The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-01-29
MoDERNIzED HARDTACK.
That of the Modern Fighter Different
from Civil War Bread.

Warfare today is made "modern'
not alone by new and devilishly in
genious engines of destruction and loco
motion. There are some up-to- date
added features that tend to con-
serve life and lessen the fighting man s
hardships and diseomforts as well.
Modern sanitary methods and their
strict application make practically i'm
possible the ravages of virulent diseases
that decimated armies of other times;
modern surgery approaches the miraeu-
lons in the skill with which it patches
mends, and makes over shattered men
who, as a result of such hurts in earlier
wars, would have persisted outright OF
been left hopeless and disfiguned Grip
pies; and as to the matter of food
well, war is picnic now in that respect
as compared, say, to the civil war.
The Continental troops of Revolu-
tionarv days. in Winter camp at Valley
Forge, were reduced to dining off THEN
boot tops-when they had any boot In
the civil war large bodies of troops or
the march not infreqnently depended
upon the country through which they
were passing for sustenanee, and in
many instances the sustenanee had
| been carefully removed by the enemy
before they arrived. Now army rations
are plentiful, always there, and of hest
quality. Compare. for instance, the
hanback, of today with that stand.
ard and extremely durable food known
to the civil war fighter
Civil war bareback resembled slab
of concrete more than it did. bread
When the hardy fighter of that period
undertook to encompass a chunk of it
he first attacked it with the butt OF
his gun, a heavy stone, or his boot hee
breaking it into small pieces and then
soaking it for more or less protractei
interval in coffee, soup, or other liquid
that might be available
The American fighter today ha'
" bareback as an important part o.
his rations, but it has taken on a new
character along with the modern name
- hard bread. = The big bakeries o
1 the country are turning out tons OF
hard bread for the boys in France ant
in training camps here. and as it i
made today it is a wholesome, appetiz
ing, and ready toserve food
1t is made of all wheat -four and i
I packed in tins and paper cartons hold
ing a half pound each-a convenien
size for the soldier s knapsack and TO
use III front line trenches, on the marcl
or in camp. For overseas it is paekel
i in strong wooden cases, holding 100 tin
or cartons each.
More than one-third of the enormou
, baking facilities of one big biseui
company is now being devoted to til
manufacture of hard bread for til
fighting men overseas. In the last fe,
/ months eight large factories of the con
: pany have produced more than $4,000
600 pounds.
$ Recently a fleet of trucks loaded wit
e hard bread as Fastening to complet
5 delivery to the docks of q shipload o
(, hard bread when the traffic police o
e New York city stopped the proeessio
e and demanded that the drivers show
a permit for putting on parade. ?
: The ordinary citizen at home canno
a buy hard bread at this time. not onl
4 because all wheat bread is taboo, bu
n because Uncle Sam needs it all for til
G fehters-Cleveland Plain Dealer.