The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1917-09-20
An IDAHO FOOD EXPERT
NOW At FORT SMELLING
peovlpEs FINE FEED FOR SOL.
pIERs At 4oe PER DAY-ls
NOW A CAPTAIN.

Albert H. Wilson. who was for sew
aral years food inspector Of the state
Of Idaho and who Is known in prac-
t,eally every town in the state, is now
a captain in the United States army
and in charge Of the subsistence de-
nartment at Fort Smelling, near St.
paul A recent issue of the st. Paul
Pioneer Press has a good picture of
CAPTAIN Wilson and has this to say of
the work he Is doing in providing ra-
tons for the men at that great train
Ing camp:
Costs 40 Cents.
Forty cents covers the entire cost of
a days rations-a ration being days
subsistence for soldier-and in ad-
dition there are a number Of other
things included which do not go into
the soldiers stomach.
Soap, starch and other necessities
come under the general head Of ra-
tons. At that. it is impossible even
at the low price; for soldier to use in
one day the ration allowance, as 1t in
cludes proportionate part of every
thing carried in the commissary stock
in the food line, and many things not
classed as food. The stock runs from
beef to blackberry jam; walnuts to
witch hazel, shoe polish to shaving
pins to pickles.
Captain Albert H. Wilson, the
Hoover OF Fort Smelling, is in charge
of the subsistence or commissary de-
partment. With him is DIR. r. F. Ver-
milya, government meat inspector,
who examines every issue of meat
made from the commissary.
Monthly Prices Set.
Each month Captain Wilson pre-
pares a schedule of articles and the
price at which they will be sold for
that month, so army officers may know
what the ration allowance is for their
commands and what they will have to
pay for supplies used in their own
homes.
The commissary is the trading post
for officers. Certain civilian employees
of the government also may buy sup
plies there at the reduced prices. So
complete is the stock carried that 1t
rarely is necessary for officers to
make purchases elsewhere for their
tables.
1t Is the duty of Captain Wilson to
see that his stock does not run low
and to buy from dealers who quote
the lowest prices. Proposals are re-
ceived monthly from wholesalers and
manufacturers for what supplies are
needed and contracts awarded to the
lowest bidder.
Spends $97, 900 Monthly.
Each military organization gets
ration allowance according to the
number of men in it, and it is the
duty of Captain Wilson to see that is
sues are made at regular intervals on
this basis. Last month the Fort Smell
ling commissary did $4,000 worth of
business. With the student officers
camp making an additional number of
rations to be issued, Captain Wilson
estimates this months business will
be approximately $115,000.
The students are allowed GO cents
a day for rations At the first camp
the daily ration allowance for each
man was rs cents, but $4,000 was
saved In the three months and re-
turned to the government, so the al
lowance was cut to go cents.
An idea Of the business done at the
Fort Smelling commissary may be
gathered from figures furnished by
Captain Wilson, which show these
amounts issued last month: Beef,
1858 pounds; flour, 116,427 pounds;
bread, 152,7S4 pounds potatoes, 49,
sos pounds sugar, $685. pounds; on