The Concordia sentinel. (Vidalia, Concordia Parish, La.) 1882-current, 1921-03-26
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 Is Health
full and Appetizing Cereal
Have Resulted in Failure.

Washington, d. C.,-Can Europe and
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 a
most unusual opportunity to teach
Europe and Asia to eat corn to the ad-
vantage of all parties concerned.
Europe would have q new food, and
America would have a new export
market for it's growing corn crop.
Last season this country produced
S,232, 1857 900 bushels of corn, consider
ably more than the average for the
last FIVE years., 1904 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 a loss.
IIIinoisan 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
10 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 kiln drying process.
after which it will keep for 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, hut special ma
chinery which would rot 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 It.
AS distribution of the corn is to be
directly in the hands of relief com
mittees. no difficulty i'm getting the
people to eat the corn is anticipated
In China, where thousands of people
have been trying to live on bark and
mosses. there will be no cavilinS 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
10 some extent in Austria during the
war. Europe has never liked it very
much. however. and generally pre-