Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-07-14
SUNDAY DINNER GETTERS
4 TOUR OF OBSERVATION THROUGH
THE CENTER MARKET.
Rich and Poor and the Great Between
/ Glass Make 1t Their Com
yerging Point.

There are markets and markets in Wash
ington- One may find public marts where
the various components of human proven
Ger are provided in different sections aud
private establishments of similar character
in every ne;ghborhood but the chief of all
and the converging point for the greatest
proportion of the population is the Center
market, and it is the most interesting of
such places. too. and especially so on
Saturdays when the throngs are largest
and their character most diversified,
and the Sunday dinner is usually the
subject uppermost in the minds of all.
The morning crowd on Saturday Is as
different from the evening gathering as
two classes of people can well be- The
earlier corners embrace the very well-to-do,
the moderate in purse and a few of the less
fortunate. The evening visitors are almost
entirely free from the first named, and are
Lar gely those who have waited for the hus-
band or father son to bring home the
weeks wages in order to secure the sup
pies for their Sunday dinner.
Cosmopolitan I'm Character.
The market in its variety and the cost of
provisions is as cosmopolitan as its crowds.
St. James may find his tastes. no matter
how exalted they may be or how delicate.
satisfied to his purse strings limit, If need
be. and st. Giles. on the other hand, may
secure his meager supplies within the boun-
DIARIES of MS scanty worlds store and the
same is true of the great middle class of
saints or sinners-betweea those two eX-
tremes.
\ reporter for The Star wandered through
the Center Market and around the busy
streets contiguous to it this morning and
saw the Sunday dinner seekers and what
they sought. and listened here and there to
what they had to say. 1t was but natural
that an observing eye should be struck
', hi Of
tanned on the various stands, and upon one
of the latter. extending for many feet along
one Of the walls, the reporter saw dis
played the following: Tomatoes, spring
chickens. sickle pears, apples, sweet pota-
toes, oranges, currants, cabbageS, bananas,
Irish potatoes. egg plants pineapples.
pluElS. green corn. radishes. waterCresseS.
watcrmelCns. lettuce. celery. green peppers,
cucumbers. string beans. Lima beans. rasp-
berries. blackberries. lines, lemons, onions,
Okra, carrots. squashes. Canteloupes. cher
ries, huckleberries. rhuba-b and cranber-
ries. while peaches and plums were in pro-
fusion
Prices Inside and Out.
The fruit and vegetables We're never bet
ter than they this year" said the pro-
prietOr of this array of edibles land prices
are fairly moderate. Everything, though
is regarded as high when compared with
prices which obtained two or three years
ago The corn? Eighteen and ~ cents a
Dozen.
Walking through the aisle and reaching
the outside of III" Il street wing. where the
country people lined the curb. the reporter
inquired of man who displayed corn APP
parently as fresh and tender and full
grained as that inside. what was the price
a dozen.
Ten cents" was the eager response, as
the vendor sped possible purchaser.
We can always get our vegetables
cheaper from the country people than we
can from the regular dealers" chirruped a
little housekeeper who was greeted by The
Star man. "Of course. | mean when the
vegetables axe in season. But everything
is awfully high. Meat. butter. cheese and
everything one eats. just too high for pa
ticnce. Then she bought two live chick
ems from another countryman. and nodded
the reporter CHEEKY goodbye.
Are prices high?" asked the reporter of
the next acquaintance he met. who was
ordering a profusiOn Of fruit at an inside
stand and directing its being sent TO her
fashionable uptown home.
Mercy. yes was the response: but
when one has % live. how are high prices
going to be helped
And it went. Everybody bought
where they found things best to their cir
cumstances of tastes and pockets
How's business" queried the reporter
OF dozen dealers or their assistants in as
many different lines of business
Nine of the twelve said. Rotten" The
other three said, Pretty good"