American people, who believe in giving their soldiers the right kind of treatment, and particularly wholesome food, would have been righteously indignant, if they could have known how poorly we were fed while on that transport. Those at home were buying Liberty Bonds and paying heavy war taxes so that the boys in the fighting forces would be well fed and clothed, and yet, it is hard to imagine how men could have been treated worse, so far as food is concerned than were the men of this boat. I am going to be just as frank as I know how in describing food conditions with the hope that by calling public attention to this petty graft, such practices will be stopped, so far as American fighting men are concerned. To any who have weak stomachs, I suggest that they skip over the next two or three pages, as the details may nauseate them.
The kitchens and mess rooms of the transport were on the top deck. Meal tickets were issued to the men, and when they went to mess, the tickets were punched. This is the way the Government kept track of the number of meals served, as these tickets were collected when we left the boat. The white men were fed first, and the colored troopers afterwards. This was done so as to keep free of any possibility of racial trouble, and apparently it worked well.
After the second day out, our "chow," which is the soldier's name for food of all kinds, was vile. It consisted largely of spoiled beef and such foods as spoiled rabbits. When I say spoiled, I mean just what the word implies. These rabbits were positively in a state of decay. They had been in cold storage for a long time, evidently a very long time. They had been carried in the ice boxes without being drawn, and when exposed to the air the odor of decay was so strong that they were positively nauseating. I saw strong men turn exceedingly sick just from the stench, and I do not believe it is an exaggeration to say that there was more upset stomachs on that trip from the decaying rabbits that were given us to eat than from the action of the sea.
The beef that we were given consisted of only the poorest and toughest parts. The good cuts went to the mess for the army officers and for the officers and crew of the ship. The potatoes that we were fed were the poorest that I have ever seen. They were served about half cooked, and were small, wet, soggy and unpalatable. It was seldom that a potato fit to eat was given to the men. We received rice several times, but it was only about half cooked. During one meal we were given bologne sausage, and after some of the boys had eaten their allotment, the discovery was made that the sausage was full of maggots. The soup was like water with neither flavor nor body. The bread served was Italian-French bread made with sour dough, and not at all palatable to an American, who has been accustomed to sweet and wholesome bread. The coffee was of the poorest quality—probably mostly chickory—and we were given neither milk nor sugar for it. The result was that most of the boys did not touch their coffee at all. The only seasoning given our food was an insufficiency of salt. Everything served was tasteless, unpalatable and unwholesome.
That there was better food on the boat, we knew, for we could see it going to the officers' tables. They were served chicken two or three times a week—the men never. Officers were given fresh fruit at every meal—the men not at all. Officers were given palatable, sweet bread; the men only when they would pay for it out of their own pockets and then at a big price.
It is my opinion that the owners of the boat on which I sailed made an enormous profit off those meals served to the soldiers. Certainly the Government would not have given the soldiers such unfit food. The Government is to blame to this extent, however, in not seeing that the ship owners lived up to their contract to feed the men properly. There was a man on board who was supposed to see that the men were given wholesome and nourishing food, but he failed absolutely to perform his duty. Whether he was in the company's pay or simply negligent, I cannot say, for I do not know. But it is a fact that he did not perform his duty and 1,500 men were fed spoiled and unnourishing food as a result. Men who indulge in "graft" of this kind are no better than traitors, and should be treated as such by the Government.
As a part of the uneatable diet we were given, numerous complaints were made. We were not long in being told that we could purchase something in the way of wholesome food for ourselves, if we had the money. This was done on the sly. We could purchase a palatable steak for $1.50 or $2, or we could get chops for about the same price. A chicken would cost about $4. All the boys who had money were forced to buy food this way or go hungry. Many of the boys ate only enough to keep them alive. Often two would go in together and buy a steak or a chicken, each putting up half of the money. Even then, we could not get the food we wanted, as only a limited quantity could be "sneaked" out.
We could buy sweet bread in the canteen on the boat for 25 cents a loaf, and a small loaf at that. That was the only way we could get it. Sweet rolls, the kind that sell four for a nickle at home, cost two for a nickle. Oranges, apples, bananas and other kinds of fruit cost 25 cents each. Unable to eat the food in the mess room, most of the boys had to pay the exorbitant prices asked at the canteen or go hungry.
We had no sugar at all. The Government must have provided a sugar ration for us, so my conclusion is that it was stolen by someone in connection with the boat management and used in some form of graft. Because it was necessary for them to buy so much of their food, all the boys who had money with which they expected to buy things when they landed on the other side, were without a penny when the boat docked.
Every afternoon between 2 and 3 o'clock, the Y. M. C. A. workers who were on the transport came on deck and held song services. Many familiar hymns were sung. These meetings were very popular at first, but gradually the fascination for them wore off, and toward the latter part of the voyage they were but lightly attended.