The Washington herald., 1916-04-15
SEEN AND HEARD
BY GEORGE MINER
'corrirht isk. b. lss Mschr ss~nsp~
Special Correspss6~st Of The wsah-
taGton Herald.
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Mexico City. April 2-Ar American
friend. newly arrived IN Mexico. took
lunch with me today and had the shock
OF his young life. He was young snc
fresh from Utcs, n Y. and pstheticAlly
homesick He knee neither the Ian
snsss Of this country nor any one in it
30 when J ran on 20 him standing help
lessly IN the COURTYARD Of the Iturssds.
he fairly dubbed over with Soy at meet
ing an old friend and a feiiow-oountry-
man.
As ] was on my way TO lunch. asked
him TO Join me. He accepted with the
stipulation that he be allowed TO pay for
- Also he begged that ] take him TO
the best and most expensive restaurant
In the city. as he had nearly starved in
the one day he had been IN Mexico since
landing from the boat at Vera Cruz He
oio not know where the soo6 restaurants
were or how TO order anything sitter he
got In one.
His sole food up to date hsd been
boiled eggs and coffee, which he had se-
cured oy drawing a picture Of the egrr
and pointing to some one drinking oore.
ne said II was a very embarrxssinF way
10 give an order
Keep Prices a Secret.
So led him 20 silvanes,. IN. p,o,s ,,-
nous OF all Mexican restaurant ST.
vsnes' IL branch Of a Paris estabIisb-
rnent, and, like several faxhions bic cafes
there, never puts the prices on the biIl
or fsre- They so on the principle that
money Is too vulgar a subject 70 ssso-
ciste with artistic food: that no eentle-
man would consider the cost Of what he
eats
That's what they say.
The real reason "a that by not p-Ynt5n.
kthe prices they can charge as much as
they please and sting you Just a. hard ss
they think you will stand.
AT my young friends request, I ordered
a very good meal When IL was finished
and the bill laid before him, he risneed
at IT, gave a start and picked It up 20
look more closely. That did not help
matters. for he blushsd a vivid red and
then turned pale
'1-didn't realize" he stsnmered. that
these are war times and things are 90
expensive. I'm afraid I'll have to 60 TO
my room and get some money out OF my
trunk or borrow some from you You
see, I've only ten dollars in nv pocket,
but I thought that was plenty for q
lunch. I'd no idea things cost 80 much
i looked the bill over and this Ia what
read. translated into English: Two
soups. s.; two fried hsh, S: bread. 81;
butter, 81: two roast ducks, sl,; sEpsrs.
gus $50; potatoes. 81; peas, $50. salad.
81; Strawberries, S; bottle Of wine, 80;
two cofiees, 81; total. ssS
1T certainly does seem extrsvsEsnt."
l said. ''Sixty-eight dollars Is q lot 20
pay for lunch. What have you-Amer-
icsn or Mexican money!
'oh, American. I haven't changed any.
They say they are willing 10 take Amer
lean money anywhere
They certainly are-more than willing
But cheer up. Don't feel that you have
kSCr IL HkWHfa
the wine. Two dollars Of your perfectly
good, nice American money. will pay
for all Of that elaborate lunch and leave
three dollars 10 tip the waiter with. But
don't give him so much. You will spoil
him. One dollar tip Ia enough. The ex-
change is S 20 L"
Dollars that Are Not Dollars.
I never saw such a look Of relief come
over any ones face before as beamed
from my young friends when ! told him
this. II was not that he was stupid.
He simply had not stopped to think and
Mexican money being marked In dollars
and cents makes Il very confusing. All
dollars were dollars TO him. As a mat
ter OF fact the luncheon cost him even
Iess than said, for the exchange had
gone Up that day 70 %, 50 that when he
gave them a two-dollsr American bill the
waiter brought him back eight dollars
in Mexican money for change.
Father told me not 70 stint myself on
this trip" said the boy, but also not
TO squander money. He doesn't stand for
that sort of thing at all l know II I
told him that had spent sixty eight dol
I lars for a lunch he would say / was a
pinhead and not NJ TO Be let go Of alone
again. It would have spoiled my chances
! Of a trip 20 South America next fall
] am mighty glad the exchange Is working
; this way, but how can this restaurant
AFFORD TO do il? At a swell restaurant
/ in any American city that lunch would
,,-,1r, - r,or STNrr