The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-11-17
COOKS in CAMP
IT'S True an Army Travels on
Its Stomach.
A Company Snappy, Happy Men
Means q Good Chef.
FOOD CONSUMED IN A MONTH
Pounds of Flour, 100000, and
Bacon, 100000.
Sugar, Quarter of Million, and
Prunes, Ten Tons!

It's true that an army travels on
its stomach" not only in France
when it sneaks up upon the Hun
trenches, but here at Camp Funston,
as well. Capt. F. T. Windle, chief
subsistence officer of the camp quar-
termasters department here, and for
mer manager of the GAINESVILLE Ma
chine company in Kansas City before
he became an officer will tell you that
the men of the seth division are
crawling along at a rapid rate, if the
amount of food they consume each
day and month is any indication.
Show me a company of happy,
snappy men, full of pep and con-
tented" said Captain Windle, and 1
know the cook of the company is on
the job in the proper manner three
times a day, seven days in the week.
Our department tries to give every
company in every Organization the
best food the ration allowance will
buy, but to get the most out of such
| food, it must be cooked properly"
By virtue of his ability and skill
in preparing meals for a hungry
crowd of healthy men who are out
of doors all day long, drilling and
hiking, the company cook may be-
come the most popular or the most
vation- Take the matter of rice.
Some cooks can make rice taste like
dessert, while others turns out a slop-
Ply, tasteless dish that makes the men
| shudder every time they see it brought
on the table. The latter kind of cooks
are fast being put in the discard here
| at Funston, because they can create
more discomfort and trouble in a few
minutes than a dirty rifle on inspec-
ton day.
The good cooks, those who have the
| interest of the men at heart, and who
take pride in dishing up palatable,
| tasty, satisfying meals, are holding
their jobs and winning promotions, for
| a private can earn his chevrons and
work his way up about as quickly by
the Kitchen route" as thru the ranks.
The cooks and bakers school here,
| superintended by Captain Widen, is
doing its part in turning out good
cooks. There men are trained until
| they can turn out pies. cakes, bread
| and all manner of dishes in a manner
| that will rival any hotel chef.
Captain Windle's grocery order each
month would give almost any house
| wife the cold chills, heart disease and
! the ague, all at once. But considering
the number of men he has to buy for.
| it really proves he has had experience
in that line before and gets the most
| for his money. Captain Jacob Frank,
| camp quarternaster, who has moro
duties than any man in camp, proba-
| bly,, will tell you Captain Windle
knows his business.
Three Meals for 40 Cents.
The days ration figure for the
month OF November is a fraction over
Is cents. That means each man
gets that much worth of food day,
or three meals for a fraction less than
| 40 cents. And they are good, substan-
tial meals. too.
A trip thru the great storehouse of
the quartermaster's department will
seeing to it that there are sufficient
supplies on hand at all times. There
are thousands of sacks of flour, hun
dreds upon hundreds of 10O-pound
sacks of coffee, great ceiling high piles
| of canned salmon, corn, peas AID
tomatoes, thousands of pounds OF
bacon.
During the month of ec<,ber more
4 than 100000 pounds of flour was
used here to provide the boys of she
seth division with bread. That flour
cost approximately $11, 900. Made into
about $4,000 pounds of bread a day
if sold at the price, of II cents loaf
the cost would have been $3.50 a
day for bread, or $2SS, 600 a month
lust for the staff of life alone.
Take the matter of bacon. The
} boys ate some 1880 pounds during
the month. at a cost of $37,500.
1t would take approximately 1,00C
head of cattle to furnish the beef
about 10000 pounds-the men ate
last month. The cost would be $751;
900.
A quarter of a million pounds Of
"spuds" were eaten, seemingly with
out regard to the men who had tC
peel them all Then think of the
men who peeled the 100. 900 pounds o.
onions that were consumed!
Lo the navy bean!-the good ole
army bean. it should have beer
/ | called. A mere 100000 pounds wer,
used last month and they cam,
: stewed and baked in the good Ole
Boston style.
l AS side dishes, the boys shoveled il
some $4,000 cans of corn and a lik