The Jasper news., 1917-12-13
"Uncle SANS" Cafeteria Style of Feed
ing His Soldier Boys.

ing His Soldier Boys.
Lieut.. Oldham Paisley, 343 Unfit,
Camp Grant, H., at present assigned to
the Press Headquarters, and one of
three young Americans who address
the editor of this pious weekly as "Un-
cle," has favored us with the following
description of the cafeteria" style
adopted by Uncle Sam to feed the Ma
tional Army.
The War Department" says this
nephew, has chosen to feed the Nation
al Army in Cafeteria" style-that is,
be your own waiter and select your
own food. But cafeteria" is such
delicate word that the brawny, weather.
beaten soldiers of the seth Division at
Camp Grant have christened their style
of eating with word more adaptable
to their robust fancies-the "Come-and-
get-it." Nevertheless, cafeteria" and
"Come-and-get-it" mean the same,
with but few variations.
Incivilian life the hungry man enters
a cafeteria through swinging bronzed
doors and his twelve dollar shoes tread
lightly upon tiled floors. In the Army
the soldier clatters into the ''come-and-
get-it" through II door with squeaking
hinges and his heavy, bob-nailed service
shoes scrape over the wooden floor.
In cafeteria an orchestra is playing
operate bits, or the latest things in the
jazz line, as the hungry man places
himself in an orderly line which leads
get-it" the soldier is greeted by rabble
of husky voices, like the love-Song Of Il
cage of coyotes, and he must fight to
hold his place in the jammed, swaying,
wriggling line-and often ham-lile
palm reaches out of the mass and plants
itself in his face. In the cafeteria apol-
ogies are always forthcoming, but in
the ''come-and-get-it"-never.
In the cafeteria the hungry man is
smiled upon by IL pretty waitress in
white who asks if he'll have an order
those. But in the "come-and-get-it"
the cook, in his undershirt and sweat
pouring from his brow, banks at the
soldier to take off his hat" as he
dives into tub-full of spuds with a
shovel-sized spoon splash" go the
spuds in your mess kit
In the cafeteria the hungry man
marches past mountains of food and
selects at random morsel of this and
a bit of that which might best satisfy
his appetite. But in the "come-and-
get-it the soldier also marches past
mountains and tubs of food, but he
doesn't select at random. He takes
everything that comes his way from
the line of cooks on the opposite side
of the long counter. And always he
wants bigger steak, more spuds, more
peas, more carrots, more pudding-and
he always gets it.
In the cafeteria the hungry man sets
his food upon snow-white table cloth
and his napkin is laid neatly upon his
lap. In the ''come-and-get-it" there is
no table cloth. The soldier scrambles
over the plank bench and grapples
with his mess-mates for elbow-room at
the long plank table. In the cafeteria
a white-garbed busy-boy clears the
table, but in the ''come-and-get-it" the
soldier washes his own mess-kit.
In the cafeteria an expression of dis
satisfaction steals over the patron S
face as the cashier relieves him of 10
cents for meal that wasn't worth it,
but in the army-the soldier struts out
of the mess-hall with Il smile on his
tanned face which says-"Charge it 10
/ Uncle Sam, IVAN Buren, County
Democrat. "