The herald., 1896-03-29
THREE-CENT MEALS

Some men here find it a difficult
thing to get satisfactory dinner for
$22; others get along nicely on sub
stRntial meal that costs dime or less.
And there is at least one strange little
restaurant here where full repast can
be purchased for one cent. It ie with
out doubt the cheapest eating house in
the world. This cheapest dining room
of all is huddled down in q corner al
most touching the famous Mariners
Temple of Oliver street, a block away
from Chatham square, where streams
of people from all the four corners of
town pass and repass. 1t Is little more
then q wooden hut, some eighteen feet
long and perhaps seven broad, with a
little addition tackled on to it, which
serves as kitchen. Small as it is,
however, it feeds an average of thou
sand people day. twenty being able
to squeeze in before the counter
at one time; on some days as many as
1400 have eaten there. Tramps, out
casts, vagrants and men who have fall
en- so low through drink that they will
never get up in the world again come
daily, sometimes three times a day,
with the last copper they have in their
pockets, to drink coffee, MUNICH the
bread and eat the pea soup that consti-
tutes the bill of fare of this most low
" of eating houses. It is a strange
congregation, truly, that one sees
within its narrow four walls-R con-
gregation of faces stamped with vice
and debauchery. of patched and rusty
garments and unwashed cuticle. Wo-
men occasionally come to this penny
dining room, but as the proprietor
doesn't care for their custom, they do
not annoy him often.
You ask, what can copper buy?
Well, incredible as it may seem in these
days of lavish expenditure, three cop
pers expended at this tiny restaurant
will buy bowl of coffeo, bowl of pea
soup and four slices of bread. A bowl
of coffee and slice of bread. the slice
cut generously. costs but cent. For
q cent, too, a large bowl OF soup is
served, with another slice of bread. A
cent more will buy two additional
pieces of bread. The bowl of soup is a
full quart, the bowl of coffee pint
"If q man wants to eat more than this
at one time," the little proprietor says,
she must be glutton." At all events,
no vagrant should starve with one OF
these 3-cent dinners snuggly slowed
away beneath his soiled linen. The pea
soup is rich, the coffee is cheap, but as
good as one finds in many pretentious
dining.rooms here, and the bread is so
palatable that the proprietor eats it
himself. This cent eating-house has
been running for over five years, and
during that time has fed hundreds of
thousands. Some months the meals
served have reached the 10000 notch.
Trade has been so good OF late that the
proprietor is going to enlarge the
place, or, rather, build new "hut,"
with better accommodations and more
kitchen room. The charitable society
on whose ground he encroaches real
ICES the good he is doing in supplying
food to the outcasts and the vagrants,
and he has no rent to pay. All he has
to do is to turn over small percent
age Of his profits to the society weekly.
II the week is q bad one he doesn't
have to go down into his pocket to
make it good. Strange to say, how
! svsr, this cheap restaurant rasyss, rraasyss and