The age-herald., 1897-10-09
FREE LUNCHERS' PARADISE.

From the Chicago Times-Herald.
 Los Angeles.-This is the paradise of the free Tuncher and the man who scrambles for & neromic lottery. The wise merchants and shopkeepers of this golden land' flowing with milk and honey have been making a study of llu- man nature, the kind that buds in prosperity, and are devising means of outdoing one another in the run for trade. And after their careful study in motives all eventually hit upon the same scheme. The rivalry has now arisen to the point of lively competition. Each Is now vieing to give to his customers free with every purchase" more than his neighbor. The whole town has caught the fever and the conflict has become amusing and interesting. Ger tainly it appeals to the crowd.
 This is how it originated: The keeper of an Italian cafe on one of the business streets placidly hung out a sign one morning bearing the shibboleth in large letters, Free! One plate of ice cream with every lunch or dinner" It took like wildfire Crowds stopped and gazed stupidly at the inducement, the catch penny, and nearly all went in. Neigh boring cafe-keepers clustered and swore when trade began to fall off. Finally the host of German inn two doors be- yond displayed one morning in his win dow the announcement: Free, One plate of best ice cream and a cup of Kaiser Wilhelm coffee with every lunch or dinner." The restaurant keeper across the street could hot stand the
 
 his rivals any longer, so he hung out sign which read: Free lunch or dine ner with every purchase of coffee or ice cream.''
 Free lunchers were jubilant. So many people f1ockedi to the place that he opened an annex and hired more help And he did not lose money. He charged 10 cents for coffee and 15 cents for ice cream.
 But that was only a pre- iminary skirm- ish. The conflict has spread, embrd clng now every avenue eff trade A druggist took up the war cry next, and began issuing a series of loiatery tickets from time to time to hts customers about one- third of which drew prizes of articles in his stock. He pursued the principle practiced by the Romans in the time of Nero, of which Sienkiew.cz gives so ade- quate description. Nero himself scat tered lottery tickets among the crowds in the circus, tickets that called for grain or meat or money. He loved to watch the rabble trample men, women ard children to d;ath in it's mad desire to se- cure those prizes. And that frenzy to get something for nothing that so char actemized the Roman mob does not seam to have been tempered any by the progerss of civilization.
 So the druggist became popular and continues to flourish. And other men lave caught the fever, so that the pur- chaser of any kind eff merchandise, from tooth brush to a roll of carpet, in whatever shop fle enters, is sure to be of his purchase.
 It is a boon and joy to the bargain hunter She parades from store to store, gathering together her little purcha .es in h,r arms, and being compelled to send home by express the trophies of her campaign.
 "A free shave given with every sham poo and hair cut is the Do. .elsr song of one establishment. Down few doors we are confronted with a gaudy, inso- lent sign which says: You need a bath. Soap given away free" That sign is do.usive. A geoi many people have come away disappointed because they could not get a free bath. Oh, the boundless magnitude of human greed. Were the government to undertake to support all the so-called needy suddenly an awful state of affairs woull come to light. The government would discovsr that there were none on earth except the needy.
 You buyee tea, I give ten pot free" said a Chinaman.
 "Oh, go long said the customer. "I don't want any more. of thoze old tea pots. I've got more of them now than I'll evsr make tea with in thousand years. Are you a See Yup highbind er?"
 "Nn. siree.''
 "Then. don't want the tea, either.