Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1916-12-29

OF The Associated Press ).-Ihe num-
cipality Of Cologne is today the big
sest restaurateur in the world. 1t
feeds, six days week. nearly half of
its population Of about 100000 persons
at the astonishing price of two marks
fifty cents) a week for six square
meals. IT supplies the food from
Kitchen" that has cost millions to
construct. and delivers it by means Of
hundreds Of teams and automobiles
in utensils that alone represent an in,
vestment Of thousands.
To do this it has to employ all in
all several thousand people. whereby
it also does good because it thus gives
employment to people who need it. It
invests. weekly and monthly. thou
sands of marks and manages to break
about even on the investment.
There is system of housing pota-
toes, which plays very important
part of course in feeding 100000 odd
persons. Then there is the drying or
evaporation plant. The supply Of
vegetables and fruit is at all times ir-
regular. not only because of the sea
sons hut also because of transDorta.
ton and other questions. Where
formerly Cologne ate what came and
cared comparatively little about the
morrow il now realizes that no single
ounce of food may be wasted, and it
prevents such waste by drying and
preserving for future use each extra
pound of apples and plums. Of lettuce
and cabbage, that arrives and is not
eaten up. at once.
Perhaps most novel of all the side
features" is that part of the city Kitten
en- where wastage is saved. 1t re-
minds on of the Chicago packer who
boosted that he knew how to make
use of every part of the pig but the
soueal Not only from the ordinary
wastage from food prepared at the
city kitchen but from garbage care
fully carefully collected all over the
city there is now extracted certain
percentage of material that. in Dry
form. can be used for human consump
ton again. In addition of course there
is p large percentage that goes Tor
feeding swine. and lastly there is ex-
tracted substance used with excel
lent results for horse bread food
that looks not unlike dark colored
human bread and that is said to form
an excellent complement to tine pres
ent scantv supply of oats.
Cologne's city kitchen came into ne
ing not long after the war started. 1t
was especially necessary for num-
her of reasons. Cologne is the big
eest city anywhere near the front, and
as such receives daily and weekly
swarms of men who either are on
their wav to the fighting. or are re-
turning from it. The normal popula-
ton is constantly swollen by an artl'
fetal Formulation that must be taken
into account
At first the kitchen-which began
bv sending out wagonloads of FOOD
for distribution on the streets--was
hardly success. The people were
inclined to look askance at the novel.
tv. Gradually. however, they took to
ii, once thew found that the food was
good. nutritious and tasty. 1mmedl.
atelv another problem arose. that OF
distrihutine the food in such way
that long lines IF people would not
gather in the narrow streets OF the
CITY and clog transportation.
AS the number Of people taking ad-
meal increased gradually by LEAPS and
bounds the authorities hit upon the
scheme Of subscriptions. and that plan
is in force today. The citizen VINO
wishes to patronize the restaurant OF
his CITY now subscribes by the week.
and at 3 stated hour each day one OF
the municipal wagons appears. bear
ing the food in tightly sealed heat
retaining cans. as warm as 1t was
when it left the kitchen perhaps an
hour before.
The kitchen. originally manufac'
turing plant. has been so thoroughly
rebuilt and rearranged that its former
occunants would no longer recognize
It. The largest part of it is built above
and around a row Of huge kettles, each
capable of cooking from seven to eight
thousand quarts at once. so that from
one side potatoes. properly prepared.
can pour into the kettles, vegetables
from another side meat from another,
and water from a fourth.
Each days meal (Sunday is except
ejlh consists in the main of a thick soup
or stew of which the component parts
are an almost infinite variety of vege-
tables, potatoes and meat. The prepara-
IlO1l Is t'fpilpllSilHt Will n iNf"' ava
cleanliness that could hardly be eX-
celled in the kitchen of any fine hotel
or private home.
Potatoes. brought in from the rail
road o. from the store houses OF the
city are DUMPED into trough through
which water flows. and borne along and
m to height of some eight feet over
Il winding screw. This process removes
most of the surface dirt. From the
height they fell into an ingenious ma
chire that peels them with great exact
itrde and from this they pass through
another water filed trough where
women stand with knives and cut out
the eyes.
After the hand work is finished the
potatoes once more 90 into trough
that fairly. hoilS with water constantly
in motion. and pass underground, while
being washed once more, to second
ladder up which they climb to slicer
Thence they go to the kettles.
In another portion of the building
somewhat similar process goes or with
the vegetables. They too are washed,
not once but many times. and then are
cut Mp. washed again. passed from one
ma chine to another. until at last they
are ready for the kettles Meat that
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