Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1921-03-31
TEACH EUROPE
CORN IS FOOD
Must Be Induced to Eat Grain
That American Farmers
Offered as Gift.
Open new EXPORT Market
Previous Attempts to Teach People Of
Old World That Corn ls a Health
full and Appetizino Cereal
Have Resulted in Failure.

Washington, ID. C.,-Can Europe ana
Asia be taught to eat corn?
This momentous question has been
raised again by the gift of million
bushels of corn which American farm
ers are sending to starving Europeans
and Chinese.
You must know that in practically
no country outside OF the two Ameri-
cas- has maize, or Indian corn, been
used to any extent as human food. 1t
has been regarded as food for live
stock only. The un-American world
has simply never learned to eat corn.
But now large sections of that world
are starving. This would seem to be
most unusual opportunity to teach
Europe and Asia to eat corn to the ad-
vantage of all parties concerned.
Europe would have new food, and
America would have new export
market for its growing corn crop.
Last season this country produced
1892, 1867 900 bushels of corn, consider
ably more than the average for the
last five years., 100, 100000. But the
big crop has not brought prosperity to
the mid-western farmers. Instead,
corn prices have fallen to less than
half what they were last year and
many farmers have harvested their
corn at loss.
ilIinoisan Suggested Gift.
In view of these facts. young ILL
nOis farmer suggested the gift corn
project, which has grown to such pro-
portions. The offer was made to the
committees for relief in China and the
Near East. They considered the diff
culties of transportation and decided
to try to overcome them by obtaining
donations Of money and help. Some
money has already been collected and
trainmen have offered their services
free in carrying the grain across coun-
try.
With this much Of the ways and
means problem worked out, the corn
is beginning to be collected at rail-
road centers and the first cargo has
been shipped to Constantinople. An
attempt Is to be made to keep track
of individual donations so that report
can be rendered to the giver showing
when and by whom the corn was used.
Shipping corn is a much more COM
plicated business than shipping wheat.
There is about II per cent water In
corn and the moisture In the grain Is
therefore apt to cause mold In the
course of lengthy transportation. Dam
age due to moisture has frequently
been a cause Of complaint In the COM
paratively small shipments of corn
which we have sent to Europe.
Water can, however, be baked out
of the corn by a kiln drying process,
after which 1t will keep for a much
longer time. This precaution Is to be
taken before the gift corn Is shipped
abroad in the form of meal, grits and
hominy. Preparing the corn will
mean some delay, but special ma
chinery which would not be generally
available abroad Is needed. A first ship
ment Is expected to reach China in
April and it will then be ready for i'm
mediate consumption.
They Won't Reject Il
As distribution Of the corn is to be
directly in the hands Of relief COM
mittees, no difficulty in getting the
people to eat the corn is anticipated.
In China, where thousands OF people
have been trying to live on bark and
MOSES, there will be no caviling over
the American corn being pigs food.
And the committees believe that the
grain will be equally welcome in Ar
menia and Hungary. Corn was used
to some extent In Austria during the
war. Europe has never liked 1t very
much, however, and generally pre-
fsrred rye when wheat was not to be
had.
Americans have felt that this dislike
was due mainly to ignorance-not
many Europeans know much about
corn and those who have tasted 1t
more often than not were prejudiced
by bad cooking.
There Is a story along this line
about Carlyle and Emerson. Emerson
wrote to his friend, Carlyle, recon-
mending corn as q food and saying
that he had sent a package so that
the Carlyle family might try It. Car
lyle wrote back politely to thank Mr..
EIDeTSOn, Dut W say thdL ullcT ccNcIui
experiments they really did not find
the flavor Of corn meal agreeable. The
correspondence stopped here until Mrs.
Emerson could copy off some of her
best recipes, Then the Carlyles were
asked to try again. They did, and
wrote back enthusiastically to know
where they could get more of the
American delicacy.
Believe Europe Would Like It.
This incident, from the letters Of
Carlyle and Emerson, Is one. Of the
grounds on which Americans base
their conviction that Europe would like
corn If 1t could ever be persuaded to
give It a fair trial. The department
of agriculture once sent demonstrators
and lecturers to Europe to enllghten
the different countries as to the possi-
bilities of Indian corn. Neither elo-
quence nor samples of corn disguised
In griddle cakes, mullins, gingerbread
or corn pone aroused any enthusiasm.