The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-02-25
FOOD FOR THE Soldiers
The New Emergency Ration for
Troops in the Field.
Bulk of the Large Order Given by
the Comnlissury Department to 60
Enough for Four or Five Meals
Carried in Very Small Can.

| The Commissary Department of the
| Army has recently given an order for the
preparation Of $4,000 emergency rations
which are to be distributed at all the mil
/ itary posts where American soldiers are
! stationed. The great bulk Of these rations
| viii OF course be sent to Manila for the
! use Of the troops in the Philippines where
! the larger portion of the army is in serv-
! ice.
/ The emergency ration Is pre-
paration comparatively new to the Com
| missary Department. that is it has come
into general use within the past eight or
nine years. and is now regarded as a ne
| cesity. This is especially true in cam
paigns in foreign countries where often the
! troops are sent out upon expeditions into
! unknown and unfreQuented territory, and
/ where sometimes they are for a brief
] period until the supply trains reach them.
/ hard pressed for food.
( No such thing as an emergency ration
/ was known to the soldier Of the civil var
I who, when his supply of bareback and cof-
! Zee became exhausted was forced to what
! ever means his ingenuity suggested to OBJ
/ tain sustenance- Often in the Indian cam
! paigns many a soldier might have found
( succor and relief from the destroying
. paEgs Of hunger had the development of
! modern processes for preparing and pre-
/ serving food reached the perfection which
. has now only been attained as illustrated
( In the army emergency ration. Il has only
/ been in recent years when the various
methods Of canning meats ard other food
! products have been successfully carried on
/ by large establishments that such a pre-
/ paration as the emergency ration was
made possible
! For number Of years the Commissary
! Department has been experimenting more
or less TO obtain q ration which would con
/ tain IN the most compact and compressed
form. the greatest nUtriment and strength
/ giving substance and at the same time af-
! ford a palatablc and inviting meal To the
/ soldier who for one cause or another. when
mess tine comes finds himself away from
/ camp upon duty and unable TO secure food
/ The effect OF certain foodstuhs upon men
IN tropical climates has been studied and
/ observed. and great effort has been
made, too. to cater 10 the tastes OF the
! soldier to find something that he likes and
! VIII give him relish. The department has
/ recognized the fact that no man can fight
/ long or perform duty Of any kind I Mess
/ he is properly fed. Military experts IN
/ hssitatingly declare that the American
/ soldier IS better provisioned than those
/ OF any other nation. This fact has recent
( " been demonstrated in the Chinese ca NJ
/ paign when the soldiery of all the Powers
/ came together as allies Even the rations
l OF the English and German soldier are said
/ to be Inferior TO those of his American
/ comrade. and his messes were the envy of
/ those with whom he fought. It is even
! said that officers Of some of the allied
I forces had no better provisions than the
/ american private and that in some in
{ stances these commissioned officers were
/ glad enough 10 purchase for themselves
/ the ordinary rations of our troops.
/ II was in the Chinese campaign even as
much If not more than in the Philippines
. that the emergency ration demonstrated
/ its effectiveness. and upon more than Gre
occasion the boys found il necessary 10 re-
sort 10 IL on their way to Pekin- II is
the duty Of the commIssary department to
/ see that the supply trains follow on after
: the troops as close as possible but oCca-
sIoDaIIy they are Intercepted or bad roads
or other causes prevent them from ad-
{ yanCing. Again detachment of soldiers
may be sent out away from the main body
! on an expedition and their regular rations
. become exhausted before they are able 10
/ obtain others Then II IS that the emer-
. gency ratiOnS come into use
The ration is encased in a small tin can
+ tightly sealed so that the food is CAPABLE
/ OF being preserved for an indefinite period
p It IS arranged however. 50 as to be easily
. opened in case there IS Necessity for 50
/ doing The can is shaped so as TO be car
ried easily and the food it contains weighs
one pound, although it possesses all the
. nutFiment contained in the ordinary ration
of about four pounds. It IS supposed to
B subsist a hungry soldier for one day and
. Is accordingly divided into three portions,
although in dire emergency a man could
make four or five meals out Of the con
/ tents Of one can
! The ration OF which a large supply was
! recently ordered contains four ounces OF
/ chocolate in three cakes wrapped in tin
! foil Il is sweetened and can be eaten in
! bulk made into a drink. and the most
/ critical epicure could but characterize il
! as delicious Chocolate IS highly regard
ed for its nutritious properties. Then
( there are four ounces of desiccaJed beef
/ and four ounces OF parched wheat ground
fine and mixed and seasoned. This is sep
I arated into three portions each containing
directions for preparation for eating Then
there are small packages OF salt and pep
per for extra seasoning
( There are a half dozen methods in which
/ this food may be prepared for cOnsump-
! ton Il may be made into a soup thick
. ened into a Cruel, porridse or a sort OF
pudding Il may then be sliced and fried
/ as nush or even baked l. ary of these
forms it is very palatable. Even without
further cooking, but taken as II IS in the
{ can, the meal Will not only satisfy the
pangs OF hunger. but crafty the appetite
/ At the same time the food viii maintain
/ q man IN his usual health and vIgOr. On
! this SORT of sustenanCe the average soldier
. can sustain himself for a long time with
( out change OF diet if necessity compelled
/ him to do so. The ration is made TO be
carried in the haversack or saddIebags, and
the instructions are that It must be ac-
| counted for at all Inspections and never
/ opened except by order Of an officer, or in
some dire extremity
| Several other preparations Of this char
/ acter have been tried by the COmmissary
/ Department, but Il has been found that
this one best answers the requirements
| and best pleases the men 10 whom it IS
distributed.
AN OLD SOLDIERS SUICIDE.