Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1905-01-27
ARMY SUPPLIES IN CAMP
shopping Methods Of Russian
Officers at Mukden.
SOLDIERS COMMISSIONED TO BUY

ed by Officers and friN2sNs-Nafs
csn,siaiHg Provisions. cigarettes
sad LIauor. the Must PSpul-r-!'e-
marks About Tardy Lieutenant.
"Twen;y-seveu cars just in from
Harhin"'
That was the 10y ful message that re-
crnlly Travelled by wori ~ mouth al
q, = Iukden and zap and down Tie I
Sa river n tie north bank, says /
l.,rhard II. Little. special correspond
en, of the Chicago News in Manchuria. !
Oaivers came posting into town from |
every direction. The twenty-seyen cars 1
were loaded with all sorts Of supplies /
for tie Economical society. Tie organ /
ration which furnishes rationS aud ar
tees OF equipment and wearing an !
larcI TO the Eussian officers in the
field
Tie depot Of the society is on the |
tracks at the Russian settlement ut
Mukden in the very cars that bring
down the supplies. We mounted and
rode down in haste.
A crowd of over thousand officers,
soldiers and Chinese surrounded the
cars. The customers for each car
formed long. snaky line that curved
and twisted around through the crowd
and away to its outer edge. Soldiers
commissioned to buy for officers or
holding places in the line for officers
made up the majority Of the prospee-
tive customers of the cars. but many
Office ) held their own places in the
line. The provision cars and those
containing the cigarettes and liquors
were the most popular. The crowd
surged up to the doors OF these cars
all day long. The doors of the rail
road cars are five feet from the ground.
and planks and steps have been made,
on which the patient crowd ascend
inch by inch and hour after hour TO
that proud eminence where they stand
tie envy Of all beholders and buy and
buy and buy.
AS each separate article bought is
handel out the purchaser passes it to
his faithful soldier servants or his Chi
him on either side Of the line, holding
up their baskets ready to be filed.
Some of the officers when after long
hours of waiting they finally reach the
post of honor seem loath to leave it.
They run through one long list, ana
just as the man behind thinks his turn
has arrived at last the officer in front
fishes out another list and begins buy
ing all over again. When he gets
through with this list he half turns
away. and the man behind gives sigh
OF relief and bawls out, twenty-five
boxes Of cigarettes" but the man in
front is only reaching for third list
of things he has promised to buy for
his general and his colonel and his four
lieutenant colonies and two doctor
friends in the hospital and three cap
tains who have mess close to his
regiment.
Then sinister whispers run down the
line. My friend Dukewich translated
some Of the remarks made the other
day when an officer who had purchas-
ed from four lists dug up the fifth.
why don't the army purchasing
agents buy their supplies In st. Pc
tersburg?' growled black whiskered
Cossack captain.
Ssh" whispered another in sub
dued voice that couldn't be heard more
than 500 yards away. THAT is Gen
eral Kuropatkin in disguise He's buy
ing six months rations for the army"
IF he's going to buy out this train, y
volunteered very cross looking Cir
cassian. why doesn't he say SO? Then
We'll go away and wait until train
comes down that he doesn't want"
The little lieutenant who was the OBJ
ject Of all these pleasantries never. bat
ted an eye as he reached down in ain:
other pocket and brought forth fresh
list.
Fifty tins Of ham," he calmly an
nounced.
"Cannibal!' roared somebody.
The little lieutenant smiled sweetly
while the patient line snickered
Thirty pounds of rice" ordered the
lieutenant
"Um-huhw said the Cossack captain
"a Japanese! thought So It's Jap
anese trick to keep us from getting
supplies"
So the muttered laments kept up un
til the lieutenant finished his purchases
and squeezed himself out through til,
crowd on the side and disappeared, fol
lowed by large retinue of Cossacks
and Chinese bearing his plumber.
There are all sorts of warm clothins
designed especially for bitter colo
weather to be found in the Economical
store. The overcoats are lined will
sleeps wool and sell at the very rea
sonable price of 81 rubles about 81;
gold apiece. The favorite coat will
the officers is leather jacket tina
looks like the automobile coat worn il
the United States. 1t is called "th'
Swedish coat" and, being lined will
Sleeps wool, makes a garment that Il
both warm and very strong for CAM
wear. About three out of every fiv,
officers one meets now wear thes,
coats.
The connoisseur in boots would b,
filled with delight if he visited the Eco
nomical store. Boots form one of tn,
most important items of dress to Rus
slams, and they pay as much careful
and fond attention to their boots as W,
do to neckties and silk hats. Their
are dozen different kinds Of boots IL
the Economical store. There are TIN
patent feathers, dainty and snug fit
ting, that are greatly priced by guart
officers and good dressers generally
Then there are the boots lined Will