CHAPTER III
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.