The Arizona copper camp., 1918-05-25

RACHAEL w. LA PLANT,
GEORGE WILLIAMSON.
Tommy is suspicious wnen II comes TO
gambling with his rations.
When the issue is finished the cor
poral sits down and writes letter
home, asking them if they cannot get
some M. P. (member Of parhament) to
have him transferred to the Royal Fly
ing corps where he won't have to issue
lrations.
I At the different French estaminets
in the village and at the canteens Tom
my buys fresh eggs, milk, bread and
pastry. Occasionally when he is flush,
he invests In tin Of pears or april
cots. His pay is only shilling day,
"a cents, or cent an hour. Just imag-
inc, cent an hour for being under
fre-not much chance of getting rich
out there.
When he goes into the fire trench
(front line), Tommy's menu takes
tumble. He carries in his haversack
what the government calls emergency
or iron rations. Jhey are not supposed
to be opened until Tommy dies of star
vation. They consist of one tin Of
bully beef, four biscuits, little tin
which contains tea, sugar and Oxo
cubes concentrated beef tablets).
These are only to be used when the
enemy establishes curtain of shell
fire on the communication trenches,
thus preventing the carrying In" of
rations, or when in an attack a body
of troops has been cut off from its base
Of supplies.
The rations are brought up at night
by the company transport. This is
| section of the company in charge of
the quartermaster sergeant, composed
of men, mules and li1nbers (two-
wheeled wagons), which supplies Tom
my's wants while in the front line.
| They are constantly under shell fire.
The rations are unloaded at the en-
trance to the communication trenches
and are carried in" by men detailed
for that purpose. The quartermaster
sergeant never goes into the front-line
trench. He doesn't have to, and I have
never heard Of cue volunteering to
do so.
The company sergeant major sorts
the rations and sends them in.
Tommys trench rations consist of all
the bully beef he can eat, biscuits,
cheese, timed butter sometimes IT
men to tin), jam or marmalade, and
occasionally fresh bread (ten to
Loaf. When it is possible he gets tea
and stew.
When things are quiet, and Fritz is
| behaving like gentleman, which sell
dom happens, Tommy has the opportu-
nifty of making dessert. This is
trench pudding" 1t is made from
broken biscuits, condensed milk, jam
little water added, slightly favored
with mud--put into canteen end
cooked over a little spirit stove known
| as "Tommy's cooker"
"a firm in Blighty widely advertises
these cookers as necessity for the
| men In the trenches. Gullible people
| buy them-ship them to the Tommies
! who, Immediately upon receipt of same
| throw them over the parapet. Some
times a Tommy falls for the ad, and
uses the cooker in dugout to the dis
gust and discomfort Of the other oc
| cupants.)
This mess is stirred up in tin and
! allowed to simmer over the flames
from the cooker until Tommy decides
| that it has reached sufficient (gluelike)
| consistency. He takes his bayonet and
by means of the handle carries the
mess up in the front trench to cool
After it has cooled off he tries to eat it
Generally one or two Tommies in q
I section have cast-iron stomachs and
the tin is soon enptied. Once I tasted
trench pudding, but only once.
In addition to the regular ration is
sue Tommy uses another channel to
| enlarge his menu.
| In the English papers a Lonely
Soldier column is run. This is fol
the soldiers at the front who are sup
| posed to be without friends or rela-
tives. They write to the papers and
| their names are published. Girls and
women in England answer them, and
send out parcels of foodstuffs, ciga.
trettes, candy, etc. I have known a
['1one1y" soldier to receive as many as
five parcels and eleven letters in one
week.
Continued next week)