Mohave County miner., 1917-11-24
(By James H. Collins)

A British naval officer who mas been doing teamwork with the Amer ican destroyers in the submarine zone said the other day: "There are just three points upon which would want to criticize Uncle Sam's sailors: First, they are too well fed; second, they are too well clothed; third, they are too well paid"
 After nearly three years of war, during which Europe knew not the ia miliar American tourist of peace times, with his fat pocketbook and characteristic spending disposition, new kind of tourist has arrived in the American sailor and soldier, whose general scheme of diet, clothes, and pay are so liberal compared with that of the allied fighting men, that our sailors and soldiers are regarded with the same interest as was the spending American civilian.
 War has added some complications to the task of feeding the navy, for the number of men has suddenly in creased from about 64,000 to more than 100000, and hundreds of small patrol boats and submarine chasers have been manned by our sailors on duty in coast-defense districts and elsewhere. Uncle Sam has been able to maintain his navy diet economically by large purchases for the increased forces. But there have been difficult ties with the small crews of patrol boats because inadequate galley and messing facilities have not favored the economical issuing and cooking of rations possible on major ships, and an unusually large allowance for subsist- ence has to be made on this type of navy craft.
 Uncle Sam feeds his sailors, not eX- actly regardless of cost, but with cost always the secondary consideration. As Admiral McGowan, paymaster gen eral of the navy puts it, Cost is a by-product." What the sailor eats is governed by the revised statutes, which specify the quantities of the various food staples which may be is sued to each man in the naval serv- ice, and good nourishment and palata- bility come first, with cost figured out at the end of the year after the men have been fed.
 The navy ration for 1917 cost $O.44O5 as against S0.3764S for 1916. These mystic decimals indicate an in crease in the average cost of the ra- tion of about 20 per cent over the preceding year. Statistics compiled by the department of labor show that there was an increase of 40 per cent in the wholesale prices of the princi- pal items of food. Had the navy ra- tion increased in cost to the same eX- tent, the outlay would have been slightly over S4000 a day more or ST. 500,000 more on the year, which may be regarded as money saved.
 The navy's high standard of diet was maintained with economy by the rigid enforcement of the regulations prohibiting the purchase of patent and proprietary foods; by closely scrutin- izing all reports of the survey of pro visions rendered unfit for use, so that all causes for loss could be eliminated; by investigation in every case where ships operating under the same con ditions showed a marked difference in the cost of the ration; by making cakes, pies, instead of buying them ashore; and by care in buying provi sions at seasons when they were most plentiful, and the best prices could be obtained.
 The navy ration is as much mat ter of pride to the officials who have it in charge as are the marlmanship records to officers of the fleet. The paymaster generals bureau is not con sidered fighting force, but if any body attacks the navy ration with a view to decreasing its nutriment or toothsomeness, that bureau becomes a fighting force at once. It will fight to protect the ration, and it has fought vigorously in this cause since war was declared, as witness the fol- lOWlHS SAlIdCtS 1IOIl luLIO-DuI6du UT der PIP:
 "For some time past the number of unsolicited notifications proposed toI be made in specifications for provi- sions for the navy has progressively mcreased-a good many people ap- bearing to labor under the impression that the navy is only just beginning to experiment along commissary lines.
 "While just the opposite is fairly well known to be the fact, it seems not amiss to state here a few details, to the end that there may be no pos sibility of misunderstanding of this most important subject.
 "The present specifications have been adopted after years of experi- ence and after free consultation with the medical officers of the navy, the bureau of animal industry of the de- partment of agriculture, and every other intelligent source of informa- tion lynOXxrr1 +o ha dicip ,ll,r ,r-,,.I-