The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-10-08
FEEDING The TROOPS
How Soldiers Are Fed
on United States
Transports.
UNCLE SANS FINE SYSTEM.
The Men Are Furnished
Good Food On the
Voyage.
UNCLE SANS FINE SYSTEM

MS command 10 zen. smarter, COM
mander Of the United States camp at
Presidio. In a few days the regiment
will be on board a United States trans
port bound for Honolulu, the only stop
ping place between the Pacific coast of
the United States in the journey to the
Philippines.
The ocean voyage is a long and te-
dious one, even to soldiers, whose in
terest is kept alive by the expectations
of excitement in a conflict with the Fill
ipinos, but the tedium is much relieved
by duties and pleasures. The friends
and relatives of the large number of
Worcester county men in the Twenty
sixth will be interested to learn of the
method Of feeding troops on board
transports.
The system which has been perfected
by the government for feeding troops
on the United States transports is con-
sidered the most adequate in the world.
This is the more wonderful because 1t
has been perfected in a year. The
methods employed at first were crude,
and involved a great deal of unneoes-
sary hardship. A year ago the troops
sent to Cuba, and even to the Philips
pines, had only travel rations, which
bareback, with nothing hot except cof-
fee. 1t took often several hours to dis
tribute the rations for each meal, so
that the men were irregularly fed, and
not uncommonly were obliged to wait
till noon before they had any break
fast. This state Of affairs is practically
ended, and while much depends upon
the Individual ability of the ships
quartermaster certain effective regula-
tons are universally carried out
The United States government owns
% transports. The finest of these are
the Sheridan, the Sherman, the Grant,
the Logan and the Thomas. These five
great ships are exactly alike, ass feet
over all, and of $500 tons each. They
are capable of carrying two thousand
enlisted men, besides nearly one hum
bred officers in the cabin. There are
three messes on board these ships-the
cabin or officers mess the crews mess
and the mess of the enlisted men. In
plying across the Pacific to Manila, a
one-month trip with only one stop for
coal at Honolulu, a perfect system, not
only in the provisioning, but in the
daily feeding of this tremendous pas
senger list, is an absolute necessity.
The messes of the officers and of the
crew are served regularly and are equal
in variety and quality to those of al
most any of the Atlantic liners. The
great problem which has been success
fully solved is the feeding with equal
regularity and with food Of good quail
ity the two thousand enlisted men.
"A long, narrow galley has been built
amidships on the mess deck at the
right hand side Here are set four
each, four vegetable boilers Of
fifty five gallons capacity each,
and two coffee boilers containing $50
gallons apiece. Four regular cooks
take charge of the cooking, which is
done entirely by steam; detail Of four
soldiers gives them daily assistance.
Twelve men are also detailed to peel
potatoes and prepare the vegetables,
and IL more as a fatigue party to bring
supplies from the storerooms, and, TAX
ing into consideration the total amount
of supplies consumed each day, this
duty is not light one.
Besides the cooking gallery, it has
been found necessary to establish 4
butcher shop, where the refrigerated
meats are taken from the cold storage
rooms, cut up and issued to the cooks.
Three regular butchers and three de-
tailed from among the soldiers are kept
busy here during the day.
The mess calls for the men are al
O.Z q. H.,
| ately ten men from each company form
| in line in regular order, each detail be-
| ing provided with from six to ten buck
| cts of fourteen quarts capacity, allow
| ing at the least seventy quarts OF food
| for one hundred men. The cooks in the
| galley fill the buckets with meat, vege-
tables and coffee, and then they are car
ried to the mess tables, where the food
is issued to each member of the COM
| f,, hi
| tin plate and cup AS each man is serv.
| ed he moves on and generally goes K
| the upper deck to eat, The mess decl
where the galley and mess tables art
1 situated, corresponds to the main deck
and is Just below the spar or upper
deck. After all are served the frs
| time, the men begin to return for "se-
eonds," as they call 1t, and are served
| just as plentifully again.
In addition to the food cooked in tht
galley the men have fresh bread morn
| ing and night and bareback at noon
| The bread is issued separately to the
mess tables, and the men receive il
with the rest of the feed. In order Il
keep the supply of bread equal to tbs
| demand there is squad of twelve bak-
| ers on board four of whom are at work
all night The cabin ranges are used
the bakeshop being near the cabin gal
| lev AS the ranges are in use for the
cabin cooking during the day, all the
| baking must be done at night. This
regular straight" army -four is used
2400 pounds Of 1t every day. 1t is baked
in large biscuits, which the men cal
''cobs," and they eat two or three Of
these at a meal. HardtaclS Is issued al
| the rate of 2300 pounds every three
days. The fresh bread is piled or
| shelves in large cage which occupies
| the center of the mess deck, from which
| it is issued to the mess details morning
! and night.
! A few figures may convey an idea OF
| the generous provision made for each
man on board. The regulations con-
corning the field or travel ration are
disregarded, each man being allowed tc
have practically as much as he wants
and much greater variety than the
| prescribed ration. He has fresh meal
twice a day, an allowance of one and
| one-fourth pounds for each man. The
| vegetables comprise carrots, onions
| potatoes, rice and cabbage. Oatmeal is
| frequently given out in the morning
and at night some kind. Of dried fruit
such as peaches prunes and apricots;
sometimes pickles in addition. The
following amounts are often issued
| from the store room in a day: Sixteen
| crates of potatoes (1600 pounds). 10C
pounds Of onions, 1000 pounds Of car
rots, 100 of turnips 1865 to $500 pounds
| of meat. 400 pounds of salt meat
| Eight pounds of coffee is allowed to
| every 100 men-over $50 pounds a day
To sweeten this over 200 pounds Of SUI
| gar is issued daily
Each company has two mess tables
and this facilitates the quick distribu-
ton of food. 1t often happens that ev-
cry man is served at the end of twenty
| five minutes. Forty minutes is the
longest time consumed in the distribu-
ton Of the food. Everything used is Of