The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1905-12-28
WASHINGTON'S YULE-TIDE MARKET.
Martha L. Schneider. Washington. ID c.

At all seasons OF the year the Centre
Market House of Washington, D. G.
is one of the ''sights" of the city, but
at Christmas time with its splendor of
greens, its Christmas trees and holly
trimmed stands filled with everything
good to eat, it is transformed into a
perfect bower.
The market house consists of a big
three-storied building with covered
colorado facing on public triangle
on Pennsylvania avenue between
Seventh and Ninth streets. Under this
colorado there are number of whole
sale stores. This part of the building
is the least interesting to visitors but
a very important part to the purchaser
as here is located the representatives
of the meat trust magnates, who
dictate to the butcher the selling price
of his meat, and who thus rule our
expenditures with rod of iron. The
upper stories at the two ends contain a
very fine cold storage plant; the center
is open to the roof with balcony
around the interior containing storage
rooms.
The building extends over two city
blocks and at each end are to be found
the retail meat merchants in their
white gowns and the white covered
stands filled with their high priced
Western meat. The center portion is
used by the retail produce dealers,
trucksters, florists and those who
handle fish and game. Every dealer
takes pride in his stand and the
vegetables are arranged in attractive
piles and with such care that the best
specimens are in the most conspicuous
places, the small or specked ones
tucked under where they roll into the
measure so Sticky that unless you
have given glance at the rear of the
pyramid you will not recognize your
purchase when you get home.
While this effort on the part of the
marketmen to make their stands
attractive and, almost as far as a
market stand can be, a thing of
beauty, does not arise from etheticism
it yet demonstrates that beauty is a
winning card even in mound of
potatoes. Competition is the life of
trade and these market-men here have
found out that the most attractive ar
ray of goods, draws the biggest crowd
of purchasers.
The market is kept scrupulously
clean and is exceedingly we'll man.
aged, and honesty and good measure
among the merchants are the rule.
For many years a large portion OF the
centre of the building has been de-
voted to the sale of plants and flowers.
Palms and ferns and Towering plants
tower high above your head on either
sides of the aisles, making bower
through which you pass and admire
the splendor of the flowers arranged in
attractive punches in artistic jars,
or soaring above the rich earth from
which they gain their strength and
nourish their beauty.
Other markets in large cities have a
larger and, perhaps, finer display of
meats and produce, but none in this
country have this beauty spot of
flowers and bloom in their midst. And
it is safe to say that there is hardly a
house in the city, except those of the
very poor, that does not have upon its
table few flowers or potted plants of
fern or some simple, inexpensive flower
that adds attractiveness to the other
wise simple meal, for if the flowers of
these florists in the market are beyond
the reach of her not too-full purse, the
marketer has only to step outside, and
at all times of the year she can buy
from the country people, for few
cents enough to beautify her dining
table for days.
1t is this outside or curbstone market
that gives to this market its unique
characteristics. Two classes of people
conduct this sidewalk market that sur
rounds the market proper on three
sides, extending on the south side on
both sides of the street, and on the
south side stretching number of
blocks westward of the market build
ing, where it has for its opposite neigh
Dor whole block of wholesale produce
stores.
One OF this class is the well-to-do
white farmer, the other the colored
farmer. They sell side by side, and
the colored farmer, very often can out
sell the white one.
The market is open every day in the
week, except Sunday, but Tuesday,
Thursday and Saturday are the "Big
Market Days."
For these days, especially Saturday,
the wagons begin to arrive at seven
O'Clock the night before, and from that
hour on there is almost q steady
stream of wagons and conveyances of
all kinds pouring into B street and
lining up on the curb. They usually
put up their horses right at the stand
formed by their barrels across which
they put board hunks in the wagons,
and are up bright and early Saturday