, 1884-11-19
DINNERS III PARIS.
orcaf nestauranf- whore Thousands
% Excellent Meals arc Served 10
People at FabuIousIy
Low Prices


Gated the road to follow. Society In France
presents all the conditions, and the most Ia
vorable, that could he desired for the happy
solution Of the gu .stion. Tho French work.
man invariably takes his meals at the wine
shop. thus be Is forced 70 drink, and Is Ia.
duced TO spend his earnings on Socisl extras
As be only occupies part of a room-whers
hs takes his meals while a bachelor-or the
half OF u bed with a cornrade, be never has
n home. And when he marr.es, unless
bis wife be naturally frugal and stay-at
home. she will leave all the household wants,
as hitherto, to Do supplied by the ~traiteur.
The hewers OF wood and drawers Of water
Per Sc, live from hand to mouth. 1t Is not
they who saVa They are the servants OF all
kinds. strata Of artisans. hucksters, market
women. be peasant proprietor and his wife,
with Il a'ch Of ground and living on her
mits' fare; these are the people that make up
the backbone of Franco and maintain her
perennial vitality.
Several railway companies have adopted
the cooperative system OF providing food
and clothes for their employees The question
OF lodging presents SO many difficulties that
tie subject has rather been deferred than
~relinquished The essence Of cheap house
rent the big item In all salaries, can only re-
csive q satisfactory answer when the princi-
pie OF building societies Is accepted. and the
Nchdnl btCOLn9t pIOpLlGtQI oy EtQocmluK II
In rent fragmenta Now, railway servants
do not, as a rule, form part of the @6xed,'
but rather Of the rolling" stock. Promo
ton necessitates change, and for tho sale OF
property. OF It's transfer. the legal expenses
are crushing.
Tbs Orleans Railway company may be &C
cepted as q type Of a few other companies.
1t bakes the bread for its servants, and dis.
tributes 1t along the line; the selling price Is
81 csntmes par klogramme, or about .
cents per pound It furnishes clothing at q
rate 10 to Is per cent below Quitting estab-
lIshDents, and il serves, at the Paris erminui
and works, al excellent breakfast, wine in
cludcd, for IL centA
There IS a factory In tbs Rue Doadeauylle
OF this city which emylops 1,So0 hands
These patronize a large tavern, whose pro-
pr etor furnishes repasts, comp ,sed Of ex-
cellsnt materials, aud at q price bslow the
usual tariff. Further, he allows the clients
70 participate TO the extent Of 9 per cent in
bis profits. As the combination works well
and smoothly 1t Is TO Be presumed both the
h.gh contracting parties are satisfied.
But here is N. Ruel. a member OF the
municipal council. who has within a few
years founded in the rue de la Verreri, not
distant from the ho5el de villa, and eating
house, where for IL cents, a real working
man can have a fair, square meal Up
wards Of 800 repasts are served daily. The
clients may or may not drink wine, and they
can bring their own bread This explains
why the mean average price OF the repasts Is
but 5 cents For the IL cents the client has a
plate Of soup, n small dish Of mutton and
potatoes and ons-third Of q pint OF wine. A
plate OF vegetables costs 3 cents, and three
and q half ounces OF meat, without bone, 4
cents The establishment bake It own bread.
and 1t Is tho only article on which a profit Is
made. The other necessaries are sold simply
st cost price. for the rent OF the building,
10000 francs, and the attendance 10000
francs. Is a dead loss, which N. Ruel sup
ports out of his own pocket. being . ph Ian.
thropist
Some forty years ago Paris could boast OF
some vsry curious low eating-houses or gar
gotes, and cheap ones to boot There was nm
~ ablishment In the rue do la Mortellerie-
appropriate but iugubrious name-that per
hapa had no equal anywhere It consisted OF
a long. corridor-liks hall, on the ground
hoor; It is neither paved nor tagged. you b.
loved yourself In the street, only the ceiling
assured you there was something between
you and the sky. The table Was fixed to the
ground by solid posts Of wood In masonry
the leaf Of tue table was n long block OF
wood, pierced at intervals like q school desk
for 1 K bottles. In which a hole had been ex.
cavated and taen lined with tin; oppo-
site each OF these holes was a kind OF rustic
stool serving for an RrInshair. The
walls wer, hum " tn pictures Of reigning
soverrigns and battle pieces Body and
mini were thus provided with nutrimsnt; 1t
was a Restaurant school The school, how.
ever, cost nothing. the feast OF reason wai
unchanged for, but the meal meant y sous.
When any Of tho ancestors OF tue Roths
IA III H. -.
ress l sou; a gratuity was not obligator :.
The client on taking his seat, he'd hs soup
-iaid on"by means Of a syringe arrangement,
connacting the soup copperB with the
sunken t~ln-line1 ctvity In the table;
IS he sommencsi To at be was ex.
pected t. pay. It was no use laying
700 ha for otten your purse, or would
return the next day; no pay. no pater hester,
the syringe was again brought into requisi-
ton and syphoned the soup back into the
boilers vita the rapidity OF q m al disap-
pearing In q pantomime. But IL the customer
" : abls to meet his bill like an honorable
man, alter the soup vas supplied, hs wa,
Civ n a chunk OF tread, which Ind beer
fresh the day before. Dipping this bread IL
the oupa and the latter disposed Of, thu
waitress next threw into the hole 4 morSei OF
beef, not bad II you tooth were not affectei
with any palsy, and then folowsd an iron
fork, which she wiped by drawing through
her clos d finger and thumb or her shut hand
and all was said.
Viot frerez. In tho L tin quarter. was thl
Grand hotel dai y for 100 studentA TheJ
showed their gratitude by nicknaming thu
propristors the "poisorer." Yet they werv
virtually the pre- tecessors OF all the modern
cheap eating rooms When one is well II
his teens u measured meal may Do forgotten
besi .es it allows one to dance bstter at the
SUI. eediug balls. On entering viot's roo
you took on your hat. for p~olteness Is due
toa coal man and a milliner as much as q
banker or a duchoss; before you was an i'm.
menso glass vase Oiled with filtered water
which suggested the show bottles In the
chemists shop windows. You called for .
soup it was ) sous. then for q sous ad,
ditional, nsither more nor less, you could
have beef, fowl, outlet. omelstts, roast beef
etc. Every platesul Of Vegetables wa
fairfield at 3 sous potatoes, cabbage
harricots, no lentil& No drink was served
save a little carafe OF wine for 8 sous
but then the enormous glass hltsrs coula
make IL go as far AZ was desired, and YOU
imagination could baptise the bevsrAg,
Cypress, Malaga, Alicante or Burgundy.
Risached veal Il the latest iniquity IN thl