Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-29
THINGS HEARD
~MndSEEN

gress know the watchful care which is
taken over them in keeping the willy bacil!i
and the elusive germ away from them
while they perform their legislative func-
tons in the Capitol. Superintendent Elliott
Woods has just made a final roundup OF
every nook and corner in the stately old
pile and the sterilized gelatine plates which
are exposed during the dark hours of the
night In air chambers and other remote sec
tions of the building show that there is
nothing to fear from the germ world when
the short session begins Monday.
The process of keeping tab on infection
which is vigorously pursued in the Capitol
is scientific and strictly up to date in every
respect. The sensitive surface of the gela-
tine plates attracts even lonely germ and
holds it, and whenever colony of germs Is
found, the whole colony takes possession Of
the surface of the plates and are greedily
borne away to the laboratory of the SUI
perintendent across the way, where an
analysis is at once made of the breed of
the bacilli. Cultures are made of all sus-
picious germs and the proper disinfectant
at once applied to the locality whence they
came. The germ hunting process is car
ried on principally a night, and the spec
ing mysteriously into crevices and corners
is not an unusual midnight scene.
;. x X
The three members of the civil service
commission are all lovers of outdoor exer-
else.
commission, believes that horseback riding
is conducive to good health There is
scarcely day, after 4 O. clock, that he does
not take a ride into the country. Often
times he joins President Roosevelt in the
afternoon. At other times the President s
son Archie, astride his pony, accompanies
Mr.. Proctor on a jaunt. Mr.. Proctor is
also a wheelman Not few are the morn
ings in the year when he goes to his office
on a bicycle.
Mr. Foulke is also a good wheelman. He
rides gracefully, and can make a bicycle
spin. He is also lover of boating. Dur
ing the past summer he kept canoe on
the Potomac.
Mr. Garfield is a lover of walking 1t is
nothing for the son of the former Pres-
dent to take trudge of many miles into
the country. His favorite pastime is to
tramp through forests and fields, climbing
fences, etc. He has a couple of boys who
enjoy the same sport, and they often are
with their father his jaunts.
X X x
THE army ration remarked the grizzled
veteran, ''is the mainstay of the army, yet
it is remarkable how little is known about
it outside of the military service. To tell it
briefly, a ration is the allowance for the
subsistence of one person for one day, and
varies in components according to the sta
ton of the troops or the nature of the duty
garrison ration, the field ration-t the travel
ration. the Filipino ration and the emer-
gency ration The garrison ration is issued
to troops in garrison or in permanent
camps; the field ration to troops not in gar
rison or in permanent camps: the travel ra-
ton to troops travelling otherwise than by
marching. when for short periods they
are separated from cooking facilities. the
Filipino ration for the use of the Philippine
scouts, and the emergency ration to troops
in active campaign for " occasions of
emergency.
Enlisted men, prisoners of war, military
prisoners at posts. hospital matrons and
nurses in the nurse corps are each entitled
to one ration in kind per day, according to
the station or nature of the service. and
when the rate of pay of a civilian employed
with the army does not exceed $50 per
month, if the circumstances of his service
make 1t necessary and the terms of his en-
gagement provide for it, there may be
issued to him in kind one garrison or field
ration per day, according to the eXigencies
of the case.
I'm adjusting charges to be made against
enlisted men or others on account of in
creased expenses to the government for
their subsistence the value of the garrison,
field and Filipino ration is estimated at 90
cents each; that of the travel ration at 40
cents"