The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1905-02-04
AYMY SUPPLIES
IN THE CAMP
Shopping Methods Of Russian
Officers at Mukden
APPOINT SOLDIERS TO BUY
Twenty-seven Car Loads With Sup
plies from Hardin Soon Sur
rounded by Officers and
Privates.

Twenty cars just in from
Harbin,''
That was the joyful message that re
Gently travelled by word OF mouth all
over Mukden and up and down the
Sha river on the north bank, says
Richard Ii. Little. special correspond
ent of the Chicago News Ia Manchuria.
Officers came posting into town from
every direction. The twenty-seyen cars
were loaded with all sorts Of supplies
for the Economical society, the organ
ization which furnishes rations and ar
ticles OF equipment and wearing APP
parel to the Russian officers In the
field.
The depot of the society is on the
tracks at the Russian settlement at
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 prospec-
tive customers of the ears. but many
officers held their own places in the
line. The provision cars and those
containing the cigarettes and liquors
We're 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 pIanks 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
the envy OF all beholders and buy and
buy and buy.
AS each separate article bought is
handed out the purchaser passes 1t to
his faithful soldier servants or his Chi
nese attaches. who are waiting behind
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 1t.
| 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 be gets
| through with this list be half turns
away. and the man behind gives u sigh
Of relief and bawls out, twenty-five
boxes Of cigarettes" but the man in
front is only reaching for third list
OF things be has promised to buy for
his general and his colonel and bis four
| lieutenant colonels and two doctor
friends In the hospital and three cap
fains who have a mess close TO his
regiment.
Then sinister whispers run down the
line. MY friend Dukewlch translated
some Of the remarks made the ether
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
"Shp whispered another III SUD-
dued voice that couldn't be heard more
than 500 yards away "That IL Gem
eral Kuropatkin in disguise. He's buy.
ing six months ratlons for the army
IF he's going to buy out this train,
volunteered very cross looking Cir
cassian. "why doesn't he say 500 Then
Wen go away and wait until train
comes down that he doesn't want"
The little lieutenant who was tile OBJ
ject of all these plcasantries never bat
ted In cs-e ;is he feayllal dawn id an
/ -