The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-05-03
WITHOUT THE FREE LUNCH.
EFFECTS or IT'S ABOLITION BY
THE RAINES Ia ".
BowerT Panhsndier- and Other Free Lunch
Fiends Stiii Get Pienty 60 Blackstone sn-
loon Keepers Beneatsd -- New York
cheese Makers Hit Hard by the Law.

loon Keepers HeneHted be- New Hort
cheese Makers Hit Hard by the Law
Prior 10 March 90. 1890, the Grub stake of
Chatham square or Howery panhandler wa
an unlimited amount Of assurance and a SUI
preme Indifference to wounds that might bt
inflicted by the heavy solcd shoes Of barroon
touncors. That was before the Raines Liquor
Tax bill became q law. Those were the days
when the free lunch counters groaned under
their loads Of second cut corned beef, doubtful
sauengcs. gallons Of weak soup, and white oak
cheese, with mountains Of stale bread and 90
casional furnishings OF radishes. That such a
display was called n free lunch did not mean
much 20 the panhandler. who realized tn 1t he
accepted many perlls II he attacked | IL without
first patroniaing the bar. still, by close np.
plication TO n chosen lunch route the emptiest
stomach might be filled TO r~cpletion without
the investment OF n single nickel. II not with
out tho receipt Of curses and Guns or perhaps
more serious rebufs.
Now all is changed yet the panhandler does
not 20 hungry. lie never did care TO 70 with
out the beer which the saloon keeper consid-
cred n necessary adjunct to free lunch, and he
always had II when his grub stake was big
enough. It's n poor banner bearer. as these
wallis OF the lodging houses are sometimes
called, who cannot raise n few cents on almost
any occasion, and n most delectable meal can
now be obtained by the investment of two or
three upper coins In almost any Park row or
Bowery saloon. Hard boiled eggs and sand.
witches at O cent apiece are within the reach Of
every one sandwiches OF ham. OF corned beef.
OF bologna. and liverwurst: your choice for a
cent. The panhandlers now revcl in two and
three cent course breakfasts. luncheons. and
dinners.
These meals nre not without their draw.
backs. however. for the bounCer is still in evil
dence. lie runs the lun III counter now lie
knows all his customers. and he objects to
selling them egg, and sandwiches Mt IA loss,
for they seldom drink the boss's beer, and the
cheap lunch is there only to attract drinking
custom. II Is no more than II was before In
the matter of kicks and cuffs. however: In fact.
1t is not SO bad, for the Bowery tramp buying
n penny sandwich feels as independent as
the millionaire satisfying his wants at Del.
monico's board. The Ralnes law has not hurt
the Bowery lunch tiend except in limiting his
route. for there are not so many cheap lunches
as there were free ones before Its passage.
The law has been in operation six weeks. and
It is interesting to note some Of the effects of
its a~nti.free lunch provision other than that
on the homeless men who seldom ate any
thing but free lunch. The effects are more far
reaching than the author OF the bill probably
intended them to be. and have iniuriously
affected interests which the Legislature would
have hesitated long before attacking. Then,
too, benefits which were expected to accrue to
certain other interests have failed TO material
lie. and 1t is even rather doubtful II those In.
t-rcsts have not been positively injured by
the operation of the law.
1t is well known that the anti free lunch
provision WAS inserted In the bill ut the request
Of the organized liquor dealers of the State.
The cost of maintaining a free lunch had be
come so burdensome that an appeal was made
TO Senator Rnines and the Republican major
ity to relieve them.
Most of the saloon keepers have benefited by
~tractive lunch are the principal sufferers
among the LIQUOR dealers. Tho lunch as an
adjunct to the saloon, though. was found TO
have become a fixture which could not be abol-
ishcd In most cases and the necessity arose
to maintain a cheap pay lunch in many places.
been made to evadc the law ny fixing the morn
inal price Of one cont on all edihles dispensed.
lunch which 1t superseded aud it Is right here
that the cheap restaurants which expected to
Mr.. Meehan, tho manager OF an oid.estab-
lished quiek-luncn place in Park ROW. in ex-
Iight.luncheon in the middle of the day. Their
pride could not rot permit them hen, e satisfy their
of beer. and now that they can get n light and
cheap luncheon with a glass OF beer and are
tiends they are getting what they want in the
saloons. The abolishmenl Of the free lunch
has not increased the receipts OF any of the
trance, said that Mr. Mceian's ezpIanatfor is
are now making, money by tho sale of food.
Probably the locnl industry which was hard
OF the Kplckerbocker. Catering Company.
which supplied most Of the free lunches In
the city 1om prior to the ., passage ns@ N Of the Raines
1t delivered daily TO saloons thousands OF pans
and crooks OF baked beans. hundreds OF dishes
of salads. tons OF cooked corned beef. and
other ediDles common to lunch counters. Mr..
Fowler, Secretary of the company. said:
been Prp pedS a ed't to tho he. sST,InS q Of year h Me n@Se
had 100 men employed and fifteen delivery
wagons. We have been hit very hard. but
We arc already supplying saloons which have
put In pay lunches. Many more will undoubt-
kelly ssspsr resort or ms 5G the oi i fnms t tniaEi beo Ths ns ssI%on
They were first anxious to know II the law
gEiinS to stand; Then they wanted to
The new Excise Department. Things will set
tic down after u while. but we Will have to re-
sfSaat1e or OF our Hst output. We i have c aIrnsSy f be,
gun to do that. We are now baking individ-
W. r. m %isH p pnrn OF Out at d s"rhT dor cr ras pay rrd ipnGhss,
and the like, and bake our beans In individual
fishes. It's a new departure, an experiment,
which the new law created. One
boulder says q little but they haven't got
tlthI ub"H.
One bad piece of politics which the Repub-
leans did not appreciate when they accepted
he liquor dealers proposition to abolish the free
lunch comes from the injurious effect OF the
aw on the farming communities. II Is most
felt III the cheese. producing counties,
Dut the market gardeners who supplied rad
shes to the saloon men are also hurt. EST
mates of the amount OF American cheese con
York city alone Oh vary SH;S' considerashiy 'e Come ne
authorities nut it as high as 81, 900. 900 pounds.
George Il. Whitmore, one of the biggest com
mission merchants In the trade. says that II
averages 200 .o00, chooses. II his was tho
consumption In New York city alone. the total
consumption of cheese for the State must have
many millions of pounds. This
oss to the trade is almost a complete one, for
here Is no place for American cheese on the
1ay lunch counters. The cheese eaters nj
ways liked to help themselves to a slice from
large piece OF the commodity on tho lunch
counter. When cut In small pieces II becomes
Try and unpalatabls. and there IL no way of
iisposing OF u; Almost every pound Of cheese
which was sold for free lunch was produced in
his state, Western cheese found Its market
N the West and South. II will he seen, then,
hat the loss is almost entirely that Of the
of New York state, and the Reuuhli-
AN party has male itself responsible therefor