The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1918-10-24
PEARS ARE WORTH
A DOLLAR EACH
John Lauterbach Says He is Not
Eating Much Other than the
Regular Army Grub

tereStlng letter from JOnn LauCerDdcH,
who is helping keep tab on the re-.
treating Huns, from an observation
balloon. John says he has been in
the big mixup and wouldn't trade the
experience of the last few weeks for
a whole life time. Last year at this
time he was simply wallowing in fruit
down in the Pacifc's warehouse and
naturally he noses around in France
looking for an opportunity to bite into
a real apple or pear. He isn't eating
very much outside the regular army
grub and encloses the following clip
ping to explain why. To make things
easier he explains that franc is 20
cents Of real, honest-to-goodness
American money.
The question of llncheons and dim
ners at fixed prices at the leading res
taurants of Paris is one that is puz-
|zling the authorities as well as the res
taurant keepers and their clients.
The law enforcing the restaurants
to serve sstable d'hote" dinners as well
as "a la Carte has not yet actually
been passed, tho it seems evident that
some arrangement will be made
whereby newcomers to Paris will know
exactly what price they will have to
pay to dine ct any one of the we'll
known restaurants, and the same ar
rangement will help to save food.
In view of this fact, many of the
restaurants have been advertising
meals at fixed prices. The Restaurant
des Ambassadors has announced in
the advertising columns of The Herald
that it was one of the first to inaugu-
rate the fixed menu. 1t has been sery-
ing dinners at 1Sfr. and luncheons at
15fr. since September 10. These
prices do not, Of course, include drinks.
According to the number of clients
taking the fixed-price dinners ycster-
day one, could not say that they were
proving a success. "A waiter said that
none of the French clients ever called
for the fixed menu; it was principally
for American and English officers who
were unfamiliar with the Paris re-
staurants and did not know the high
class restaurants from the cheaper
ones and could not speak French and
therefore found it easier to call for
the fixed-price dinner. 20 =
lss"Of course, it was rare that one
cared for the whole. dinner; but that
was the extent of the menu, Now the
law requires US to serve only GER
tain number of dishes and but one
meat course. The food in general
seems tremendously expensive to for
eigners now who frequent the high
class restaurants, but / venture to say
that it is the fruit that is the great
block especially to Amer
leans. Fruit is very much more ex-
pensive in France than it is in Amer
lea, because it is cultivated different
".
Take pears, for instance, that are
so expensive now. Each pear on the
tree is given special attention and is
cultivated singly, while in America
they are produced in gross. Pears are
now 4fr. each on the market, and by
the time we pay fer the waste it
brings the price up easily to 5fr. This
is difficult for Americans, who are ac-
customed to fruit in such large guam
titles, to realize, and it is for that rea-
son alone that they often find their
bills in the French restaurants exorbi-
tant. Where we buy fruit by the sim
gle piece, it is sold in America by the
bushel."
M. Rey went on to say that the au-
thorities had not definitely passed on
The new arrangement and that there
would probably be some modification
Of the plan, as the Syndicate of Res
taurant Keepers had new proposals
TO make.
There has been some talk of fixing |
4 maximum price as well as a mini
mum, but this idea does not seem
practical to the restaurants. It is al
together likely that the syndicate will
make new propositions that the gov
,rnment will accept.