The Washington herald., 1915-01-11
HISTORY BUILDERS.
An Earnest Champion of American
Corn Meal.
By DIR. L. J. EDWARDS.

A few days after the return Of Samuel
]. Tilden from a summer excursion to
Europe, in 1S77, he delivered speech to
a great throng which had assembled In
front of his house in Gramercy Park
New York City. Gov. Tilden sailed for
Europe shortly after the electoral COM
mission had decided that Rutherford B.
Hayes had received a majority of one
vote for the Presidency over Mr.. Tilden
in the electoral college.
Gov. Tilden said to his hearers that his
excursion into various parts Of Europe
had persuaded him that there was a
on a large trade with continental Eu-
rope, and especially with Norway and
Sweden, in Indian corn meal. He said
the people of those nations regarded In
dian corn as fit only for fodder for
horses and cattle. They could not un-
derstand how Indian corn could so be
prepared as to make a palatable food.
Therefore, Gov. Tilden urged the forma-
ton of an association who would send
qualified persons to Europe for the pur-
pose Of teaching people the various
methods adopted in the United States by
which Indian corn meal, or mush, as II
was commonly called, could be made
into a delicious table food. II that could
be DONE TiIden said, you could find an
enormous market across the seas for
our Indian corn.
Ten or twelve years later. I chanced
to mention TO the late William r. Grace,
who had twice been mayor OF New York,
and who was regarded as one OF the
greatest Of American merchants carrying
on an oversee trade, this suggestion Of
Gov Tilden. Mayor Grace was much in
terested in what l told him and asked
I n
member, nil that Gov. Tilden had said.
He said that at the first opportunity he
should call the attention of some one of
the house of Barring Brothers. with which
he had close business relations, to this
remark and then to remind him Of an
anecdote which some years before had
been narrated to him by a member OF
the Barring firm. Mayor Grace asked
me II l would like to hear that anecdote,
and I replied that it would please me
greatly.
He said: Il thihk it was just before the
Crimean war. in which France and Eng
land were opposed to Russia, that Bar
ing Brothers began to buy enormous
quantities of American wheat and flour.
They did not say at the time who 1t was
they were buying for, but afterward there
was an informal admission that they
were buying for Louis Napoleon, EN-
peror of France. He wanted American
wheat and flour to feed his armies and
also to make good the deficiency of wheat
in France.
There was a man named Sturgis, an
American, who was a member Of Bar
ing Brothers house and who was an in
innate friend of John NJ. Forbes, the
great capitalist OF Boston. Mr.. Forbes
heard that France was buying through
ha
much of which was carried over the
Michigan Central Railroad. which Forbes
owned. He thereupon wrote to Mr.. Stur-
gis to say to him that France could get
in the United States much cheaper and
fully as good an article of food IL II
would buy Indian corn meal. He said,
Furthermore. that II the great chefs OF
France could make a tour through the
Southern States they would speedily
learn what delicio' food preparations
could be made from Indian meal or il
they would go through the New England
States they would learn how to make
johnnycake. which was then, as 1t has al
ways been, a favorite food in New Eng
land. Furthermore, he said that France
could save millions OF dollars II she
bought Indian meal rather than -four.
No heed was paid to this suggestion"
What Interested me in what Gov. TIL
den said was the fact that twenty years
later he was so impressed with the util-
ity of Indian corn meal as food for the
European nations that he made it the
chief suggestion in his speech in reply to
the welcome home which was given to
him by SO many citizens.
Copyright. 1875. by DIR. Z. J. EdWards All rights
RcseTved)
Tomorrow DR.. Edwards will tell of
Two Leading Figures in Railroad De-
velopment.'