SALVAGE FROM THE ARMY SWILL-TUB
Waste is one of the concomitant evils of a high civilization.
Undoubtedly it is incidental to the primitive as well, but to a
lesser degree. In this instance, however, the waste incurred does not
represent a complete loss, because upon being discarded it decomposes,
and thus continues the cycle of Nature.
Under conditions of advanced civilization, where a blind worship of
Hygiene rules, residues of an organic character, from their very ready
susceptibility to decomposition, are construed into a menace of health,
although, as a matter of fact, the danger in this connection is more
imaginary than real. Such refuse invariably suffers destruction by
fire or by some other so-called sanitary method involving either the
total or almost complete loss of valuable materials. We satisfy our
consciences, however, by reflecting that the pursuance of such drastic
methods satisfies the faith of hygiene, although the community suffers
very pronouncedly in pocket in the long run.
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.
The original issue comprised 1 lb. of bread and ³⁄₄ lb. of meat per man
per day, because, in accordance with the long-established peace-time
procedure of the army, which was continued after the outbreak of
war, the national upkeep of the fighting man involved the supply of
only these two staples. Whatever else the soldier fancied he had
to purchase for himself, in which direction he was assisted by his
messing allowance of 7¹⁄₂d. (15 cents) per day. When the matter was
investigated it was learned that this issue was in excess of the
average man’s actual needs. Nevertheless the full ration of meat was
generally cooked, the soldier consuming as much as he desired, while
what he left over was relegated to the swill-tub. It was the same with
the bread, the residue likewise being discarded to this convenient
receptacle. Consequently the first move was to adapt the rations to the
soldier’s consuming powers.
It was also discovered that considerable waste arose from the
indifferent manner in which the meat was prepared and cooked. The
tastes of the men, especially of the recruits to the New Armies,
varied very widely according to the social scales from which they
had been drawn. But while the men from the higher ranks of life were
not fastidious they did at least demand the skilful and appetizing
presentation of their food. If the meat were indifferently cooked it
was simply left untouched to find its way to the swill-tub.
Accordingly, it was decided to improve the military cuisine forthwith.
The kitchen service was severely overhauled, only the most competent
and expert cooks being retained in this service. In pre-war days the
army maintained only one Cookery School--at Aldershot--from which all
military cooks graduated. But as the armies grew in millions this
solitary university proved hopelessly inadequate. Accordingly, cookery
schools were established in each command while a totally new curriculum
was introduced.
The cookery school became the “key” to the whole situation. It not
only became the nursery where the autocrats of the field-kitchen
were raised, but it was the hive in which many little wrinkles were
learned, where new ideas were submitted to initial test and practice,
to be adopted throughout the armies if they established their value,
and where economies were subjected to exacting trial for widespread
application upon issuing unscathed from the ordeals to which they were
imposed. The improvement in the personnel, training, and methods of
the men in charge of the field hotels proved successful in another
direction. Higher efficiency and contentment among the troops were
recorded, for the simple reason that a satisfied, well-fed soldier
provides the finest fighting material.
With improvements in cookery the contents of the swill-tub commenced
to dwindle in volume. Less food was wasted while the residue from the
table similarly decreased. As this development was pursued it was
ultimately found possible to reduce the rations of bread and meat still
further without provoking the slightest discontent. A third reduction
in the rations took place in 1917 to the extent of an additional
two ounces of bread, except in the case of soldiers under nineteen
years of age, and a quarter of an ounce of salt per man per day. The
cumulative results of these economies represented a direct saving
annual of £4,000,000--$20,000,000--in cash to the nation in respect
of the soldiers’ rations. In other words, the huge armies of 1918
consumed less food to the value of four millions sterling than was
the case two years previously, and this satisfactory end was achieved
without stinting a man. Such a remarkable result was primarily due to
the improved method of preparing and serving the food. During the war
more than 50,000 men were passed through the cookery schools attached
to the Home Commands. The effect of such imposing economies proved of
distinct benefit to the community, because the reduced supplies to the
Army released so much more bread and meat to the non-combatant element
of the country.
The serving of meals, at least so far as the Home units were concerned,
was also completely transformed. Instead of the men being compelled
to indulge in a wild scramble with their messing-tins for their meat
supplies, the latter was cut up in the cook-house and assigned to
dishes for the table. Each man thus became assured of his allotted
ration. But in the event of the allocation exceeding what the soldier
desired, as for instance when he was a trifle off his feed, instead of
being compelled to take his ration willy-nilly, eating as much as he
fancied and leaving the balance on his plate to swell the swill-tub,
he was instructed not to help himself to more than he felt he could
attack. If, after settling down to his meal, he found his appetite to
return unexpectedly, he was free, after the manner of Oliver Twist, to
ask for more, with this difference--he was sure to receive it.
Although under this _régime_ the cooks were given less raw material
with which to carry out their appointed tasks, yet it was found
possible to induce the lesser quantity to go farther than the larger
allotment had ever gone before. Other economies resulting from the
observance of more scientific culinary methods were also recorded. The
introduction of women into the kitchen was tried. This experiment,
doubtless owing to the fact that this represented a woman’s true
sphere and from her inherent tendency to be careful, efficient, and
thorough in every detail concerning the preparation of meals, proved a
conspicuous success.
Now, no matter how persistently and effectively the lessons of economy
may be preached in the kitchen and at the table as much in the home
as in the army, and notwithstanding the infinitesimal degree to which
the proportion of spoiled food may be reduced by the introduction of
superior methods and skill, a certain amount of waste is unavoidable.
It cannot be overcome in its entirety. Tastes differ so widely that
odds and ends are certain to be left untouched upon the plate, while a
certain accumulation of gristle, bone, fat and other inedible portions
must be expected.
The residue upon the individual plate may be so insignificant as to
render a second thought concerning its probable value superfluous.
But, multiply that individual plate and its contribution of waste by
the tens of thousands of plates in use at one time, as in the army,
and it will be realized that, in the aggregate, the fragments assume
a very imposing volume. Furthermore, in the kitchen where the joints
are cut up, the accumulation of pieces is striking. Lastly, in washing
up the plates, dishes and other utensils what an avenue is offered for
the escape of immense quantities of fat through the sink gully? I have
already indicated in a previous chapter what wealth may be lost in this
manner, and how it only needs adequate reclamation methods to enable
such loss to be avoided.
Accordingly, contemporaneously with the reorganization of the catering
and cooking issues, the exploitation of the now appreciably attenuated
swill-tub contents was investigated. This residue was still being
sold to the farmers, but they were not regarding their purchases with
unalloyed delight. Contrary to general opinion, perhaps, raw swill does
not constitute an ideal foodstuff for porkers. As a rule it is too rich
in fat and so tends to exercise a debilitating and impoverishing effect
upon the animals, being a frequent cause of scour.
About this time a grave problem asserted itself in another field of
military activity. The Ministry of Munitions had decided to speed-up
the output of explosives, but such acceleration was threatened by a
shortage of the indispensable constituent, glycerine. It was not a
question of the facilities for the production of this essential being
insufficient to cope with the demand because ample plant was available.
The difficulty was the dearth of animal fat which yields the basic
material in question. Soap manufacturers were also being hard-pressed
for similar fats to conduct their operations. As a result of the
depressing outlook the price of glycerine commenced to advance upon the
market at a disconcerting rate.
The military authorities, cognizant of the huge quantities of animal
fat reclaimable from the swill-tubs throughout the service, recognized
the opportunity to ease the crisis to an appreciable degree. The
segregation, collection, and surrender of this potential raw material
to the industry concerned were merely matters of organization. It was
promptly realized that if the issue were left for adjustment to the
interests generally identified with such enterprises, and in which
the itinerant rag-and-bone merchant and marine store dealer figure
prominently, confusion would ensue, conducing to further disturbance of
prices.
To achieve the desired efficiency the authorities invited the trade,
comprising the soap-makers and the bone degreasers, to discuss the
question. The authorities succinctly narrated what they could do
towards the solution of the problem. The trade was agreeably surprised
by the facts and figures which were set before them, and was quick to
appreciate that here indeed was a new and unexpectedly rich mine of
raw material to be advantageously tapped. The Ministry of Munitions,
also represented at the conference, announced its preparedness to
extend a willing hand. It would take over all the glycerine derived
from fats procured from military sources at a fixed price. This was
mutually settled at £59 10s.--$297.50--per ton, and it was agreed
that the figure should remain relatively firm irrespective of market
fluctuations. It must be conceded that the Ministry drove an astute
bargain, because at the time glycerine was commanding £300--$1,500--per
ton upon the open market, which sum the country would have been
compelled to pay had the military sources of supply not been available.
The trade acquiesced and formed a committee including officers
nominated by the War Office to complete all negotiations and
transactions. Private buyers were nominated to cover the whole country
and a flat rate for the purchase of all fats from military sources
was decided. By this simple arrangement every unit throughout these
islands, no matter how remote its situation, was assured of a definite
market for its fats and bones. Moreover, these units were given strict
instructions to sell their produce only to the trade representative at
the price decided, notwithstanding that other would-be buyers might
proffer a higher quotation.
So far as the army was concerned the remunerative market for all
waste in the form of fats and bones being established, it now became
necessary to whip up the contributions of these residues to the
uttermost ounce. A whirl-wind campaign was conducted throughout the
whole of the Home Commands to demonstrate how this end might be
consummated. Officers of the department concerned visited the various
camps. It was calmly but firmly impressed upon the local responsible
officers that they must resort to every artifice to trap fats and bones
during their devious journeys, so that nothing might escape. There were
heart-to-heart chats with the cooks, who, their imagination fired and
enthusiasm kindled, promised to leave no stone unturned to satisfy the
authorities in this direction.
Only one danger was to be apprehended as a result of this campaign
of enlightenment. In their zest to save the fat the autocrats of the
kitchens and others might unconsciously deprive the soldier of his
proportion of this food so essential to the maintenance of a high
standard of health. Accordingly, while one and all were urged to keep a
tight grip upon the waste, they were instructed to allow the fighting
man to eat just as much fat as he fancied: indeed his consumption
of the highly nutritive dripping was to be specifically encouraged
because, in this manner, it would become possible to release increased
quantities of butter and margarine to the civil population. Holding the
scales evenly between the soldier and the cook-house on the one hand,
and between the troops and the civilians on the other, proved to be
one of the most intricate and delicate problems associated with this
waste-saving campaign.
To secure the fullest co-operation of the cooks the Army Council
agreed to the extension of a specially attractive inducement. An extra
daily financial allowance was sanctioned on the basis of the more fat
the cooks saved and turned over to the making of munitions the better
they would be off in pocket. This allocation, however, was not to
become a charge upon the public purse. It was insisted that it should
be defrayed from the sum realized by a unit in the disposal of its
waste fats and bones, while the balance was to be devoted wholly to the
provision of kitchen utensils and other amenities. The units alone were
to benefit from the practise of economy and obviation of all waste.
The consummation of this arrangement led to one or two amusing sequels
which, it is to be feared, had scarcely been anticipated. Naturally
every camp became uncannily keen to derive the utmost profit from this
phase of permissible trading, and a certain rivalry developed between
the various units to score top marks.
There was one camp, composed of men drawn from units scattered all over
the country, undergoing musketry training. The men became affected with
the “save your bones” craze to an acute degree. As a result of his
periodical investigation the commanding officer suddenly discovered
that he was getting all the fat he wanted. But the bones! That was a
different story: the yield was by no means what it should have been.
The startling discrepancy prompted inquiry, and the officer found
that the soldiers were more fully alive to the real significance of
the swill-tub than he had imagined. But they were more loyal to their
own units than to the musketry camp to which their attachment was
only temporary. They were waging a quiet campaign among themselves,
collecting all the bones upon which they could place their hands,
and determined that their colleagues should derive all the benefits
accruing from the sale of this waste were posting their bone-hauls back
to their own units!
Another instance of similar zeal was even more humorous. A certain
Imperial unit was camped next door to some troops from Overseas. The
“save-your-fat-and-bones” scheme was carefully explained to the latter,
but having come from a land where meat was plentiful they failed to see
the object of being so vigilant and miserly in regard to the residue
in question. The authorities, realizing the situation, refrained from
further pursuit of their proposal, being content to allow what they had
already expressed to sink into the minds of the soldiers, confident
that, upon reflection, the Overseas unit would appreciate the wisdom of
the official recommendation.
The expected happened. The men from Yonder Britain in the end did
conclude that there was something in this waste-saving stunt, and
that they might profit from following the general practice. They
commenced to indulge in bone-collecting and hoarding with rare gusto.
No school-boy ever collected postage-stamps more keenly than did those
fighting men from Farther Britain save bones and fat.
This outburst of zealous economy delighted the authorities. They
saw the yields from the camp of the Overseas fighting men rising by
leaps and bounds. But there was a decrease in the bone-yield from the
Home unit next door! The supply officer, feeling that something must
be amiss, and that possibly the Overseas troops were receiving an
inordinate quantity of bone in the issue to stimulate collecting, dived
into the mystery. It did not prove to be a very baffling quest. The
Overseas unit was able to show a high yield of bones because it was
indulging in surreptitious nocturnal raids, at opportune moments, upon
the bone-stocks of its neighbours!
As the scheme was brought into wider and wider application it was found
that the exploitation of the actual swill-tub might be conducted to
still greater advantage. Hitherto the task had been the redemption of
the bones and waste fat before it reached the actual garbage barrel.
But to turn the actual contents of the swill-tub properly so-called
to economic account it was seen that certain plant would have to be
installed, although investigation revealed that such appliances need
neither be elaborate nor expensive. The suggestion was thoroughly
ventilated, and as a result it was decided to approach the authorities
with a proposal which was decidedly novel and which was certainly
unprecedented.
Convincing facts and figures were obtained to indicate what the
probable yield from this latest endeavour to turn military waste to
profitable account would be. These estimates took into consideration
the expenditure incurred by the acquisition and operation of the plant
adopted. The proposed outlay was not heavy, but it was felt by those
who had elaborated this latest scheme that to request the authorities
to incorporate it as part and parcel of existing military routine would
defeat the primary principle underlying the idea. It was felt that, if
the enterprise could be rendered profitable under military conditions,
it might lead to its practical application by the civil community. The
impression obtained that the few thousand pounds capital expenditure
which would have to be incurred, together with the revenue, would be
lost among the maze of millions sterling incidental to current military
expenditure, even if it did not suffer actual inclusion, from its
comparative triviality, among “sundry expenses.” In this event all the
lessons to be derived therefrom would be lost. On the other hand if the
enterprise could be kept separate and could be conducted, as desired,
along accepted commercial lines, success would impress the civilian,
and might assist in persuading the municipal and other authorities to
do likewise with the similar raw materials available in plenty from
domestic sources of supply.
Thereupon it was suggested that the War Office should sanction the
formation of a limited liability company to handle this latest
exploitation of the actual swill along orthodox business lines. To
allay any suspicions of private interests profiteering at the expense
of the tax-payer it was recommended that the whole of the capital
should be subscribed, and held, by the authorities, who should also be
invested with the power to appoint the directors, and who should hold
office at the pleasure of the War Office.
The novelty of the proposal was conceded, but the promoters were so
sanguine of achieving success that the requisite sanction was extended.
Thereupon a company was duly registered at Somerset House in due
compliance with the law, with its articles of association complete in
every respect, under the title “Army Waste Products, Limited,” with a
nominal capital of 7s. ($1.75)! That company proved an overwhelming
successful venture from the country’s point of view. Its results
conclusively demonstrated the fact that there are literally millions in
waste.
Small plants were established in military camps in several parts of
the country, and subsequently the system was extended to the army in
France, while the American Expeditionary Force, impressed with its
achievements, embraced the scheme and the plants employed. Operations
were not confined to the treatment of the despised contents of the
swill-tub, but also to the recovery of waste gravy and fats from the
plates, the reclamation of breadcrumbs from the table, sweepings from
the bakery and stores, and of odd crusts which heretofore had found
no application other than as food for the wild birds, as well as the
treatment of bones before they were handed over to the degreasers.
A policy of rigid commercialism was introduced and sedulously followed.
The contents of the swill-tubs, as well as all other waste described
above, were purchased, the prevailing prices being paid so that
other commercial concerns were denied the opportunity of preferring
the charge of unfair trading. Items of rental, wages, as well as
maintenance, depreciation and capitalization charges were also taken
fully into account, while the resultant products were also sold at
market prices, which, as subsequent results revealed, left an ample
margin of profit.
The plant employed, as well as the procedure followed in reclaiming and
working the wastes up into raw material for industrial uses, possesses
many interesting features, and are fully described in the next chapter.