The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-04-22

duty. The number of men is multiplied by the number of days in the month, and the company is credited with the re- sultng number of rations. Thus, if a company had 70 men on the first day of April, it is credited with POO rations. As each ration is valued at 40 cents at the present time, the company receives credit with the quartermaster of $S4O, with which amount the company must be fed for that month
 At intervals during the month the company mess sergeant draws rations from the quartermaster as though he were buying from a grocery store and each article bought is charged against the company. At the end of the month the accounts are settled and any sum left over to the credit of the com pany is settled with check there and then. On the other hand. if the com pany has been unfortunate or extrav- agant and has overdrawn it's account the difference must be made up with a check from the company com- mander.
 It can be seen from the above that almost anything can be had that the men may need. If the quartermaster does not have it in stock, the com pany can buy it anywhere and pay for it with the money saved from the fdLlOnS. W1un lnlS system lneTe IS Nel1 little chance of the men becoming worn out with sameness of food, for the mess sergeant can buy anything that may be needed to vary the monof- ony. If the company is poorly fed. 1t is due entirely to the fact that the rations are not properly prepared.
 The question naturally arises, What becomes of the check that accrues from the rations saved? And that L..sx. 4l.- company. like an individual, has hard time existing without funds. It must have some source of income with which to meet the numerous demands that arise from day to day and that are not met by the government
 USE OF THESE FUNDS
 These many small needs are taken care of by the funds. Each organiza- tion has two funds, the mess fund" and the company fund" The mess fund is derived from the ration saw ings and from the board paid by the officers, and the company fund is ac- cumulated from whatever sources of income the company may be fortunate enough to possess.
 There is this difference between the two funds The mess fund can be used for nothing except the purchase of food. No matter how large the mess fund may be or how badly the com pany may need some other article. not one cent can be spent for anything except actual food for the men. By this wise regulation no overzealous officer can starve his men in order to build up fund to be spent for other things. The money that is saved from the ra tions must be spent for rations. In this way the company Is assured, 60 long as there is margin on the credit side of the ledger. of many lit tie luxuries and delicacies it would not otherwise have
 In addition to the income derived from the ration savings the mess fund receives the board paid by the off cers. Each company officer boards with his company He eats the same food the men eat and pays the con- pany 50 cents a day for the privilege The officer is not entitled to rations from the government. so he buys them from the company In the form of board.
 This plan has many advantages It guarantees that the officers will keep an eye on the food and will know eX- actly how the men are faring. Also 1t naturally gives an added interest to the matter. for any man will take pains with the preparation of the food if he knows he is going to have to eat it himself. Also. it gives the men the comforting feeling that the "old man is sharing their rations with them This makes for contenment on both sides
 Unfortunately, the company does not always receive check from the quar- termaster at the end of the month On the contrary, the company com mander may have the pleasure Of one over to the ouartermaster For sometimes. no matter how closely one may watch the rations the allow ance will be overdrawn. And then tn mess fund is called upon to make up the shortage. provided. of course, that there is a fund. If the fund has been depleted the captain has the added pleasure of 'rustling'' the money somewhere. for the quartermaster must be paid And it is a rule in the army that the company commander is all T. eo>a