Evening star., 1923-10-20

Since the time OF Lafayette it has
been 1.-The eternal French" in some
form or another, particularly in things
sartoriai and epicurean. till the good
natured public has come to accept
as a matter OF course the label, la
Maison." or the appellation, "a la"
this or "a la" that. and to hold such
terms as a criterion of excellence in
clothes and food.
Now, however, there comes along
no less a parsonage than one Of the
nations representatives Fred A. Brit
ten of Illinois, who would upset this
time honored custom by translating
the menu into the homely phrases Of
the proletariat- His letter 10 the
Shipping Board has evoked Il mix
ture OF opinion. especially when, to
prove his consistency. he used menu"
rather than the Americanized bill
Of fare"
What he lacks Is a fine understand
ing of the art of capitalizing human
ity's pathetic appetite for short-order
culture" says the Norfolk Virginian-
Pilot. zone does not go to Europe on
the worlds greatest liner expecting
or desiring to dine in the linguistic
simplicity of the American cafeteria
One goes. on the contrary, TO have
magnificent experiences-g geograph-
ically, mentally. culturally. victually.
The exotic menu card is part of the
great adventure. 1t intrigues the i'm
agination, appeals to the sporting In
stinct natters the culture complex
and puts q fine imported finish on
Chicago chilled fowl-all without eX-
pense to the American taxpayer"
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle thinks
the effort to teach Americans French
by way of the menu card has much to
recommend 1t, because "a full under
standing of Poincares foreign policy
is, of course, impossible without a
knowledge of the tongue OF Talley-
rand"
The Chicago Daily News, however,
feels that they should not be forced
to begin with menu cards replete with
typographical errors and culinary
jargon."
"It will be hard to displace French
names so long as the preference for
French dishes remains" believes the
Boston Transcript, but that does not
mean that the cooks and head wait
ers. when they offer thoroughly
American dish. should do lawless vio-
lence to the works of their national
photographers in trying to invent
names for them"
The Danville Bee pleads: Let the
chefs literary style prevail. Life is
lottery anyway. Why remove the
thrill Of the unexpected on the liner
when hungry passengers sit down for
their daily meal?" Furthermore, the
Bee calls Mr.. Britten's attention to
~ J,,cr nrvEvarr
Hundreds are willing to pay 70 cents
for chicken hash under the resound-
ing terminology Of 'hachis de vol
laflIe aux haricots verts' when they
would rebel at the price under the
name by which they know 1t best"
The Springfield Union argues that
"if for some reason French must be
used In naming dishes why not put
the prices on a franc instead of a
dollar basis? Let us order In the same
language in which we pay
The Decatur Review agrees that a
man who pays the price mentioned
on a French menu is entitled to rea-
sonable protection, which should
come at once"
The Butte Miner thinks. however.
there may be some Americans who
have forgotten their own language,
and for their convenience the names
Of dishes, after being printed in Eng
lish. might be repeated in French in
smaller type, but adds: This Is a
concession that appears uncalled for,
as 1t would accommodate so few pas
senEers, after ALL"
The New York Sun attaches no par
ticular significance to the French
menus, but takes exceptions to the
titles Chateau des Fleures" for an
establishment along the country road
where they sell hot dogs and soda in
bottles and "Au Teapot Bleu" for a
woodshed that has been converted
into a wayside tea room, adding
when our wholesale, earthly farms
where the old stock was raised an
nounce themselves as Locust Vue' or
'Au Bar Vert we fear for the future
The New York Times points out the
| innumerable possibilities and advan-
1 tages that lie In French menus, espe-
! cially when members Of Congress are