1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1335 



Now, because we hear so much said about 

 the needless severity of ticket agents and 

 othei- railway officials should we not be a 

 little careful? and should not all of us who 

 love God, who love our fellow-man, who 

 love a "square deal," as our good Presi<ient 

 has put it, thank God for the Interstate 

 Commerce Commission — a commission that 

 has done so much of late to give every man 

 the same chance, whether he be rich or poor, 

 millionaire or day laborer, so that now who- 

 ever travels on our great railroads will pay 

 the same price as anybody else — no more, 

 no less? And when it comes to shipping 

 goods, may God be praised that there is a 

 prospect just now that even the Standard 

 Oil Co. with all its millions can not secure 

 any favor that other people can not enjoy as 

 well. When the small farmer or oil-pro- 

 ducer has something to ship by rail he can 

 compete now with the great syndicate, be- 

 cause the interstate-commerce law declares 

 it must be so; and they are punishing severe- 

 ly those who think they can by trickery or 

 cheat secure privileges that common people, 

 even though they are young or inexperi- 

 enced, do not enjoy. And there is a bright 

 outlook before us — a glimpse of a nation 

 that is governed by laws that are "0/ the 

 people, by the people, and for the people." 



Now, friends, is it not true that God is 

 striving to teach us great and valuable les- 

 sons if we are only willing to be taught? 

 And is it not true, also, that "all things 

 shall work together for good to those who 

 love God " ? 



"CIVILIZED OUT OF EXISTENCE." 



Myself and a young companion were mak- 

 ing a hurried trip on a train that stopped at 

 a station only ten minutes for supper. It 

 was after our supper time, and we were both 

 hungry. I suggested to my young friend 

 that it was not well to eat so hurriedly as to 

 get through in ten minutes, and therefore 

 we would each get a lunch in a paper bag 

 and eat it at our leisure on the train. With- 

 out inquiring the pi'ice I called for a leg of 

 fried chicken for each of us, and a sandwich 

 and a piece of pie. I suggested to the boy 

 that, if he cared for coffee, he would have 

 time enough to drink that and take his 

 lunch afterward. The waiter misunderstood, 

 and brought two cups of coffee. I very sel- 

 dom drink coffee; but I decided that, to save 

 trouble, 1 would take the cup. Besides, I 

 wanted to experiment a little as to the effect 

 of a big strong cup of coffee. I cautioned 

 my young friend when I found it was what 

 the great traveling public would call "ex- 

 cellent coffee." It was very strong, with 

 plenty of cream in it. At tirst I thought I 

 would not drink it all, as it was so much 



stronger than I was accustomed to; but aft- 

 erward I decided I would, just to study the 

 effect. More of this later. 



I threw down a dollar, but found that was 

 not enough. The leg of chicken was 30 cts. ; 

 sandwich, 10 cts.; pie, 10 cts.; coffee, 10 cts., 

 making $1.20 for both of us. (I wonder how 

 much the poultry-keeper gets as his share of 

 the 30 cents for a chicken leg. ) Now, I am 

 not grumbling and finding fault. It was a 

 splendid lunch-room. I have visited it many 

 times, and there are always great crowds 

 patronizing the long tables. The food is all 

 excellent in quality, smoking hot, and ready 

 for you to grab at a moment's notice and 

 jump on the train. Of course, you have to 

 pay extra for such accommodation. It is 

 just what the rushing people of this great 

 country demand. It is one of the evidences 

 of our wonderful "civilization" that you can 

 get a good square meal so quickly, and push 

 ahead on your journey. But I wish to make 

 a little protest on two grounds It is an ex- 

 travagant way to live, and it is certainly in- 

 jurious to the health. The greater part of 

 the crowd ate their full meal, toward the 

 close of the day, inside of ten minutes, and 

 standing up There is no time to chew the 

 food. We are wondering what causes ap- 

 pendicitis, cancer, consumption, and a score 

 of other ills. Eating in such haste, and eating 

 so much, especially without chewing, is one 

 of the trouliles. I should greatly have pre- 

 ferred a cent's worth of rolled wheat, anoth- 

 er cent's worth of butter, and a little fruit, 

 and perhaps some nuts if you choose, all 

 costing when at home not over five cents * 

 You may put in an egg and call it six cents 

 instead of sixty as at the lunch-counter 



Some of you may think that I am in small 

 business having so much to say about econ- 

 omy in our food People who get fair wages, 

 and especially those who have plenty of 

 means, do not stop to count pennies or nick- 

 els; and sixty cents for a meal in traveling 

 is not unusual or extravagant. But there 

 are lots of people, as you may know to your 

 sorrow, who do not pay their debts. There 

 are people in every community who do not 

 pay their grocery-bills, to say nothing of bills 

 at the clothing-store and shoe-store. Some 

 of them do not even pay their doctor's bills; 

 but if you lived as Terry and I do the bills 

 for food and the doctor's bills would not ex- 

 ist — at least they would cease to a consider- 

 able extent. 



Now a word about the cup of strong cof- 

 fee. The boy, sixteen years old, drank it 

 right down. He said it was not a bit too 

 strong for him — the stronger the better. I 

 usually feel very sleepy between nine and ten 



* By the way, it is my custom when traveling to 

 have some sort of lunch always in my grip-case. I 

 tell Mrs. Root to give me some rolled wheat, or zwie- 

 back, and a bit of cheese, and to be sure to have all 

 of the lunch something that will not spoil if I have 

 no occasion to use it. Of course. I want a little jar of 

 butter to go with my rolled wheat; and sometimes I 

 carry along a jar or tumbler of the delicious cheese 

 that can now be found in first-class city groceries. 

 Such a lunch keeps me in health very much better 

 than patronizing lunch-counters such as I have de- 

 scribed. 



