The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-04-29

| well known soup ingredients, and the
| noodles when boiled for a short time
| make an appetizing dish when covered
| with grated cheese and tomato sauce and
| served similar TO spaghetti
| Nndeln, when properly cooked and sea-
| soned, is most delicate and nutritious.
| Its lasting qualities render it reliable
| food at all times. and it can be kept in
! dry place for many months without
| losing its strength.
Crossing town and driving into some
| of the novels in the Italian quarter, one
is struck by the great contrast to the
| clean German shrops, and here in the
afternoon may be seen long racks of
| spaghetti drying in the open air, outside
the shops, swinging to and fro with the
wind. In its damp state the spaghetti
forms~a resting place for germs. bacteria
and any amount Of dirt and filth con-
stantly flying through the air of the
dirty streets, made so by the very inhabi-
tants themselves, despite the vigilance
and constant work of the street cleaning
department
On entering one of the shops you will
see in one corner a small counter, at
which spaghetti is weighed. together
with spices and dried fruits and bladders
of lard. A limited supply of poor grade
canned goods. some glass jars of cheap
candy and a few cachpenny trinkets
fill the few shelves back of the counter.
In another corner a dough trough is To-
Gated. the very interior of which would
make you gag, for IT perhaps has not
been cleaned and scrubbed for weeks
or months
In this the flour and water are placed
and the wheel pushed backward and for
ward until the mass has been mixed and
kneaded. In the rear of the shop several
rough logs bolted together and provided
long screws and q lever, comprise the
machinery" which has been imported
from italy at no little expense and is
about half as good and servicable as
modern machine that can be purchased
here for about the same price it has cost
to transport the cumbersome and crude
apparatus to this country.
Below the lower log is the pit into
which the long strands of green spag-
hetti dangle as il is squeezed through the
die plate by the plunger. which is acted
upon by long lever and windlass. The
windlass consists Of an upright log pinned
to the floor and ceiling. around which
rope is wound to draw the lever. A
shorter lever is attached to the lower
part Of the windlass, and by an unneces-
sary amount of labor and logs, levers
and screws the tough dough is forced
down through a hole in the log, through
the die plate and hangs for a while in
the pit. until sufficiently dry to cut away
and hang on long poles to dry stiff.
Often these shops are not only the
mandatory for the production of spag-
hetti, but they serve as salesroom, din
ing room. kitchen and sometimes the
sleeping room of 4 family. Strings or
dried fruits, peppers, garlic and onions
hang from the ceiling, while a general
litter of boxes. barrels, old furniture.
dirt heaped in the corners and clothing
is to be seen everywhere.
Some semblance or order is occasionally
found about the cook stove, for the pots
and pans are generally to be found near
at hand, but if necessity demands. it is
as likely that an unwashed dishpan will
be taken to mix a small batch of dough
in as it is that Il coffee pot will be used
for plaster of paris.
Not all the spaghetti shops are filthy,
but the majority are. and those are gen
orally owned by padrone. who levies
a tax on the product of each shop-a
levy, too, leaving none too much
for the sad eyed and generally detected
Italian. who is glad to sell you even a
tree centa wortha spaghetti"