The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1916-07-31
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MAN IN TRENCHES
WITH THE GERMANS
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS.


With the German Army on the
Riga Front July 25-By Courier to
Berlin via London, July 29.-Russian
efforts to break the German lines at
various points on this front, which
. the Associated Press correspondent
has had an unusually favorable OPP
portunity of inspecting personally in
the last few days, have neither af-
fected the front, nor-whaS is per-
haps equally important-them morale
of the German troops.
The correspondent has viewed the
great sectors of the front from south
of Kekkau to a point we'll south Of
Friederichstadt, has stood in the
trenches amid the devastation of
drum fire of but few hours before
and has talked freely with the men
engaged. He has also mingled I'M
concernedly with the troops behind
the front and endeavored in every
way possible to find some indication
of falling off in the morale of the
fighting spirit.
! At one barracks tie commander
said to the soldiers.
Here is an American newspaper
correspondent. Tell him all he
wants. / am leaving him here alone
and shall not try to find out what
questions he asks nor what you told
him"
The commander and all other Off
GERS then left the barracks and the
soldiers answered every question put
to them with the utmost frankness.
=. No Anti-Ameriean Feeling.
The correspondent who had been
cautioned that ne was likely to find
much anti-Ameriean feeling among
the troops put questions designed to
discover if such sentiment existed.
All the men questioned declared they
knew nothing of the existence of
such feeling. One soldier summed
up their attitude as follows:
"Some American ammunition is
being used here but that is a politi-
cal question and we do not know
much about politics. We don't hate
anybody. We don't hate the Rus
SLAMS. 1t was war and we ere here
to fight and we are going to keep
right on fighting until the enemy has
had enough, whether it lasts one
year or ten"
What Soldiers Get.
The men were well clothed ana
plainly we'll fed. The day previously
the correspondent inspected a divis-
ion commissariat and obtained from
the quartermaster a list of the
rations. Inquiries among the men
confirmed this list in every detail.
The daily ration follows: Bread,
(unmixed with potato four) 750
grammes; meat, $50 grammes;
greats, 125 grammes; butter, IS
grammes; coffee, 25 grammes; sal1,
% grammes; tea, 3 grammes; sugar,
II grammes; cheese, Is grammes;
wheat flour, rs grammes. There are
two meatless days weekly, on one
fish is substituted and on the other
stewed fruits with rice. When the
water in the trenches is bad the tea
and sugar rations are doubled. Two
cigars and two cigarettes are issued
daily to each man. In addition, every
battalion has its own canteen where
cakes and canned fruits, etc, can be
bought.
A number of the men were asked
il the rations were sufficient. None
was found who did not express com
plete satisfaction. The soldiers were
openly amused when informed it had
been reported abroad that their
rations had been cut down and that
they were often forced to go hungry.
The only ration reduced is that of
bread and this reduction was made
long ago because it was found that
the men were unable to eat more
than the quantity now allowed. This
ration compared with 30 grammes
daily allowed civilians in Berlin. The
daily meat ration foz the soldiers
equals the weekly allowance in Ber-
lin and the butter allowance is more
than quadruple that in the capital.
Rations in other things are in the
same proportion.