired troops just
before a battle, after a hard fight or while
recuperating from trying forced marches.
Meat extracts, which are now regarded
purely as stimulants, were considered.
Beef tea, for instance, contains very little
If any material retained by the body, but
is highly stimulating. Meat extracts are
valuable for restoring the tagging conSti-
tuition. In the British army a stimulant
consisting of dry beef powder is given the
tired soldiers, but its actual food value is
worth only one-fourth that of fresh beef
flesh.
Some interesting experiments were made
values as stimulants. corporal and a
private were detailed to Set out one morn
Ing on a march of twenty-five miles in the
hot sun. The corporal ate a hearty break
fast and marched in the ordinary manner,
taking with him as much food as would
ordinarily be issued to one man from the
military larder. The private started with
out his breakfast and took with him five
kola nuts, nothing more in the way of
food Upon completing the march, within
little more than seven hours. the cor
poral. who had eaten the ordinary ration,
was almost overcome by heat and fatigue.
The private, who had partaken of the kola
nuts only, reported that he had never felt
fresher or stronger in his life than imne-
diately after his return, yet he had but re-
Gently recovered from illness. With no
other food than handful of kola nuts
Africans of the Congo region will walk
fifty miles In day with perfect ease
Liquid kola and kola in tablet form were
also tested in the army with less satisfac-
tory results. Stimulants made from South
American coca leaves were examined
Coca has much the same effects as kola,
but there is prejudice against it, owing
to the growing slavery to cocaine, extract
ed from the coca leaves.
In the Navy.
Until 1860 our jackies received a regular
drink portion Of rum with their daily ra-
tion. In that year tremendous temper
ance pressure was brought to bear and the
rum was forbidden. Today each warship
his its beer mess The jackies club to-
gether and buy a stock of the amber fluid
and drink it when they wish in port Ex-
cept among the officers and in the medical
stores no alcoholic beverage besides beer
Is allowed aboard ship. Uncle Sam does
not supply his naval officers with any stim-
ulants, save In cases of sickness. In all
european navies sailors are given their
daily ration of grog, and in all of these,
save the English, this daily allowance is
doubled Immediately before battle. This
custom has survived since those days
when the most reckless daring was essen
tial for boarding the old-fashioned fight
ing ships.
The British admiralty lately gave orders
that hereafter the double ration of grog
formerly given previous to going into bat
tie be eliminated and that plain oatmeal
water be substituted-that Is to say, no
alcohol whatever is now allowed previous
to fighting. Those responsible for this re-
form consider that modern naval skill de-
mands firmness of hand. precision of eve
and steadiness of nerve in the handling Of
the delicate mechanisms and dangerous ex-
plosives with which our modern fighting
SHIPS are now equipped.