The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-08-07

Each man had to take care Of his own tools,
and those who used wheelbarrows had to
take the iron wheels OF these In their hands,
not daring to leave them for fear they
would be stolen. As each man stopped
work lie crossed himself and muttered a
prayer, and as they came up to where l stood
many OF them were Sill praying. | WON
dered at this, and an English friend who
was with me said; Yes, they are praying
now. They are thanking God that the day
Is done. Tomorrow morning they will
again thank him when they begin work,
and they will pray again when they stop
for dinner They pray and thank God all
the time, and when they have a chance to
steal anything they even thank God then
for giving them the chance" This is rather
hard Cd the Russian peasant, but there is a
grain of truth in it notwithstanding. The
people pray so much that they do it auto
matically, and though there is a great deal
OF religion among the people there is more
superstition and form than real intelligent
piety.
just before the men stopped work WIS.,
tied the kitchen Of the contractor, where
about 700 men were boarded by him at
cents day. This board was voluntary on
their part, and they only patrOniZed him be-
cause he had better feed for the money
than any one else. Imagine a room about
so feet square taking up the whole of a shed
OF logs and boards, and in this put great
oven about four feet high and so made that
whole OF the room. This oven-box Is made
OF bricks and in its top are great holes
in which are sunk six kettles, which
will each hold about a hogshead Of
fluid, aud in which were boiling the
evening ration of soup for the men.
Some of this sonp was of beans and another
kettle was of cabbage, while in a third hogs
head buckwheat mush was steaming away.
L tasted all of these, eating a bit with
wooden spoon out of the great ladies' handed
pOQtS / mr. hap ut
ali bad. In another part of the kitchen
were stacks OF great loaves Of the black
bread which the peasants eat, and as
We looked at this l asked for the bill of fare
of this Scent eating house. The reply was
that each man got four meals for this sum,
two OF which consisted OF cold bread and
water and the other two of which we're hot.
Each man received four pounds of bread a
day and the meals we're axe n in the following
order: At 7 in the mOrnn g, after work ing
three hours on an empty stomach, the men
eat breakfast OF bread and water. At IL
they knock off for dinner, and at this time
they sit down at long tables and have some
OF this hot soup and bread. At p. NJ. they
take another lunch CT bread and water, and
al 8. after they are through with their days
work, they have more soup, with little of
this buckwhsat mush In this soup each
man gets three-Quarters of pound of meat
and the ratiOns all told for the sum Of
cents are better than can be gotten any,
peTlOr TO what the peasants are accustomed
to at home and they grow fat on them.
don't know whether this peasant board
lng-hOuse contractor furnishes the dishes
or not, but | suppose he does. i watched a
meal OF the workmen and the extra ex-
pense Ia this regard could not be large. The
men ate as have seen the peasants in many
places where they are served with dinners
by the famine relief people, and, ia fact
Just as they eat III their own homes. The
only dishes were wooden bowls the size of
those IN which the ordinary American fam
lily chops its hash or the farmers wife
works her butter. These bowls were about
three inches deep and they were f led with
thick sour. The tables were knocked
up only OF rough planks, and were
two feet wide and 100 feet long with
benches running along both sides of
them so as 10 form seats for the men
There was no cloth upon them, but the
white surface of each table was marked Off
with charcoal into squares, and each square
had number up 10 10, and at the end of
the 10 squares a second series of 10 num-
bers began. Each man had thus his own
square place al the table, and one of these
bowls was set in the center Of each gasg
and contained enough for 10 persons. In
stead OF plate, a cup or a saucer each man
had In his hand spoon OF yellow wood
which would hold about twice as much as
the ordinary tablespoon. and the men took
their turns in dipping their spoons into the
soup and carrying II 10 their mouths There
was rigid order about the whole and there
was no chance for man to get spoonful
more than his share. AS TO the service,
however, not one of the hundred long
bearded men at the table objected, and tile
majority Of them would not know how to
handle dishes of porcelain and knives and
forks.
The above is. as / have said, fat living for
these people. They are furnished it by
contractor, who makes money out If II and
who i dependent for his custom on the ex-
cellency of his board. The famine relief
Kitchens, when are supported by the Gov
eFnment and charity. give dinners for 8
kopecks apiece or 2k cents a day. During
the WORST part OF tho winter dinners were