The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1917-11-30
Ration That Is Permitted
Tommy In Trench
LESS TO THOSE AT HOME
Regulations Adopted BY the
Government; Where Beeves
Come From
From Thursdays Daily.

Behind British Lines In France,
October correspondence of The
Associated Press. 1.-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 re-
quires 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 pop,l-
lation 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 pres
ent war it was decided to provide
frozen meat for the army and the
boards of trade at once entered into
negotiations with firms importing
meat from the Argentine for month
ly supply of $4,000 tons. Later a
meat committee" was set up, and
entrusted with the work importing
meat not only for the British army,
but also for the French and Italian
governments and for the British civil
population.
The principal source of supply at
present is the Argentine, with assist
ance from Australia and New Zea
land. Both Australia and New Zealand
have reserved their entire surplus
supply of meat for the use OF the I'm
perial government, and over $780,
100000 worth of beef, mutton anS
lamb has been brought from those
countries.
To carry these enormous quanti
ties of meat to the troops the board
of trade requisitioned all the ship
ping engaged in the frozen meat traf
fic. Some of the meat is taken to Eng
land, but the greater part of that re-
quired for the armies is landed direct
ly at the passports, where it is dis
charged into cold storage warehouses
specially erected for the purpose. In
this manner there is delivered month
ly 10000 tons of meat for the British
armies and $4,000 tons to the armies
of Great Britain's allies.
The cost of this meat up to the be-
ginning of 1916 figured out at an
average of about 1919 cents pound
but it has since risen to about 1914
cents.
Requisitioning of fresh meat in
France for army purposes is almost
negligible, and the herds of cattle
which followed armies in old-time
wars and were slaughtered as requir
ed, have disappeared from the field
of war.
Frozen meat at present constitutes
so per cent of the total meat issued
to the British army The remainder
is made up of preserved meat of sew
eral varieties. The most familiar form
is the well-known bully beef" which
is corned beef packed in small OBJ
long tins, each containing twelve
ounces Some units cook their bully
beef, others prefer it just as it comes
cipal article of diet for the army at
Gallipoli.
Another form of preserved ration
is a combination of about nine ounces
of meat and half pound of potatoes
and other vegetables. This is served
after warming-u either by heating
in the tin or by boiling the contents
in a camp kettle, which transfers it
into fairly appetizing stew. This
combination, which is known in army
parlance as Meat and Vegetable Ra-
tion," is manufactured in England by
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 Can
adam Pacific Railway company and
were introduced on an experimental
scale in March, 1916.
The amount of canned meats sup
piled to the troops in France is enor-
nous. Three and half million cans
are received weekly at the bases
and since the beginning of the wal
the army contract department has
purchased over 400000,OO0 cans Of
preserved meat. These cans would
weigh about 17S,500 tons, roughly the
equivalent in weight of six super
dreadnaughts.