Evening star., 1922-04-16
ust About Dawn on Spring Morning at Center Marke

"Obidiah," and while the owner of
them has often declared he is willing
to sell either or both, when the mat
ter of price is discussed he usually
finds some excuse to call off the sale
interest in making the other fowl
and the little shoats observe a certain
amount of decorum and many times
the inquisitive piggies have their
noses raped by these self-appointed
monitors
The prices of foodstuffs are, as a
rule, plainly marked and will cause
quite a feeling of surprise when
viewed by those who are accustomed
to dining in some of washington's
fashionable hotels. For instance,
large and fine appearing grapefruit
sell from to Is cents each. while a
half grapefruit in some restaurants
costs 40 cents. while two eggs at the
same place are priced at 35 cents,
dozen fresh country eggs may be Sc
cured for quarter or 80 cents at the
market. A head of lettuce costing
cents has increased in price to 40
cents when it has journeyed from the
market to some dining rooms.
The interior of the building con-
tains many ornate stalls. and all as
clean and bright as the proverbial
new pin. On the lockwood blocks or
marble slabs one will find the latest
things in meats, cheese, breadstuffs
and other articles of food consumed
by man. Those who preside over
these different stalls are men who
have made study not only of market
conditions, but also of salesmanship,
and they are quite convincing in their
suggestion to the purchaser. Some
of these men have had interesting ex-
periences. more especially with the
young wife who decides that she will
get something fresh at the market
in orde to please her mate.
AZ one of the market men said,
deal with. There are not many
cranks, however. The majority of
people with whom we do business
know pretty nearly what they want
before they come to market. Occa-
sionally we run up against some one
who has not been keeping house very
long, and you would be quite amused
to know Of some of the things they
ask for.
For instance. a sweet young thing
came in a couple of weeks ago and
wanted to know if we had steaks
that could be cooked all the way
h.;- trvnf "a
outside. Fortunately, my wife hap
pened to be visiting me that morning,
and she not only explained to the
young housewife the proper manner
of preparing a steak. but went home
| with her and cooked the steak.
X + = =
THE result has been that nearly
all the young brides newly wed
| friends come to me to get their
| steaks and chops. Another young
thing, keeping house for the first
| time, insisted .on-buying three dozen
chops at once because she heard the
| price Of meat was going up. j after
| ward heard she cooked them all at
once. with the result that the young
husband was compelled to eat chops
| for every meal for more than week.
.The egg man across from me the
other day told me of an unusual eN-
perience when a young woman came
| in and wanted some boiling eggs.
some frying eggs and some to be USED
exclusively as poached eggs on toast.
He also spoke of the young woman
J who, because she could get two dozen
eggs a little cheaper, took them home
and soft boiled them all. But these
Young women soon learn and often
make the keenest buyers"
"Do the fiappers ever come to mar
ket? aueried the scribe. The mer-
chant laughed and replied:
"If they do, we don't see them here
but YOU may find them at the place
where they sell pickles or homemade
fudge. But 1 guess the fiapper Will
outgrow her faults and some day
settle down and be real good Amer
lean housewife"
In one section of the market is a
stall where one can buy saw. tack
hammer or a bottle of glue, while IN
another place one can purchase malt
bread, pumpernikel or cheese larger
in size than the tires of a ten-ton
automobile truck.
AS the artist and the writer left
Center Market the last sound they
heard was that of a dusky purveyor
from Virginia, who in singsong
voice declaimed: Here am de 'riginal
sas-a-fras root, good fo' de blud;
make a tea in de spring and no mis'ry
you'll feel"
.. The sun was climbing high. A
rooster in one of the coops hailed the
new day with loud tapping OF
wings. A young porker squealed for
his breakfast. The days business had
begun.