The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1897-05-06
LIVING ON LUNCHES.
TINS Is SAID or okE-HALF THE pop
. UtATiON OF WASHINGTON.


"A Phase OF Life Astonishing to Stranger.
An Sorts OF People Patronixe Lunch
rosns : Tho Baldheaded Referee Of
Newspaper Row.
That one half the world never knows
how the other half lives Is quite an old
edagc, said an out Of town man at one of
fhe hotels the other evening, "but this
should not be the CASE with one half of
Washington. The other half lives on
lunches. 1 never saw city In my life
where there were half as many lunch
rooms to the square foot of territory. How
they exist ard prosper is to me one Of the
mysteries of this great city.
why, tale any part of the business Sec
tion OF the city, and you can't cast a stone
without breaking show window of q
lunchroom. Away out Seventh street, at
The very terminus of the car line, there
are several all night lunchrooms, and
have always noticed that they were doing
"a good business at all hours of the day and
night
The first thing that attracted my at
tention when paid my initial visit to u
washington lunchroom was the signs
upon the wall. One read, Small steak
and trimmings, 20 cents" and was all
Greek to me. did not care TO display my
ignorance and held off many days from
giving that order until that sign used TO
haunt me In my sleep. Finally screwed
up my courage and asked the waiter for q
small steak, with trimmings.' He did
not stare at me, as / thought he should,
and finally ended my suspense by bringing
me steak, potatoes, coffee and bread and
butter. l asked him about the trim
mings, and he said that they were before
me. The potatoes, bread, butter and coffee
were the trimmings This was my first
experience, but now can call off the bill
of fare of most lunchrooms by heart, from
the mug Of cream at IS cents mug TO
tho Marylan biscuit, unbuttered, at "a
cent each
Then there is such a chance for study
ing men In the way they treat their stom-
achs. A friend was in lunch room with
me at noon one day and pointed out sew
eral prominent men in the crowd who
were eating all sorts of dishes in all man
ner of ways.
You see that man over there making
an entry in that little notebook? Well, he
could buy this whole block and not miss
the money. He is a regular patron of this
place, and eats a Mary land biscuit unbut-
tered and drinks cup of coffee at noon
every day. He always makes an entry of
his purchase in that little notebook, and
dare say there is not clerk in his employ
who does not give his digestive organs
more chance for display of their powers.
That other man over there setting them
up to a crowd, he's got lots Of money, too,
hnt no nn nnIv 81 tnf fha
best the lunchroom affords, but he always
has crowd eating with him. You would
think that II he were SO generous he would
go to higher priced place, but the good,
clean pastry, the fresh milk and the ex-
cellent drip coffee to be found in this place
cannot be excelled at any hotel or restau-
rant in Washington
And SO be described to me various pa
irons of the room and their character as
developed In such place. The room In
question was In the heart of the business
district, and has the patronage OF many
business men, brokers and department
employees.
''This room is interesting, but cannot
compare with another place down near
what is known here as Newspaper row,
/ believe. The time to visit the place in
question Is along between midnight and 2
o'clock in the morning. You will find
congregated there the most heterogeneous
assembly that it was ever your good for
tune to mingle with. Race horse men,
touts, bicycle cranks, newspaper men, tele-
graph operators, broken down poets and
artists, and the man with the jag.
''There Is a waiter In this place who is
by far the wisest man L ever saw, read or
heard about He has shiny bald head
and wears an expression of profound
thought He sits at one of the tables and
listens to the talk that is filling the atmos-
phere with words alone. Finally discus
sion arises. and he is appealed 10 and set
ties the dispute forthwith with "A decision
slowly rendered and from which there is
no appeal Whether ii was the winner of
the Brooklyn Handicap of 1892, the record
made on their trial trip by any of the
ships in the navy or the number OF electors
who voted for Tildcn, he knows it all and
renders the decision instanter. He can
give you tip on the winner OF the next
bicycle race, can give you the record OF
any man in congress and can tell the re-
suit of the last battle in Cuba. And the
strongest part of the whole business is that
he rarely reads 4 paper. He gets bis news
first hand from newspaper men ana tele-
graph operators and has the confidence OF
all the sports. He can put you on To an
opium joint or place To get "a drink after
hours, and, in fact, can tell You anything
on the face Of the earth you want to know
He gathers MI this information by listen
ing 60 the conversations I'm the lunchroom.
There is no place on earth like a lunch
room for studying mcn and matters, and
there Is no town on earth that has finer
collection Of its species. .''-wnshington
Post.