The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-06-15
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON
BUREAU
FREDERIC J. HASKIN, Director.
FOOD CONSERVATION IN THE
ARMY
Washington. D. C.

FOOD CONSERVATION IN THE
| ARMY.
| Washington, d. c., June 12.-There
new weapons of war have recently
come into use in the American army
weapons as formidable as any yet
turned out by munition plants. They
are the sharp bread knife, the sharp
meat knife and the ordinary teaspoon.
| The Germans would be particularly
worried by the sharp bread knife. II
they knew about it. It is being used
to cut very thin slices of bread Be
fore the war, bread in the army was
cut in huge, thick slices with any kind
| of a knife at all The soldier ate as
| left a half-eaten slice by his plate.
Now he does the same thing, but the
waste is minimized because the slices
are so much thinner.
| In one camp alone the sharp bread
knife saved 10000 pounds of bread
during a period of fifteen days. Ev-
cry man was still permitted to eat his
| fill of bread; he was simply prevented
| from wasting thirty tons that would
| otherwise have been cast into the gar
bage pail. Forty-five tons of bread
would be the approximate allotment
| for 5000 men. And this is the result
of the saving in only one camp. 1t is
estimated that the total saving in all
the camps was sufficient to ration sew
| eral battalions of French and British
| infantry
The sharp meat knife has been
found equally efficacious. Hardly any
meat Is wasted now. and the full inn
portance of this may be realized when
it is stated that one eighty-third Of
each mans food left on his plate rep
resents loss of one-half cent. In an
army of 100000 men this would
mean an actual waste of $3.50. 000-a
sum that would buy food for more
than $4,000 men.
Since the war. the American soldier
has also learned how to get amazing
results with his teaspoon. By stirring
his coffee vigorously for several Sec
| onds he has found that one lump of
sugar will do the work of two. Stir
ring is now a part Of the military
training.
Food conservation has been reduced
to a science in the army. From the
time the food is bought by the sub
sistence division of the quartermas-
ter's corps. to the time it is consumed
by the soldier. the smallest scrap is
| watched with tender care. That
scrap.it is realized, may yet prove the
needed surplus in defeating the Ger
mans. The food is purchased on the
contract syst m. That is, every month
the subsistence division sends out a
| request for bids on various foods for
the army for that particular month.
and the lowest bidder for the highest
quality food Is given the contract.
Some months food prices are higher
than at others, which causes a fluc-
tuation in the cost of the soldiers
ration. This cost also varies accord
ing to different sections OF the coun-
try. In some places it is only So
cents day; in others as high as A
cents.
The soldiers ration Is in the hands
of the mess sergeant of his company.
1t is the mess sergeant who makes
out the daily menus and submits them
to the company commander. and he
also keeps account Of the daily cost.
If the food for one day costs less than
the amount allotted for the company
ration. the balance is placed on the
| books to be used at some other time.
enough during the week to buy chick
ems for Sunday dinner.
If approved by the company COM
mander, the written menu made out
by the mess sergeant is then handed
to the company cook-a man of scien-
tific training and experience obtained
in an army cooking SCHOOL, There
are now over 10000 cooks in the
American army, and over 10000 bak-
ers, all of whom have received a
course of training at army kitchens
and bakeries.
One Of these training schools Is
here in Washington, established in
connection with the Washington bar
racks, which is permanent army
post. It rcminas v>ry much of
the kitchen floor of a hotel with the
exception of the chemical laboratory
where the men are taug 1t facts about
food values and calories and chemi-
cal theories. At this post 7,400 loaves
of bread are baked every day-and
the army loaf is a two-pound loaf.
The dough is made in a large mixer,
is then placed in huge troughs for the
rising process, and is baked in a huge
iron oven which holds ffty-six pans at
time The army is now using rs
per cent substitute for wheat -four in
bread. and is also using substitutes for
other food materials, of which there
is a shortage. 1t will be we'll to re-
member this the next time you feel
inclined to complain about the bot
tom crust of your pie, or the scarcity
of meat in the stew.
In making bread. for example, the
army not only saves Is per cent of it's
wheat -four. but it saves on the cost
of the bread itself by using substi-
tutes for lard. One bakery. turning out
135, 900 pounds of bread a week, now
uses so gallons of cotton seed oil in
place of the $50 pounds of lard for
mer1y used. This means a large re-
duction in cost as well as consider
able saving in animal. fats.
Army cooks these days are men of
versatile talents. They must be able
to cook anywhere at all-in a kitchen
in the field and in a trench or dugout.
1t is a part of their training In the
backyard of the training school at
Washington there are several types OF
| wagon kitchens which are being used
in Europe. They contain ovens and
large ALUMINIUM compartments such
as are found in fireless cookers, but
one can see that cooking on them IL
an entirely different proposition from
using the good old fashioned range.
Army cooks also know how to bake
The bread that they make with rs
per cent substitute is excellent. Their
lpies and pastries are also delicious
altho these are served only at rare
Intervals now, owing to the scarcity in