New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-09-23
War Department Has Plan
to Utilize Materials Gen.
orally Discarded
Great Money Saver
Greatest Element in Economy
Found To Be in the Use
Of Garbage
fstaf Cor@pondcncel


WASHINGTON, Sept. 22.-The War
Department has made comprehensive
plans to prevent food waste In the army
cantonments and embarkation camps,
according to a statement issued to-day
by the Food Administrator. In the
feeding Of the men waste will be mini
mized through the fact that the food
will be prepared under the direction OF
mess cooks, who will be trained by
special courses in army cooking schools.
The officers training camps have not
been under this control of the War
Department, and the waste has been
due to the lack Of skilled management
A committee representing the War De-
partmcnt and the United States Food
will also assist in deal.
ing with problems of eliminating waste.
The army's first consideration in
planning this work has been the sani-
tary and hygienic problem. AT each
cantonment the wastes will be collected
and transported to single transfer
station" under the direction of the
sanitary inspector. Through the use
Of the two-can system, wastes will be
tight inclosed throughout their collec-
ton. Sterilized cans will be substl-
tuted for the filled cans at the kitchens
the nuisance Of disagreeable doors and
danger from flies being reduced to 4
minimum.
To Be Completely Sorted
At the transfer stations the wastes
are turned over to a contractor, VINO
will remove them to point at least
three miles distant from the reserva-
ton. There the wastes will be com
pletely sorted. Bottles will be steril-
lied and sold for commercial use. Tn
cans will be baled and the solder. tin
and iron reclaimed Paper, which is
estimated Mt about five tons a day. will
be baled. Bones will be kept separate
and ground for fertilizer. The hides OF
dead animals will be removed and the
carcasses reduced" for grease and fer
tiliver.
The chief items Of waste will be the
garbage and the manure. 1t is esti'
mated that there are 200 animals al
each cantonment. At the date Of the
report the manure from eleven can
tonments had been sold for $4,000
annually.
The greatest element of saving is
through the garbage. This has been
sold for an annual price of Si46,394.57
The garbage from thirteen of the can
comments will be used for feeding
swine. When not used for feeding
the garbage will be reduced that Is
cooked at high temperature, the
grease extracted, and the remainder
ground and used for fertilizer OF
feeds.
The effect of this new plan, there
fore, is not only to conserve large
quantities of valuable food wastes, fer.
tilizers, etc, it is stated, but TO turn
into large profit what has hitherto
been verv considerable expense.
Drafted Men Best Fed
That the drafted men now in train
ing camps are the best fel of any mill
tary organization IN the world viii! b.
the gist OF the first repo-, made by tn,
newly organized sanitary corps of tn
army Expert dietitians have peer
making preliminary survey Of thu
subsistence provided for the men, anC
have found that each msn receives {
daily average of 1850 cal1rieS.
AS it has been proved by actual OK
pertinent that laboriny man requires
less than 5000 calories and an Office
worker about $500, the corps will en-
deavOr TO ascertain if there is no
waste at the camps.
Thorough tests of proposed substi
tutes have convinced officers in charg'
that II would be inadvlsable to change
the standard ration adopted five years
ago. Despite recent announcements
therefore, contracts for cured meats fol
the army will be under the same speci
fications, known in the service a.
"Form 100" This requires almost tht
complete evaporation CT water after
curing and makes rigid provision fol
the method of curing.
This schedule was drawn up by Colo
mel A. d. Kniskern, of the vuartermas
ter Corps. who is one Of tho foremos
authorities on soldiers rations