The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-05-10
TALKS ON LIVE TOPICS
LESSON POINTED BY QUICK-LUNCH
RESTAURANTS IN THIS CITY.
Not Many High-CIass Cafes and Res
taurants for the Size of the Town
-.Other Stories of Interest.


lis serves to indicate the peculiar spirit
that pervades this city during its business
hours" remarked a well-known restaurant
manager the other day. 81 know OF no
other town Of this size where there are so
few cafes and high-class eating places. In
dianapolis business men-or. at least, the
vast majority Of them-simply refuse to
take an hour away from work in the mid
die of the day for the purpose of enjoying
a good. well-cooked luncheon. The men in
the business district are so completely en-
crossed with their business affairs that
they are unmindfuI OF anything else, and
they hastily swallow a sandwich or a cut
of pie at noon just as a matter of duty
rather than because they really care for
anything to eat
Its the quick-lunch restaurant that is
most popular in Indianapolis. 1t seems
that most of the men who take their noon
day meals down town have neither the pa
thence nor the time TO have their food
cooked TO order. And of course a restaur-
ant cannot have everything prepared in
advance and still be a irst-class eating
house. In some quick-lunch places here
in town the hustling. bustling patrons are
allowed TO help themselves TO the sand
witches, pies or rolls which are heaped on
the counters, and in these places the Gus
toners are placed entirely on their honor
TO pay for what they eat Many of them
forget by the time they have finished their
lunch just what they have consumed and
this causes lots of trouble sometimes. You
see. they are so taken up by their thoughts
of business affairs that they eat mechan-
ically. and the chances are that some of
them would never think to pay their bills
at all if the walters did not remind them
that they had forgotten something 1
don't wonder that tourists from the old
country are always being surprised at the
everlasting hustle of the American bust
ness man. In all of the European coun-
tries the business men take from an hour
and a half 10 two hours away from the
work every day for the purpose Of quietly
enjoying their midday meal. We certainly
live at fast pace in this country and
what with the hurried swallowing of pies
and doughnuts and other articles of rich
pastry it's a wonder TO me that Indian
apolis is not city of dyspeptics."
IF a man or woman has any supersti-
ton in his or her make-up-and most of us
have plenty OF 1.-THE race track is sure TO
bring II out" remarked Z. ]. Dougherty
a travelling man, in the lobby of the Grand
Hotel one evening last week. 81 have been
putting in some spare time while in Louis
willie this week watching the ponies out
at the famous Kentucky course, and I've
never before been so impressed with the
superstitious nature of man in general.
Did you ever know before that a race
horse owner will vigorously object to hav-
ing his animal photographed. The race
horse that has his picture taken is sure to
'go wrong for several days. and some own
ers will not enter their horses in any races
until at least three days after the camera
has done its dreadful work learned from
q weii-known horseman at Louisville that
during the winter racing season in New
Orleans Sam Hildreth. one of the leading
turfmen OF the West, refused to bet on
Witful in the Crescent City Derby simply
because the heavy rains in the South had
so flooded the infield where he had been
accustomed to standing while watching the
races that he was compelled to move to an
other spot near the judges stand He felt
that he could not possibly win a bet that
day on account Of having to cnans> his
location.
"All owners of race horses are given I'D
to superstition. but the people who play
the races regularly are just as susceptible
to so-called magic charms or hoodoos.
Every little episode is twisted into good
or bad omen. Every race track regular
has his own creed In which he firmly be-
lieves. but there are several beliefs In which
all turf followers share, one being that If
you lose on Monday you'll lose all week.
I've known enthusiastic racegoers who had
started out for the track to turn back home
upon coming in contact with funeral
Others believe that IL they see three white
horses while en- route to the races they are
sure to come out winners on the days
sport In fact. close observer at race
track is bound TO come to the conclusion
that men and women are nothing but big
children after ALL"
This cold long drawn-out spring has had
quite a disastrous effect upon the milliners'
business In Indianapolis" declared a popu-
lar maker of women's hats yesterday. 81
don't recall any other spring season when
hats have sold so slowly, not only in the
many small shops. but in the big depart
ment stores as well. There have been So
few warm days since Easter that women
have continued TO wear their winter hats
which seem in much better taste. since
everybody Is still obliged to retain heavy
clothes Sooner or later every woman in
town will have new warm-weather head
gear of course, but 1t is very discouraging
to milliners to have the season drag on at
such snails pace. Business before Easter
started out briskly. for the longest stretch
of warm weather this spring was during
the latter part of March and the first two
weeks of April. You see. no woman wants
TO wear light straw hat strewn with sum-
mer flowers, together with a heavy gown
and. perhaps. a winter jacket"
According to the Indianapolis mail car
riers, 1t is surprising how many people re-
fuse TO make use OF the big boxes placed in
different parts of the city's downtown dis
trict for the purpose OF receiving newspa-
pers and packages. It's an odd fact" said
a postman the other day. but there seems
60 BE- prevailing opinion that these large
mail boxes are not emptied as frequently
as the smaller letter boxes. and many men
who ought TO know better will leave the
newspapers or packages which they wish TO
send through the mail on the tops of letter
boxes. where they can be stolen instead of
placing them In the big receptacles. which