The Kemper herald. (Scooba, Miss.) 1875-1908, 1903-08-06

- XIV 0RANN 49, 49, 80 ~ -
station in Alaska, for the ration is OF
such an elastic composition as to offer
In the meat portion such equivalents
as fresh beef, fresh mutton, pork.
| bacon. sailed beef, dried Goldfish, fresh
Goldfish, picked mackerel and canned
| salmon. He gets his coffee green or
| roasted, and his tea green or black,
with sugar or molasses, or can syrup,
as conditions vary.
While baked beans Is. a distinctive
dish In our army, there Is another
homemade article whose use is the re-
suit of practical experiments ove a
kitchen range by General Weston, the
present Commissary- General Of the
Army. General Weston applied him.
self to i~nyenting a military hash and
stew, and he went into the kitchen
himself in the effort to obtain the conn.,
bination. The beef stew is made Of
selected meats, potatoes, onions, and a
sauce prepared from the juice of the
meat. The hash is made Of meat, po-
t%atoes, onions, and the usual condi-
ments. This is the latest development
in the army commissariat. During
| General Weston's research he was
wont to call In prominent people, and
regale them with luncheons of the ex-
perimental food. 1t was found, too,
that soldiers in various localities have
special ~cravings-in the tropics it is
for sweets and acids. In Cuba the SUBJ
sistence officers sent barrels of vinegar
to the firing lines, broke in the heads.
and let the men dip in their u p and
help themselves. 1t Is on record that
John Jacob Astor, a volunteer staff
officer. with wealth enough to buy the
peach crop of a country, was grateful
for a can of peaches; and a common
spectacle was that Of a man consuming
the contents of a can of tomatoes. In
the Philippines 1t has been found pos
sible to satisfy the demand for sweets,
and no less than 100000 pounds of
candy are shipped yearly to our SOL
diers in the archipelago. Candy was
also sent to the troops in China, and the
1900 pounds Of the first shipment
lasted but two days among the 1900
men. 1t came a few days before
Christmas, and it made the foreign
allies wonder at the prodigality of n
government. They could understand
why General Weston told a foreign
military attache the other day that the
l~atter's country could not afford to
feed its soldier as we did ours, for 1t
would take nearly 100000 a day to
give the largest of European armies
the American soldiers ration.
That is why the national militiaman
or the regular is better off with his
beef hash, baked beans and candy than
the German and French, for instance,
with their fresh bread, or the Russian
with his hot soup. The Germans adj
here to the fresh bread principle SO
tenaciously as to supply bread baking
wagons, which are supposed to keep up
with the troops, and furnish them with
that article while they are on a march,
or even in the enemy's country; while
the French have a portable oven that
may be taken apart as a convenience
in transportation. Our officers do not
consider fresh bread Indispensable, and
it has been found that the hard bread
is quite as nutritious, and is at hand
when 1t is wanted by the hungry
trooper.
The soldier in the field has furnished
an alluring and lucrative market for
the concocter of concentrated foods.
There are innumerable concentrated
soup and meat extracts, the latter now
being in the form Of capsules. The
patent ration used by us in the Phil
ippines is put up in oblong tin cam
opened with a key. The contents are
supposed to contain pea meal, cracker
dust, bacon fat, and with seasoning.
1t is always interesting to know what
the soldier gets in the way Of "extras."
In some armies he gets nothing, and in
our own country tobacco may be con
sidered the only luxury, aside from
candy. He will never get his 'grog''
again. In England a gill of rum may
be issued on the order OF the doctor.
The Germans have tobacco, and in an
enemy's country the ration is increased
by the issue Of spirits. In the Hun
garian army the ration includes
brandy, tobacco, and sometimes cigars.
Although tea Is the national beverage
in Russia It is not a part of the official
ration. but Is purchased by the soldiers
themselves. In Holland the war ra-
ton includes. under special circum-
stances. q half-iftsr Of gin. The Bel
glan Is one of the few soldiers in the
world who gets butter in his ration.
The Japanese soldier receives spiced
vegetables and tea, and in hot weather
during the war with China hard flour
biscuit was substituted for the rice
which is the principal portion of the
Jap's ration. 1t Is to this extent that
the soldiers of the various armies are
allowed extras" as q means Of contrib
uting to their contentment in active
service.
That army has the best fighters
which gives its soldiers the best food.
Military strategy is akin to military
subsistence. Victory in arms may be
said to depend upon the satisfactory