, 1900-06-25
FEEDING AN ARMY.
FEW REALIZE WHAT A GREAT
TASK 1T is.


IL Is very probable that 80 people
out of every 100 think of an army as
a great aggregation of fighting men,
armed to the teeth with rifles, swords
and what not, while they never once
give a thought to the men In the
rear Yet these men in the ear are
an important part of the fighting ma
chine.
When an army is encamped in a
friendly country there is not so great
a difficulty in feeding 1t as when 1t Is
penetrating hostile territory and has
separated itself from Its own country.
And yet in either case 1t Is no light
task to furnish and distribute the food
that Is to keep, say $1,000 stomachs
satisfied and 10000 hearts in the right
place. This is the work of the COM
mlssary department.
When an army division or an army
corps Is encamped at home the prob
lem Of getting supplies is compare
lively simple. Sometimes they are fur
nished on contract, sometimes brought
IN large quantities a week or more in
VI inc NllIt dl "ulCu LLty
will be needed. The commlssary gen
eral Is responsible for the procuring
of these supplies and having them de-
posted at a depot within easy reach
of the troops.
Each company Of a regiment has its
cooks; each regiment has its commits
sary depot, where supplies are kept
sufficient for, say. a week or 10 days
for all the men. Men are detailed from
each company to assist in the work of
getting the supplies from the regi-
mental depot to the company kitchens
every day. Others are detailed to help
transport the supplies to the regiment
al depots from the general ~headquart-
ers whenever the stores In the former
are getting low.
As all supplies are Issued from head
quarters only on orders and receipts
are given for everything secured, 1t
can be seen that there is an immense
amount of clerical work necessary to
the smooth and uninterrupted work Of
the departme at.
Suppose an army to have landed on
a foreign coast. The first move after
the landing Of the men and arms Is
to secure a convenient spot for a depot
OF supplies. These are landed and
piled high on the shore until there
seems to be a mountain of boxes in
extricably mingled in the general
mass. Gradually these are separated
into different piles and order begins
to make its appearance out of chaos,
until all the supplies are properly
housed.
For an army Of 80, 1000 men and
10000 horses for three months it
Is estimated that there are nee
essary 1900 totns Of food and for
age. This food is made up of
palatable and Strengthening sup
plies. with a proper proportion of
meat, vegetables, coffee and -four for
bread or biscuits. The meat is gen.
orally canned, although sides Of ba-
con are abundant. and even herds of
live cattle are taken along for fresh
meat.
Whenever any important move Is to
be made by the army each soldier is
generally supplied with rations for a
day, which he carries in his haversack.
These he Is not to use unless ordered
to do so. There are, besides, two days
%rations carried In transport for each
fraction of a command to tide the
troops over the march. In the Eng
lish army there are ven wagon ar
engagements for cooking meals on the
march, great quantities Of soup being
heated and meat and potatoes being
prepared while on the march. But,
when the army moves away from its
base of supplies, then 1t Is that the
feeding problem becomes more COM
plicated.
There are always a number of men
detailed from each regiment to assist
in the work Of bringing up supplies.
The keeping open Of a line OF commu-
~nication with the base Of supplies is
the first thing that a commander must
see to, for it means the safety of his
army. If this line Of communication
is but a days march, the work is sim
pie, and does not take many men de-
tailed to wagon driving to replenish
the impoverished stock Of the regi-
mental or division larder. But when
the distance is increased to 60 or 100
miles the trick is one Of great diff
Guilty.
r---a T. ~.x