Imperial Valley press., 1941-05-16

WASHINGTON, May 1G - The
little problem OF providing lunch
for Uncle Sans nepheWs and nieces
who work in government buildings
is one of the less significant but
still highly necessary aspects OF life
in your nations capital.
For while Treasury and State
Departments are right down town,
surrounded by restaurants. Agrl-
culture, OPM, Navy and a few of
the other big offices are decidedly in
the outfield and too far away from
everything for the help to run
home or into town for lunch. And
government employees have to eat
just like everyone else, even it
some of the taxpayers do claim
they eat up too much.
The way most lunch concessions
are operated, everything is on a
pretty altruistic basis. If a clerk
or messenger wants to pack his
lunch in a newspaper or shoe box,
that's all right, and he can come
in and sit at table with the
paying customers.
YOU BRING
THE TEA
1t even goes so far that if Ste
nographer or file clerk wants cheap
tea, she can bring her own tea,
get a free cup and hot water and
unashamedly make her brew right
in the restaurant. Or the service
will furnish tall glass. free ice
and free sugar. With those ingredi-
entS, the customer can get pass
able ice cold lemonade by buying
three slices of lemon for a cent.
The high-mindedness of this
cheap meal policy for government
clerks was a long time a-borning.
Before the last war, private op-
orators had the luncheon and re-
freshment stand concessions in the
hallowed halls of government and
they were uniformly bad With the
bic influx of war workers, the Su-
perintendent of the army and navy
buildings set up a revolving fund
to finance concessions to be run
This idea took hold, absorbed pri-
vate concessionaires, and at one
time was serving 5000 meals a day
at the famous old Mall cafeteria
in Henry Park.
That grew into joint welfare
service. In 1927 it was incorporated
as the Welfare Association of Pub
lie Buildings and Grounds which
today operates 80 cafeterias, 1t
news stands and soda bars, the
Washington tourist camp, a bicycle
renting concession, boating conceS-
sion on the Tidal Basin. six swim
ming pools. two vacation camps foi
children of lower paid federal en-
ployes, a housing project, and
couple of overnight dormitories
for soldiers in Washington on leave
The cafeterias in 80 government
buildings are of course the bis
business of this association today
They're dishing it out now at tht
rate of 16 million lunches a year
or about 5000 a day. The aver
age check is only from 10 to 2;
cents although the daily two-bi
special of a meat and two vege'
tables has 10000 customers. Thu
gross income will run more thar
two and a half million dollars thi
year.
The association figures that it
profit on each tray averages onl.
a third of a cent, but under it
peculiar setup half of the net pro
fit goes to the United States Treas
ury as rent and service charge
Fifteen per cent is ear-marked fo
charity and welfare work amon
needy government employees and tn
other 35 per cent is set aside 70
expansion.
BEANS AND PRUNES
GET CHEERS
There isn't a great deal that tn
association has learned about eat
ing habits, but some of its con
clusions are interesting. Wheneve
they serve cornbread, there's usual
ly an argument between the Yar
KEGS and the southerners as
whether it should be made out {
white or yellow cornmeal. Bear
and prunes, which draw only scor
when set forth on boarding hou'
table, are still among the mo.
popular dishes when people choos