New-York tribune., 1916-07-02
GloryAwaits the officer
Who Mvents a New Ex.
blosive, but Who Ever
Heard of Glory in the
CommiSSary Depart
ment?-An Army Still
Marches on It's Stomach,
and the u. s. Army vii
March on "COrned
Willie" and "Goldfsh."

II is because of this attitude to the
commissary department that there has
been no progress in this line since the
war with Spain. The ration of the
Spanish-American War was as crude as
the ration of the Civil War DAYS. The
new army will have the same ration. 1t
has changed only in cost. That has in
creased considerably.
With the Pershing expedition there is
one captain who ought to get promotion
for the reason that he is trying to ad-
vance the preparation of the field ration.
He has invented fireless cooker, and he
is having it tried out in spite of the tact
that the experiment draws considerable
scorn in his direction. He used his own
money to further the invention, TOO. It
has earned him the enduring devotion
of the men under him. They tell of hot
meals being ready at the end Of long
marches.
But for practical results for himself
the captain should have concentrated
his inventive genius in the work of pro-
ducing a new machine gun or new,
type of explosive. The ireIess cooker
even if it stands the full test, will ge
him nowhere.
There was naive arraignment Of the
American field ration during the process
of some boxing bouts in Columbus, New
Mexico. The army champion was lean
and wiry trooper from the 18th Cavalry.
His opponent was beefy third-rate
pugiist. For few rounds the trooper
put up fierce battle and was pummel-
ling the civilian all over the ring. Then
the trooper collapsed without being nit.
After the bout the trooper insisted on
making little speech.
Il did my best" he said. But this
army grub isn't the stuff for fighter
in training he announced.
1t was an undiplomatic and even in
subordinate remark. Some of the off,
GERS in the crowd frowned slightly. But
the trooper was not called to account.
Militiamen and volunteers called sud-
denly to the colors will feel the commits
sariat troubles most. Volunteer and
militia officers do not know even as
much as the regular army officers know
about the drawing of rations and their
preparation.
| remember sitting alongside a pri-
vate of the l4th Infantry on the south
line in Luzon in 1899 and looking anx-
iously from my mess tin to his. He had
more Corned Willie than | had and his
was fairly palatable. He had fresh
bread, while | had some mouldy hard
tack. He had sugar for his coffee and
had none. Yet our regimenta conf
misSary officer was supposed to draw
the same rations as his and our cooks
were supposed to be just as competent.
The same conditions are inevitable
when our new volunteer army takes the
field There will be no marked improve
ment until some officer in the commits
sary service is given distinguished SER
vice order simply because he has found
a way to make the army ration more
palatable. This is highly improbable.
The embalmed horse, the Corned Willie
and the Goldfish will outlast this cam
paign.
So far these staples of the army ra-
ton are up to standard There have
been no wholesale poisonings of soldiers
as in the days of the Spanish-American
War. But the inspectors of the COM
missary department will have to be on
their guard now with the rush orders.
The embalmed beef patriots of so w
still have with US. The new army must
be protected from the enemy in the rear,