Hotel Leavings

jr ersons wno patronize restaurants otten wonder what becomes of the food left over from their meals. Most of the down town eating houses are prodigal in their service, giving enough for two ordinary persons with each order. The result is that unless a man has a voracions appetite hult' bis ineats and vegetables are still in the dishes when he gets up to pay his check. What becomes of this surplus food? "A great deal dependa x:pon circumstances," said an old time restaurateur in answer to this query. "Many honses havo pensioners who snap eagerly at the leavings - men, women and children who otherwise would not know what i sqtiare meal is. A number save the scraps for the stockpöt and rendoring houses and others throw the whole mess into the swilltubs or burn it in their f urnaces. This is not done in any spirit of niggardlinesB or churlishness. "The Chicago rostnurant keepers are as kindly and charitably disposed as any other class. But the question of economy has to be considered. To preserve the broken victuals for the poor would, in many instances, render more help necessary. The scraps would have to be caref ully removed from the dishes, and one or two persons detailed to serve them out to pensioners. The money cost of this would be no small item in the weekly expense bilí. Besides, there is a certain annoyance attaclied to the free distribution of food, which business rnen are anxious to avoid. Were it generally known that the leavings were to be given away, the restaurants would be overrun by a mob of people, some, of course. coming under the class of deserving poor, but the vast majority being of the idle, shiftless class, who will do anything rather than work for a living. Despite all these drawbacks, however, it is safe to say that there are not six of the better kind of restaurants which do not feed a dozen or more people daily with the overplus food of their customers." A little calculation shows the quantity of broken victuals in the business section of the city to be enormous. Many of the restaurants feed over 1,000 between the hours of 13 and 2. Old waiters declare that two-thirds of their patrons are unable to eat half of what is set before them. It is estimated that if the surplus were properly served 5,000 or 6,000 poor people could be fed daily. But, as The Herald writer was informed, there are difflculties connected with this charitable disposition which the restaurateurs do not care to encounter. The bakery lunch counters, which have become so popular of late years, supply a great many needy families with bread, pies and other eatables. They do not deal extensively in meats or hot dishes, and consequently the surplus is easier managed. Every Saturday night an interesting scène may be witnessed on South Clark street. Jnst as Kohlsaat's bakery is winding up its affairs for the week a crowd of children assemble at the doors. Nearly every one has pinched cheeks and eager eyes, and each carnes a goodsized market basket. They file through the front door as soon as the last customer is served. The waiters fill their baskets with bread, pie, pork and beans and other wholesome food. Many of the children brjng 5 or 10 cents to pay for the broken victuals; others have no money, but they are not turned away on that account. The small charge is made iv prcöoi vy, ïu u meitöuie, Ulo mucpcliuence of the deserving poor, who, as every sociologist knows, are often proud and retiring, and shrink from everything savoring of naked charity. Alonji with the children at times are thinly ciad women, who teil sad tales of hungry little ones at home. Then, too, appear men who look half famished and plead for victuals to carry them over Sunday. As a rule the crowd is well mannered and orderly, but during tho very cold weather it became so large that an officer had to be detailed to prevent-a blockade of the sidewalk. The faces of the children were quite a study. Keen and anxious when they enter the bakery, they emerge happy and smiling and bear away their loads with light hearts. To many families the basketful of f ood means the only store of strength for several days - it is the barrier which stops the pangs of actual starvation. The Little Sisters of the Poor collect f ood from a mxmber of hotels and restaurants. "'I know of no more deserving people," said Colonel Parker, of the Grand Pacific; "they are not pennitted to take any bequests. but urust beg their living according to the regulations oí' their order. They do a vast amount of good. They are always at the beek and cali of the sick and suffering poor, all being tenderly miñistered to irrespective of race or religión. They send their wagons here every day, and we give them whatever food is left over. Then we distribute oonsiderable among private families, selecting those whom it will do the most good. Perhaps 40 or 50 are fed daily in this way." Kinsley also gives the Little Sisters of the Poor whatever fóod is lolt by the customers.