The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1918-04-19
CHAPTER VII.
Rations.

RaDcnS-
just DOING of: Mr.. Lance Corporal
butted In.
In Tommy's eyes lance corporal is
one degree below a private. In the
corporal's eyes he is one degree sboye
general.
He ordered me TO go with him end
hdp him draw the next days rations.
also told me to take my waterproof.
Every evening. from each platoon or
machine-gun section. lance corporal
and private go to the quartermaster
sergeant at the company stores and
draw rations for the following day.
The quarter as the quartermaster
sergeant Is called, receives daily from
ne orderly room Captains office) q
zip showing the number OF men en-
titled to rati0ns. so there is no chance
OF putting anything over on him. Many
arguments take place between the
quarter" and the platoon noncom. but
the former always wins out. Tommy
says the quarter" got his job because
ne was a burglar in civil life.
Then / spread the waterproof sheet
on the ground. while the quartermas-
ter's batman dumped the rations on it.
The corporal was smoking a Tag. /
carried the rations back to the billet
Tie corporal was still smoking flag.
How / envied him But when the issue
commenced my envy died. and 1 real
lied that the first requisite Of non
commissioned officer on active service
e diplomacy. There were 10 men In
our section. and they soon formed a
oenicircle around us after the corporal
had called out. -Rations up"
NE quartermaster sergeant had
given Z slip to the corporal on which
WIS written list Of the rations. Sit
ting on the floor. using wooden box
a. table, the issue commenced. On
the left Of the corporal the rations
were Piled. They consisted Of the fol-
lowing:
SIX loayes Of fresh bread. each loaf
OF different size. perhaps one out Of
the six being as fat as a pancake, the
result Of an army service corps man
placing box Of bully beef on It dur
ing transportation.
Three tins Of JAM one apple and the
other two plum
Seventeen Bermuda onions. all DIFF
ferent sizes
A piece Of cheese In the shape Of q
wedge
Two one-pound tins Of butter.
A handful Of raisins.
A tin Of biscuits, or as Tommy calls
them ajaW breakers"
A bottle Of mustard pickles.
The bully beef" spuds. condensed
milk. fresh meat. bacon and 'Macono-
chic rations" "a can filed with meat.
vegetables and greasy water), had been
turned over to the company cook to
make q stew for next days dinner. BE
also received the tea. sugar, salt. pep
per and flour.
Scratching his head. the corporal
studied the slip issued to him by the
quarter. Then In a slow, mystified
voice he read out. .No- 1 section. 10
men Bread. loaEes. six" He looked
puzzled and solIioquized in a musing
voice:
six loages, nineteen men. Let's see,
that's three in loaf for fifteen men
, well. to make 1t even. four Of you'll
have to muck in on one loaf"
The four that got stuck made a howl.
but to no avail. The bread was dished
out. Pretty soon from a far corner of
the billet. three indignant Tommies &C
c0sfed the corporal with:
sWhat do you call this. loaf of
bread7 Looks more like a sniping
plate"
The corporal answered:
@Well. don't blame me. didn't bake
It; somebody's got to get 1t. SO shut
W until dish out these blinkin' IA
lions"
Then the corporal started on the
.1sui
-Jarn. three tins-apple one. plum
two. Nineteen men. three tins SIX
In d tin makes twelve men for two tins.
seven In the remaining tin"
He passed around the jam. and
4here was another riot Some didn't
like apple. while others who received
iplum were partial TO apple After a
while differences were adjusted and
the issue went on.
rBermu1a onions. seventeen"
The corporal avoided row by say
ling that he did not want an onion. and
i said they make your breath smell, so
= .-..<..<.7 world do without one too.