The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1919-01-16
iXEL RAHM TELLS
OF SUBSTITUTES

vi 0IEN
While the worlds destiny was being
/ shaped last fall on the battle fronts of
+ France and Belgium, the trend of
/ events there formed the one important
/ topic Of conversation among the people
Of Sweden, according TO a letter Just
received by Robert Rand. from his SON.
in-law. Axel Rahm, nstive of the far
North country. who after a residence
Of a number Of years here, returned Ia
his old home. Helsingborg, with his
wife in 1910.
/ The letter. although written and
posted on November !, was more than
+ TWO months en- route. Mr.. Rahm, who
+ formerly took an important part in
Hood River business and civic affairs
and who remains naturailzed Amer.
/ lean, writes:
THE only important thing or things
+ in the world today happen at the
West Front. and that is where our
thoughts surely turn every newborn
day and still linger when our eyes
close in rest and sleep at night.
'"The West Front, however, is not
the only thing about which millions of
the Swedish people are concerned.
They have, literally speaking, a front
Of their own that causes considerable
trouble and the old, but ever new
question. is how to keep this front
comfortably filled up. With a big
majority of the people it has been a
game Of near starvation the past 10
months. that is, until new root and
potato crop came on the market The
harvest in this part of the country was
finished some time ago, but owing to
the elongated geographical shape of
Sweden. from the south coast, facing
the southern Baltic TO the northern
boundary, away acruss the Arctic Cir
Gle, the work of garnering the fruits
of the field requires many weeks
The crops give promise of an average
yield. Earlier droughts and late frosts
in the spring, however, had given us a
most gloomy outlook.
THE rain began falling on June "a
| You can imagine what relief and JOY
7 it brought, when | explain that our
crops would have utterly perished if
the drought had continued FOR another
/ 10 days, and with such condition mis-
cradle famine would have resulted.
Now, if those good things the United
States and England have promised
Sweden arrive safely the people can
look forward to another year with
some assurance Of living Some time
next winter. if things hold out, we
may get a larger ration of bread, and
We have even been promised some rice
and rolled oats once in while.
I'VE have the substitutes for every
thing we had in ante bellum days,
some very good. some indifferent and
some we wish the kaiser had foot
down his lying throat. The state has
a monopoly ON everything in connec
ton with the manufacture and sale OF
tobacco but as early as last year the
stock Of tobacco was getting low. OF
course substitute had to be found in
order that the smokers, the snutfers
and cheWers money would continue to
| flow into our ever yaWnlng state treas
ury. Well the substitute came out in
three grades under the name of Extra
Smoking" printed on beautifully EN-
bellisned containers in large flourish.
ing letters. | bought box of the
worst grade because | wanted to know
the worst at once.
''W hen came home with my pur-
chase Eta (Mrs. Rahm) was in the
kitchen and being somewhat curious
opened my treasure and stuck my oil
factory organ to the goods. will not
tell you what | said You wouldn't
| understand 1t anyway for it was bad
Swedish. But have you ever smelled
combination of limhurger cheese and
asafetida? If the Swedish government
will give me license | will export
you a box of Grade No. for your
chickenhOuse. 1t will keep vermin
and skunks away. While Eta was
still in the kitchen and my expecta-
tions and senses aroused to an alpine
pitch | thought the time opportune to
try the stuff. | did. That happened
some five months ago and now thanks
to my strong constitution | am now
past the convalescent stage. | am
now smoking cherry leaves, rose petal
and lavender blossoms as substitute
for the substitute. You might send
me few pounds Of real tobacco by
the next steamer leaving for Europe.
Last winter the restaurants were
notified that they could have no more
flour made from any kind Of gram for
making pastry everything was needed
for our daily war bread. But substi-
tute soon made its appearance and the
sale of delicate cream puffs and mullins
| n,1 a hFtcly lxr Tho Aanpp
used in their manufacture was made
from finely grouud acorns and wood
pulp. The government sanctioned this
substitute. They say it is fine eating
when mixed with cream, eggs and
sugar. Horses and cattle are exten-
sively fed on ground woodpulp.
Mutitudinous coffee and tea sub
stitutes are on the market, the deriva-
tives of which would puzzle the
kaiser S own partner.
In the established order of things
money has for centuries been consid-
cred as one of the most desirable sub
stance to possess, but it has come to
pass under this abnormal strain that
money is not the almighty agent it
once was. The primitive medium of
| barter has returned. | have no use
for any kind of spirits. Now it hap
pens that all kinds of distilled liquors
are portioned out by the government,
and two quarts are all that one can
get every three months. All respecta-
BILE male citizens and a few women
have little book that might be called
their public liquor tally. You can un-
derstand how valuable trading OBJ
ject bottle of liquor is One makes
a trip out in the country on his bicycle.
duly prepared and comes back with
something good to eat. Next in trad
ing value comes coffee, tea coal oil,
tobacco and sugar. With these articles
one can get some real substantial grub
out in the country.
But hope springs ever anew in the
human breast. The least ray of light
coming out of the Stygian darkness,
which for four long years has envel
oped the spiritual and moral world
tends to keep alive our fickering faith
that right will triumph and that free
| intercourse between nations will be