St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-05-31
"FEED THE HUNGRY"
But Will Minneapolis Be Able to
DO 1t Next Week?

DO 1t Next Week?
1t has been mentioned before. put it
is not out of place to mention it again,
IN connection with the close approach
of the beginning of the convention.
Where are all these people who are
coming to MINNEAPOLIS to be fed?
Two weeks ago Chairman George 4.
Brackett, Of the executive committee,
recognized the Importance of this fact.
He admitted then that the question of
feeding the crowds that Will descend
upon the convention city was troubling
him seriously. He made Il bold dash TO
remedy the one defect In the conven-
ton accommodations by appointing 4
committee. with ". NJ. Regan al its
| head, for the special object of looking
after the restaurants and degisiDg ways
and means for opening new. eating
houses or temporary, establishments
where the hungry convention Yfs-
itor might get .ssnaek." That CON-
mittee has been at work lifdastriously,
but il has accomplished littie,s if surface
indications mean anything. Unless
something be-done and be done at once,
next Tuesday will see a congl0ineraIe
mass of humanity. men and women, old
men and Young men, miili0naireS and
workingmen, pushing, crowdlng. j0st-
Minneapolis. each individual atom of
tie whole mass ruthlessly disregarding
the feelings of all the others in his wild
struggle for bread.
This is not an overdrawn picture.
Any one who will give the subject a
moments thought will recognize the
truth of it. Minneapolis enthusiasts,
like William Henry Eustis, say that the
convention will attract crowd Of 100,-
600 people. That estimate is possibly
ovtrdrawn. But E. F. Meek. the ser
geant-at-arms OF the convention. IS an
outsider, actuated by no desire to swell
MinneaDolis in the eyes of the world.
He has travelled over large section of
the country within the past few weeks.
He has had all opportunity to judge
how large the turnout Will be. This is
what he SAYS:
81 think this will be the greatest con-
vention ever seen in the United States.
1t is my belief that the crowd will be
between $1,000 and $4,000 people. By
that | mean that there will be that num-
Der in and out OF the city each day."
Col. Meek'S estimate is likely to be
conservative. But admit that it is eX-
aggerated: what then? Simply this
that some of those people must go hum
cry or carry lunches in their pockets,
unless some way may be devised at
once for feeding them other than the
facilities already provided.
1t Is presumed that many or the peO-
pie who come to the convention will be
housed in St. Paul and at the lakes.
They will be able to get their breakfasts
at those places. But how about dinner
and supper? 1t can be safely asserted
that ninety-nine one hundredths of the
people who attend the convention will
expect their midday meal in
Minneapolis, right at the head
quarters of the political activity.
Nearly as many will want to eat supper
here also. They will not come from a
session of the convention and ride for
thirty minutes or an hour TO their meals
and then cone back to another session
of the convention. And where are the
facilities for feeding a crowd of even
$4,000 people once a day?
The restaurant and hotel capacity Of
MinneapoIis-the feeding capacity, that
iS-has been carefully estimated. The
limit of meals that can be served in the
hotels and all the restaurants of the city
was taken into account when these
figures were compiled. By no method
found within the covers of an arithmetic
can it be figured that Minneapolis can
feed more than 30,000-or 50, 900, an out
side and unwarrantable eStimate-Deo-
pie per day. What must become of the
other $4,000 or 25, 900 food cravers? They
must go hungry.
These statements are not intended to
reflect discredit upon any of the COM
mittees that have been doing all the
ante-convention work. They have done
all they could, and much more than
could have reasonably been expected of
them. They must have help. From
whatever source it come, they must
have help. Atone time 1t was thought
that the patriotic ladies of the various
church societies would come to the
front and help out the restaurant COM
mittee. They have not done so, as has
been stated before, with a few eXcep
tions. The regular restaurants are
not in a position TO enlarge their
establishments for the convention
week. 1t might pay them TO do so if
the convention were to run over week.
But there is the possibility that the
gathering may not continue more than
two or three days. So far as can be
ascertained. Regan Brothers is the only
restaurant firm that has made an eX-
tensive movement toward supplying
the hungry with food. They will open
an additional eating house. The church
societies will be able TO do little. Ex-
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