The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-09-09
IA Chat With Eugene R. Johnston, "the Lifte
 Mdcdroni King, So-Caled Because of Being e
 Valued Efnploye of Birnineham Mdcaroni Factory
By DOLLY DALRYMPLE

| 'l1EnE are hineS anu hiiSs-po. there are only>a few "Macaroni \ Kings
 Nobody these days wants to be a King very much because all the real Kings and | their subjects seem to be getting into the big fracas over in Europe-but it's diff ferent being a 'Macaroni King | To be "Macaroni King, and at the
 youthful age of 15 too. means distinc- | ton worth mentioning.
 | MT. Charles s. Simmons, who owns the Birmingham Macaroni factory, is known
 as the big Macaroni King around these parts and little Eugene Rhodes Johnston the clever young son of MT. and Mrs | Richard F. Johnston. has acquired the title of the little" Macaroni King, reign l ing over, Macaroni land with pomp and splendor, his subjects better known to the macaroni lover as elbows dit talini,' tubbertini,' "rosa-marini. "stellini," ''magleta," and others with a
 lot of pretty names-ail sons and daugh- ters of MT and Mrs. Macaroni. you know. and their first cousins, the "Spaghettis," lowing in obedience to his command This clever young boy started to work last summer for the Birmingham Maca- roni factory-his first venture into busi- ness, by the way, and so great was his progress and so apt were his delft young | fingers and so intent was his desire to make good" that the first thing we knew there was a raise in salary for the bright little fellow, and good chance of promotion--an opportunity Of some day ranking with the man higher up."
 Eugene Johnston Is fair r-haired. bright blue-eyed boy. who has inherited wit cleverness and ambition, plus, ana his sturdy little body and manly little mind proclaim him to be one of Bir- minghams future loyal and desirable citizens-a youngster quite worth while. How would you, little MT. Ten-and- five-year- old, like to be Macaroni King?
 How would you like to be considered valuable asset to a big business and rank among it's most capable workers! You may If you like-not easily as l
 started to say, but if you have the stick ability and the determination to win out like little Eugene Johnston has, you may surely attain such a distinction.
 Youth is always entertaining. always buoyant, optimistic and beautiful, and as this little fellow sat and talked to me few days ago about his work over at the Birmingham Macaroni factory, thought I had never looked into brighter eyes, never seen more ambitious boy and certainly had never met youngster of his age who "knew his business any more thoroughly than he does
 T didn't know anything about the macaroni business when I started last summer" said Eugene, as he told me or his first commercial venture. T started at the very bottom of the ladder, my L~t~. k>s nk,I, k6n clxo 0os Q came down the chute, but this year l have a much better position. l manipu- late the press that the dough Is put into, and from which the finished product proceeds Have you ever seen macaroni made? It's an interesting process. Large quantities of dough~are placed in the press, and when it comes out, a huge knife which works automatically cuts the dough and makes what is known as elbows This, with 'ditalini,' stellini, 'rosa-mar rini and other things which are used chiefly for soups, are made in this way. The 'magleta,' which is like 'el- bows only 1t Is plain, Is another product which is used for soups
 "On the second floor of the building, he continued, "a large number of girls are occupied In packing the macaroni. But before this is done 1t Is taken out of the trays and run through sieve-like arrangements, later being put in large room, furnace heated, and furnlSned Wltn electric fans which distribute the heat. Here it is dried, the process taking from three to seven days for the work to be completed, according to conditions. The girls then pack the dried product in paper cartons or boxes and these boxes are put into machine which glues the top on the box and then the box is placed on belt which carries it down. stairs to the first floor These boxes are then packed into crates or cases, ready to be shipped.
 ''Macaroni is the simplest food product in the world" Eugene said presently.
 Many people imagine that spices and seasonings are used in its composition, but flour and water are it's only ingre- dients, and it Is the most wholesome thing that can be eaten. The only thing necessary Is plenty of time in which to prepare 1t. It should be well cooked all ways. A lot of people at the factory have it for lunch at different times-that is when they have time to have 1t cooked properly"
 It was useless to ask the little fellow if he liked his work. because no one could be so enthusiastic as he is about 1t and not really care, but we spoke of 1t any way, and Eugene said:
 "The only trouble about the macaroni business Is that there Is nothing else left for me to do now. I've gone as high
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