Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-21

Harris, Gates & Co. employ an excellent
cher and maintain dining room In con-
nection with their off ces 1t is true that
the chef receives a munifcent salary, and
that the cost of maintenance is no small
Item as compared with the prices on the
menu Yet the firm figures a saving of
several thousand dollars d year in time not
to mention the advantage of having every
employe within cal during the luncheon
hour.
Another captain of capital who. paradox
ically, is as socially celebrated for his elab-
crate entertainments he is financially
famous for the vast number of enterprises
he finds time to direct, habitually lunches
with telephone al his elbow and a Stenog-
rapher at his desk receiving dictation. His
noon hour, being comparatively void of in
terruptions, has for years been his fayorite
time to attend to his correspondence, and
despite the protests of nature he thriyeS
physically on the combination program
While the master of this banking house
is thus economiZing time, the man. 2s rep
resented by some fifty clerks, is luXuriating
in 5O-cent luncheon served in the private
dining room-a luncheon for which Del
monico or a Cafe Savarn would want
thrice the price. This house expends an
average of $1,000 a month in catering to
its employees. In return the only demand
made, in addition to the regular deduction
OF So from the weekly wage or salary of
each attache Is that every one in the
luncheon hour. Ordinarily. when the mar
ket is normal of tone, Interruptions are sell
dom necessary. But when the market pulse
is beating tattoos 1t is of vital Importance
that every man be on or near the firing line
even for the twenty or thirty minutes per-
mitted for luncheon.
One or two concerns have even gone so
far as to inaugurate free-lunch system
by which their employees receive a substan-
tial midday meal as sort of salary
bonus. There is bounteous supply of
everything down on the biil-of-fare, which
varies every day. The diners are privi-
legged to make their own selections. and
when one occasionally evinces a fondness
for a special dish the chef prepares 1t for
him. A glance at the menus reveals a
wholesome simplicity in marked contrast
to the machine-made dishes set forth IN
the average public luncheon place
Banks in particular have adopted the
private luncheon system with time saving
profit and success. 1t indeed may be said
to have originated with them, since the
old Metropolitan Bank was the pioneer
OF tbs street in this respect. One by one
otae hanks saw the merits of the plan.
sLtU private dining rooms are the
rula rather than the exception among the
GREATER New York banks.
OF the Bank OF Commerce the 100 clerks
daily adjourn TO the top floor of the build.
ing ~ squads of thirty and dine between
noon and 80 pm. While 1t Is not COM
puisory. very rarely does an empoye fail
to patronze the bank dining room rather
than public cafe. Only one item appears
on the public cafe menu that is never seen
in these private dining rooms-spirituous
liquors. They are strictly forbidden A
canvass OF twenty large institutions, main
tanning their own culinary departments
failed of disclosing a single exception 10
the rule
Among the metropolitan princes many
are quite as democratic in their luncheon
tastes as Edward II. Hartman, who dimes
daily on the same fare set before his cler-
ical force. Although a sovereign factor in
the mending and weaving of railway fab
rio extending over the entire country this .
master of millions may be seen nearly |
every monday dining, If not shoulder to |
shoulder, table to table. with his twelve |
and twenty dollar-a-week clerks. Only |
when he is entertaining business ASSOC
ciate at luncheon does Mr. Hartman as !
cend to a small dining room set aside for |
his special use
Edwin Hawley and many other million |
aire occupants of the Broad Street building I
patonize the public cafe in that most re- |
markable of buildings-remarkable because /
II is possible for one 10 eat. sleep, be suited |
and shaved and Numbered, and also attend |
to business under the same roof. |
James r. keene rarely permits himself |
the luxury of lunching. or at least not until !
the market day is ended and he is whisked |
up town to his Waldorf-Astoria home. Del
mouico. down town, caters almost daily to