The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-10-25

Fish for the Hoosiers.

Boston, Mass., Oct 33.-Ouf tar
inland cdtiss, that scarcely know the
taste az fresh salt water 6sh, are
soon to enjoy the bame nshy cd
vantages - any part Of the New
England coast.
Big buainess. which has ct last
invaded the iishing industry, has
. practical way OF keep
ing fiAh In . fresh condition with
ont ice for two weeks and even
Longer. Sample shipments sent
from Boston to Chicago and In
dianapolis arrived in excellent con-
dition. Fish are sent even to Den
yer and then hack to Boston and
we're pronounced perfectly fresh Al
Denver and 1t the end Of the jour
uey.
The men who are thus expert
menting with the supposedly impos-
sihle are grouped into = corporation
with headquarters here in Boston.
They have the biggest neet Of steam
tfaWIefs on the coast, and they
aim Is zee the haddock and the cod
delivered regularly oil over the
country from the Mexican border
to the plains of the Dakotas. and to
make frssh lish a. familiar an ar
ticle OF food as beef.
Here, they say, 10 the ocean. fuu
Of fish-lmilli0ns Of them, and more
edible kinds than the average
American ever heard of-and the
United States has been taking from
all it, waters combined . trifling
two billion pounds . year.
But now those iish, who have
been living idle lives and dying
without any mission accomplished
and those landlubbers who have
never taken fish seriously. are
about to be brought together. Ad-
vertising is going to do 1t, and
money, and q corporation that IL
determined to take. some Of the
antique romance out Of fishing and
inject q good deal OF 10th century
Standardization.
New Shipping Methods.
Most important of all il the new
process by which the fish can BIZ
transported. Details Of this pro-
cess are q secret. but the general
idea is that the nah are chilled BY
see water kept e . temperature
just above freezing. Work along
this line Of preserving fish in .
fresh condition was sometime age
tried by the bureau Of fisheries, and
! with the cooperation Of the govern
ment bureau the corporation here
is working out the fine points te
make the plan practicable on 9
large scale.
The company hopes soon to star
shipping fresh fish regularly to in
land points. 1t il convinced thai
the market does not have to be e.
pecially created. but that the de
mand for fresh halibut, mAckerel
and other well known varieties vii
fully equal the supply the compan,
can furnish.
| A single incident is mentioned b!
a representative Of the company tt
show the eagerness with which tn,
towns far from the sea will gobbll
up the delicacies Of the Atlantic. Or
FIVE carloads Of fish sent to In
dianapolis as an experiment, 40,00t
| pounds were sold the morning thu
shipment arrived and IndianApolii
sat down to fresh haddock for din
ner for the first time in its history
But though the fish magnatei
maintain that an inland market i,
waiting, it would seem that the gen
eral public will need some educa
f, ton in selecting, cooking and ever
eating fish before it will be read!
for some Of the varieties 30 familiar
In New England. Otherwise en-
thusiasm aroused may die an earl!
death due to amateur cookery, an.
persons who try one kind Of hsl
and find it lacking may be>arouse,
to swear OF fish for life.
Fish Needs Press Agents.
II the corporation expects Il
develop early curiosity into . larg
and steady demand for its pro
ducts, it will undoubtedly have Il
put across an intensive course o
public education, including stree
car cards, billboards, magazine pic
torials, and all the other methods o
driving in facts in order to con
vince everybody that the superla
tive merits OF Ash cannot be ig
nored.
This would seem necessary, fo
the gastronomic history Of tn
United States has not SO far show
Us to be . race Of fish eaters. Tn
coats have not consumed anythin
like the amount OF sea food tn
fishermen could catch. and BAG
from the shore fresh fish has AWAY