The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-03

combined energy was large. They had
good regulations and had the confidence
Of good people and the confidence of
themselves. One Of their good friends
was Theodore Roosevelt. They put in a
bid for the restaurant concession at the
Immigrant station. Their bid was not the
lowest, but on the recommendation of
Edward Van Ingen, counsel to Commits
sioner of Immigration William Williams,
the contract was awarded to them. Tho
first day they went to work at Ellis ISL
and they fed 5000 persons, or rather they
served 5000 meals. They were mighty
good newspaper men, but they proved
to be better restaurant men. They held
the contract three years. In 1905, they
bid for the Panama commssary contract.
Py this time they had taken rank among
the greatest oommissary men in Amer
lea. Their lid was the lowest. Their
reputation was so high that millions of
dollars were pledged to their faithful per
formance Of The contract. This Panama
contract was the biggest of the kind in
the history &C the world. At the time
Hudgins & Dumas figured on it they esti-
mated that it meant $4,000, 600 and on the
basis of their bid they woud have had a
profit of from seven to ten million dol
lars. The work is so much bigger than
at first supposed that the commissary is
going to run more than s109,00o,000.
They didn't get the contract. 1t was
awarded to Markell of Omaha. The ac-
tion in giving the contract to Markell
led to a vigorous protest and then to an
investigation conducted by Senator Till
man. AS a result of this investigation,
the award to Markell was Cancelled and
the government decided to take the COM
nlissary matter into it's own hands. Al
though the government tried not to make
any profit, 1t hasn't succeeded. It's COM
missary agents have made profit for
the government in spite of all efforts to
sell everything as near actual cost as
possible Houlder Hudgins would have
been a plutocrat if he had received that
contract But he has done pretty well.
In 1906 the Ellis Island contract went
to a rival bidder, and for several years
Hudgins confined his operations largely
to Nevada, conducting the commissary
departments of some of the largest min
Ing concerns of that state of precious
metals. Three years ago he got the Ellis
Island concession again. and has it now.
The Hudgins & Dumas establishment
Is bigger than any unit of the Panama
canal commissary. 1t is the biggest sim
gle commissary in the world 1t is worked
on system developed by Hudgins. He
says he can apply that system to the
whole United States army, and il ever
this country gets into war he would like
to get the job of feeding the soldiers.
He says. he would not only feed them
cheaper and better than an army was
ever fed before, but he would make a
mighty good profit from the operation.
There must be a. lot of waste in the
average household, and there must be
something wrong in all the talk about
the high cost of living. The firm of
Hudgins & Dumas finds profit in meals
at cents. That is the price they are
under contract to the government. If
any one thinks good meal cannot be
served for cents, let him go to Ellis
Island. The government is as strict in
its scrutiny over the meals served to the