Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-27

man. refiectively. picking up the sapphire.
What are you asking for this?
Seventy thousand dollars" said the jew
eler
The big man scratched his chin and looked
from one ornament to the other.
ITS hard to decide" he said. 81 like
EN- both: Um-yes. l guess III take both
of them.
Then Mr.. John H. Drake of Chicago. mil
lionaire and turfman. scrubbed a check for
$135.Oo0. asked the jeweler to send the
things around to the hotel and strolled out,
humming.
The Fasters' Club.
The Fasters' Club Is the latest fad outfit
to come to the fore. 1t Is composed OF
about 200 men and women who have
reached the determination that eating Is a
foolish business at best. They would WILL
ingly abandon the practice altogether IL
such thing were possible. they say. but as
they feel that they haven't attained the
stage of spiritual development which will
permit OF their living without food they are
all pledged. upon being admitted tc the
Fasters' Club. to abstain from food alto
gether for ten days month. The members
are allowed to put In these foodless days
consecutiveiy or to sandwich them inf
sandwich Is a fitting word In such a con-
nection-between eating days. Those who
do not fast their ten days consecutively.
those that do. The members of the Fasters
Club maintain that eating Is all a mistake.
anyway. and so they have fixed It In such
| a way that they won't make the mistake
on 10 days of the year at any rate. One
who saw the fasters' outfit in conference
the other day pronounces them an anaemic-
looking crowd not unlike In appearance the
assemblages OF vegetarians that OCCASION
ally have their meetings over this way.
A visit to one of the several vegetarians'
restaurants OF New York discovers sad
and sorrowful lot of people The apparent
loathing with which they seem to regard
their btoodleSS food causes one to wonder
at their determination In sticking to their
vegetarian principles. But II you ask any
OF them why they do II they will immedi-
ately flare up and speak disdainfully of
of the "charred flesh of animals" and those
of the esoteric cult will advert to the
slaughtered animals as "our brothers of the
field and look shocked at the very notion
OF consuming meat
There is also a No-Breakfast Club over
here. the members of which covenant upon
joining not to partake Of any sort Of food
before the hour Of noon. They are unani-
nous in the belief that America Is a nation
of dyspeptics-and that oft-reiterated claim
lacks confederation. by the way-solely be-
cause of the breakfast habit. All we've
got to do in order to become robust and
brawny Is to cut out the morning coffee and
rolls and the chop or bacon and eggs, and,
presto! the object is Immediately attained.
When "Beefsteak John OF the Bowery
heard of the Fasters' Club and the No
Breakfast Club he stretched big sign in
front of his restaurant. reading this way:
THE SIX-FEEDS-A-DAY ASSOCIATION.
You're starving to death!
Git next! Come in!''
Women War on Overcrowded Cars.
The women of New York have now taken
the lead in the campaign against the
damned surface cars. and all over the city
they are organizing mo Seat. No Fare
clubs. They are going to wait until they
are thoroughly organized before they try
their scheme on the surface car lines, and
then they are going on the war path sure
enough. On a certain day all of the female
members of the mo Seat, No Fare" clubs
are going to board the surface cars all over
New York in groups of ten, at the busiest
hour Of the day. Those of each group who
are unable to find seats are going to refuse
to give up their nickles for fare. Just how
the street railroads are going to tackle this
awful problem confronting them is keeping
some Of their leading officials awake o
nights. Surprising all ten of the women
boarding car fail to obtain seats-is there
street-car conductor living who would
have the nerve to try to thrust ten de-
termined women off his car for declining to
give up their fares? The women are going
to persist in their fight, and they are go
ing to work in groups right along. Most
of them are women employed down town,
and they are going to arrange 1t SO that
the groups Of ten shall meet every morning
at a certain corner to take the downtown
car, and at another downtown corner
every evening to take the uptown car.
Those who live near to each other are al
ready being told off into groups of ten by
the directors of the mo Seat. No Fare
clubs for the Inauguration of the cam
paign.
There is unorganized but large section
of the populace over here who are express
ing the opinion in the newspapers that 1t
would be a fair deal for such persons as
are unable to get seats on the surface cars
TO be required to pay only half fare. All
sorts of schemes, in fact, are being sug-
gested for the remedying of the frightful
conditions attending travel on the surface
and elevated lines of New York, but the
agitation will probably end as all such agi-
tations have previously wound up-with the
stockholders sitting back in their automo-
biles-they don't have to ride in the cars
and grinning broadly. and the conditions
remaining precisely the same as before the
beginning OF the public row. c. l.. c.