The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1893-02-10
FOOD AT THE FAIR.
Provisions for Feeding the Multi
tude at the Exposition
Immense Restaurants and kitchens
Throughout the Grounds - There
VIII he Ample Room for
the Hungry Visitors.

the Hungry Visitors.
To feed the multitude at the falr next
year has been a question upon the solu-
tion of which the hardest work OF the
officials of the exposition has been eN-
pended. After months of labor and in
vestigation, of trials and interrogations,
rhe WAYS and means committee has
arranged a plan by which eatables and
dr:nkables viii be furnished for all.
The most important concession in
the hands of that committee Will
soon be granted, and, although the
names of the parties who Will be
awarded the privilege of handling the
restaurants in the large buildings have
not been divulged, Secretary Crawford
has intimated that all the restaurants
outside of special concessions Will be IN
the hands o. one company. To feed the
people il is calculated to take at least a
trainload of provisions per day. 1t
would Oe impossible to properly oversee
the price lists and to prevent swlndlng
or bad food if the restaurant IN each
building were in the hands OF separate
persons. Therefore the ways and means
committee proposes To have things ar
ranged so as TO be able to place the
responsibility for any laXity, and to
prevent inadequate service to the public.
At the southern end of the grounds
an immense kitchen will be built, capa-
bic of providing for a restaurant with
a seating capacity of $4,000. In this
kitchen will be cooked all provisions
for the main building restaurants,
thereby preventing the smell of cooking
., hIrIl n
would be the case were many kitchens
established.
In the forestry, agricultural, ma
chinery, manufactures, mines, trans
portation, fisheries, electricity and
horticultural buildings space has been
reserved for cafes. In the total space
reserved il is calculated that between
l., 900 and l., 900 people can be served
at once. These restaurants Will be
fitted up with warming tables, so that
meats etc, will not be cold. In al
lotting the space for restaurants twelve
feet square was figured for each person,
so as to provide ample room for com
fort. After the army of cooks in the
mammoth kitchen have prepared the
food il will be conveyed TO the reStau-
rant in wagons fitted up with appl-
ances for keeping things piping hot.
This service will require about fifty
wagons, and it is the aim of the com
mittee To see to it that there is no de
lay in delivering the eatables.
The WAYS and means committee re-
serves che right on all SUGGESTIONS to fix
the prices and the measures. Secretary
Crawford and Chairman Butler have
become so expert that they can tell Off
hand how thick a slice of beef should
be TO bring 25 cents, or how many pea
nuts legally constitutes a pint. The
ways and means committee does not
intend To have odium east upon the
fair by allowing things to run them
selves. and restaurants to reap golden
harvests for nothing. While it is the
intention To make all concessions pay
as well as possible, it is far from the
calculations of the fair officials that
comfort and fair treatment shall be
sacrificed To gain.
Chairman Butler, in speaking of the
plans of his committee, said the other
day:
''Of course, we are going to make
everything pay, but it is a mistaken
idea circulated by certain newspapers
that we have sacrificed too much space
for restaurants and concessions We
have not encroached upon the exhibit
ors' space. Now my idea is that, if the
fair is To be n success, it is very essen
tial that the creature comforts of the
visitors be looked after. First, feed a
man if you want him to enjoy him
self. The restaurants are something
more than money makers.
They are necessary conveniences. If
we shut them out we destroy an ele-
ment which is Indispensable. As the
matter was originally fixed the space
for restaurant was marked on the plan
of each building before any space CUES
ton was considered. In total we have
room enough in the large buildings to
accommodate 1000 people at one sit
ting. That takes up 10000 feet or
thereabouts. | have seen it in print
that in the machinery building so much
space had been devoted to restaurants
that the exhibitors had left about 15O,-
600 square feet less than was allowed
that department at the centennial in
1876 You must take into consideration
that we have immense buildings de
voted to machinery, electricity, mines
and transportation exhibits exclusively.
At the centennial all of those depart
ments were comprised under the head
of machinery. We have so thoroughly
discussed the care and comfort of visit
ors that | believe we are now practical
ly beyond any addition to the arrange
ments. There VIII be no Objectionable
features to the restaurants in the large
buildings as the cooking will be done
outside.
In addition to the restaurants men
toned there will be others on the
ground and in Midway Plaisance that
will probably seat 10000 to 80, 900 peo-
pie. Equipped so thoroughly in every
department, / can see no cause for al
leging that we will not attend to the
wants of every one, and | think that
no one will find any offensive feature