Show THE ARMY CAT Not Generally Known That Tabby Is I Regularly Enlisted When Mnj Gen Merrltt sailed from San Francisco ho asked the government govern-ment authorities for three cats to tako to Manila Probably the trio of American felines are now tqachlng Yankee habits to their misguided fellows fel-lows of the Islands for It was Maj Gen Merritts intention to send them ashore when ho landed Fire cats came from the commissary depot on Jessie street San Francisco It Is not generally known that the government spends several thousand dollars annually for the maintenance of cats but the accounts of the United States depot commissaries prove it In every storehouse there are from ono to five animals and their rations are provided as carefully care-fully and regularly as those of any of the soldiers They are not fed on scraps nor are their individual tastes disregarded as are those of tho unlisted men but they are allotted so many pounds of choice beef or any other delicacy their palates may desire Of course they may havo as much game as they wish and the storehouses seldom fall to fuinlsh an unlimited supply of rats and mice That the cats save nfany times t their cost of support in well known as such supplies as crackers crack-ers cheese bacon flour anti meal are much sought after by the rodents All men ofwar carry cats Their usefulness Is never moro apparent than on shipboard The writer was crossing tram Ant we n to Now Yoi i on the steamship Southwark when 1m was awakened by the sudden stopping stop-ping of the ship an occurrence which happening In midocean generally means something serious Thq passengers pas-sengers rushed on deck half clad and were disgusted to learn that tit rat I having crawled into the cylinder had caused the halt Such an accident on a manofwar In time of action might be fearfully paid for and an active cat is its only pieventlve San Francisco Fran-cisco Chronicle |