The copper era and Morenci leader., 1917-12-14
MESS COOK BIG
 MAN OF ARMY
Even Company Officers Have to Be Considerate to the New
 Aut0crat.
NOBODY "BAWLS HIM 0UT''
Any Kicks or Grumbling Against the Worst Cook Are Made In Private and Out of His Earshot-
 Word Is Final.


 Field Headquarters, American Expe- ditionary Forces, France.0"Who's the great hero in the estimation of the pri- yates in the American army?" asks the man interested in the psychology of soldering. III
 "The commanding general, of course," interrupts his companion, an moved at the apparently foolish ques- ton.
 "Naw, not him. I ain't never seen him even," replies a private, kicking his hobnailed shoes into the turf.
 "Your captain, then" suggests the wise friend, coming down several ranks.
 LAW, he's all right and we're al ways there to salute him, but there's others" says the private.
 "How about your top sergeant, veteran 'noncom' with rough talk and a strong right?" asks the friend, losing confidence.
 "We're all for him, but there's others just as good as him too," insists the private.
 "Put us next, who's the boss of the company" the first questioner insists. "The cook, who else?" chorus half a dozen.
 That's the hero-the company cook, writes Junius B. Wood, in the Chicago ] Daily News. The cook may be hot and grouchy, his uniform greasy and his eyes red from smoke, but he Is the 1 most respected man in the mess. That ] 4ly l isn't good cook, indeed is very poor cook, which is unusual for our army, nobody "bawls him out'' to his face as they might even do to sergeant major ! who isn't much of scrapper. Any kicks or grumbling against even the worst cook are made in private and out of his earshot.
 "Say, cook, gimme another helpin' of the 'slum gullion?'" asks a soldier, coming up with his tin mess kit secured clean with a hunk of bread Of all traces of the first helping of stew.
 '"No seconds, tonight" replies the mess sergeant,
 "Aw, be a good fellow, Pm nearly starved" begs the soldier.
 ''Nothin' doin', some of the fellows haven't got here yet, beat it" Mess Cook Is Boss. American soldiers are always hungry and stand-in with the mess cook is equivalent to one "with the landlady's daughter If you want the second piece of pie.' He Is the company autocrat. Anybody who has suddenly dropped into a strange company about mess time knows that the chances of dining well, though he may be obliged to squat on the ground, hold the mess plate in one hand and feed with the other, are better if the first call is made on the mess sergeant than if 1t is made on the captain. The captain possibly eats off table made out of an old box. Certain formalities, however, , are observed among officers. The cap- tain may not always volunteer as host, and 1t is not good form to invite your , self.
 "Say, sarg, any chance of bumming some chow?" Is a good formula. "Always can scrape the old pan for a hungry man," Is his usual reply.
 Don't want to crowd you, and haven't a mess kit either" you say. Guess I've got an extra one around. L II lN you up HI rlSnt, ne says, anu | yon eat. The American army eats well but 1t
 figures closely. Rations are drawn for 5 c~actly the number of men and the !. exHct number of days that they are to eat. it is up to the mess sergeant and :. ;a;> cooks to see that everybody gets D his share of everything and that noth- ''>'r ;> left over. That means close fig D :.;tng with only his eyes and a big
 &,.:G'l to measure by.
 d fiot Too Many Cooks. | Fer each infantry company of 204 + ''l"n tjere are a mess sergeant and e ''''r enoks. Under the old organiza- :. 'i"i, t:snrc were a sergeant and three f .''-'': fer d company of 153 men and > ..''' rN. The way it works out up to a
 ',.' ..idc unit is:
 Bat Regi- , Company. talion ment. Brigade. f;ars and men .2O4 766 2,736 5,491
 'AS:' scrgcarts-.- 4 14 2S
 .0'-s ............ Il 38 T > . ..i';is kitchens. 1 15 30
 ...ion wagons. l 28 58
 Tn inc field, officers eat the same
 @>H'i as the men. If they want to pur-