Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-13

Here are all sorts OF novelties in the
food line, so many, in fact that the cas-
ual observer wonders who purchases
them all. Then he stops to realize that
If he buys one, and the next customer a
second, and The next a third, and so on,
soon every one of them will have gone
over the counter before the day or week
Is over.
The ramihcations Of trade always per-
pick such a customer, If he stops to
think about them. Probably they would
worry the merchant himself, If he began
musing over the thousands of men who
grew, manufactured and put up the
articles, and of the thousands engaged
in the transportation of them over
ocean and land.
This shining store Is perplexing, too.
1t reminds one of busy power station,
where brass is shined until it glows,
where hardwood floors are spotless,
where linoleum is waxed to a mirror,
where there is never q spot of dust or
grease, despite the hum of machinery
and the mechanical look OF the entire
place.
Here is rather food display, than q
grocery store, as such. 1t is entirely
different from the corner grocery with
which we are all familiar. There the
cat sleeps in basket, and there may be
bits of celery top and spinach scattered
around.
There one bumps into small Johnny,
years, importuning mother to buy
him q bag of candy. The butcher, fat
and red, cleaves into a side Of beef,
scattering a few drops over his white
coat.
This place has no visible confusion.
It's trade progresses in an orderly, gen.
tlemanly fashion, as If too much noise
and hurry urnra IlnWOrtbU Of the HIGH
purpose of feeding humanity.
Il X \
Its clerks are rather high priests of
foodstuffs. They are opponents OF
service, rather than sellers of anything.
what seem to be frock coats, await
ing the pleasure of monsieur and ma
dame.
Timidly we ask what Is in yonder
glistening Jar. We are told, with an air
of mild surprise that we did not know,
that the jar contains olives from Spain
herself, and that they are freshly i'm
ported.
We do not like olives, but are afraid
to say SO, under the circumstances. We
do not wish to offend. Were We con-
fronted with genuine Bermuda onions,
fresh from Bermuda, we might get up
enough courage to declare that we do
not like onions. The onion is used to
being Sneered at. 1t can stand it, but
we do not know whether the gentleman
in the frock coat could or not.
With regret we pass up the jars, the
little woven baskets of fancy figs, the
jade green vases of tea bearing the seal
of the Republic of China, the packets,
the boxes, the tins Of candy, nuts, bas-
kets of fruit.
We came in for mixture Of teas, and
we will stick to that, else we go bank
rupt sampling all these tasty-looking
things We ask for IL ounces of Oolong,
of Young Hyson, and of Gunpowder.
Even the unlnitiated will recognize q
mixture of black and green here.
The elderly gentleman dressed for a
party informs us, with something of pity
in his voice, that the store has no
Young Hyson. We gather, although he
does not say so, that Young Hyson is
rather on the stores blacklist.
We end by taking IL ounces of Oolong
and Of Gunpowder, as the gentleman
thought we would all along. He smiles.
We smile. We have met his approval,
and we feel better.