Evening star., 1937-12-12
By Nell Y. Smith.

IF YOU'VE ever thought food pro-
sale, go down to Water street after
midnight, any night but Saturday.
and watch it. There you will find
the glamorous hubbub Of Bagdad
bazaar, pass through the 81 wholesale
stalls, the huge farmers shed and the
81 fish markets Of that colorful street,
and never again will you call 1t COM
monplace
While Washington sleeps trucks and
trains are laundering along the high
ways and tracks leading into the city
and boats are sailing down the Poto-
mac loaded with food-that you may
eat. BY freight, boat, truck and air
plane, rs per cent OF the food eaten in
the National Capital comes to the
Water street markets. Should these
markets remain closed for just "a
hours Washington would be eating out
OF cans. Eleven o'clock every night
clerks are on the job to greet the first
trucks that rumble in with fresh food
to replenish their depleted stocks, sold
out the day before to thrifty mer-
chants and buyers for hotels and res
taurants.
One Water street firm alone sup
plies the daily food needs Of a hotels
and $50 restaurants in Washington.
The White House, some Of the embas-
sizes and many exclusive clubs also buy
there. Daily during the holiday sea-
son rare figs from California, soft
shelled pecsns from Georgia, straw
berries from Florida, choice tropical
fruits from distant lands and chest
nuts from sunny italy pass through
this market.
TRUCKS regularly haul into WASH
ington tons and tons of fat lima
beans rosy beets, broccoli, spinach for
Pop Eyes, succulent parsnips and
fresh mushrooms. Among the many
great truck farms that supply this
market are Kings Farms, $500
acre tract in Pennsylvania, owned
by Warner Brothers of motion-p picture
fame and leased to Carl King. The
tract also raises mushrooms. Two
years ago these farms had eight mush-
room houses; now they have is.
Lemons come to these merchants
from Italy, while nectarines, honey
dew melons and peaches come from
Belgium, and before the present hos
tilities Spain sent us casaba melons.
Planters bananas, used for banana
chips" says Sam Scalco," come from
my cousin, Joseph Di Giorgro's plan
tations in Cuba and Puerto Rico, who
raises lots of bananas"
Many women buy from the Water
street markets. "They are good judges
| of food and interesting to talk to-"
says Samuel Feas, proprietor of one
of the largest markets. I've never
found dishonest woman" he con-
tinued.
Feas like to work with food, but
he admits he has one bad habit
worry. Recently he bought load Of
squash and delivered some before he
realized it was not up to his usual
high standard. That troubled him.
Women are especially interested In
the iced lettuce mloaded daily On
Water street. Packed in crushed ice,
the shipments were completely COW
cred with ice by blowers before they
left California and re-iced en- route
on the seven-day trip across the con-
tinent to keep them fresh and crisp
for Washington buyers. The dealers
know that housewives will expertly ap-
praise each head with an eye to their
salad needs for dinner.
HUNDREDS of baskets OF luscious
purple grapes and dozens Of
punches Of tasy celery crowd the
heaped sacks Of onions, waiting for
inspection and approval. Everything
from soup to nuts Is here in the -
wholesale merchants stalls along
Water street. Daily the wholesale
merchants sell fron @l,S0o 10 $4,000