The Washington times., 1903-05-31
AT the Soda Wafer cunt

dlentS, but new COMBINATIONS nave peoh
| devised and they have been put for
ward with new names TO bid for popu-
| lar favor. The warm days, sug-
| gestive OF ennui and spring fever, In
! spired thirst in the most temperate, and
the result was an early rush to the soda
| fountains
Certainly the man who still insists
that there's nothing in name goes
elsewhere than to the soda fountain Tor
his potations. Perhaps the comencia-
ture conveys little to the prospective
patron, but no person can resist that
little thrill of curiosity, of trying some
thing 'to see what it is like" when he
is confronted by such alluring legends
as these: ''rwixywixy, Cherry
Chump," Sweet Sixteen king Dodo, :
Loop the Loop" "Over the Waves, >
and many others equally as enticing and
puzzIing. The soda water man. at least
the one who invents the names, has the
P. T. Barnum idea. and if he does not
humbug the American people he at least
makes then spend thir money in order
to crafty their inquisitiveness.
Advantage of Catchy Names.
A catchy name adds greatly to the
popularity of good drink, although 1t
cannot maintain the vogue of a poor
one. There is firm out in Ohio en-
gagged in the making of fruit juices and
syrups which pays an employe a large
salary merely to devise new drinks and
give attractive names to them. This
sets the fashion FOR the rest of the
country although nearly every large
| confectionery establishment In New
| York has several names for thirst
quenchers which are exclusive to this or
| that concern.
Each year sees more and more at
| tention paid to the soda fountain,
whether 1t is conducted as an adjunct
| to a drug store or confectionery shop.
1t is within the memory OF a genera
! ton when the soda fountain was triv-
| ial affair where a tired drug clerk
would turn from compromising a pre-
scription to draw glass Of carbonated
! water favored with vanilla, lemon, sar-
saparilla, and two or three other ex-
! tracts The trade was unimportant, a
sort of side issue This went on until
some bright individual bethought him
self OF imparting body" TO the drinks
| by adding ice cream. From the inven-
| ton OF ice cream soda dates the su-
premacy OF the soda fountain.
| There are dozens Of soda fountains in
this city which represent an outlay Of
| from 81 900 to $4,000 They are made Of
| the most costly materials, the choicest
Mexican onyx, and frequently the plates
are of sterling silver. The counter -
of marble or onyx. and the glassware is
| of the best Nothing is left undone 10
make everything attractive to the pa
irons.
Clerk Must Be Up to Date.
AT the large fountains the expert dis
/ penser" receives good salary. But he
must be an artist, for there is art N
! drawing soda. II is not merely ques-
ton OF putting in the flavor and turning
on the water. Sometimes you might hit
! it, but more frequently your customer
would discern something lacking, and
go to some other place. For good glass
| OF soda one should draw first two
| ounces of the desired flavor; then turn
on the fine, then the coarse stream, fin
| ishing with the fine stream. Care should
be taken that the syrup and water are
well mixed, and that the product is not
too foamy.
With phosphates even more care must
be observed, but the fancy drinks afford
the best test of the dispensers" ex-
| pertness. Take the matter of egg drinks
Your artist will give you an exhibition
( ta driu 10
refreshing. In the first place, he Will
break an egg into the glass with one
hand This looks simple, but if you
think it is, try 1t yourself and see how
you fare. After he has added the other
| ingredients he will shake them. He has
] a whole lot of graceful movements as
attractive as the exercises or Delsar-
/ team professor. Then comes the toss
| ing" He will throw that foamy mix
ture from the shaker to the glass and
Vice versa until there Is continuous
| stream at least foot and half long
| And he won't spill drop. After he has
! put the mixture in clean glass he Will
top 1t with nutmeg, with is supposed
| to give the best finish to the summer
drink Your expert dispenser" never
neglects any detail which will catch the
| eye or tickle the palate of the patron.
improvement III rid'oiS
| A great Improvement has been made
! in the flavors. They are no longer mere
extracts. Crushed fruits and fruit juices
of every variety are used Skillful chem
lists and confectioners devote their best
! efforts TO devising something new and
| palatable. Every quarter of the globe
| is ransacked, and importations are made
| from the far East, the Leyant and South
! America. We have even won the secret
of the famous sherbet of the Turks, for
nothing is too good for the American
| soda-wateF girl
| You ask If all this pays-this onyx.
fine glassware, polished tables for those
who wish to sit down, the dispenser
and the rest. OF course Il does. 1t is
not uncommon for large fountain to
| take in a thousand dollars on warm
day. There are plenty of drug stores In
which the well-kept soda fountain
brings in more revenue than all the pat
ent medicines and prescriptions put to-
gether.
TRUE WEALTH.