Evening star., 1918-09-08

France. it was officially announced
that there was enough coffee In sacks
at Havre alone to supply all French
needs for some years. This conee we
are now buying, and Brazil, our ally
gets the benefit of 1t.
Now, coffee, like sherry and port,
improves with age. Il mean. Of course.
unroasted coffee.) Never before had
such great stocks been kept SO long.
The cup Of coffee Of our boys has an
Incompatible fragrance. 1t Is roasted
by experts, blended by artists. All the
machinery was made on the spot ana
the quartermaster officer at the head
of the plant has been offered lucra-
tive position by a foremost coHee
concern of Europe when our govern
ment shall no longer require MS serV-
ices.
Take fresh meat. The @. NJ. G. has
built a refrigerator in France, whlcn
is the largest cold storage plant IN
the world.
The construction was by the engi-
neers, but it is a quartermaster propo-
sition. All the material Is lloit,
America 1t was conceived, designed
and built by American brains anu
energy.
The ouartermaster Corps has just
finished mechanical bakery larger
than any at home, with but two pos
sible rivals in the world. The censors
will not let it be told how many mil.
lion loaves it turns out daily, put IL
we need many bakeries like IL we
troops in France to hold the boche
for little while along little sector.
The Quartermaster Corps is manu-
featuring crackers (known as Army
hardtack) by the ton, and 1t is hoped
that much of the Army's needs in the ne
general cracker line will be supplied
without asking for tonnage.
X X
This saving of tonnage has been
great preoccupation of the corps. The
amount of saving may not even be ap-
proximated, but it has become enor-
nous by the purchase Of available
surplus in certain European countries
and by utilizing machinery Of the ally
governments already in operation.
ernment is also owner and operator
of a very large candy factory. manu-
featuring fresh chocolates for the
troops in trenches and front line only,
do NOT deem it extravagant. This
that nothing which will contribute to
the safety, comfort, health and con-
tentment of our men is either too
large or too small to be tackled and
carried through.
work. 1t does not claim to be q
fighting corps. Occasionally it has en-
gagged in fights and held its own, but
it knows that the fighting man re-
quires number Of people behind him
to back him up.
food, clothing, lodging, transporta-
tion. his pay and his comforts. II he
does not get them, he cannot fight
well. Without good meals he is not
worth much. Unless kept we'll clothed,
warm, dry and clean, he gets dis
supplies are coming up behind him
he has confidence to face the enemy
in front of him.
And there is more to tell. While it
makes no show and has been little
mentioned, a great, new service of the
Quartermaster Corps will probably
appeal more to people at home than
any other feature. 1t is the graves
registration service.
If our men come back alive all else
endured and all the heartaches caused
by separation. For those whose loved
ones are among the fallen the most
precious thing in the world will be the
knowledge that their honored dead
have been taken care of; that they
can be told the exact location of their
resting place, where marks of honor
are accorded fallen heroes. Ten years.
twenty years after the war, be it
sooner or later, when families and
friends shall come to France, they
will be able to find the grave directly
and find it kept beautiful with flag
and sod and flowers!
x*#
Some Of the quartermaster men en-
gagged in this work have been cited
for bravery. 1t exposed them to all
the dangers of battle. When hostile
shells swept grave marks these men
riskeA gas and shrapnel thousand
tie crosses
The policy of the present chief, un-
der the instructions of the command
erin chief, is to get results. The
Quarterma ster Corps has cut loose
from red tape, and some of the things
which it has accomplished in FRANCE
would make old-line quartermasters
turn in their graves. When you de-
liver the goods no superior in the
Quartermaster Corps will find fault
with your method. If you fail to de-
liver, there is no excuse which can be
offered.
Such is the line. It is no small job,
in foreign country, war-ridden for
four years and separated by 5000
miles of ocean. to play housekeeper to
an army Of several million men. Some
say that luck has favored the Quar-
termaster Corps SO far. Others as
cribe it to taking of their coats and
going at it-plus, always, the splendid
backing. which has always been given