Millions from Waste

by Frederick Arthur Ambrose Talbot

It is only when pressure becomes exerted by some stupendous cataclysm, such as war, bringing in its train the peril of a bare sufficiency of foodstuffs, which in turn provokes high prices, that it becomes possible to combat the ignorance born of erroneous enlightenment in regard to matters hygienic. Under such conditions the gospel of retrenchment and reform may be preached with greater promise of accomplishing success. But the community, considered as a whole, even in time of adversity, is slow to depart from accepted practice. Precious time is lost in the application of the precept of making one pound go as far as did two pounds under more congenial conditions.

It is a matter for extreme satisfaction, if not one of agreeable surprise, to learn that, so far as Britain is concerned, it was the army which blazed the trail of economy, particularly in regard to foodstuffs. This certainly sounds amazing, because the Military Service has ever been regarded as the national sink both for finance and kind. Nevertheless, no matter how guilty of squandering it may have been during the opening months of the war, the sins of omission were subsequently rectified, to present a striking object-lesson to the civilian section of the community in regard to the scientific utilization of what the soldier was unable to consume, and its ultimate presentation to commerce in a variety of forms for the manufacture of other products of an indispensable character, or foodstuffs. By the practice of rigid economy along these lines, and without pinching or squeezing the food allowances to the soldier in the slightest degree, millions sterling a year were, and still are being, saved to the tax-payer.

When signs of coming food stringency for the civilian element of the nation became manifest, as a result of the relentless submarine campaign inaugurated by the Germans, combined with the necessity to concentrate shipping upon forwarding supplies to the fighting forces, the moment was considered to be propitious for putting into operation a scheme of retrenchment and reform. It had already been prepared, and was merely awaiting application. The only question demanding care was the introduction of the proposal in such a manner as not to impair the soldier’s physique and health.

During the opening days of the war, when the authorities were faced with the absorbing problem of enrolling men, food wastage assumed enormous proportions. Severe criticisms were levelled against the military authorities, and doubtless the strictures were more or less deserved. But extravagance under the conditions which prevailed was inevitable. By a stroke of the pen the effective strength of the British Army was increased from 180,000 to over a million men. Lord Kitchener’s call proved so irresistible as to persuade men to enlist in far more imposing masses than had ever been anticipated. The ranks were swelled by recruits from all stations of life, and their tastes were as diverse as were the positions they had previously held in the complex social scale. The transition from civilian to military life was too sudden. The men naturally clamoured for subsistence more or less in consonance with what they had been for so long accustomed in private life. If the food did not coincide with their fancies it was promptly thrown away.

The difficulty of the situation was further aggravated from the circumstance that many men who were promoted to commissioned rank were generally deficient of all knowledge pertaining to the commissariat. Consequently it is not surprising to find that the elaboration of an economic reform from the victualling chaos which prevailed proved a stupendous task.

In pre-war days the disposal of the waste from the soldier’s table constituted a relatively simple task. All residue went into what is known as the “swill-tub.” This convenient receptacle did not completely represent the military equivalent of its civilian counterpart, nor were the contents on a level with the combined solid and liquid odds and ends of an organic nature from the table of the ordinary individual. The military swill-tub was regarded rather as a handy vessel for the receipt of anything and everything which was no longer required, or which did not present any further apparent use to the soldier.

The system of disposal was likewise adapted to the prevailing circumstances. The 180,000 troops forming the standing army at home were distributed throughout the length and breadth of the United Kingdom, and thus became resolved into scattered military colonies, not one of which was of pronounced numerical strength. Consequently a centralized scheme for dealing with the waste could scarcely be introduced with any likelihood of proving profitable or successful in working. Local circumstances governed the issue very materially. The disposal of the garbage was vested in the local commanding officer, while the proceeds from the sale of the swill to farmers and others went into the regimental funds.

Notwithstanding this ostensibly haphazard arrangement it must not be supposed that the farmer was able to secure the spoil from the local garrison for a ridiculous figure. The erstwhile army officer has often been assailed for his apparent lack of business acumen, but, in so far as the disposal of this swill was concerned, he often proved a hard bargainer as many farmers and swill-buyers will readily concede. The higher the figure the officer was able to realize over the transaction the more enhanced was the sum with which he could swell the regimental coffers. It was only in those instances where disposal was attended with difficulty, or where accumulation of the garbage would have constituted a distinct menace to the health of the troops, that low prices obtained.

This method had to hold sway during the initial rush to the colours. But the moment the opportunity opened for an attack upon this problem as a whole it was accepted. A new inspection department was created by the Quarter-Master-General which became known as the Quarter-Master-General’s Services, accompanied by the appointment of a chief inspector who was charged with the control of the whole question of messing and the profitable exploitation of the residues accruing from the feeding of the troops. This department appointed competent inspectors to conduct the work in hand to a successful issue, while the catering issue became centralized under an Inspector of Army Catering.

The combined scheme of centralization and decentralization brought the Chief Inspector into intimate touch with the problem in all its varied phases, and the messing of the army as a whole was now placed upon a solid foundation. The inspectors attached to the Home Commands distributed throughout the United Kingdom drew up exhaustive reports upon the issue as it affected their respective centres. From the subsequent digestion of these reports it was found possible to adjust the supply of food to the soldier’s actual requirements and to effect the first reduction in his rations.