Jasper County Democrat, Volume 18, Number 71, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 December 1915 — WHAT THE SOLDIERS HAVE TO EAT. [ARTICLE]

WHAT THE SOLDIERS HAVE TO EAT.

The Army of Great Britain Is Said To Be Best Fed Force Ever Placed in the Field. No branch of the non-combatant services of the British army has won greater praise from the soldiers at the front or more admiration from the public at home than has the Army Service Corps. It is only owing to the untiring efforts of this little army of provision merchants that the British forces have gained their reputation as the best fed army that has ever been placed in the field. The knowledge of this splendid provisioning of the army has urn consciously given rise to the theory that the soldiers of the other allies are comparatively more or less insufficiently supplied with ammunition for the inner man.

These impressions, however, are entirely erroneous, and a comparison between the official rations allowed to the soldiers of the allied nations will prove that the Frenchmen and the Russians are, like the British soldiers, among the best fed fighters in history. In each of the allied armies British, French, Russian and Belgian—the principal foods are meat and bread. A glance at the following figures, which indicate tin* daily allowance of meat and bread to every man of the four armies, will show that the fare of the others compares with that of the British: Meat, Bread, pound, pound British . . . ... . . 1 1-4 1 1-4 French .1 i i Russian .......0 3-4 2 ::-i Belgian .... .. , 0 3-4 1 3-4

The Briton, it will thus be seen, actually receives less bread than any. of his comrades but, on the other hand, liis allowance of meat is considerably larger. , In examining the soldiers’ menus more closely, that of the Russian may be taken first, since it is the least known. In every case the allowances have been translated into English terms in order to make a comparison easier.

The Russian breakfasts later than any of the allied soldiers. He does not receive his first ration until just before 8 o’clock. These are : % oz. Tchai (tea). 3 oz. sugar. 3 funt (2 3-4 lb.) Cherni Cbieb (black bread). The tea and sugar have to last all day. The bread is usually served out on alternate days, six funt (a little less than 6 pounds) each time. For dinner, which generally takes place just before noon, each group of 10 soldiers receive a large dish of “Borsht.’’ This contains cabbage and potatoes mixed in various gravies. The 10 men sit around the dish, each with a big wooden spoon, and all help themselves at once. After this conies the national dish “Kasha,” a kind of porridge. This the men eat in the same fashion as ‘ Borsht.” “Kasha” is very cheap in Russia, and soldiers can have as much as they want. When this has been disposed of the meal finishes with an allowance of half a pound of meat per man. The meat is cooked with the “Borsht.”

The third and last Russian meal is served about 6:30 in the evening and consists of more “Borsht,” together with a quarter of a pound of meat. It often happens that the Russian soldier receives more bread than he needs, and the surplus he is allowed to sell in order to increase his meager pay, which, it may be interesting to add, amounts to 50 kopecs, about a shilling, a month. The Belgian soldier is allowed nearly 1 3-4 pounds of bread per day. This is known as “pain gris,” a mixture of white and black bread. His meals are;

Breakfast, 6:30 a. m.—Bread; coffee, containing milk and sugar. As a general rule butter has not been served, though it is expected to be added to the rations in the future. Dinner, 12 noon—About 2 pints of soup, to which plenty of salt is added; 3-4 of a pound of meat, which is boiled with the soup and afterwards taken out and selrved separately; 2% pounds of mashed potatoes, in which bacon and vegetables are mixed; sometimes pudding.

Supper, 6 p. m.—Two pounds of mashed potatoes, with other, vegetables, and bhcoh, which ,is added to make the vegetables a little fat. This mixture of vegetables and bacon forms the principal food of the Belgians. Frequently the soldier, after his morning coffee, gets no other beverage but water. Upon going into the trenches he is usually given a ration of condensed meat, equal in proportion to the daily ration.

The daily allowance of the French soldier is somewhat similar to that of the Belgian.—New York Sun.