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Editorial
May 6, 1915
The Dermott News
Dermott, Chicot County, Arkansas
What is this article about?
An editorial mocks a bankrupt New York pie manufacturer's claim that declining demand for pie caused his failure, instead celebrating pie as an enduring American institution cherished by all classes and regions.
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OCR Quality
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Full Text
Claim of Bankrupt Baker That Public Has Lost Its Taste for Pie Is Refuted.
A New York pie manufacturer declares himself a bankrupt and informs the court that his financial embarrassment is due to a decline in the demand for pie. His inability to balance his liabilities with his assets is the piemaker's own affair. Bankruptcy is not uncommon enough to be interesting. But when the piemaker assures us that the public has lost its taste for pie, that pie is no longer in favor, and gives this as an excuse for his failure, we encounter something that is not common.
Pie, we had believed, was set upon a foundation as firm as the rock of Gibraltar. Pie is an American institution. It is the one pastry that makes the whole country kin. Rich and poor, urban and rural, East and West know it, revere it, devour it. It graces mansion and hovel, banquet table and lunch counter; it is the dessert of millions; in the course of its long and honorable career it has been the friend of the hungry and the mainstay of the hurried. It has followed the flag, advanced with advancing frontiers, served in peace and in war, fed soldier and preacher, and oiled the wheels of commerce by wasting its precious flavor upon the unappreciative palates of traveling salesmen. It has brought fortune to some, fame to others and added glory to the name of mother. It has proved a blessing and a benediction.
We can not believe, in short, that the bankrupt piemaker has read the signs aright. His pies were wrong and he is wrong and the fault lies not with the public.
A New York pie manufacturer declares himself a bankrupt and informs the court that his financial embarrassment is due to a decline in the demand for pie. His inability to balance his liabilities with his assets is the piemaker's own affair. Bankruptcy is not uncommon enough to be interesting. But when the piemaker assures us that the public has lost its taste for pie, that pie is no longer in favor, and gives this as an excuse for his failure, we encounter something that is not common.
Pie, we had believed, was set upon a foundation as firm as the rock of Gibraltar. Pie is an American institution. It is the one pastry that makes the whole country kin. Rich and poor, urban and rural, East and West know it, revere it, devour it. It graces mansion and hovel, banquet table and lunch counter; it is the dessert of millions; in the course of its long and honorable career it has been the friend of the hungry and the mainstay of the hurried. It has followed the flag, advanced with advancing frontiers, served in peace and in war, fed soldier and preacher, and oiled the wheels of commerce by wasting its precious flavor upon the unappreciative palates of traveling salesmen. It has brought fortune to some, fame to others and added glory to the name of mother. It has proved a blessing and a benediction.
We can not believe, in short, that the bankrupt piemaker has read the signs aright. His pies were wrong and he is wrong and the fault lies not with the public.
What sub-type of article is it?
Satire
What keywords are associated?
Pie
American Institution
Bankruptcy
Public Taste
Cultural Tradition
Satirical Commentary
What entities or persons were involved?
New York Pie Manufacturer
Bankrupt Piemaker
American Public
Mother
Editorial Details
Primary Topic
Refutation Of Declining Demand For Pie
Stance / Tone
Humorous Defense Of Pie As American Institution
Key Figures
New York Pie Manufacturer
Bankrupt Piemaker
American Public
Mother
Key Arguments
Bankruptcy Is The Piemaker's Own Affair, Not Indicative Of Public Taste
Pie Is A Firm American Institution Uniting Rich And Poor, Urban And Rural
Pie Serves All Occasions, From Mansions To Hovels, Peace To War
Pie's Decline Is Unbelievable; Fault Lies With The Piemaker's Wrong Pies