Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-10-04
HOW FLAPJACK
BARRAGE AIDED
IN LICKING HUN
Robert Ramsay Gives Press Club
Inside and Probably Unpub-
hshed War Dope.

club by Robert Ramsay of Morri-
son, now court reporter, late Lieu
tenant Robert Ramsay of the A. E
r. Mr.. Ramsay is an honorary
member of the club and he and
Judge e. c. Graves of Geneseo and
Circuit Clerk George w. Gamble
we're guests last evening at the
meeting held at the Harper.
Being called upon to say some
thing about his experiences "over
there" Mr.. Ramsay revealed to
his hearers an inside angle of the
great part played by the American
army, one which made history and
which the speaker was peculiarly
fitted to discuss.
1t is a matter Of record that
there's nothing the doughboy
bankers for so much as fried
grub. OF boiled and canned stuff
he has a sufficiency, but it pals
on his appetite and gets on his
nerves in time. That is where
Lieutenant Ramsay came in. He
put fried food into the stomachs
Of tens of thousands of the fight
ing men, thus renewing their faith
in mankind and giving them the
pep and ginger to go forth and
lick the Hun, which they prompt
Iy did. as the Hun himself has
since admitted.
Ran Big Kitchen.
Lieutenant Ramsay broke a leg
while in training. and as a conse-
quence he eft the war in the ser
vice Of supply" 1t fell out that
he was placed in charge of the
kitchen at one OF the depots back
of the line. He had 120 cooks and
other facilities supposed to feed
$4,000 men. At one time he had
$4,000 men eating at his lunch
counter and it was then that 5000
more were dumped upon him about
5 o'clock one morning.
Early in the game he saw that
if there was one thing more impor-
tant to the American army than
plenty of aircraft, more guns and
ammunition and ADLER generals, it
was flapjacks and bacon, especi-
ally fapjacks, and he proceeded to
supply them. He organized his
/ kitchens on a f1apjack and bacon
. basis, borrowing a set of steel
. shutters from a church one dark
night to give more cooking sur
/. face. Flapjacks were fried on top
of the stoves, and when things
were in proper working order they
were delivered at a rate that would
put a machine gun battalion work
ing at top speed, to shame. Given
a few minutes start a kitchen
range crew would build a barri-
cade of fiapjaCks around them
selves and hold il against all COM
ers.
The morning 5000 men. who had
been on the road two days with lit
tie or nothing to eat, descended
upon Lieutenant Ramsay's forces.
$4,000 cakes were piled up before
the attack began at $50 a. M. and
the cooks crew was still going
strong at o'clock.
Some Dazzling Figures.
F1apjack statistics were deliver
ed last night in such large figures
that even a court reporter would
have been hard put to it to get
them down straight. He said his
kitchens could either feed a thOus-
men in two minutes or two thous-
and in one minute. the member of
his audience who is writing this
does not remember which, but it
doesn't really matter, anyhow, now
that the war is won.
So far as the lieutenant was
aware. he was the only directing
head of a kitchen with the Ameri-
can forces in France who appre-
ciated the importance of f1apjacBs
or had the facilities for producing
. them in sufficient quantities to fig
ure in the general result of the
war. At any rate, up to the time
he left no other commissary outfit
had made a practice of serving
them as a regular feature.
Warns Of SeIfishness.
Judge Graves spoke about the
causes of world unrest. 1t is a
period of general reorganization,
he said, and change is everywhere.
Humanity tingles to the finger tips
with excess blood pressure. Gov
eminent is sick, that of the United
States as well as others.
What We in America must not
lose sight of is the need for max
ing our government function as it
originally was intended to do. We
musct overcome our tendency to
boast and admit that something re-
ally ails US, then proceed to dag
nose the case and apply the treat
sment
In the judges opinion the trou-
BILE lies in the individual depart
ure from the high moral standards
must overcome our tendency to
shirk the responsibilities of gov-,
eminent He pointed to his hear
ers their duty in combating the
selfishness which he considers the
dominating spirit of the times.
Campbell Now President.
1t was the annual meeting of the
club, the business session follow
ing one of those good old-fashioned
press club dinners which have
added so much to the popularity of
Manager Carl Mueller among the
members. The following officers
were elected:
President-M. L. Campbell, Rock
Island.
First vice president-Frank D.
Throop, Davenport.
Second vice president-Fred W.
Linden, Moline.
Secretary-N. E. Munson, Rock
Island
A special committee on member
ship was named and another au-
thorized to make arrangements for
a public entertainment to be given
this fall under the auspices of the
club.
During the evening the club was