Evening star., 1918-06-10
Has "More Meaning"

mot that I think we Englishmen
can swear better than you Americans.
captain" said Keating. But what
we say somehow seems to have more
meaning to it. A little hatter ira
jectory. captain" -,
He's sixty-odd years old, is Keat-
ing. but you would never know it by
watching him when he hikes. His
legs are long and; thiD-the whole
cook is long and thin-and there is
haps it is the way they roll their
puttees, for one can hardly charge
nature with having Disseminated be.
tween allies in the matter Of legs,
but British legs can be, distinguished
from French or American legs at q
Detroit after his second British en-
listment,. and was there when we de-
clared war on Spain.
The foreman dared a gang Of US
to enlist with him that night" said
he. $50 we did"
"oh, well," said Keating. II like the
army"
Long Hours Of Work.
One would hardly think it possible,
but cooks seem to like the army.
Perhaps it is because they get good
pay. and perhaps because they are
to some extent their own bosses, for
certainly they work harder than any
other soldier. When the regiment
hikes they hike, with it. They usu-
ally manage to get their packs on q
with the doughboys. Yet they have
been at work long before the first
call sounded in the morning. Long
after every other man except the
guards has wrapped his blanket
around his overcoat and gone to
Our regiment moved out on the road
at 2:30 o'clock the other morning.
First call had sounded at 1880 o'clock.
In the intervening hour the men had
cleaned themselves up and made their
packs and eaten their breakfast and
wagons and finally formed for the
march. The cooks had done ali. these
things. in addition to cooking the
breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen
things and packed the mess wagon.
When we reached our destination the
men were free to hunt for eggs in the
shops. or for "veen rooge" or to curl
up and sleep. The cooks went right
to work.
One Mess Sergeant, -Four Cooks.
Each company Of $50 men has a
mess sergeant and four cooks. The
mess sergeant's duties are to get the
rations and boss the cooks. No doubt
there are many very pleasant mess ser-t
geants during their hours of relaxa-
tion. Each cook has two helpers and
four kitchen police. The cooks help
do. and tho. TX. P.'s" hustle wood and
water and do the rough work about
the kitchen. The company cooks are
provided with rolling kitchens. but
the cooks for oncers' messes do what
they can with the Accommodation
they can hnd. American troops are
billeted on the French householders
just as the French and English troops
are. but in all cases this billeting ex-
tends only to sleeping room.
Soldiers are not allowed to take
quarters needed by a family for its
own use. Kitchens are decidedly need
kitchen stoves Is a matter for inde-
pendent negotiation. By some al
chemy the cooks manage to turn out
Nppetizing messes. There is chronic
shortage of dishes, SO that one drinks
ones coffee from the bowls that have
single plate serves for all dishes from
sardines to the jam which is the
staple dessert OF the American mess.
Tho ohicers' mess usually costs from
three to hve francs q day per man,
in addition t6 the ration allowance
To "HiSu thSy oAo ShIiSAVo.
Chickens at Twenty Francs.
This IL not extravagant, when one
considers the number Of visitors each
mess has, and the further fact that
ordinary barnyard chickens cost from |
eighteen to twenty francs nowadays. |
The men do not pay an extra sum for
their daily. food, but now and then . |
company mess chips In and buys eggs
or chickens or other available deli |
cacies. II the delicacies are in the |
market the men always outbid the |
officers. The mess ofiicer Of the ofh- |
cial mess tries to keep the daily cost
down, whereas the doukhboy has no |
chicken he eats chicksn. especially |
Immediately after pay day. Those |
who have money pay for those who /
are broke. .-s,'s'.
After mess Z. large IMckat Of hot1
IA nat ~ S,sIl vrfA- i