The Elk Mountain pilot., 1917-10-11
TO STOP WASTE
IN ARMY CAMPS
War Department Prepares Plans
to Enforce the Most
Rigid Economy.
SOME use FOR EVERYTHING
Effect Of New Plan 10 to Turn Into
Large Profit What Hitherto Has
Been . Very Considerable
Expense.

WashingtOn.-The war department
has taken elaborate and comprehen-
sive precautions to prevent waste in
the army cantonments, which will soon
contain more than 100000 men, and
In the embarkation camps. 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 the control of the war de-
partment SO far as the food supplies
are concerned, and the waste In those
camps has been due to the lack of
skilled management in the handling
of food. A committee representing the
war department and the United States
food administration will also assist in
dealing with problems Of eliminating
waste.
The food administration has re-
ceived from the secretary Of war an
announcement of thorough-going
plan for conserving all the waste ma
terial of the National army camps,
which will result In salvaging many
thousands of dollars.
Collecting the Waste.
TIE army's first consideration In
planning this work has been the sani-
tary and hygienic problem. At each
cantOnment the wastes will be collect
ed and transported to a single "trans-
fer station" under the direction of the
sanitary inspector. Through the use
Of the two-can system, wastes will be
tightly enclosed throughout their col
lection. Sterilized cans will be sub
stituted for the filed cans at the
kitchens, the nuisance of disagreeable
odors and danger from flies being re-
duced to a minimum. Every step in
the process of reclamation and utiliza-
ton is carefully safeguarded and is
under the absolute direction Of a SAN
itary force, each contractor being
placed under heavy bonds.
At the transfer station, the wastes
are turned over to contractor, who
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 ster-
ilized and sold for commercial use. Tin
cans will be baled and the solder. tin
and iron reclaimed. Paper. which is
estimated about five tons per 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
fertilizer.
The chief Items OF waste will be the
garbage and the manure. 1t IL esti-
mated that there are 1900 animals at
each cantonment. producing 12O tons
Of manure per day. AT the date Of
the report the manure from IL can
tonments had been sold for $24O,90
annually.
Big Saving Through Garbage.
The greatest element of saving is
through the garbage. This hns been
sold for an annual price Of $446,-
394.57. The garbage from 13 Of the
cantonments will be used for feeding
swine. 1t is estimated on the basis of
experiments conducted at the Chilli
cothe cnntonment. that the garbage
waste from 10 to 10 men will feed one
hog and enable 1t to add to Its weight
one pound per day. At this rate. the
garbage from these Is cantonments
will produce 1s,9sO.O0O pounds Of pork
per year.
When not used for feeding. the gar
bage will be reduced" that Is, cooked
at high temperature. the grease ex-