Evening star., 1901-11-01
SUPPLYING THE ARMY
Report Of Commissary General
Weston.
THE CHINESE CAMPAIGN DISCUSSED
Col. Woodruff's Statement Regard
ing the Philippines.
RATION FOR THE TROOPS

General John F. Weston commissary gen.
| eral has made report to the Secretary
| of War showing that the expenditures for
| subsistence of the army during the last
fiscal year were SIS, ,622, ,22S, as against an
expenditure of 50, ,547 29S on the same ac-
count for 1900 The total resources for 1901
were S19,237, ,355, leaving balance of 3d.
615,127 June 30 last.
Loss of Supplies.
| The value of the supplies lost by accident,
| by wastage in transportation, while in
| stores, ETC., during the year, for which no
one was held responsible, as shown by the
| returns for that year thus far examined.
was s93,31207 OF this sum the losses by fire
amounted to s4.T73.21; by flood and storm,
| S1.94O.64; by death of cattle, 5,291. .S5; by
! theft, 6,777.O9; by capture. $100.4S; at sea,
| S14, 1900; lost and thrown overheard,
S93S IS; disappeared in China, 1892. .43.
| Supplies lost during the year, the respon-
| sibility for which was fixed, amounted to
| $50, 0,715.47. of which 50. .2S has been
| ported as collected, leaving still to be col
| lected S11 1891
| The sum of the value of stores and prop
| erty lost from inevitable causes and
| demned was S494, $40. 50, which was about
| 3B per cent of the appropriation for the
year.
| General Weston's report deals quite ex-
| tensivey with the Chinese campaign, and
quotes from officers who were in that ex-
| pedition, showing that the troops were well
| supplied. The total expenditures of the
subsistence department in connection with
the Chinese relief expedition were S674 14S
General weston urges the need of legiSla-
tion authorizing the sale at public auction
which may at any time accumulate in ex-
cess at any depot or point of supply and
which cannot advantageously or econonl-
ically be transported to other points for
issue or sale to troops.
Urges Establishment of Cooking
Schools.
He recommends the enlistment of bakers
| in the service, and also the establishment
| of one or more schools for the training of
cooks and bakers for the service. He says
| a competent knowledge of the art of cook
! ing is as necessary for those who cook for
| well men as for those who cook for the
| sick.
| The Clerical Force.
/ Referring to the clerical force of his Of
| fice General Weston says:
| '"The great increase in the number of
counts and returns remaining on hand to be
examined on June 80, 1901 over the num-
| Der remaining on hand at the close of the
| fiscal year 1900 as shown by the above
| tables. is accounted for by the fact that
| greater number of accounts and returns
were rendered during the past fiscal year
| than were rendered in the preceding year,
| while the clerical force engaged upon such
! examination has remained numerically the
! same A great drawback to celerity in the
| performance of clerical work in this Office
| is the want of adequate space, many of
! the rooms being crowded beyond a reason
| able capacity, and there being lack of suf-
| ficient room for the files. Although efforts
were made at the beginning of the war
! with Spain to obtain a proper allowance of
| space in the War Department building for
| the increased force of clerks in this office
made necessary by that war, no success
| has ever been achieved, and the office re-
mains today in the same crowded condi-
tion that characterized it in 1898 The in
| crease of work mas caused an increase in
| the number of hours labor required from
| clerks during the past year"
| Col. Woodruff's Statement.
An interesting feature of the report Is
| statement from Colonel Woodruff, chief
commissary of the army in the Philippines,
| in which he says:
| During the first three months of the
period covered by this report stores here
\ had, for various causes, become greatly
| duced. but owing to the grand response
made by the commissary general to every
| call from this office and the energetic ac-
| ton of the purchasing commissaries in San
| Francisco and New York, this was speedi-
! ly corrected, and this division was soon
| supplied as other army of it's size has
| ever been supplied in the worlds history.
| During the period covered by this re-
| port the command to be supplied extended
from the Great Wall of China on the north
! to the Island of Borneo on the south and
the Island of Guam on the east. There
were 4S0 stations in this archipelago be-
sides the troops in China and the prisoners
| in Guam.
I'm addition to the 6s,00O troops and
! 5000 officers in this division, the subsist-
| ence department supplied the delicacies for
| the sick, rations for 1900 prisoners of war,
! 1880 marines many of the stores for the
| I
| and stores for the army, navy and marine
| officers, Philippine commission and at
| taches, and Americans employed by the
| army and by the government in it's treas
| ury. post office, interior and educational
| departments metropolitan police, native
| police and scouts. transports, etc In other
words. nearly 100000 persons, occupying a
| country almost destitute of meat and vege-
tables, and other food supplies suitable for
| Americans. were supplied largely from a
single base, 1000 miles distant.
| After the stores reached Manila they
had to be landed in cascos and then dis
| tributed by steam vessels, short rail-
| road by cascos and bancos poled up mar
| row rivers, by wagon and carabao cars
| along almost bottomless roads, by p9ck
| mules and coolies over mountain trails
| often through hostile country and some
| OF the posts supplied were more distant,
| in point of time from Manila than is the
| capital of our country.
| Reports of army officers in China We're
without exception most favorable to the
| eAcellent service OF the subsistence DEPART
| ment.
| Sales of Stores.
| The sale of subsistence stores to parties
| not authorized by regulations is constantly
| increasing and placed a burden upon the
| department that is hard to control Every
| one with a vestige of claim is pressing for
| the privilege Of purchase and at times this
| office has suspected that the privilege was
! abused. but owing to the very nature of the
business 1t is hard to keep accurate trace
| or. as Americans object to espionage of
| their households.
| The fresh meat supply has become one
| or the most difficult problems with which
| the subsistence department has had to con-
| tend There has been a widespread epidem-
| lc OF rinderpest, so depicting the stock of
| native cattle that in many places 1t was i'm
possible to purchase beef, and in most cases
| the loss was great where the cattle were
| shipped in from the outside. As far as pos
| sible the use of frozen beef has been ex-
| tended. no expense being spared to get it
| 10 the troops in good condition.
| The Army Ration Perfect.
| Nearly every report, contrary to the idea
| of the theorists. indicates that the present
l iS hn, g.