New-York tribune., 1909-05-13
! LESSON " J0RYNY CAKE.

Shades of the Mecklenburg Declaration
Here comes "'The Charlotte Observer" fatuously
parading the wheat-dOughiness of its intellect
with the following criticism on our recent eu-
Iogy of the Johnny cake:
But what we wish especially to single out IN
The Tribunes remarks is 4 loud cry for the
Johnny cake. The Johnny Cake-the real. Old
time ARTICLES a thing of the past Few peo-
pie Of the present generation except the oluSr
ones have ever seen one. The name Is d COZ
ruptfon of Journey cake derived from the 1aGt
OF its being bread commonly made by people
while on journeys in those oiden times Whth
travelling was chiefly by private conveyance
and on Ions Journeys food had to be prepared
al caunfires along the way. 1t easily
made and quickly cooked, the cooking utensil
consisting of a smooth board, on which the
dough was thinly spread and placed before the
campfire to bake In the cause OF knoWlecSe
we will say that those journey cakes We're
made from flour and not from cornmeaL Had
our gastronomically benighted contemporaIy
cried for the hoeCake or the corn douSeI' /
wouId have been well within the mark, but as
for the Johnny cake-wen, it had better Try
again
Johnny cake from the wheaton flour of luzu-
rious sybarites. Ugh Has the Tarheel sinew
so degenerated? Perhaps this is what comes
from that decay of oldtime. strong stomached
Democracy which was shown in the last cam
naign hv THE Charlotte Observer when 1t con-
tributed gander to the support of its own
Presidential ticket. Perhaps its present doughy
wits are the punishment for its moCkery of the
Democratic Elijah Yet its Charleston partner
in that wicked gander rattle preserves his senses
COlOnel Hemphi (foT the benefit of the smart
critic who rises to remark that he should be
called Major may explain that we have prop
erly brevetted him Colonel, just on account Of
his recently shown understanding Of the nu-
ances of Johnny cake &c C,OoneI Hemphill at
once responded to our celebration of the Johnny
cake with the suggestion that it should always
be made from the cornmeal of South Carolina,
ground in the old water mills of Pickens Coun-
tv turned by streams of clear water running
through races lined with ferns and grasses
''and under tie shade Of immemorial oaks
Colonel Hemphill has a soul for the higher
walks of journalism. and we are doubly glad
that with his cornfed philosophy he is to en-
tighten the Yale boys next year concerning the
profession which he adorns.
But as for the TarheeI degenerate, what can
say to it? Devoid of imagination, forgetful
of tradition, ignorant of the poetry Of the John
nv cake perhaps it is best left to the stale mer
cieS of the dictionary. Behold, Worcester
SAYS: johnny cake-A cake made of Indian
neal Webster says ~ kind Of bread made
"of the meal of maize Gndian corn. mixed
with water or milk. etc. and baked" The
Standard defines it "a fiat cake, made Of
Indian corn neal mixed with milk or water.
Seasoned with salt and baked on gridde or
toasted" The Century more in detail eN-
plains that in the Southern States Johnny cake
is made of Indian meal baked on board before
the fire. while elsewhere in the United States 1t
is fat Indian meal cake baked in pan, and
in New England the meal is often mixed with
mashed pumpkin. Johnny cake of Indian meal
has entered into literature Many references to
it may he found in classic prose. 1t was i'm
mortalized by Joel Barlow way back in the
eighteenth century in his poem "Hasty Pud-
ding"
Some talk Of hoecale fair Virgnas pride:
Rich johnny cake this mouth has often tried.
Both please me well, their virtues much the
same
Alike their fabric. allied their fame;
Except in dear New England, where the last
Receives dash Of pumpkin in the paste.
Johnny cake made, not of golden grains Of
cornmeal, each grain a separate atom Of lus-
ciousnesS, but of n dull wheat flour paste, sort
of campers dough dodger"? Not while we in
the North and Colonel Hemphill in the South
stand united TO drive back the Charlotte goose
10 its gander