The Cordova daily times., 1918-10-15
U, s, SOLDIERS
 BEST FED AND
 BEST CLOTHED

i WASHINGTON. Oct. 15.-Why does 1t cost the United States so much more to make war than 1t costs any of it's co-belligerents? | What is being done with the tens of billions being raised from Liberty bonds and taxation. One often hears these questions. The answer is not difficult
 It is, simply. that it costs an Ameri | can more to do anything than it costs anyone else in the world. That is the best reason why Americans should | | buy Liberty bonds The American army is composed | of workingmen. The American work. | ingman demands higher standard of everything than any other work ingman in the world When he be. 1 comes a soldier he carries that stand. ard with him, and. comparatively. gets it. Napoleon said. and everybody ever since has repeated, that an army trav- els on it's stomach. So naturally the subsistence of the American soldier comes first in the long bill which is i rapidly running to $5O,o0o. .oO0 a day. ! 1 The regular ration list of the Amer. ican army calls for forty-nin& differ ent items of food It includes many l things which are luXurics to the sol. l nT h., | it only costs 32 cents day to feed q soldier The figure is low because the government has the advantage of dealing in billions and tons where the 1 individual deals in dollars and pounds Even so. the army has felt the in creased cost of living because it cost . only 12.Sl cents day to feed a sol dier during the Spanish war.
 Take into account the almost stag @ering sums the goyernment has spent for food alone since the va hoean S&7.ooo.ooo worth ot flour. $l4ooo,ooo worth Of sugar. $t&.oooooD worth Of bacon $l2.oo0.opo worth of beans, $9,ooo.ooo worth of canned to- matocs. $&.ooo.o"o worth of rice. 1t sounds almost like food bill for nation
 Without any disparaccmcnt what ever of the rationing system of the co-helligerents, it may be said that
 while the food of the British soldier compares favorably with that of his American cousin. the French ration is less acceptable to the American and that of the Italians would get very cold reception
 The equipment of the American sol dier is no less up to standard than
 his food Since the beginning of the war the government has spent $l26.- 100000 for shoes. Only recently a contract was let which is intended to keep every soldier with two pairs -one for marching and one for gen eral wear. The price in quantity of millions was we'll over $5 a pair Old soldiers of the regular army can re. member when the government issued "brogans" far removed in quality from the army shoe of today.
 The American soldiers clothing so far has cost a round $500. O.0O0 .OOO, For his blankets the government has spent
 Sl5O.OO0,OOO. Everything else Is in proportion, for in every particular of ms equipment the government has
 supplied the soldier with the same relative high standard he was accus. toned to at home in civil life. The extra cost of maintaining an army on foreign soil has entered into the huge
 bill because it has been found that II costs $423.27 10 equip and maintain soldier year abroad as against
 $32T1S at home. Of this sum $251.S5 goes for food. The rationing expense at home is $1S9.SO.
 The high standard has been carried 10 the soldiers pay. For all prac- tcal purposes of estimate the Ameri- can soldier is the highest paid fight ing man in the world. He actually gets more than the average German
 officer. To the $3O month n private
 receives from the government is added sum for his dependents. de.
 pending upon their condition and
 number. Canada and the other Brit.
 ish colonies more nearly approximate
 the pay of the American soldier than
 any others of the belligerents. Taking into consideration all these
 items. it is not strange that America's