Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-22
SS = 9 ;El e.

and in a jffy you Are up. wish superin-
tendent Wood would look into IT.
4
"Confound these New York and Boston
fellows. they are bottling UP things for us
good Iivers in Washington" exclaimed an
epicure of the national capital last night.
Time was and not so long ago that we
could get as good oysters as any one In the
country and get them at a reasonable rate.
In the winter. oysters furnished staple
article of food for thousands of families
several times a week. You remember the
colored men who used to go around with q
two-gallon can crying 'Oysh-turs.' and the
little shanties scattered through the town
where they retailed them.
Now New York and Boston are bidding
for oysters and sending prices up. You can
see them every day down at the wharVes
when the PUNCHES come in from the lower
river. bidding for whole cargoes. which are
barreled and shipped north to appear later
as Blue Points. BuZZard Bays ana othef
fancy brands. The young, small oysters are
palmed off Blue Points. and little dash
of brine will turn a lower Potomac oyster
into a Cape Cod.
1.-The result of competition is to run up
prices. l wish they would let uS alone.
!: X * X
1.-The other day." said prominent BUSH
ness man. as he sat with a group Of friends,
II happened to spend some time in the
library of friend. One of the volumes
picked up proved to be discussion Of diet
with a special view TO emphasizing the i'm
portance of chewing the food well.
II did not find that the learned author
said anything on that subject that was Spe-
cially new, and while l agreed with him on
the necessity of thorough mastcation OF
ones food. If the stomach was to be kept IN
condition. still l recognized the inherent
difficulty in the practical workings of such
teachings. In other words there Is not one
person In Il thousand who has the patience
at meals to thoroughly chew each mouthful
of food.
However,. the author. in a further en-
largement of the subject, touched upon
something that had not known before. and
that was a sure cure for the habit of drink
ing whisky. He was interested In tt, not
because of his temperance views. but mere
ly auxiliary to his theory about diet
and means of restraining an over
Indulgence in the use of liquor. In taking
drink he advised that the liquor be held in
the mouth until all it's taste had gone, and
then swallowed. OF course. he did not mean
that the raw article should be thus expert
mented with. but rather when diluted with
water.
Il tried this suggestion of the medical
writer, and l soon found that after one or
two mouthfuls of whisky taken in this fash
ion 1 had no desire for any more, and
quite agree with him that this way of drink
Ing whisky or any other liquor, imagine.
is sure cure of the habit. At least.
man is not apt to get drunk if he will stick
to this rule. The fact is he can't drink
enough to produce intoxication."
x X * * x
81 cannot afford to buy it, but 1 would
really like to see how 1 look in such a
cloak was the remark heard in the cloak
department of one of the local stores the
other day. The talk was between one of
the salesw omen and a woman whose means
evidently did not allow her to indulge in
righteousness in dress Stepping to case
she pointed to a garment with 500
marked on it. The meek little saleswoman
had evidently been there before. She
hustled the cloak out of the case in a jiffy
The visitor got inside the garment in rec
ord time, and after admiring herself for
about ten minutes asked the saleswoman
to show her something in the neighbor
hood of 500 The young woman said, 'Oh,
yes and the scribe, who was standing
near. leaned against show case for sup
port There was no attempt to remove the
800 garment during the next twenty min
utes according to the watch, and after a
pile about four feet high had been stacked
up and examined the Wearer of ''the gar
this winter I'll come to you" The young
saleswoman looked at the scribe with
plea i'll her eye which seemed to say.
Won't you help me with that bunch of
cloaks." He had the courage to ask her
when his sisters evening coat would be
sent home and then fled precipitately.
* X X
1.-The Capitol grounds is a garden spot
for birds and squirrels said a postman
who crosses the great plaza to the east of
the big building every day. II have never
known any place in which the birds and
squirrels have so little fear of man as
within these grounds. 1 always carry a few
grains of corn in my pocket, and whenever
l cross the plaza squirrel is sure to come
up to me to be fed. They have all learned
that my blue uniform means something is
doing for them and they never miss ME.
Il never give squirrel corn except from
my hand. They must come up and take it
themselves. They not only take 1t, but they
will pose on their launches while they
nbble the welcome meal. In the winter
time the squirrels would have some trouble
in keeping their larders supplied with food
were they not fed in this manner.
THE squirrels that live in the grounds
here fall into the shiftless habits of the
city. They do not lay up stores of nuts for
the cold winter as their country relatives
do. To be sure they haven't as many nuts
to lay up, but then they might de some
thing. The result is their condition being SO
we'll known to people about here aid is
given them, without which they could hard
ly get through the winter. AS it Is they
are the latest little squirrels that ever
scampered over the grass and climbed
trees.
X X X X X
1.-THE most extreme case of Conscientious
ness | ever heard OF, remarked a public
school official TO Star reporter. was that
of a public school teacher in this city.
The other day her work kept her busy until
late in the afternoon and when she got
ready to leave she found that she was
alone and that the building had been
closed for the night. She spent an hour
or so lamenting her miserable state and
trying to devise means of escape. Finally
going to the front door she tried to force
it open but could not bulge it. When
about 10 give up in despair she suddenly
discovered that although the door was
locked the key was hanging near. Turning
il she was at liberty at last but because
the iaritOr had locked the closet containing
her hat and coat, she was compelled to go
home without them When she told her
experience to other teachers the next morn
ing. she was asked why, when she found
herself locked in, she did not use the tele-
phone in the hall to have some one sen. to
her assistance call up the janitor
The point of the story is contained in her
reply that she didn't dare do that because
of the school rule that the telephone must
not be used for private business. Now that
may have been conscientiousneSs in that
teacher, but if 1T had been a member of
my family l would have considered it down.
right stupidity"