The Wilmington morning star., 1940-03-25
WASHINGTON
DAYBOOK
By JACK STINNETT

WASHINGTON, March 24.-Tve just finished
a 23-cent meal on the United States army-and
am 7 stuffed!
First: A note to any man anywhere who's
eligible-if you're hungry, join the army.
Second: A note to General George c. Mar
shall, chief of staff-If you're going to feed
'em like that, you'll have to keep 'em working.
sedentary gents like your correspondent can't
eat like that and stay awake. And how would
you look with an army that had to have a
two-hour siesta after every meal?
Third: Note to readers-no matter how it
sounds, this is no puff for the army. Me, I'm
a pacifist. Give me a shooting gallery, with a
row Of slow-moving ducks and I can't miss.
But let some top-sarge step up and say: keep
your shots down, soldier! Imagine that's an
enemy" And r can't even hit the gallery.
I just didn't want you to get me wrong.
What I was talking about was the army's
new field rations (RAY-shuns, if you're a Web.
sterile; RASH-uns, if you're talking to any
one from a buck private to a chief Of staff).
Well, these rations are brand new. They
used to call them "emergency" rations, because
they come in cans and can be issued, served,
and eaten without a field kitchen. They are
for men in the field or in the trenches when
transportation lines are temporarily discon-
nected.
Napoleon's Idea
Captain ]. ]. Powers, who knows about every.
thing from peeling spuds on KIP. duty to serv-
ing a banquet for the general staff, told me
all about them. It's fascinating. Here it is:
When Napoleon was campaigning, he offered
Is 900 francs to any person who would show
him how to preserve food so it would last for
weeks for men on the march. A fellow showed
him, but crudely-in breakable bottles.
During the Civil war, soldiers were given a
handful of green coffee beans. They had to
roast them, grind them between rocks (f they
could find any rocks) and brew their own java
in whatever they had handy. In the Spanish
American war, there was a big row over pois-
oned food, coming out Of those new-fangled tin
cans.
The World war caught all armies mapping,
and, though canned rations were used-well,
ask any Of the boys who got into the trenches.
Dinner Is Breakfast
The army's new field rations are something
and this is first-hand information, because I've
eaten. For breakfast, you get two cans, open
ing with a key. One will contain Is ounces of
half meat and half beans. The meat is half
pork and half beef. The other can contains
nine crackers (six ounces), made with whole
wheat. white flour and milk; three Jumps of
sugar and enough soluble coffee to make a
pint-and-a.half Of good strong java.
For lunch, you get two bounce cans of beef
stew. Dinner is breakfast all over again. The
next day the order is reversed. If this sounds
like too much Of the same thing, remember
that it's planned only for a two-day emergency
and for a hungry doughboy, we call that a
very slight emergency. One days rations has
from $500 to $500 calories and if you think
short, ask your doctor about your own
The new rations will get their first practical
tryout this spring when the army holds the
peace-time maneuvers ever seen in the
United States-down in Dixie. For two days,
the army will live on this modern version of
and slum. The reports on it prob
ably will fill a couple of volumes, but don't
that worry you.
Me? I'm a pacifist. But if the cost Of eating
doesn't start down pretty soon, look for the
May dateline on this column to read: "At the
Front, Somewhere in Dixie"