The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1901-06-14
CORNED-BEEF-HASH STORY.
Scientist While SUPPOSED to BE
Living on FOur Cents q Day.

whenever 1 see plate of corn
beef hash,' said bachelor insurance
man, who patronizes cafe where
that delicacy sometimes appears, Il
am reminded of a very curious adven
ture of my early business career. 1t
: happened in one of the large north
ern cities, which l would rather not
: name specifically" he continued in
response to Il demand for the stony,
land l was doing my first work at
the time as a general solicitor. l had
to economize pretty sharply to make
| both ends meet in those days, and
after good deal of looking around
] finally settled down to getting my
meals at a little restaurant that I
had discovered by mere accident, hid
den away in narrow side street on
the far edge of the business district"
quotes the New Orleans Times-Demo-
erat 1.-THE place was very cheap, but
it was clean and the food was served
in big proportions, which to me was
point of the first Importance. !
had been eating there for several
months, as l remember, when one
day at dinner time l noticed a large,
well-dressed man peeping through
the glass side door and carefully
scrutinizing everybody in the room.
At last he came in, evidently satisfied
with his inspection, and hurried to
corner table where he sat with his
| back to the others. He was rather
good-looking man of 35 or so, with
smooth-shaven, horid face, and his
fashionable clothing showed that he
belonged to set several cuts above
the usual patrons of the house.
Here is a cheap society pretender,'
l said to myself, who is sneaking
into a two-bit restaurant to get his
meals and is in mortal terror for fear
somebody will catch him in the act
The inference was highly plausible
and everything about the stranger
gave it color. He kept glancing APP
prehensively over his shoulder, told
the waiter to rush his order, and
when the meal arrived bolted 1t with
I ravenous speed. Then he turned up
the collar of his coat and slipped out
the way ha canes
For about month after that he
put in an appearance every two or
three days, practically repeating the
same performance at each visit. |
noticed among other things that he
generally ordered huge plates of
corn beef hash, for the reason, as I
surmiscd lat it could be slowed
| away vii ,reat rapidity, and used
to watch him with mingled amuse-
ment and contempt At the end of
! the month he disappeared and never
returned, and I had completely dis
missed him from my mind when one
/ day, nearly a year afterward, he
passed through a hotel lobby where
l was talking with a friend. who is
that man?' l asked, suddenly recall
ing the episode. why, that's Prof.
- he replied, naming a well-known
authority on social problems who
frequently contributed special arti-
Giles to the press. I'm surprised
said l, for he's certainly great
cad; and told my story. My friend
became thoughtful. DO you recall
the exact date that happened? he
asked. l did and told him. Come
with me- he said, and led the way
to the office of big newspaper. He
secured bound file, turned back
about year and presently pointed
to an article that covered two whole
pages. Living on Four Cents Day.!
was the heading. Prof. - Tries
the Experiment for Solid Month!
Diet of Cereals Cooked at Home Over
the Gas! He Gains Ten Pounds in
Weight That explains the mys-
tery,' said my friend. You saw the
professor during the month he was
supposed to be trying his interesting
experiment. Naturally he wasn't
counting observation when driven by
hunger That shattered my con-
| fdence," added the insurance man,
sadly, land I have never read one of
those oatmeal articles since. pre-
fer Philippine war news or any other