New-York tribune., 1919-08-21
Bad Apple Pie Put
Salvation Army ON
Way to Popularity
French Chef Baked 1t and 1T
Led the Relief Workers to
Show Soldiers What Real
Doughn7its Tasted Like

1t was an apple pie about as flat as
a pancake and as tough as asbestos
which first suggested to the Salvation
Army the plan of frying doughnuts
on the battletclds Of Europe. How
the goldcn-brown ring became to the
soldiers an emblem of the tender care
given them by the Salvation Army was
related by Colonel William S. Barker,
who yesterday returned from France,
where, he went in May, 1917. to or
ganize the Salvation Army relief work
Colonel Barker said he had only a
handful Of workers and a pocketful of
borrowed money when he first pro-
posed to General Pershing that the
Salvation Army undertake to provide
comfort for the Americans. Before he
finished his job Colonel Barker had
600 workers in the field and had ST.
100000 at his disposal.
Doughnuts Suggested Home
"No doubt large part of our sue
tion Of doughnuts," said Colonel
Barker at Salvation Army Headquar-
ters, 122 West Fourteenth Street at
was common to see q group of soldiers,
often in the rain, standing around a
pan of sizzling doughnuts, each man
with a stick upon which to receive
his share. Those doughnuts suggested
home. They were an antidotc to home
sickness.
1--WE hit upon the idea in a singular
way. After received General Pcrsh-
ing's approval to look about the bases
to see what the Salvation Army could
do. | visited General George B. Dun
can, commander Of the 1st Brigade, at
Demange He invited me to dinner.
All of his dishes, prepared by French
chef, were delicious except one. The
chef brought an apple pie. II was
about one quarter of an inch thick and
thoroughly indigestible.
Ovens Too Small for Pies
81 told General Duncan to wait until
some of the Salvation Army cooks came
over and we would give him real pie
Our cooks came and they tried to bake
the pies, but the ovens were not large
enough. 1t had been our intention to
provide all the American soldiers with
pie, since that was the one typical
American dessert We were in guam
Diary. Some one suggested doughnuts as
substitute. This was tried. It proved
a success. After that wherever YOU
found the Salvation Army you found
doughnuts.
"Ihey were easy TO cook and more
practicable in handling than pie One
OF our cooks-Fred Anderson. of
Seattle-tor instance, made stove out
of steel wheclbarrow. Ii was a stove
that could be pushed right up to the
FIRING line. Upon it he fried flapiacks,
doughnuts and eggs. He gathered his
provisions, chiefly eggs, in a baby car
rage he had found 1t was curious to
see hlm push this baby carriage across
the fields and come back with nro-
visions.
Trusted the Doughboys
"Another thing that made the Saliva
ton Army popular with the American
troops was the fact that we trusted
the men, If a soldier. or bunch Of
them, came to US for help and said thev
dlan have any money they never went
away empty handed. We told them IA
pay, when they could. Yet we kept no
books. We did 100000 francs
($3.o0O,OO0) worth Of business. and
when our accounts were balanced we
were not out one cent. Sometimes +be
men would pay back more than thew
owed. wy
"Our workers went over there 10
work and not to fraternize with army
officers Each avoided making a
1avorlte of any one soldier.
by the end of this month our worl.
Wall be done. We had altogether fift,,
huts. and | am sure each of than,
Will hnger pleasantly in the memory
oI many man who found comfort