The Opelousas courier., 1904-01-30

were perfectly good, but all of it was
going to be thrown to the fishes.
AS the barges passed by an incoming
liner a passenger, leaning over the tat
trail, exclaimed:
tWell, I've Travelled all over the world
and seen terrible waste of food in the
tropics, but 1 should have thought a
dig city like New York would have
found something better to do with all
this stuff than throw it away"
Economists agree that all over the
world people waste as much food as
they consume. Practical men who
have studied the subject say that the
inhabitants of American towns and
cities are more wasteful than similar
communities in Europe, and that in
New York the greatest waste occur
New York is far and away the most
Wasteful Of all our cities" said In Off
cial who has had had great experience
In the disposal Of refuse in several
American communities. Flat life
leads almost inevitably to waste. In
Philadelphia there are comparatively
few flats, and probably not one-hun-
dredth part as much food is wasted
there as in New York. In Philadelphia
people are economical, and the women
do their housekeeping very carefully.
The same remark holds good Of Boston,
In rather lesser degree. Chicago and
ST. Louis are wasteful cities, but not
nearly SO wasteful as New York. Pitts
burg and Cleveland are also very
wastefuf. I think I would rank them
next to New York. Brooklyn and Jer-
gey City are decidedly less Wastefui
than Manhattan.
.As compared with her American SIS
ter, the English housekeeper is a model
of economy. AS a rule the london
housewife only provides for her family
Just as much food as they can eat.
Her country cousin is even more care
full. The idea of throwing away half 4
pound of steak or a couple of lamb
chops, as the Gotham housewife does
without a qualm, would frighten her.
But if you want to see real economy in
housekeeping you must go to Scotland.
In Edinburgh and Glasgow the women
have reduced the elimination Of waste
to a fine art"
DR.. ]. NJ. woodbury.. New York's
Commissioner OF Street Cleaning,
agrees with this official as far as his
own town is concerned.
ut is only natural" said the Com
missioner, the other day, that the
richest cities in America should be the
most wasteful. New York, I should
say, wastes more food than any other
city. 1t must waste pretty nearly as
much as 1t consumes. / am simply as
founded at the lasge quantities of food
given to my department by fellow New
Workers to thJw awasay:"
"Ca9-you re an idea Ofef the total
buaRtity? q there any STATISTICS
nyailable?' he Commissioner wa; IS
asked.
sNo. it lis matter that defe1es statis-
tics.o was le reply. "Brtadt the exper-
fence Of oudepartnzRent is that almost
every store, market, house and fat in
New York daily throws away q large
~uuantity Of food. The total is enor-
nous. If you go down to the depart
nnentd dumps, where the refuse collected
NIL e the city is deposited in scows
For ultimate disposal, you will be u
prised to see how large a proportion OF
the refuse consists of foodstuffs. You
will then be able to realize what a
Wasteful city New York is"
Tons of Wasted Food.
Two of these dumps We're visited. In
both places there We're several blg
Bcows laden with nothing but food,
hundreds Of tons Of food. Potatoes,
bread. apples, tomatoes, bananas, meat,
turnips. onions, were piled up in great
heaps on the scows with a thousand
Dther eatables.
.ss it always like thisV n OF the
officials Of the department was asked.
ssYes, always SO, more or less" ne
answered. s.Often there is a great deal
more food than this to throw away.
Took at this Cart
Az he spoke q cart came along the
wharf and tipped into the nearest scoW
d load composed entirely OF vegetables
and fruits.
rs nothing ever done with this
Kood?" the visitor asked.
Nothing; It is all thrown away"
was the answer. "And, as You see. it
Is not nearly ali bad when 1t comes
Into our hands. Half of It, II not
ino1e, III good to eat. Unless you have
actually collected the refuse you have
no idea of the wastefulness of the av-
erage family In a New York nat.
.The wife Buys a steak and gets dim
1er ready, and then husband comes
home from business and says: fut
your hat on, little girl, I've got tickets
Tor the theatre, and we'll have some
dinner first at a restaurant So the
whole of the dinner she has prepared
goes down the dumbwaiter in the gar
bage pail. Even when they do dine at
home the dinner is almost always
much larger than they q eat, and q
third oil d half OF 1t ultimately comes
to Us.
And they hardly V e give It away
to the poor. lii the first place 1t IS
difficult for a beggar to tackle a fanny
living in a fat. In the second place,
New Workers seldom encourage Deg
gars in any shape or form. knew q
mar, however, who was shocked az the
family waste. and said that all d I'M
easen food must be put aside and given
I'd Ihe poor. He told two or three no.
bos to call for it. In a week the WORD