Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-03-17
AMERICAN CORN ABROAD.
What Has Bees Done by Special Agent Chas
J. Murphy.

AAutPny.
SPENT HIS OWN TINE AND MONEY IN TRYING TO
MAKE EUROPEANS LIKE conSmKAI-Sow he
rs AN AGENT OF THE AoRrcuIrun.1 nsp..,.
AkST AND his WORK rs TELLING.
Inc recent appointment by Secretary Rusk
OF Charles J. Murphy to be a special agent Of
the Agricultural Department in Great Britain
France and Germany recalls an inter.stiny
story and marks the first step in the sustained
and determined effort which the .gr,.pI,ur,I
Department will make to Introduce American
corn into Europe for use as a breaJs.us
Special Agent Murphy's duties will be 10 use
means at his discretion to bring before the
public of Europe the knowledge of the virtues
Of corn bread and the other food products of
the great American staple
Murphy has been well known In P.,,,r Tor-
don and Paris for the last three years "a Germ
Cake Murphy" He derived this soubriouet
| from his long continued and earnest efforfs "a
convince the skepticai foreigners that Indian
| express purpose of introducing corn among the
European people and for three years he has
| labored constantly to this end, expanding his
| own money and time in the effort
JOHNNY CAKES IN LONDON
While dining at the Hotel Metropole in Len
don party Of Americans were very much sur
prised to have the waiter place upon the table
great dish OF hot Johnny cakes" Actually
| the little round, Drowned and fragrant Johnny
| cake that you can find upon any table today
| south of Mason and Dixon's line. There was
also big ''pone" Of hot egg bread" that de-
licious combination OF corn meal, eggs and
yeast powder that ravishes the taste at a
southern breakfast Accompanying this un-
Iooked-for donation was a card upon which was
written. with the mplifne,l t. n flarlas \
Murphy" 1t was learned, subsequo ntly, that
1t was Murphys habit to surprise visiting
Americans with delicious corn bread. especially
If An Englishman or two Frenchman or
German happened to be at table.
AN OLD DARKEY COOK.
Murphy had with him an old Virginia darkey
| as cook, and she prepared all the specimens of
corn bread with all the art in her power. He
| told a STAR reporter that he had visited all the
prominent cooking schools in the united king
dom. Had prepared before the princi pals and
pupils the various products Of corn. IRON
blanc mango down to johnny cake and CORN
starch pudding. But the Britons slow to
relish the new food. They seemed to be unable
to get rid OF the idea that they were eating
horse feed, for they were accustomed to seeing
corn in the feed trough and not in the dough
tray. Poor Murphy had tried hundred differ
ent ways to get his corn bread before the peo-
ple-had proven its virtues to the commissary
not report any great increase in the importa-
tons Of American corn as the result of his
efforts.
some time after this the Americans met
Murphy again, this time at the exposition in
Paris. He looked bit seedy and as though
TO note would not come amiss.
HARD LUCK IN PARIS
They cali me a crank, he said, bitterly. 81
have tried to get an opportunity to exhibit our
corn food products at the exposition, but the
director general has snubbed me and treated
me with actual rudeness. have spent all nv
money in these efforts of the past two years,
believing that the time must surely come when
they VIII recognize our corn. Then our own
farmers would be benefited and the haif-starved
poor of Europe would find veritable God
send in the bread made from our corn. have
no mercenary interest in the matter. / am
working for what believe to be philanthropy
ical end and it is hard to be treated like long
haired crank with flying machine or the re-
cipe of the elixir OF life"
There was something touching in the story
of this man and his apparently fruitless endeav-
ors In good cause. But the tide was about to
turn, and iu his favor.
LETTER FROM UNCLE JERRY
One day he received letter from Secretary
Rusk of the Department of Agriculture Uncle
jerry had heard of his efforts and his object
and the object was directly in line with policy
which the Department Of Agriculture had de-
termined upon. Would Mr.. Murphy accept a
position as special agent Of the Agricultural
Department at salary of 81. 900 per year?
And would he continue his efforts to find a
great foreign market for the corn which the
Kansas farmers were using for fuel?
The first thing that Murphy did after accept
ing the position was chnracte ristic of him. he
posted of TO Edinburgh, where an exposition
was in progress. and pledged $1,000 of his
years salary AS payment for some space at the
exposition. Then he put in 5000 additional of
his salary for cooking apparatus. &c. and CON-
menced the manufacture of johnny cake and
corn bread upon a large scale, much to the de-
light OF the canny Scots, who found Murphy's
corner In the building very attractive about
lunch time.
BEGINS 70 BEAR ERUIr.
This effort had an immediate and important
result The Edinburgh Gas Company became
interested in the matter, and agreed with
Murphy to furnish every cooking school in
Scotland with q gas stove upon which TO cook
the corn bread. Then Murphy visited other
great cities in Britain and has created a vigor-
Gus demand for corn meal
Some time ago the Agricultural Department
received a cabiegram from Berlin ann ounciny
the fact that Murphy had succeeded in inter-
estlng the German government in cornmeal,
and that lair trial will be given the cereal
with view to recommending cornmeal for
general use i'll this time OF scarcity OF bread
stuffs ON the continent.
This welcome news is of far more importance
to the American farmer than appears upon
the face or the bare statement, for it means
that vast quantities of corn will be shipped
from the United States this winter not only to
Germany, but to the other countries on the
continent that are also suffering from q short
crop Of breadstuffs this year.
WHAT SAM cox's JOKE DID.
The late Samuel ]. Tilden was the first public
man to suggest acquaintiug Europe with the
virtues of corn meal He persuaded Abram
Hewitt, then in Congress. to introduce a bill
apprOpriating 4i00.0JO to enable the govern
ment to illustrate to the foreigners what boon
they could find in corn meal When the bill
was called up for consideration Sunset Cox
saw an opportunity to poke a little fun at the
idea OF a corn meal crusade, and he actually
had the bill laughed out of the House. If It
had not been for this bit of ILL timed merriment
American corn might long ago have formed the
chief article of export.
ST. PATRICK's DAY.