The War on the Free Lunch
A Tacoma councilman moves to abolish the staple of the working-class saloon, calling it a magnet for vagrancy.
“Let’s abolish the free lunch,” said Councilman Jamieson last night in a resolution in the city council. Bell seconded the resolution and it was about to be adopted when suddenly there was agitation in the Sixth ward corner. “Hold!” shouted Hawley. “This is too quick. This is an important matter; let us lay it over one week and send it to the police and license committee.” And it was done. But it was a narrow escape for the free lunch. Jamieson said it was a nuisance and attracts hobos who commit degradations in city and live on the lunch matter.
“Jamieson said it was a nuisance and attracts hobos who commit degradations in city and live on the lunch matter.”
The 'free lunch' was a Gilded Age social safety net for laborers, providing a meal with a beer purchase. This 1909 moral panic over 'hobos' mirrors modern anxieties about public space and who is entitled to be in the city center.
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