New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-09-13
MEALS ON THE TRANSPORTS
rrrn1xc UNCLE SANS TROOPS WHILE
AFLOAT.
sprvFI,O PMENT OF AN ADEQUATE
TEM-PLENTY OF GOOD FOOD
rOP EVERY MAN

Manila July "a (SpeciaD-The system
has heen perfected by the Government io' wv
,,g troons on the United States transport -
considered the most adequate In the "oiiN
"a the more wonderful because 1t mas nee"
,ec,ed IN a year The methods empioSeu Il.
were crude and involved great ue"' "
NECESSARY hardship. year ago the "o0p -
90 Cuba and even to the Philippines ia" '
Gravel rations which consisted prihc'paiS u
corned beef and bareback. with nothne nv
49,. oo,,ae II took often several hours TO ois-
- - ro,,ons FOR each meal. that the
mon were irregularly fed and not uncommo"'y
...s-. oh,,sad N wait till noon before they hao
NV breakfast. This state OF affairs is prac-
,,cauv ended and while much depends upon
.ho ,rd,vidual ability Of the ships quarternaS
.o oar,a,n effective regulations are universally
carried out
.rbs United States Government owns twenty
three transports. The finest OF these are '"e
Sheridan. the Sherman. the Grant the Logan
and the Thomas These five great ships are eA-
sctly alike. 400 feet over all and OF o'o'o 'o'o
each. They are capable OF carrying TWO 'lou
sand enlisted men. besides nearly one hunu'e"
officers in the cabin. There are three rieSSes vi
board these ships-the cabin or ofhcers mes
The crews mess and the mess Of the enils'eu
mon In plying across the Pacific TO Mania
a one month trip with only one stop for coal a.
Honolulu. a perfect system. not only in the pro-
vislon,ns but in the daily feeding OF THIS ire
roendous passenger list. Is an absolute heoes'
sity.
The messes Of the officers and OF the ere" ar
served regularly. and are equal in variety ai'N
quality to those Of almost any OF the A'ai'u0
liners The great problem which mas oeeh SUI
cessfully solved Is the feeding with eQual ies"-
thousand enlisted men.
A long. narrow galley has been null' ai''N-
.b,ns on the mess deck at the right hand side
Here are set four meat boilers Of 10 gallons ca
pacity each. four vegetable boilers Of % gallons
conac,,, each and TWO coffee boilers containing
$50 gallons apiece -Four regular cooks take
charge Of the cooking. which IS done entirely ny
steam; a detail Of four soldiers gives them daily
assistance Twelve men are also detailed TO peel
potatoes and prepare the vegetables and twelve
more as a fatigue party to bring supplies from
the storerooms. and. taking into consideration
the total amount Of supplies consumed each
day. this duty is not light one
Besides the cooking galley, it has been fouho
necessary 10 establish a butcher shop where the
refrigerated meats are taken from the con-
storage rooms. cut up and issued TO the cooks
Three regular butchers and three detailed rom
among the soldiers are kept busy here durlhs
the day.
HOW THE FOOD Is SERVED
The mess calls for the men are at 800 a m
10 m and . m Immediately ten men from
each company form in line in regular order
each detail being provided with from six 10 ten
buckets Of fourteen quarts capacity. allowing
at the least seventy quarts Of food for one nun
dred men The cooks in the galley NIL the
buckets with meat. vegetables and conee' ana
then they are carried to the mess tables where
the food is issued 10 each member Of the COM
rany. who ia waiting in line with his tin plate
and cup As each man is served he moves on
and generally goes to the upper deck TO eat Inc
mess deck where the galley and mess TAPES
are situated. corresponds to the main dech, dhu anu
is just below the spar or upper deck. AiteT an
are served the first time. the men begin 10 re-
turn for seconds az they call II, ana are
served just : plentfuliy again
In addition TO the food cooked in the gaIey
the men have fresh bread morning and night
and bareback at noon The bread Is issued
separatelv 10 the mess tables and the men re-
ceve il with the rest Of the food. In order 10
keen the supply Of bread equal 10 the demand
there q a SQUAD Of twelve bakers on board. Jour
Of whom are at work all night Inc cabih
ranges are used. the bakeshop being near me
cabin galley As the ranges are IN use ,or the
cabin cooking during the day all the baking
must be done al night The regular straight
army -four is used . 400 pounds Of 1t every day.
II is baked in large biscuits. which the men call
"cohs" and they eat two or three Of these at a
meal Hardtack IS issued at the rate Of 300
pounds every three days. The fresh bread IS
piled on shelves in II large cage which occupies
the centre Of the mess deck. from which II IS
Issued TO the mess details morning and night
AN ABUNDANCE OF GOOD FOOD
few figures may convey an idea Of the gen
srous provision made for each man on board
The regulations concerning the field or trave
~, 81
lowed to have practically much as he wants
and a much greater variety than the prescribed
ration He has fresh meat twice A day an al
lowance Of one and one fourth pounds for each
man The vegetables comprise carrots. onions
potatoes. tomatoes. rice and cabbage Oatmea
IS frequently given out in the morning and Al
night some kind Of dried fruit. such peaches
prunes and apricots sometimes pickles in addi
tion. The following amounts are often issued
from the storeroom in day. Sixteen crates OF
potatoes 4 son pounds 100 pounds Of onions
1000 pounds of carrots 100 Of turnps. 1.565 L
$500 pounds Of meat hoo pounds Of salt meat
Eight pounds ~ coffee is allowed TO every lO(
men-oNcr 100 pounds day. To sWeeten this
over POO pounds of sugar is issued daily
Each company has TWO mess tables, and th
facilities the quick distribution of food. II Oft eI
happens that every man IS served at the end o
twenty-five minutes Forty minutes is the long
est time consumed In the distribution Of tn
food. Everything used - of thoroughly goOC
quality. and IL is only necessary TO see the meI
eat % realize that il Is appetzing.
The comfort Of the men is also considered be
tween meals. eight hundred pounds Of ice beinj
issued three times a day-at II a m. and ant
p. N. II is placed IN great casks Of fresl
water. which are conveniently situated on tn
spar deck fore and aft
The mess outfit issued to troops and carried 4
the havers2ck consists Of two tin plates. knife
fork. spoon and cup. These plates are too shal
low 10 use comfortably on board ship. so eac
man when he comes board receives a roun
sin plate OF more than an inch In depth. whic
he uses during the voyage. al the end OF whic
he either keep II or throw II away.
The facts and figures here given refer partic
ularly TO the sheridan. one Of the five great sis
ter ships which. with the exception OF III
Logan. carry troops across the Pacific and ar
run on practically the same principles 4
though many of the other transports have NJ
the facilities for carrying out the system
L. tirol.. 81 1fnrt Oh III