New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-09-27
GREAT PROBLEMS
OF FEEDING ARMY
Striking Advance Made Since
Napoleon'S Day in This Ire
mendouSly Vital Matter.

The problems OF The commssariat,
of the food supply of an army, are Of
as great moment as those OF mastery
tactics in the field or Of keeping the
troops supplied with ammunition. A.
Napoleon remarked. an army moves
upon its belly.
| II is, therefore, Of some interest to
read Il few Of the comments Of Col
mar Won der Colt, former chief of
staff Of the German army, whose book,
"The Nation in Arms" is standard
textbook for army officers all over the
world.
THE METHODS CT NAPOLEON.
zone who finds it inconvenient 70
| give his attention 10 questions of com
mlssariat in war" writes Won der
Colt, may plead Napolcons indig-
nant exclamation, DO not talk to me
Of proyisiOns!' but the matter wears u
different aspect when we observe the
/ EmperOr'5 conduct in his various cam
paigns. lie evinced at all times ex-
/ trsordinary care in the measures taken
To provide for the Sustenance Of hi;
armies. Certainly he did not adhere
to any rigid system, but took the
means Of nOurishiUE his hosts wher-
ever he found them. lie understood
how 10 extract supplies even in ex-
hausted and poor districts By the prom
Use OF high payment. by his tactful
treatment Of authorities and cOmmd-
, mites, 81 we'll aS by threats and brute
force. When. to use his own words.
the occasion arose he put the country
/ OF both sides Of the road on which the
! 1tpInp h1n,I n
fire IN order to squeeze provisions out
OF il. As he understood how to stamp
armies out Of the ground, 50 also did
corn grow upon his open palm. But
he was, above all, Il master in organ
lZlng his lines of communication,
where purchases, conveys. acquisitions,
magazines and enforced feeding by the
population all helped to satisfy his
/ soldiers needs.
I "The custom Of war which allows
armies TO take from the country all
/ they require for their sustenancC is
. very ancient. Moses, in sending forth
: spies in the Promised Land. com
mondCd the system of acquisitions
with the words BE comforted and
/ take the fruits of the land
LIVING ON THE COUNTRY.
we adhere to the principle of liv-
ing on the country even now to such
an extent as to regard all the supplies
, brought uD from the base of an army
merely as reserve stock. for cases Of
urgent need, when the theatre Of
war can no longer yield what is
requisite. But in this very particular
/ we are just at present witnessing
change, which will be even more
marked in future wars than il was
. in 1901.
"Frederick the Great, in 1856 and
. 1851, took good care to let his armies
live on the enemy's country. He
wished to keep his money i'm his
pocket, to spare his slender ex-
chequer. and thus to be enabled 10
carry on the war the longer. In the
seventeenth century il was the rule
i'm war to subsist free of cost. and
. neither Thurn, Mansfield, Christian Of
! brunswick nor Wallenstein had reg
uiar funds II his disposal for the
maintenance Of his army. They acted
tr d., tull">, extent on the principle
f&s al must support war.
.UrrLY MUST BE CONTINUOUS.
Vow. when armies and the daily
expenditure Of money are reckoned
by millions, all that is changed The
supplies hastily collected on the
march, or BY enforced contributions,
are insignificant, as far as saving
Of money Is concerned Though the
troops may occasionally eat and drink
. at a neIghbOr'S expense, the supply
department cannot on that account
suspend It's operations. nor the pub
lie Golfers be closed. Considering the
care which the feeding of such large
masses Of men demands, IL is impos-
| sible to wait TO see if anything can
here or there be- found in the coun-
Try. but the entire supply for the
, whole army must be assured by the
state DAY by day. Just IS a great
/ household is carried on, on the same
scale. whether Or not one or other
OF the family be invited TO dine at
another house, so must the supplies
flow continuously for the full num-
Der of men and animals, without re-
/ gard as to whether one or the other
army corps chances TO be in need of
fresh supplies or not.
"If we live upon the enemy's cOun-
/ try it means that the enemy is not
( in our own, and that our country is
not suffering from the presence of
. the contcnding armies. Its taxpaying
. capacity ana us CfeulL are not near
( ~ SO much diminished as would be
! the case if a part of it's territory
were overrun by troops. But the
idea, which might have been justif-
able in the seventeenth and eigh.
teenth centuries, that it were possible
/ TO force an enemy to yield by carry
| ing the war into his country, has now
very limited application indeed.
The possibility of holding out does
not depend so much upon whether we
are on this side Of the frontier or
on the other side as upon our inter-
national credit"
/ IN FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
/ As proof of the vital Importance OF
! proper commissariat arrangements,
! Won der Goltz mentions the fact that
| during the Frsnco-Prussisn war the
German army, although waging
! successful war in very rich coun-
try, was sometimes in actual want be.
! cause its commisSary arrangements
were imperfect.
! The perfection Of processes for can.