Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-11-24
MORAL ASPECTS OF COOKING.
How Improvements in the Art In Amsri.
ca have Affected the Nation.

How Improvements in the Art In Amsri.
ca have Affected the Nation.
From the New York Times.
Modern cookery il conceded on eli sides TO
be OF benefit to the race. There wss . time
within the memory Of men still young when ell
New England and tho agricultural portions Of
every section Of the country we're commonly
said to have dyspepsia. How much suffering
has been caused by the cold pie and hot bread
for breakfast can never be computed. Those
delights Of the Yankee palate killed more men
from that section than the war did. The south
ern frying-pan has worldwide notoriety.
Everybody who visited that sunny and genial
section from section where food was well.
prepared got indigestion and a bad temper in
stead OF the pleasure which would have flowed
from normal gastric conditions, and their
scolding has been heard around the world II
~ WASH the frylng-pan that stirred the vexa-
tlous DIG OF visitors it was the everlasting
round OF nog and hominy that made them rail.
IL was the law OF contrast that idealized the
bouquet OF the southern mint julep. just az
good julep could always be had In this town.
The reason 1t never tasted Is good was because
during the present generation ut least it has
not been Offset here either by monotony Of
has done wonders toward sending cold break
fast pie, hog and hominy, and the fryins-pan
to place Of merited secfusion in history.
When cookery was vile, men tried to make up
Tor 1t by drink. Nearly all the prominent char
aeters Of this country down to past the times Of
Clay and Webster were heavy drinkers Of hard
liquor. No gentleman's house was complete
without sideboard well filed and cellar
abundansly stocked with liquors, Of which wines
formed small part. People thought they
needed liquor as q requisite to health. They
may not have realized that vile cooking created
and sustained this desire for strong LIQUID slim.
ulants, but a total-abstinence movement when
the war broke out would have been scoffed out
OF the country. There might be two honest
opinions on the slavery question, but upon the
necessity OF modicum Of good old bourbon or
applejack for every male inhabitant, the coun-
try was one and indivisible. The advocates Of
total abstinence could hardly have mustered
corporal's guard
When a mans liver went under in those old
days and rheumatism got hold Of him. or he
fell into the clutches of govt or rheumatic govt,
and he couldn't retain nourishment, there was
no mlstakins the cause. Old war horses, after
absorbing their tank Of liquor, used to Joke each
other about their bandaged feet and affect to
scorn the rope-deserving menials who accused
them OF govt, but all the same they felt rather
proud OF that form of suffering. It indicated
gentility. There was a suggestion about it Of
rosy nights, when the man started in with his
elbows on top OF the mahogany and wound up
with his head alongside the table legs On q
sunny day the old fellows would come limping
out on the street, and the one who could not
ges along without crutches bad higher place
In the estimation of the community, and got
much closer to the hearts Of his fellows than
did the one who could propel himself comfort
ably with the aid Of cane. Drinking was not
only tolerated. but admired. Men Of the world
measured each other by their capacity to swill
liquor.
There may be as much liquof consumed to-
DAY as ever there wGs, but its use 10 by no
means general. Temperance reform is strong
enough to have acquired a political standing
Trout ana rheumatism are on the wane. They
are no longer paraded, admired or honored.
Drunkenness is disgrace, and heavy drinking
positive detriment to a young man seeking .
place IN the world and to an old one trying to
maintain place. So great has been the change
OF public feeling in this respect that even tb ose
who sell liquor try to disguise their business
| under euphemisms Wine, beer and light
drinks are supplanting heavy drinks in public
favor.
That modern cookery has played an impor-
tant part in this change of habit and Of public
feeling all physicians agree A stomach prop
erly nourishcd does not crave stimulants as
does one ill fed or one excited by poor food.
Even where the desire for drink may be hered-
itary good food tends to check that d. sire and
to avert the consequences of indulgence. The
temperate and reasonable use of well-cooked
food is the great boon of the present genera
ton. or course there are excuses Modern
cookery is one of the good things that has suf-
Tered abuse. But excuses have not been con-
fined to this generation. Late suppers of indi-
gestible things were in fashion as Par back as
the classic period and probably before, and
certainly ever since. Perhaps the shoppers
lunch may be strictly modern, and it is o plau-
sible theory that spices and sauces and other
things to disguise bad quality Of food are inn
posed upon many poor woman's jaded appe-
tite. What follows is always what might be ex-
pected. There is an easy and safe remedy
within every physicians knowledge for such
troubles. 1t must be admitted that cholera
morbus in the winter time from such causes is
not uncommon. The patient in such a case
may be blameless, and a serious charge might
lie against modern cookery if this was the only
cause OF shoppers digestive trouble. But when
lady; tired and feverish with tramping, seeks
refreshment in plate of ice-cream and cup
OF tea, or some such combination, she ought to
know where the fault is
Another important consideration is based on
the altered business habits of men, especially
in centers Of population. When bad cooking
and heavy drinking were the fashion nearly
every business man lived good deal outdoors
The oxygen that he took into his system, the
exercise with which he oiled his joints, were
conducive to good digestion and to health in a
to-day spends most of his time indoors. Phy-
steal exercise is generally neglected. The
juices OF the body are not 80 active in sedentary
as in outdoor life. On the other hand. the
nerve forces are correspondingly stimulated.
Nervous diseases are now the class that re-
quires the most attention from medical men.
It stands to reason that when one changes from
outdoor so indoor life he should regulate his diet
accordingly. SO far as can be learned there is
wide and intelligent observance Of this law of
health. 1t is therefore by no means safe to
conclude that digestive arrangement in one of
sedentary habits, even in one in whom that
habit may have been lately acquired is due
either to modern cookery or to overeating. It
may be due to o failure to eat well or to some
thing related only sympathetically to the d.
gestiye apparatus.
Material Of Books.