The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1908-12-04

brought to perfection and the Amerl-
can soldier to-day is better fed than
the man who bears arms under any
other flag on earth.
Veterans of the Civil War will re-
call the doggerel in which the fare
of the boys who wore the blue was
designated. 1t was:
Beans for breakfast;
Beans for dinner;
Beans for supper;
Beans, beans beans!
The men who followed the stars
and bars we're not so fortunate as to
have a regular diet CT even beans.
They frequently subsisted for weeks
at time on few pounds of parched
corn, and they fought well under that
diet, too. But for years now the best
thought of the commissaries of the
army has heen devoted to the i'm
provement Of the food conditions,
and Brigadier-General Henry G..
Sharpe, Commissary-G General of the
Army, has prepared the following
article for the Illustrated Sunday
Magazine on the food Of the Army, in
which he gives some interesting data
concerning the method of feeding
Uncle Sans defenders.
While in garrison the enlisted man
in the United States Army is entitled
to draw each day twenty ounces of
fresh beef or mutton, or twelve
ounces of bacon Should it be found
impracticable to obtain fresh meat he
has in lieu-t thereof sixteen ounces of
canned meat, or canned fish, four
teen ounces of dried fish or sixteen
ounces of picked fish. He may, on
occasion, draw from the commissary
a can of beef and vegetable stew com
tanning twenty-eight and one-half
ounces. He is entitled each day to
eighteen ounces of flour or it's equiva-
lent in bread, or in lieu thereof TWEEN
ty ounces of corn meal.
Of vegetable components he has
his choice of beans, peas, rice and
hominy and pound of potatoes, on
ions or canned tomatoes. In addition
thereto he is supplied each day with
about an ounce and half of prunes,
evaporated apples or peaches. An
ounce and third of roasted coffee or
a third of an ounce of tea is given to
each man as we'll as little more than
three ounces of sugar, and sufficient
quantity of vinegar, pepper and salt.
This is the ordinary garrison ra-
ton. When located at army posts
convenient to city markets the mess
may exchange any portion of its ra-
tions for fresh vegetables, fruits or
other delicacies which strike the
fancy.
The field ration differs in it's essen
tial particulars only slightly from
that issued in garrison. Jam takes
the place of dried fruits and with
each portion of flour is supplied bak-
ing powder or yeast.
1t has been the aim of the Depart
ment for some time past to improve
the method of feeding the troops in
the field. With this end in view
school of cookery has been estap-
lished at Fort Riley, Kansas, with
branches at the Preside of California
and at the Washington Barracks, Dis
trict of Columbia. The men at these
schools are instructed in the art of
baking bread of various kinds and in
general plain cookery, the idea being
to establish a corp of army cooks who
can. take the ordinary rations issued
to each squad and prepare them in
such manner as to tempt the appetite
of the enlisted men, The result of
this training is that the army cooks
to-day are able to prepare meals out
of the supplies furnished to each
mess which would do credit to an
ordinary hotel. The receipts used in
these cooking schools embrace
dozen different soups, five or six
methods of preparing fish and oys-
ters, ten or twelve sauces and, gra-
vies, besides fifty or more ways of
serving the various meats and vege-
tables which are furnished as regr-
lar rations, to say nothing of the
numerous methods of making differ
ent kinds of breads, cakes, mullins.
buildings and pies. In short the men
of the army to-day, when in garrison.
are better served than the men in
civil life in like conditions.
The army cooking schools will re-
suit in the ultimate establishment of
a corps of cooks and bakers capable
of preparing appetizing meals at all
times for the troops of the United
States and will assure, to them better
and more varied food than the SOL
diers of any other country can hone
to have. Still, we are, up to the
present time, behind the European
armies in the matter of movable
ovens. At the outbreak of the snon-