The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-01-07
COFFEE
| FOR u. S. SOLDIERS
That Was Part of keene
Mans Job in Quar-
termaster's Corps
E. F. HOLBROOK
TELLS HOW HE DID 1T
Established Roasting and Grinding
Plants in France-Experience Men
to Operate Them Were Very Hard to
Find-Gas Spoiled Rations.

The proposition of securing sup
plies for the department of subsist
ence of the United States army is by
no means small job, and is one that
will keep a man busy, according to
the statement of Edward F. Holhrook,
we'll known in Brattleboro, at a recent
meeting and banquet of the Mems club
in Keene. n. II. Mr.. Holbrook was
for eight months in charge of the tea
and coffee branch, subsistence division,
quartermaster's corps, sticking to his
Job, which was one of those in the 81
year class, until some time after the
armistice. He told of some of the trou-
bles encountered in supplying the cof-
fee for the army during the war
through a system which he is known
to have originated and put in force.
Mr.. Holbrook began by stating that
one day he received a telegram ask
ing him to 90 to Washington. But
he was entirely ignorant of the rea-
son why he was called there and was
taken by surprise when Major Nash
| offered him the position as head of the
| tea and coffee branch. whose duty il
would be to see that the 100000 men
| in the service had coffee at all times
The tea end of the job was not a'
troublesome as the coffee end provet
to be- Coffee was used by the American
army as stimulant for the men, and
il was the only army in the great wa
| that was not given alcoholics as slim
ulants.
After Mr.. Holbrook took charge. hi
first step was to improve the qualit!
of coffee which was given to the nlel
in the service He found that the eof
fee for the men overseas was being
roasted and ground in this countr,
and shipped to Europe. 1t would, per
4 hans, be three 10 FIVE months hefor
, it was used in the camps, and by tina
time II would be stale. To overeom
this Mr. Holbrook began the estab
!. fishing of roasting and grinding plant
III France. and before the signing o
the armstice there were rs such plant
in operation there and others at tn
{ various camps in this country.
The securing of machinery and me
! for the foreign roasting and grindin
, plants was no small ioh and he er
, countered considerable trouble in get
E ting the necessary machinery. T
: find experienced men to take ehare
Of the plants was another yroblen
There was only one man in the quar-
= termaster 5 corps al the time, who ha
previously had any experience. TIL
next move was to ask for men froi
the line, where he found forty. MOI
) or less experienced. He was at frs
i refused the services of these men. br
t they were finally allowed to tranSfC
!. to the quartermaster 5 corps and wei
]. sent overseas with the coffee roastin
f machinery.
Mr. Holbrook had seen that if thes
d forty men were not transferred /
). might be charged with a failure I;
t his end of the Job. He therefore star
: ed two coffee roasting schools in tn
: country in order to he ready to me,
V any future need He said that mo,
$ than 100 cablegrams passed before II
g eo!fee roasting plants were establishe
I overseas, but as soon as the plants wei
: ready the men began to get their fires
: coffee. 1t took 100000 pounds of co
: fee daily to supply the men in ii
{ Service, overseas and in this country
> The demand from General Pers
!. ing for soluble coffee. special pro,
uct from evaporated coffee that
;. quickly made into cup of coffee wit
G hot or cold water. was the next pc
g picking problem which Mr. Holbroc
r had to overcome. His department W;
:. already taking the entire supply fro
k the three concerns which could NAL
" this brand Ey the so-ealled drum dri,
= process. When orders came for an i
crease of 2,l00 per cent of soluble co
fee for the fighting army, warrior
! methods were tried As the drum dri'
/ method required an immense amoul
{. OF machinery, spray process W
l. tried. This, at first, was not success