WHY IS QUARTSPJ.'ASTEH?
Some people think that the Quartermaster never works, This is a
mistaken idea; he works frequently,. If you don't believe this, take a
look at some of the things he does, and then form your own conclusions,
a Utilities Officer he has the following things to think about;
Water supply, chemistry, mechanical engineering, civil engineering,
plumbing, pipe fitting, building contractor, disbursement of funds,
preparing blue prints, electrical engineering, operation and upkeep o:
central power and heating plants, sewage disposal, and many other smal.
matters.
As a Property Officer, the Quartermaster must be thoroughly convers
ant with the latest methods of efficient warehousing, and be able to
adapt them in the handling of his supplies* He must be conversant with
the nomenclature af every kind and class of material that can or may bn
or is used in the Army,
He must be an accountant with an indefatigable attention to detail t
keep an account of all the supplies that are issued to troops for their
use or for their consumption,; He must see that all accounts are kept
within the allowances prescribed by the War Department, and that these
allowances are not exceeded.
As a Purchasing and Contracting Officer he must he thoroughly famili
with the types and classes of all foodstuffs, textiles, hardware and ou.
er supplies of all kinds and to he able to determine the comparative
value between many submitted samples, and to choose that which will be
the most economical to the government. He must be thoroughly conversaii
with civil law in order that contracts between the military and civil
agencies will be binding on both, and yet not involve some technicality
that may be the bone of contention in the courts to decide the justice
of some claim.
As a Subsistence Officer he must be thoroughly informed on the com
parative value of foodstuffs, the allowances prescribed for troops,
variations permitted, their method of procurement, the proper care ot
food supplies for economical conservation., the fitness of a product fo:
use as. food after having been subject to current conditions, the dispos
al of the same according to law/ the accounting for all supplies issued,
and the ability to anticipate the needs of troops in his garrison for a
period of six months in advance of thedime necessary to use the same.
He must be able to analyze the markets zo buy advantageously and at no
too high a price.
^
,nn+ Vio f cimi *1 i o r* I'.ri •
one irancijjux oauiua vj-LX-Hjcj, uac oox.ca>^uv-j. ~ - -— -
Water, Rail,: Motor and Animal-Drawn transportation their operation, car
and upkeep With rates over the various line$, the shortest available
routes, time schedules, ani al.l the varied details of accounting for
transportation as in a railway terminal ticket office.
The responsibilities of the Quartermaster are manifold. He is respo
sible that the troops under him are, properly fed, properly clothed,
provided with a sanitary water suppljt, properly housed with adequate
bathing facilities, provided with proper equipment to take the field an
carry on his’work, furnished everything -that the administacation of the
troops may be properly carried o it, furnish fuel to Keep them warm and
last but not least, wnen a man dies in the service, his body is turned
over to the Quartermaster. The Quartermaster furnishes the casket in
which he is to be buried, the clothes in which his body is to be dressec
the flag that drapes his coffin, and the bugle with which the bugler
blows over him, his final "Tups.,T