The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-06-15
BATTLESHlPS' KITCHENS.
Neat Little Affairs Presided Over by
Jap Cooks.

Neat Little Affairs Presided Over by
Jap Cooks.
Despite Their Grim Surroundings of
Armor and Armament, They are
Homelike Inside and Provide Jack and
His superiors with Cookery Of Undis-
puted Excellence.
New York SUM-
When the news of Commodore Dewey's
great victory at Manila was sent over the
wires it was recorded that during the en-
tire engagement Paymaster Martin made
and served coffee to the officers and men.
1t is difficult to associate kitchen and a
cook with battlesbip. but every one OF
the big fighting monsters with its terrible
guns and its turrets and flags has It's
kitchen. 1t is called galley on board
ship, and it is one of the most important
places on board to noth the officers and
the men.
Nothing gives an American tar such a
relish for food as the smell of powder and
smoke.
1t has become quite fashion of late to
divide battleship up as though it were
human, giving it brains and eyes, heart
and lungs, but no prominence is given to
the galley or the man in the galley who is
quite an important parsonage. The man
in the galley is usually Japanese, for
almost every one of the big ships has
a Jap cook and a staff Of servants of the
same nationality. The boys wait on the
officers table, dust, clean silver, carry
messages, and attend to minor house.
keeping duties in way that would put
the average housemaid to great disad-
vantage.
I. 1t is quite possible that during a great
battle like that of Manila a self-centred
japanese cook might continue his work
of decorating an entree or giving express
sion to soup, while the enemies guns
doomed against the side of his range or
copper pans. While the space that is
given to comfort on man of-war is nee.
essarily limited, its interior is apt to
strike one as luxurious in comparison
with the storm and frowning exterior of
the great lead colored monsters. The
galley is as thoroughly up to date in it's
appointments and cooking arrangements
as the kitchen of modern residence.
There is large hotel range with splen-
did ovens from which each day the cook
turns out tempting brown loaves, and
even pies and cakes, that must make
many Jackie think of home. There are
great copper soup boilers and coffee boilers
in which these two items of the menu are
prepared by the gallon. Then there are
copper pots and pans on shelves in rows,
bright and shining as those in the itch
ems of our great New York hotels. There
are cupboards, too, in which the sugar
and the spices and other cooking con d.
ments are kept all nicely labelled, for
there is no slipshod housekeeping on q
man -of-war. There are the cupboards
with sliding doors and spring looks that
when opened disclose rows of cutlasses
and rifles and great long revolvers in
racks from the floor to the ceiling.
The china, silver, and glassware used
on our American battleships are pretty
enough to delight woman. and women
as rule are particular about china.
The sailors have ruder ware, but that
used at the officers mess is white and
fragile, with a device Of an anchor in gold
on each piece. The glasses, which are
fixed in stationary racks on sideboard
in the wardroom, which, by the way, is
drawing room, sitting room, dining room
all in one, are of cut ware and are orna-
mented with naval device. Some of the
battleships have gorgeous silver services,
but that ordinarily used is an mp to date
and complete set Of spoons, knives, and
forks in all the different sizes. Then there
are individual pepper mills in silver, salt
cellars and salvers, all of which are kept
in shining perfection.
The sailors on board our American ships
live much better than the workingman
on land. When in port they have fresh
meats and vegetables, and when at sea
for any length of time the terrors of the
old..time regimen of salt pork and salt
beef are mitigated by supply of canned
vegetables. which give variety. Besides
this, Uncle Sam is SO generous to his men
that the allowance for each is too much,
and they have formed system OF pooling
the supplies which gives each man an
amount of money which he can spend for
extra things for the table.
The officers have their special cook and,
of course, their special foods, which in
port are apt to compare favorably to those
offered on the menu of first class hotel.
They appoint caterer and steward from
among their number each month, whose
duty it is to look after the welfare of the
mess The wine mess is contributed to
on shares.
The man in the galley, iks the stokers,
DOESN'T get much glory out OF naval war
fare but he is an important man in his
place. Who can tell whether many
glorious victory has not resulted from a
well-cooked breakfast or dinner and
crushing defeat followed on an indigesti-
BILE pie or a badly seasoned chop? Pay
master Martin coffee must have possessed
the elixir of victory, whether 1T was made
with an egg, according TO rule, or just
thrown together any old way.
ryATNE DENCInNC