Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 161, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 July 1911 — WEST POINT NOW RUN BY ELECTRICITY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

WEST POINT NOW RUN BY ELECTRICITY

FIFTY miles north of New York City stands the great military academy of the United States, West Point. If it had been demanded by its founders that an exquisitely beautiful and peaceful location should be secured for this, nothing more perfect could have been obtained than the remarkable promontory on which this training school for warriors has been placed. The scenery on every side is charming. Glorious indeed are the glimpses which one gains here of the Hudson’s winding shores, to which history, poetry and legend give undying interest. Blue in the sun, fi'ecked with light shadows from the passing clouds, or dark and wrathful ’neath a storm, this river is a constant source of pleasure and fascination. Paths of ideal beauty , wind, about these hillsides, sun-sheltered by the trees and rendered cool and fragrant by the breezes from the moving stream. Old Rhenish castles, it is true, do not remind us here of feudal times, but history has left some traces •even on these banks which stir the heart of an American patriot During the war of. the revolution West Point was one of our most important military posts, from which our troops were sent out to their various battlefields. But it x is the preparation of the cadets’ food that this article has to deal.

The process of preparation of food for a large number of people is always interesting, but especially so when it is prepared under military discipline and almost entirely by electricity, as is the case at the military academy. The kitchen at West Point is always scrupulously clean, and is inspected with even more care than the other departments of the academy, for the officers in- charge know full well that the proper kind of food cooked carefully plays no small part in the mental and physical training of young men. “A place for everything and everything in its place,’* is the motto of West Point’s chef, and those who work under his direction must follow the same rule or be discharged. Military discipline is everywhere in evidence, and there is none of that bustle and searching for things at the last minute when meals are to be served so often found at our institutions. Every man has his duties and he must perform them at a certain time without interfering with the work of anyone else. Almost everything is prepared by electricity, but man must be present to touch the lever at the proper moment Meals are served promptly and do not vary five minutes during the entire year. The cadets study by schedule, and the chef plays his part when he has the meals on the minute.

The preparation of the food for the mess is one of West Point’s most interesting features and has been commented on most favorably by army officers from all parts of the world. Lord Kitchener during his recent visit spoke in the most complimentary terms of the men in charge of the mess after he had made a thorough inspection of the mysteries of the electric kitchen. Several Japanese officials have been likewise interested, as was Prince Tsai Toa, the uncle of the Chinese emperor, who recently came to this country to study army methods.

All the bread used at West Point is baked by electricity and mixed by the same power. The whole baking from start to finish is completed without the hands of the baker touching it at all except to push the pans into the open. The great wooden bowl in which the dough is mixed has several funnels leading to it —one comes from the flow department, another from the yeast, and still another contains water. By touching a lever the funnel is made to open and as much of each of the ingredients as is required goes into the mixer. Another lever sets the machine in motion and the dough is mixed. The loaves are then cut by the same power and fall from the cutting machine into the baking pan in regular order. The cutter may be set for any size and is frequently used for rolls, a thousand of which are baked each day," together with more than one hundred loaves of bread. Once a week fifty cinnamon cakes are made —these, too, by electricity. All the eggs used in cooking are beaten by electricity and one hun-

dred eggs are soon brought to the regulation lightness without the least labor to the cook, who merely presses' a button starting the eggbeater, and then goes off to attend to something else. The housewife who labors an hour to bring eggs to the proper lightness for sponge cake can more readily appreciate the labor-saving qualities of the electric eggbeater than anyone else. It is no uncommon thing .for a hundred eggs to be, beaten in this manner, for egg custard is one of the favorite deserts of the cadets. The electric potato peeler is the greatest labor-saving device in the kitchen and is the invention of an army officer. About five barrels of potatoes are used daily, and the whole amount can be peeled in half an hour. A bushel of, potatoes are .put into the machine at a time,’ the lever Ts" fur Add; which sets the knives going, and inside of five minutes the whole bushel of potatoes, perfectly pared without the least waste, falls into a tub. The Chinese prince was so delighted with this useful apparatus that several bushels of potatoes were peeled for his amusement. There is also an electric apparatus for cutting potatoes into various shapes. Nearly two hundred gallons of milk is sterilized every morning by the electric sterilizer, for the surgeons at West Point are determined to be sure that the milk used by the cadets shall be free from bacteria. The absence of unclean dishes about the kitchen is refreshing, for it is an ironclad rule that each pan or dish must be washed Immediately after use. The dishes are placed in a large wire basket, the inevitable button is pressed, which' causes the' bucket to sink into scalding water, where it revolves for a few minutes, and the dishes are thoroughly washed: Another lever lifts them to trays, where they are turned out to dry. The dishes used at dinner by between 400 and 500 cadets can be washed and put away by two persons in this manner in half an hour. Uncle Sam is an economical housekeeper and Insists that there shall be no waste. Indeed, the average housekeeper would be surprised to learn how economical the chef at West Point is in his work, as it shows by the accounts which are turned it to the quartermaster each day. All the silver used in the mess hall is polished by electricity, and it is remarkable how easily the most elaborately chased pieces are cleaned and how the brush reaches the tiny corners and cleans in a few minutes a piece of silver which would require hours of handwork. The kitchen range is a model of cleanliness; in fact, the whole atmosphere of the kitchen suggests cleanliness and well-cooked, daintily served food. The chef knows the appetites of the cadets, and does his best to please them in his menu. The bill of fare varies each day, and there is little complaint about the food. Those in authority realize that boys who are growing and who have as much exercise as a cadet require plenty of food and of the most nourishing quality. Special dishes are prepared for the athletes who are in training, and certain articles of food are tabooed, especially pastry.

"GUARD MOUNT" AT WEST POINT