Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-02-26
.BEST-fED SOL DER
Criticism ofthe Army Ration
Refuted.
GEN. WESTON'S LETTER
TREATS AT LENGTH OF THE SUB
sIsTENcE SERVICE.
Eminent Authority Quoted in support
Of His Comparison With
Foreign Practices.
GEN. WESTON'S LETTER


Foreign Practices.
'The American soldier is the best-fed
soldier in the world" says Brig. Gen. j. f.
Weston, commissary general Of subsistence,
In letter to Senator Foster OF Washing
ton in refutaticn of certain criticisms made
by Mr.. Eldridge Morse of Washington and
others of the subsistence service of the
army. Gen. Weston treats the subject
earnestly and more at length than Gus
tomary with him with respect to similar
criticisms in the past, and he tells many
interesting things in regard to the feeding
of the army that are not generally known
to the outsider. He says. in part:
1.-THE army ration in its present form IL
the outgrowth of years Of experience ard
experiment.; and in its crystalfzed form Is
combined the interest. effort and wisdom of
soldiers. legislators, scientists humanita--
ians and individuals In many other walks
OF life. The improvement Of the quality OF
the ration Is a matter which engages the
constant and earnest solicitude Of the sub
sistence department, with the aim Of bring
ing the ration and the method of its sup
ply to the highest state Of perfection Elk
periments are going on all the time, anc
the subsistence department Is ready to
adopt a good idea advanced from any
source and Is also alive to progress and
improvements in other armies.
1.-The food Of the soldier In quantity
quality. cooking, cleanliness. suitability and
In other respects is fully equal, and In fact.
superior to the food OF persons in other
walks of life most nearly corresponding
to that of the soldier. do not agree with
the writer when he says that meat, bread
food articles of the average American. But
the government gives far more than these
in the army ration.
Then there are trained cooks enlisted
and paid to prepare the ration in accord
ance with directions given in the Manual
for Army Cooks which manual Is prepared
with much care for the use of the army
investigators and military experts In
Europe and elsewhere bear willing testi-
mony to the fact that our army is the best
fed army in the world, and our ration b.
comparison shows it. When our troops
were in China the food of the American
soldiers excited the remark and admiration
Of other nations.
An Eminent Authority's Testimony.
"Dr. Yorke-Davies. one of the greatest
living authorities food. diet and n.y.
giene, who has for years paid particular
attention to the army rations Of the world,
SAYS in the GentIeman's Magazine for De-
cember 1902, on the subject Of the feeding
Of the soldiers:
The soldiers food at present consists
Of too much bread and too little meat.
= The Spartan fare Of the Greeks Of plain
meats and little else in their wars. &C
counts for their success and hardihood in
warfare. My experience in studying
the diets of the different armies of the
world Is that far and away the best for
the making Of physically powerful soldiers
Is that given In the army of the United
States Of America. Here the allowance Is
20 tozs: OF meat. IS ozs. Of bread &c ozs.
Of potato. the remainder being made up
Of peas. rice, sugar. coffee and salt Even
this diet contains too much farinaeeous
food, but contrasts favorably with the diet
of the English se4dief.~who receives u ozs.
OF meat tof which, onesfffth is bone), "a ozs.
Of bread and 16 ozs. of potato. with other
little. tc.s which do not account for much.
and which the Individual has to pay out
of his own pocket. The next best fighting
food is that allowed to the Russian soldier.
He is allowed more meat and less bread
than the Engllshman: then. in crsier of
merit. come the German. the French and
the Italian. = AS far as my expert
ence goes as a fighting food, and therefore
the food to maintain the soldier a. tre
highest state Of efficiency the American
next, the English next. the German fourth
and the French bad fifth. In summing
up, this eminent writer In commenting upon
the achievements of the Beers says: We
have seen the spectacle OF a small nation
who by constant practice In modern arms,
and by using the simplest and most con-
centrated food In the shape Of mSat, by
the simple habits of life conductive to
hardness and tireless energy, and the cour-
age that is born Of the people who live
largely on animal food. for two years hold
ing at bay the forces of the greatest nattcn
on which the sun ever shown-forces III the
field outnumbering their own to the extent
of three or four to one.
Fresh Beef in Philippines.
'Fresh beef is supplied at much expense
Al, Dl,;Iip xxy1,n hoe han
absolutely essential to the health and COM
fort of the soldiers. 1t is stated on high
authority that 1t reduces the sick list 80
per cent Our own and native soldiers
there require it, and 1t Is well known that
the latter cannot do arduous duty without
a meat diet. The native is a rice eater,
not from choice, but owing to his, poverty,
as Col. Charles A. Woodruff, U. S. army,
recently chief commissary of the division
of the Philippines. has justly declared, and
relishes and calls for our ration. So that
meat, the very article Mr.. Morse so bitter
ly objects to- Is of all other the most vital
one in the soldiers ration.
"Gruel, cookies, Slap-jacks and mush
might possibly be eaten in time of peace or
in permanent camp, but such stuff Is not
At to march or fight on, and IL forced on
the troops would likely lead to mutiny and
make them easy victims of foe In war
times there should be only few articles
Of simplest and sustaining kind to as
sure mobility and rapid transportation.
which are absolute essentials in successful
campaigning. The fighting qualities Of civ
ilfzed races are largely the same the world
over, so that after all subsistence and
transportation are almost determining fac
tors in modern warfare. i am not prepared
to recommend for the army a vegetarian
diet, toward which Mr.. Morse SO strongly
leans. different diet from this is re-
quired for soldiers and fighters.
Fruit Is now a component of the ration:
yeast and hops were recently added to the
bread components; ice has been supplied to
years. and under the last army appropria-
ton bill 1t is to be supplied to troops wher-
ever serving, and many extra articles are
authorized for sale to troops serving in the