Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1917-11-22
MEAT SUPPLY FOR
TROOPS IN FIELD
ENORMOUS TASK

BEHIND THE BRITISH LINES IN
FRANCE, .ov 22-The British army
ration scale allows one pound of meat
to each man daily to the troops in the
trenches, and three-quarters of a
pound to those at home. 1t further
requirtes each soldier at the front to
carry a pound of meat in his kit.
The measures by which an army
equal to one-fifth of the male popula-
ton of Great Britain before the war
has been supplied with meat On this
scale, amount to something like a
revolution in the technique of army
supply.
At the very beginning of the present
war it was decided to provide frozen
meat for the army and the Boards OF
Trade at once entered into negotia-
ton with firms importing meat from
the Argentine for a monthly supply
VI IosOuOu lOAIS' LdtCr q AhCA1 SNAAA
mittee" was set up, and entrusted with
the work of importing meat not only
for the British ahmy, but also for
the French and Italian governments
and for the British civpil population.
The principal source of supply at
present is the Argentine, with assist
ance from Australia and New Zealand.
Both Australia and New Zealand have
reserved their entire surplus supply
of meat NOR the use of the Imperial
government, and over two hundred
million dollars worth of beef, mutton
and lamb has bee n brought from
those countries.
To carry these enormous quantities
of meat to the troops the Board OF
Trade requisitioned all the shipping
engaged in the frozen meat traffic.
Some of the meat is taken to England,
but the greater part of that required
for ahe armies is landed directly at
the passports, where it is discharged
into cold storage warehouses eSpe-
cially erected for the purpose In this
manner there is delivered monthly
thirty thousand tons of meat for the
British armies and $4,000 tons to the
armies of FGread Britain's allies.
The cost of this meat up to the be-
ginnig of 1916 fguerd out at an aver
age of abut IL IL cents a pound, but
it has since risen to about Is IL
cents.
Reuuisitioning of fresh meat in
France for any purposes is almost
negligible, and the herds of cattle
which followed armies i'm old+Gme
wars we're slaughtered as required
have disappeared from the field of
war
Frozen meat at present constitutes
so per cent of the total meat issued
to the British army. Teh remainder
is made up of preserved meat of sew
eral varieties. The most familiar
form is the welI-known bully beef"
which is corned beef packed in small
oblong tins, each containing twelve
ounces. Some units cook their bully
beef, others prefer it just as it comes
from the tin. 1t comprised the prin-
cipal article of diet for the army Of
Gallipoli.
Another form of preserved ration is
= combination of about nine ounces
O. meat and a half pound of potatoes
and other vegetables. This is served
after warming-up, either by heating
an the tin of by boiling the contents
in camp kettle, which transfers :,
into a fairly appetizing stew. This
combination, which is known in army
parlance as meat and vegetable
ration" il manufactured in England
bv about thirty firms, working under
the inspection of the local government
board
Another form of preserved ration,
adopted from the American armies,
is pork and beans. The first supplies
of these were obtained from the Ca
madam Pacific Railway Company and
were introduced on an experimental
scale in March, 1916.
The amount of canned meats sup
piled to trops in France Is enoHnops.
Three and a half million cans are re-
ceived weekly at the bases, and since
the beginning of the war the army
contract department has purchase
over gour hundred million CANS OF
preserved meat These cans wou d
weigh about 17S,6OO tons, roughly
the equivalent in weight of six super