New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-09-16
THINGS AN ARMY NEEDS.
TIE QUARTERAAsTERs DEPARTMENT
i3IYs GOODS OF MANY KINDS,
AMERICAN TROOPS IN THE PHILIPPINES RE
o1.,nr THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND
POUNDS A DAY OF MSCEL-
LANEOUS ARTICLES.

prbshp5 and il became known that upward of
sl2030000 had been expended for Iuartermas-
ter's supplies and transportation in the year
ended June 30 many people who were unfa-
rriliar with the demands of army scattered
among places far distant expressed surprise at
the amount Ii is the popular belief that guar
termaster's supplies are articles of subsistence,
and the average man believes that the great
amount spent by the Quartermasters Depart
1nent purchased beans, -four coffee and the
OTHER componcnts of the army ration AS a
halter Of fact the Quartermaster's Department
deals with things of entirely different char
acter. The general depot in this city, in charge
Of Colonel Kimball, does a large business in
hardware. cutlery, building material, tools, tim
Der and hundreds of other articles. The officers
who assist in conducting the department must
be business men and good judges of merchan-
disc but need knowledge 5 statesmen. be-
cause the Government takes all that they buy.
The department is charged with the duty Of
providing means of transportation Of every char
acter needed in the movement Of troops and
materials of 1t furnishes all public ami
ucals employed in the service of the Army, the
forage consumed by them, wagons and all art-
cles necessary for their use. except the equip
ment of cavalry and artillery. The department
also furnishes clothing, camp and garrison
eCuipment barracks. storehouses and buildings.
1t constructs and repairs roads. railways and
bridges and builds and charters ships, boats,
Cocks and wharves needed for military pur
Doses.
Tic general depot OF the department is in the
Army Building, w., halls. tour through
rs various storerooms is necessary TO form an
idea Of the extent of the departments business
There are rooms with great stacks of hardware.
furniture willow ware, carpets safes, stationery.
clothing. harness, lamps rope rubber goods,
carDantTrS' his tools. and hundreds
Of other articles.
THE PROBLEM OF TRANSPORTATION
But you can sec here only a small part Of our
stock" said Colonel Kimball. The hundreds
If tons Of hay, the carloads of building material
and all the heavy goods which must bc sent On
board the transports direct are never seen here.
When one remembers that we have sixty thou
sand men in the Philippines end that to keep
them supplied with subsistence must trans
Tort five pounds for each man every day, say.
100000 pounds a day, il viii be seen that the
item Of transportation is no small one. a fair
sample of the items not thought Of ~ the public
shipped last week. This sixteen car
loads Of corrugated iron sent 10 Manila to be
used for protecting stores. Fifteen hundred tons
Of hay sent to Manila few days ago. a
recent shipment OF subsistence stores would
have filled fifty ordinary cars"
Major Frederick Won Schrader the assistant
depot quartermaster, is Colone! KmbaIls chief
helper and through him ana his assistants all
the purchasing orders carried out. T. sizes
the stocks Of goods IN storage AMI awaiting
transportation in the Army Building there are
great quantities in the buildings at No. :! Moore
St and Nos. II and II Water-st The men who
make the purchases must De well posted as to
quality and prices a. buyers for department
ftore but their work is difficult than that
of the civilian buyer who has a cloth lace
hosiery, silk or notions department to provide
for. The quartermaster buys railroad iron one
cay and carpets the next He sit in judg-
ment on the quality Of a horseshoe nail or an
to school furniture stable broons. He must
know how to judge the quality of "A sheet iron
SOve or dray horse, and when the depart
nent III Washington asks for a new pattern
blouse or riding trousers ne must shake off his
military pride and become a merchant tailor
with knowledge enough to make a garment that
sill fit like the paper on the wall and wear like
9on'
CLOTHING FOR SOLDIERS
The building No. Moore st is devoted ex-
clusiyely to clothing On the fifth floor the
garments are inspected as they come from the
contractor, and those that do not come 10 TO
the standard thrown out On the fourth
floor he contractors bushemen and women are
kept buy making small repairs and OH the
floors below the goods packed and made
ready FOE SHIPMENT