Millions from Waste — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
Millions from Waste
John Stuart Mill · en
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.