Evening star., 1943-03-15

eventually March
Henry mcLemors. l3, 1o43. Will
come into its own and will be cele-
brated everywhere by citizens of the
brave, new world created by the
like of Henry Wallace, Sir William
Beveridge and others who welded
nothing hotter in this war than a
smoking fountain pen or a .50-cali-
Der dictaphone.
The significance OF this date Is due
to the fact that on 1t the British
Ministry of Food was able to intro
duce-and not get shot by an irate
public-the caulnower pie. In great
advertisements in London news
papers the Ministry Of Food said.
Look what's for dinner! A piping
hot, delicious caulifover pie"
As soon as I saw this advertise
ment I started travelling all over
London expecting TO see the citizens
in armed revolt, burning Food Min
lister Lord Woolton either In efiey
or In the flesh and stornirlg the
doors of No 10 Downing Street.
demanding that Prime Minister
Churchill not allow such a horror
to be foisted on people who had
already suffered blood, sweat and
tears.
Served With Pride.
But there were no such uprisings
and I knew then that the war had
been won and that no matter what
final desperate effort Hitler might
make he would have no chance of
winning when a free people could
look a caulif1ower pie in the eye
and accept it as part OF their daily
diet as means to final and COM
plete victory. They are unbeatablel
No matter what evil devices the
Huns might unleash they would be
nothing to men and women who are
able to take caulinower pie In their
stride and not crack under the
strain.
1 speak this way of caulihower pie
because have a first-hand knovl-
edge Of 1t. 1t was served that very
first night at the restaurant where
I dined. To man raised on deep
dish peach, apple, cherry, blueberry
and nincemeat pies. caulifiower pie
will make him recoil as If struck in
the face by eantlet or he was
cast away on desert island with
Just ham and fish. I refused to
order the dish, but my companion.
veteran. Londoner who had reached
the point where he could eat old
slip covers or fricassed handouts,
said he'd have some. The waiter
served 1t with the same pride he
would crepe suzettes or lemon
peringue pie and my companion
dove into it with all the relish of a
gourmand tasting hummingbird
tongues under bell for the first time.
Curiosity finally overcame me and
said, Let me have q nibble." The
graciousness and speed with which
my companion complied should have
been enough to arouse my suspicious
of the goodness of caulif1ower pie,
but took a forkful.
Nothing Else.
The best description of caulihower
pie that I can give and the most
damning evidence against 1t is that
cauliflower pie tastes exactly like
caulidower pie. You could be served
a portion Of it in the deepest Jungle
headwaters Of the Amazon at mid
night while wearing a blindfold and
you would know exactly what is
was. 1t could be nothing else but
Just what 1t is. You could serve It
to a savage who had never heard OF
cauliiower and 1t is even money he
would know exactly what you were
Furnishing him with.
1t Is very embarrassing to be
caught in crowded restaurant with
a mouthful OF caulinower pie.
There is no escape. One must grin
and swallow it. I did, and as 1t
wended Its interminable way down
my throat I knew the true meaning
for the first time of the saving.
There will always be an England"
II the British Propaganda Minis
try has any sense it will flood Ger
many the next time the Lancasters
and Sterlings 60 over with pictures
OF Britons manfully swallowing
caulihower pie. Such pictures would
do much more harm to Hun morale
than blockbusters. If the English
can take such dish, so can the
other Allied Nations. They must or
else when the time comes to gather
around the peace table for the for
mutation OF the world policy, Eng
land will hold the upper hand.
President Roosevelt could boast OF
what we did in the Pacific Ocean
and Stain of what he did In Russia
and Chang Kai-shek OF what China
accomplished against the foe. but
their claims would be as nothing -,
when Mr.. Churchill arose and said.
Gentlemen, England must have the
first and last say because while we
admit all the magnificent things you
did, there must be no forgetting that
Englishmen ate caulif1ower pie as
an aid to total victory against the
forces of evil"