How to Have the Ship’s Store We Want.
(See No. 119.)
Pay Inspector J. A. Mudd, U. S. Navy.—Most of us feel grateful to Paymaster Dyer for his timely and instructive paper on the “Ship’s Store and Its Possibilities.” It is time that this important matter was being handled in earnest. What interests me especially at the present moment, is the prize Mr. Dyer offers to all comers. He ends his paper with the following:
“Given concerted determination to find them and means will not be lacking to organize a ship’s store system for the navy. When found the whole service will say, ‘Hail! to him who will give it form.’ This ‘Hail!’ from the whole service is worth working for.”
A ship’s store system supported with public funds, and therefore, subject to all pertaining governmental laws in its administration, would not be the thing. The statutes in regard to purchasing and accounting for public supplies were formed as much to give all citizens a fair show at the government’s business as to protect it from thieves. The reasons for the existence of the ship’s store are the convenience, comfort and enjoyment of the enlisted men; and it cannot be claimed it is practicable to allow every citizen to bid at any time for the privilege of contributing to the happiness of our good sailor men. Keeping the administration of the stores from the control of the laws governing the purchase and care of public property, while at the same time it is kept in the hands of officials whose integrity is not likely to be questioned, makes possible a business-like management, resulting in the men getting exactly what they want, at the lowest price.
Going to the other extreme; a ship’s store worked with the private funds of persons outside the naval service would not do. What is called the “tenant” system in the English navy is probably of this description. The entire administration of the stores should be in the hands of persons whose only thought in the business is the welfare of the men, and not the size of their own bank account; practically, this means that naval officers should have control of the stores.
Admitting, then, that the capital of the ship’s stores should not be contributed from the public funds, that the administration, in its entirety, should be in the hands of naval officers, and that the present practices are bad, what kind of system can be worked out so as to make the whole idea of a ship’s canteen an established, lasting success?
The property of all the ship’s stores, that are solvent, belongs to the enlisted men. Most of the cost of running these stores has been, and is being paid by the government. If the property was turned over by the men to a board of trustees, all naval officers, to be kept by them and used for the benefit of the enlisted men of the naval service, as they, the trustees, might deem proper, a central control would at once be possible, and the rest would be plain sailing. This transfer of the direct property rights to the control of trustees could be accomplished by means of a vote of the crews of the ships having solvent stores. The proposition voted on could be something like this:
“That the entire funds and other property of the ship’s store of the
U. S. S. ——— be transferred, with all direct rights, to a board of trustees, consisting of the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, the Paymaster General, and the Judge Advocate General, of the navy, to be kept by them in perpetuity, and used for the benefit of the enlisted men of the naval establishment; the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation to be the permanent chairman of the board and the Paymaster General its permanent treasurer and executive officer.
“Provided, that Congress, by resolution, agrees that the government bear all the expense of the administration of the ship’s stores, and permits the keeping of the funds pertaining thereto in the U. S. Treasury, or other public depositories, subject to check of the trustees, or their duly authorized disbursing agents; and further. Provided, that should the position of any or all of the officials mentioned cease to exist by operation of law, the vacancy, or vacancies caused shall be filled by the President of the United States, by the appointment of the incumbents of positions corresponding as nearly as possible to those herein mentioned.”
There need be no anxiety as to the result of the vote. Our men, in such important matters, see right from wrong as quick as a flash, and they would recognize, without the aid of spellbinders, that this move was very much for their good. The affairs of the stores, once in the control of three such trustees, would be as safe as man here on earth can make anything. The intelligence and experience of these gentlemen would enable them to devise a proper system for maintaining the stores; and, in a few years, no doubt, there would be sufficient funds for establishing a store on every ship in commission.
The articles carried would be uniform in style, quality and price. They would be bought in large quantities, by any method the trustees chose, and stowed at depots, say at New York, Mare Island, and Cavite, and served out to the ships as needed. All supplies should then be purchased direct from the manufacturers. He would be a silly manufacturer who would protect the middleman against the trustees, in the business of supplying forty thousand men, when he would run the risk of his article being replaced by some other. With this grand power for efficiency in their hands, I do not think we would ever have a trustee who would propose purchasing by means of advertisement and sealed proposals.
Then the baneful shadow of some of those who make a specialty of supplying our canteens would no longer be cast across the navy yard dock the minute a ship ties up, and the navy would be rid of these men, who so often promote extravagance and encourage indebtedness; who, with their blandishments get their very existence sometimes out of that notorious gullibility that still seems to go with the sea-habit.
I still have lots of detail in my mind, but perhaps all I could now add would occur to most minds anyway. Do I hear in the distance that coveted shout of “All hail!” or is it only the sound of the scornful laugh of him who has found an unpatchable flaw in my ways and means?
The Ship’s Store and Its Possibilities.
(See No. 119.)
Commander V. L. Cottman, U. S. Navy.—I have read with a great deal of care and interest “The Ship’s Store and Its Possibilities,” and congratulate the author on his excellent article.
It is well-timed, as, just at present, everything concerning the navy seems to be receiving consideration by the Department.
This is a subject that can well be included in the labors of the Personnel Board, as it affects directly the welfare of all officers as well as the enlisted force. The term “canteen” seems objectionable to the general public and it should pass out of our vocabulary, substituting store, ship’s store, station store, yard store.
There should be on board every ship in commission, including station and receiving ships, and at every navy yard and station, a store, under the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, where officers and men, and their families, can purchase all the necessaries and some of the luxuries. The supply depot should be at the store at the navy yard, New York.
The funds for creating and supporting these stores should be furnished by the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts out of the appropriation “Provisions, Navy,” which appropriation should be increased at the coming session of Congress so as to allow four thousand dollars to vessels with largest complement, and one thousand dollars to vessels of smallest complement, and proportionate amounts to other vessels and to naval stations.
There should also be established at the clothing factory at the New York Yard, a branch for furnishing officers with outfits of clothing, including caps, and all officers should be required to purchase their uniforms there, then there would be uniformity in color, cut and style of uniforms, which is not now the case.
Officers could then fit out as they do now before starting on a cruise, and any articles needed whilst on a cruise should be forwarded by government conveyances at stated periods. This would produce, at less cost, better uniformed officers.
The Modern Mess.
(See No. 118.)
P. A. Paymaster A. Hovey-King, U. S. Navy.—Paymaster Dyer’s extremely able article in the June issue of the Journal of the Naval Institute shows much careful thought in regard to the question of the administration of the general mess aboard ship. His article, however, has been based upon the assumption of experienced and capable galley forces. It appears that while the galley forces are capable to a certain degree, the conditions surrounding the enlistment of ship’s cooks and bakers, or their being given those ratings after entry into the service originally in the deck divisions or engineer’s forces, are not as carefully considered as may be. I have known of cases where men being examined for the rating of ship’s cook, fourth class, have been put through an oral examination. This is not given as a criticism, merely as a statement of facts. To ask a man whether or not he can bake bread is one form of examination— certainly not the best. It has worked in a number of cases satisfactorily. It is not, however, in accordance with the progress which is being shown by the naval service with regard to the enlisted personnel.
The present rates of pay for men in the commissary branch compare favorably with the wages paid to men of these trades in the big hotels and restaurants, so there is no reason why the naval service could not have as efficient men for its use. Only the best quality of provisions are obtained—of a quality certainly equal to those used in the average American family of moderate means. Provisions are made by the Department for the most modern equipment of the ship’s galleys; the ration has been expanded to include every possible variation of healthful and pleasing food. Therefore the question of the personnel for its preparation is the only remaining one. The recommendations embodied herewith are, apparently, such as to amply cover the one unsolved point. That is, with the highest quality of food and the most modern equipment, only the most competent forces should be employed for its preparation.
In making the following suggestions for the improvement of the existing conditions and for the certain enlistment of capable men for the galley forces, I am merely quoting practices found to be a success both in civil life and in other branches of the service. If the care and consideration which are being shown to the improvement of the commissary conditions in the navy are not kept up with by a corresponding progress in the selection of men to perform the duties alloted to the galley forces, the effect of the valuable time and effort expended for the furtherance of commissary conditions is seriously hampered.
It is a well known military axiom that no officer charged with the supervision of enlisted men can thoroughly and competently handle men under him unless he himself is sufficiently familiar with the subjects common in his duty to inform them as to the correctness and incorrectness of their methods. The British Navy conducts a victualing course, so- called, at their naval dockyard, at Portsmouth, where pay officers of that service are taken under a course of instruction in the preparation and supervision of the cooking and serving of food for the service. While, of course, the ration provided for the British Navy is by no means as ample or as varied as it is in the American Navy, their food is always excellently cooked.
Our American Army, in their School of Application for Cavalry and Field Artillery, maintained at Fort Riley, Kansas, pursuant to an act of Congress, approved January 29, 1887, maintains a Training School for Bakers and Cooks, which is under the supervision of the commissary officer of that post, and where officers of the Subsistence Department of the army are ordered for courses of instruction, covering a period of two months. While the course followed in their school for bakers could be adopted verbatim for the navy, certain alterations would necessarily be made in their course of instruction for cooks. I would suggest in this connection that a number of the younger pay officers of the navy be detailed to undergo a thorough course of instruction at the army school at Fort Riley. I have no doubt that the War Department would gladly grant the permission to attend to such officers of the navy as might be designated by the Navy Department. With this foundation, carefully prepared by the Commissary Department of the army through years of experience, pay officers of the navy would be basically well equipped for commissary work and, in the course of a few years would be available to undertake the instruction of their juniors in the corps in these very important duties.
The instructor of cooks at the army school mentioned is a retired soldier of long experience in the army, while the instructor of bakers is an experienced civilian employed by the War Department under special authority.
It would not be at all difficult to found a thoroughly efficient school for naval cooks and bakers at one of the large recruiting rendezvous, such as Newport, Norfolk, or New York. By establishment in the latter city, ample conditions would be available for practical work in connection with the receiving ship there, while it would not be at all difficult to obtain the services of experienced cooks and bakers from civil life to conduct special classes of instruction.
No hotel or restaurant of any importance in the United States exists where comparatively untried men are placed in positions of responsibility without long previous training. A baker, for example, must have served an apprenticeship of three years at his trade before he reaches the dignity of a journeyman baker and is eligible for employment in a big establishment. Even then he serves some years before he is advanced to the further dignity and comparative financial ease of a foreman baker. When they have reached this position in their trade they can command from twenty to twenty-five dollars a week. An experienced journeyman commands from ten to eighteen dollars a week, while an apprentice usually starts at four dollars, and at the end of his apprenticeship has reached ten dollars, if he is able. Such restrictions apply equally well to cooks.
While I do not doubt that every reasonable precaution is used by recruiting officers to secure only experienced men in these trades for service in the navy, results show that while a number of naval cooks can prepare, in a fairly effective manner, a number of dishes, any attempt to vary the ration by the preparation of less common dishes is apt to meet with failure.
In other words, unless a man enlisted in the navy as a baker or cook can show satisfactorily by references as to his prior employments, and can further, on being sent to a training school for cooks and bakers, demonstrate his efficiency in the actual work of a galley, he should be discharged as unsuitable for the naval service, or should be given a four- month’s course on lines which would thoroughly prepare him for his duties. If the army, from a three years’ enlistment, can spare a man for four months, certainly the navy, with a year longer can do so. Men in the army who are considered worthy of the course are allowed to take it, on the recommendation of their commanding officers, even when there are only eighteen months remaining on their enlistment.
Under the present system men are chosen for appointment of commissary stewards from various sources. A yeoman who is able to pass the prescribed examination for commissary steward does not necessarily make an efficient commissary steward. It would be far better to draw stewards from the commissary branch only, making it a requirement that they should have served at least two years in the rate of cook or baker before undergoing examination for commissary steward. A gunner’s mate is seldom, if ever, rated from the engineer’s force, and the present system of rating yeomen as commissary stewards is as radical a change in duty. The commissary steward should be able to perform any duty that he directs the cooks and bakers under his charge to do.
In brief, the conclusions drawn from this argument are:
- Present instruction of younger pay officers at the army school, so as to fit them for supervision of a training school for enlisted men. Upon their further advancement and experience detailing them as instructors in the Navy Pay Officer’s School, and including a thorough commissary course for officers in that excellent institution.
- A thorough course of four month’s instruction in practical commissar}' work for all enlisted men in the commissary branch who cannot on enlistment demonstrate, in practical work, a thorough familiarity with all branches of their trade; having for instructors not only practical cooks and bakers and commissary stewards in the navy, but experienced civilian cooks, bakers, and hotel stewards.
- The selection of commissary steward from only those men who have entered in the commissary branch as cooks or bakers and who have served at least two years in that grade.
- Further, men who are graduates of the school should be given acting and then permanent appointments in the various rates, giving them the same recognition shown to men in the artificer branches.
The following courses of instruction, modeled on the courses used in the army school at Fort Riley are suggested:
COURSE OF INSTRUCTION FOR COOKS.
Ship’s galley and its equipment: fires, control of heat and ovens; cleaning and care of range and kitchen utensils; paring potatoes; washing and preparing fresh vegetables; preliminary instruction in the preparation of other parts of the navy ration for dinner only.
Meats, cutting the fore and hind quarter for specific kinds of cooking; trimming and preparation; use of stock pot and dripping pan; assisting in preparation of other parts of the ration for breakfast and dinner only.
Assisting in the preparation and cooking of dinner and supper only.
General cooking, covering all parts of the navy ration alternating daily, by roster, in the preparation and cooking of breakfast and supper; assisting ship’s cooks in the preparation of dinner.
Alternating daily, by roster, in the preparation and cooking of dinner; assisting ship’s cooks at breakfast and supper.
Alternating by roster, as chief cook, in the preparation of all meals for the ship. Making light breads, pastry, and puddings.
The last month will be a review of work of the preceeding three months, the course being completed by a thorough written examination covering the entire course. This will include computing the ration return for 100 men and making up a bill of fare based on this ration return.
BAKER'S COURSE
General outline of course will be explained by the officer in charge, and theoretical instruction will be given by him from time to time, as occasions require.
- Making of yeasts and potato ferment.
- Setting of sponge in evening and making dough following morning, using 50 pounds of flour, and Fleischmann’s Yeast.
- Repeat No. 2, and make head yeast.
- Repeat No. 2, and make potato ferment.
- Making straight dough with 50 pounds of flour early in the morning, using potato ferment.
- Repeat No. 5, and make stock yeast.
- Repeat No. 5, and make potato ferment.
- Making straight dough in evening, using Fleischmann’s Yeast.
- Repeat No. 8.
- Setting sponge in evening for 400 pounds of flour. Fleischmann’s Yeast, making dough following morning, with machine.
- Making sponge in morning, using potato ferment, and making dough when sponge is ready.
- Repeat No. 11.
- Make dough, using 50 pounds of flour in morning, from potato ferment, from yeast made by yourself.
- Make two kinds of fancy bread, using 10 pounds of flour.
- Making of buns, rolls, etc.
- Making pie paste and pies from the same.
- Practical test of all processes. A 25-pound straight dough will be made with no help from any source but personal note-book. The following day a 25-pound sponge and dough will be made with help of note-book only.
During the course each process must be completed at least once before practical test, from beginning to end, from the making of dough to the baking of bread in the oven.