The Washington times., 1907-05-08
WHOLESALE FRY
OF VIRGINIA HAM
Fifteen Thousand Hind
quarters Destroyed
by Fire.

Let that race which sings De ham
bone am sweet bow its head in un-
speakable woe! Bid the cultured rich
Of the nation sigh in sorrow! Let the
gilded monarChs Of Europe drop a royal
tear upon the regal footstool!
For out OF Smithfeld. Va. there has
come a doleful sound, which will fnd its
echo IN the heart II all those who love
the delicacies that tickle the palate and
tie up the digestive organs. From that
Southern home Of the Smithfield ham
speeds the news that Il &c has destroyed
1900 Of the finest hams Smithfield ever
produced. And they were not insured.
Money Loss Is Considerable.
The greedy flames have wiped out of
existence the hind legs Of 1900 hogs,
hind legs that had ben put through the
grand process Of curing known only
10 the denlzenS of Smithfeld. The
money loss is an appreciable factor in
the cause for woe. but not so much so as
the lost signs of ecstacy, the upward lift
OF thankful eyes, and that heavenly feel
ing Of repletion which would have been
caused by those hams had they been al
lowed, In the wisdom of an all-wise
Providence. 10 be shipped to those who
eat the Smithfield ham, and the Smith
field ham only.
Smithfield hams have been famous for
many long years. To the Smithfield ham
is applied certain amount Of smoke Of
soaking" Of rubbing with uncanny
mixtures, of tying up in sacks. and OF
various modes OF sweetening and pres
ervatiOn. In New York the Southern
immigrant falls on his knees and praises
heaven every time he runs against a
Smithfleld ham at his grocer's. In Eu-
rope more than one high ruler has
vowed that the hogs hind leg from
Smithfield is the only hogs hind leg
that shall ever enter his appreciativc
mouth.
None Just Like Smithfeld Hams.
In Canada the Smithheld delicacy is
sought with more avidity than is dis
played in looking for gold. In Virginia
no ham is good enough to set before a
guest unless IL can be said:
ITS just as good as Smithfield ham"
Consequently the Smithfield ham has a
reputation, reputation that creates 4
demand Smithfield cannot supply And
when 1900 of the marvels in hog work
manShip and manipulation were de-
stroyed, blow was struck at the mar
ket which will cause a veritable panic
among the lovers of the delicacy. II is
easy to see why the 1900 were not in
sured. No money valuation could suf-
fee to wipe out the grief of Benjamin p.
Chapman, the packer who owned the
Is, eco
Today he mourns because he has al
lowed the fire TO snatch from the wait
ing mouths Of thousands the most mar
velous, thing IN hams, sub. the most
marvellous"
How great the blow is can be realized
from the fact that small nam can prO-
duce 40 ham sandwiches. From 1900
| hams, therefore, there would be made
100000 ham sandwiches. Colossal ca
| lamityi Irreparable injury The de-
struction Of 100000 Smithfeld ham
sandwiches is the worst woe Virginia
has experienced since the war
Call in the little pigs, force them 20
fun size by every art and food known
to the hog raiser. grasp time by the
forelock. butcher 800 hogs as soon as
possible, and try TO make up for this un-
Drecedented loss, this great national dis
aster-the wiping out OF 1900 of the
most marvellous thing in hams, sub