The Washington herald., 1911-02-05
HUMAN INTEREST"
AT CENTER MARKET
SATURDAY NIGHT


and that it must come on the 8 o'clocl
delivery. Then you give vent to a sigh o
relief at the thought that this task ha
been disposed of for another twenty
four hours that the worry about wha
to eat need not recur until the morrow
Possibly you visit the market or tn
grocery when you happen to be in tha
vicinity; but at-such times your purchase
are made in a perfunctory manner an
the proceedings are hastened as much a
possible. The man behind the counte
or at the meat block is a clerk nothin,
more. They all look alike to you, an,
your lack of interest in them and wha
they may do is shared just as cordially h
those upon whom you bestow no furthe
attention than that necessary in placin,
your order. This buying of foodstuffs il
an lmpersonal matter with you. in which
the fact that the telephone saves a few
steps is of far greater consequence tha,
any argument that could be advanced il
behalf' OF doing your marketing direct
However, thousands of Washington
housewives are not so fortunately stu
ated. or else they elect to do differently
To them laying in a supply of provendel
is something more than placing an order
with nobody knows who, and trustins
~ ioNh ohN thS Jdu6iSNt HOueSly Ol
whoever happens to be at the other enc
of the line for everything to come out
satisfactorily
With some it is habit. Others marke,
in person through force Of circumstances
- for even in this prosperous era there are
plenty of homes where a penny saved is
ten cents earned, and where the number
of pairs OF feet of varying sizes that re-
pose beneath the table three times a day
While the nf fba afnrhSoiI
busy themselves getting rid Of that empti-
ness which is one of our besetting evils
necessitates careful planning if the week
ly allowance is to reach around.
Saturday Night at Center Market.
Do you want to know how the other
half lives. what it eats. how it manages
to make dime go further than your
dollar! 1t is here that you can get a long
start toward the solution of this mystery.
Here is portly matron, with a heavy
black shawl drawn tightly over her
head, her long coat pulled in at the waist
line, or thereabouts. until she resembles
more than anything else a bag of meal
with dividing string around the center
One hand is encased in a woolen mitten
home knit. heavy. the other, the fingers
gnarled from long years of hard labor,
tightly clutching a plump purse that
outwardly bellies the poverty-stricken an
pearance Of its bearer. She has come to
do her weekly buying. She knows lust
what she wants, but she cannot resist
the temptation to look around a bit.
Wherefore she waddles unsteadily down
the narrow aisle, colliding now and then
with another shopper. pausing in front
of this stand and that to inspect the
stock, to inquire the price, to criticise
with a frankness that anywhere else
would call for sharp retort. But these
tradespeople are used to it all. and they
pay no more attention than does the man
behind the pickle counter when she dips
her finger into the brine and tastes it
With the air OF a connoiSSeur.
She Buys Carefully.
Little by little her basket is filed. She
inspects every purchase critically. counts |
her change carefully, and woe be unto the
salesman who makes a mistake-unless it |
be in her favor. When it is all over she
knows to penny how much has been |
spent, and the current price of every
article.
Rubbing elbows with her may be a !
woman whose weekly allowance for rum
nlns the house may be more than the
entire monthly income Of the other home |
She doesn't market in person because she |
has to-there are scores of stores where
they would be glad to have her trade
and where the slightest request on her
part would receive the most careful con-
siderauon- But she likes to go to mar
,et, to mix with this heterogeneous mass
Of humanity, to be elbowed about, to
watch the throngs. 1t isn't a case of
saving with her. Probably she doesn't
know whether she is paying little or
much for an article. She may not buy
anything. But she has the marketing
lablt-and ence 1t lays hold on you all
Use must give way.
over in the corner an olive-skinned
bareheaded, in spite of the fact
hat it rs mid-winter, a gay-colored shawl
lbout her shoulders. is haggling with a.
meatcutter over ten-cent
cup bone. Next in line is a man who
'uys steak the very sight of which causes
/ watering of the mouth, and which
wrecks a two-dolar bill. Still another
woman who thinks six slices of bacon and
bout five cents worth Of liver will do q
or her, and she insists on having the T
wo wrapped sngly ,
Amid it all these burly fellows cut and ,
aw and chop and skewer roasts and
'rap enough meat to feed an army and :
anter each other good-naturedly as {
hough waiting on trade was the great I
st fun in the world. instead of a six I
grind in which every minute q
rings its perplexities. IL
Ffnny Food. G
Travel little farther and YOU will r
ncounter stall where everything that a
Wins in the deep and is fit for food is -.
,r sale, and where before you have had :
me to extract your money the dexterous :
,llow behind the great piles of fresh h
ater and sea foods has sIitted your d
urchase with a skillful stroke of his
nife, washed and dried it, wrapped it n
scurely. and laid it before you ali ready f
'r the skillet He knows fish as Won a
now your alphabet. Indicate a fish and h
e can tell within an ounce or so of its +
eight, merely Tipping it on the scales a
satisfy you. He handles frozen fish j.
ith no more concern than ii it were n
arm f1annels that slipped between his p
ID fingers and splashes his hands "
'ound in icy water with all the entbu- 81
asm Of a cold bath fanatic indulsinp in n
S morning plunge. b.
There is Louie who skins rabbits with NJ
le hand. the while the other he hands a
IT parcel and makes change, and Bar Il
ira whose vegetables are always the O,
nest obtainable-ask Barbara. il youi
'ubt it-and Max, who wouldn't allow
lything but the finest of fruits on his
and, at least not on the top LAYER. and "
e, who sell those delicious dill pickles TIL
ID the odoriferous sauer kraut that only al
eds warming over and the adding of a -,
uck of speck to furnish a srepast fit =
r some kings. There is the little old vi
vxI,n can Aiefin0,tish ni Or