900 E6c RURAL NEW-YORKER July 20, 1918 
Food, Health and Water 
How Your Boy is Treated 
By Capt. Charles H. Lerrigo, M. R. C. 
It is a rare American family that 
today has no man in the ariny. either '^‘at 
the front” or soon to “go over,” and even 
these rare families, keenly realizing their 
misfortune, make np for it by a varm 
interest in the army at large. 
How are the boys treated in the army? 
How are they fed ? How are they cared 
for when sick? What will they be when 
they come back to us? 
It is hardly necessary to tell you that 
the soldiei's are well treated. Their let¬ 
ters speak quite plainly and you may be¬ 
lieve me that they are not camouflaged 
for the purpose of easing your aching 
hearts. I have 122 of them in my com¬ 
pany. They were liearty, corn-fed Kan- 
.sas boys to begin with, yet I think there 
was not one but gained at least five 
pounds in the first four months of army 
life, and one, our youngest, gained 20 
pounds. Does this tell anything about 
the way they eat? It was done on about 
40 cents per man per day. although, since 
prices have advanced, the army ration 
has gone up to -IS cents. 
Low cost of feeding is partly explained 
by the fact that the labor is all home¬ 
grown. The mess sergeant is the main 
culinary and dietetic boss. He uses three 
cooks, chosen from the company, and 
given the advantage of ti-aining in the 
Army School for Cooks and Bakei-s. 
These cooks are excused from other duties 
and get .$8 per month more pay than 
privates. In a short time they become 
quite expert. Girls contemplating soldier 
husbands will do well to make special in¬ 
quiry for cook experts. 
Every man is his own waiter. He has 
a splendid, unbreakable, two-piece, break¬ 
fast, dinner and tea service of aluminum, 
known as a mess kit. If necessity arises 
he can use it for cooking as well as serv¬ 
ing. The cover of his meat-can serves as 
a plate for bread, fried egg. and other 
stable articles. In the meat-can itself he 
finds a reservoir for stew, vegetables, 
meat and gravy. His cup is sacred to the 
service of coffee. He becomes skilled in 
negotiating a large meal with this table 
service. 
The men line up at mess call in single 
file, pass by the serving table, cafeteria 
style and are served by the K. P.’s. If 
a man doesn’t get enough he can go back 
for a second helping. When through eat¬ 
ing each man does his own “washing up” 
and puts his kit away ready for the next 
meal. 
What do the Knights of Pythias have 
to do with serving Sam’s meal? Nothing. 
“K. P.” is a term both familiar, practical 
and distasteful in the army. P>eing in¬ 
terpreted it means “kitchen police.” The 
uniform worn is known as a “coverall,” 
though you might prefer to use the term 
“overalls.” It protects the wearer while 
engaged in such stern duties as building 
fires, cleaning stoves, mopping floors, 
cleaning refrigerators, peeling potatoes 
and cutting bread. Such are the duties of 
the kitchen police, and as every private 
in the whole army takes his turn there 
can be no excuse for the husband of the 
future trying to shirk his share of house¬ 
hold responsibilities on the ground of in¬ 
experience. These boys are going to 
make great husbands, believe me. 
But what about this terrible vaccina¬ 
tion against typhoid. Do all have to take 
it? Does it make them all sick? 
This tenable vaccination is one of the 
safeguards of the army. I have given it 
to hundreds and seen it given to thou¬ 
sands. Yes. I have seen strong men faint 
when taking it, but they fainted because 
of a mental bugaboo. I vaccinated 150 
college girls at one time and not one 
fainted or even flinched. 
The vaccination against typhoid is 
given in three separate doses at seven-day 
intervals. It is injected with a hypo¬ 
dermic syringe. It is not painful. It 
creates in most cases a feeling of malaise 
for several hours of the following day. 
Some susceptible ones get a fever and 
general aching for a day. I have never 
known of serious harm resulting in any 
of the very many cases under my personal 
care. Its grand result is that typhoid 
fever is practically wiped off the army 
slate I 
Safe? It is safer than home! 
P>oys in the army can and do get sick, 
though not so frequently as at home. 
When sick they report to their sergeant, 
are entered on the sick book, and at sick 
call are talien to the infirmary for atten¬ 
tion by a physician. No waiting around 
for a week to see if they’ll get better with¬ 
out the expense of a doctor (the old home 
plan). They see the doctor at once. 
The doctor may send the niiin back to 
duty, send him to his quarters for “light 
duty.” send him to quarters, excused from 
all duty (“sick in quarters"), or send 
him to the base hospital. It is all deter¬ 
mined by what the physical examination 
shows and what the doctor's judgment 
dictates, but in case of doubt the man is 
given the benefit of it. If ill enough to go 
to the hosi)ital he receives care under the 
supervision of a trained nurse (the kind 
you pay .$.’>0 a week for) and a registered 
physician. 
Does this sound rose-colored to you? 
It is a matter of bu.siness. A sick .soldier 
is worth very little. We must keep them 
well. 
And will they come back better fitted 
for the great American farm and home? 
They surely will. You remember the 
trouble you had with some of them before 
ever they left home? Here are some of 
the things that harum-scarum boy will 
have learned to do. I speak especially 
from the standpoint of sanitation, because 
th.-it is my line. 
He will keei> clean. Army i*egulations 
require every man to bathe at least twice 
weekly. 
He will have sound teeth. The army 
dentist will repair them and they will 
stay sound, because every soldier is drilled 
in the use of the toothbrush. 
He will be a sanitarian. The army 
teaches him the importance of pure drink¬ 
ing water and how to avoid impure. He 
is constantly warned against impure 
water. When he leaves his post he fills 
his canteen with water because he is not 
allowed to drink from untested wells. He 
is shown how to purify water by using 
chemicals. When he gets back to the 
farm he will insist on a water supply 
that is above suspicion. 
lie will maintain neat premises. In 
the army all rubbish must be cleared. 
All bi’eediug places for flies and mosqui¬ 
toes must be destroyed. He will have a 
clean farm. 
lie will not stand for rubbish jiiles. 
Every Innir of the day the soldier is urged 
to neatness, but once each, week he goes 
through the stern ordeal of “Saturday 
inspection.” Woe betide the unlucky ras¬ 
cal who has a dirty shirt, a mi.ssing but¬ 
ton. or uncleaned .shoes. Bad luck to the 
man who has rubbish lurking in corners. 
So he learns to be both clean and orderly. 
and much as he hates it at first, it .soon 
comes to be to him a second nature, the 
nature that really stays. 
Y''es, he will come back to you with 
good habits that will react ui)on the whole 
community, and no more likelihood to 
bad habits than if he had stayed at home, 
j)roviding you raised him to be that kind 
of a man. This army training is going 
to simplify the problems of sanitation and 
public health throughout the whole na¬ 
tion. 
What a Plain Country Woman Thinks 
Wak Work; Service Flags; the Siai- 
pr.E Life. 
A Busy Life. —Here it is .July again 
and the Summer half gone. Between can¬ 
vassing our little village and township 
for Ifiberty Bonds, the Red Cross and 
Thrift Stamps and doing my work in¬ 
doors and out, I have managed to be a 
fairly busy person. What a God-given 
blessing work is! To those of us who 
feel that we can offer no adequate excuse 
for not helping with the above mentioned 
activities, this Summer is a full one. in¬ 
deed. In every community there is a 
handful of public-spirited men and 
women who are depended upon to fill their 
town’s “quota.” It has sometimes seemed 
to me that I could not start out and try 
to raise the few hundred dollars lacking 
for this war fund or that. My duty would 
seem to lie at home so plainly that day— 
the house just crying for u thorough go¬ 
ing-over; many bushels of i)otatoes to bo 
cut for tomorrow’s planting; the children 
running around in i);itched and holey 
romi)ers—I had planned to finish a pair 
in the afternoon. And yet I know down 
in my heart that I will go and the house 
will keep and the potatoes and new romp¬ 
ers will be finished by late lamjilight. It 
is so little to do, after all, .and I can give 
in no other way. Those of us who can 
win dollars for the great causes from re¬ 
luctant pockets are not quite useless, and 
perhaps the I^ord intends that such shall 
.serve in this manner. Each one has some 
little talent and they are all needt'd, you 
may be sure. 
A Bit op Woaian’s Patriotism. —I 
have been making service flags lately for 
friends whose sous and husbands have al¬ 
ready gone “Over There.” I use turkey- 
red calico for the border and white muslin 
for the center. It is an inexpensive but 
alwaj's welcome gift, and my heart thrills 
anew over each wonderful blue .star. M'hon 
you know the man it stands for—a dear 
neighbor’s son or ])erhaps an own relii- 
tive, that star assumes a personality ainl 
significance not realized by anyone but 
the maker. It has been my privilege to 
have these flags all completed in adv,anc(! 
and aftoi- Iljirry or Bruce has said goodby 
for the last time and has hurried out from 
the old home to join his contingent. I 
take my humble gift which is to rei)re- 
sent him in his absence and can’y it to 
his wife or mother. Back here in the 
country ^me can't buy these emblems so 
easily and not every house who has given 
a man yet boasts one. So you can per¬ 
haps imagine that iny gift is tearfully but 
oh, so fondly received, and after we 
women shed a few foolish drops together 
and I have tried to comfort the brave 
family, we h.ang the homemade service 
flag to the breeze and each one feels a 
bit strengthened and consoled. 
War-Time Chores. —But a soldier 
doesn’t leave the fireside every day, nor 
do as I set out into the highways and by¬ 
ways each week on some national “drive.” 
Ijike my sisters all over America, we are 
doing just the very best we know how to 
“carry on” .at home—and "believe me,” as 
Son says, “it’s some job!” I have never 
worked in the dairy as some women do 
because husbjind has never desired it. 
So my only “barn chores” are to care for 
and milk the house cow, although 1 have 
teased to be allowed to care for the little 
purebred calves that disport themselves 
in the box-stalls. But Billy says “No.” 
so I content myself with breaking them to 
halter, which even my husband admits is 
an excellent plan, as he “shows” our stock 
every year at the county fair, ami halter- 
wise animals are absolutely necessary if 
they are to be expected to acquit them¬ 
selves in proper f.-ishlon. Billy is most 
particular about bringing up the young 
calf-fry. He weighs every drop of new 
milk they receive and from the start they 
are fed balanced i-ations. I am sure that 
I could raise the calves as thriftily as 
he doe.s, but they would 'nean more woi*k 
than ever, so it is just as well. W(' live 
in a lai-ge, old-fashiom'd house of 10 
good-sized rooms. There are six in our 
family. And, dear me, the du.st and dirt 
three i)airs of little feet brin" in and 
the dirt and dust one big pair of man 
shoes bring in ! But do I wish I had no 
mischievous trio and clay-laden boots to 
clean up after? Ask any tired, over¬ 
worked wife and fai'in-mother anywhere. 
In their hearts they love and bless every 
footprint, and if the reproachful words 
should come to the lips, one has only to 
remember the fatherle.ss. husbandle.ss 'and 
childless homes in saddened France and 
Belgium. We are rich indei'd. 
IIoovERiZED Meals. —In a way, it is 
less work to prejjare the Hooverized me.als 
than when one’s fancy could run free in 
the culinary line. I no longer stand over 
a blazing fire one morning out of every 
week frying a small barrel of doughnuts. 
The delectable fried cake is in the barred 
zone at our house, together with the daily 
pie, the breakfast bacon and snow-white 
bread. The foods of today wear mo.st un¬ 
becoming complexions, but they are 
wholesome and tasty nevertheless. Wliat 
more delicious can you find than mufiins 
or johnny-cake mixed up from home- 
ground and grown corumeal, of nut-like 
flavor and sweetness? Surely such corn 
breads are compensation enough for al¬ 
most anything! We serve wheat bread 
adulterated with one-quarter substitute 
flours once a day. At other meals the 
rye, barley, corn and oatmeal breads reign 
supreme. It is more work, of course, to 
make hot biscuits so often, but no one has 
complained so far but the cook. As I 
make a pie but once a week from wheat 
and barley flours and a frosted cake is an 
unheard of thing on our table now, I con¬ 
sider that in time saved, the Hoover re¬ 
gime is a true friend of the busy farmer’s 
wife. We like barley flour as a substi¬ 
tute vastly better than rye. We run our 
rolled oats through the food-chopper and 
find it gives excellent results in bread 
especially. The idea is to raise every kind 
of grain which will acclimate itself to 
your farm and be independent of the 
costly cereals one must otherwise buy in 
(Continued on page 904) 
Service Fluff of Mr. and Mrs. O. A. Lee, Sodiis, N. Y. Four sons hai'e enlisted, 
Gerald Lee, TJ. S. S. Massachusetts; Wyhurn Lee, Mosquito Fleet; Lowell 
Lee, Amhulance Corps; Merwyn Lee, Intelligence, New York. 
