, 1888-12-07
AN ANALYSIS OF WATERS.
Varieties to De Found In the City of
brooklyn Wages and Tips.

Brooklyn-w Wages and Tips
With the first class waiter l nave little
to do. BE is, as a class, too well known.
II is with his less p~retentious brother, the
loud mouthed gentleman who oficiates In
the popular restaurant, that ! have to
deal. The profession of waiter cannoE be
learned in a day. A bright man might,
If given the opportunity, be able to carry
a tray of dishes satisfactorily after a
weeks practice, but the calling demands
that he shall serve an apprenticeship.
This means six months service as helper
to the dishwasher. 1t Is his duty to pile
up and carry away the dishes dirtied dur
ing the busiest hours of the day, when
the waiter proper has all he can do to sup
ply his customers with food. From this
he graduates into a utility man. when
his duties are more numerous and re-
sponsible. He must then see that the
pitchers are kept filed with ice water;
that the salt cellars are never permitted
TO become empty, and that there is a suf-
hciency Of butter on the tables. In ad-
dition he must see to 1t that each table
has enough glasses, and with all these
things to attend to time does not hang
heavily on his hands. From utility man,
having been in the business from six
months to q year, he is received into the
guild of walters and permitted to earn his
living III VI CuOSen Calling.
The second class waiter of Brooklyn
furnishes more matter for study than his
aristocratic contemporary. He is more
~approachable and does not carry himself
with the ~grandiose air affected by the man
of tips. He never receives a tip, and is at
least more natural If less oblfging than
tho man whose palm must be crossed with
silver before good service can be secured.
Brooklyn restaurants and walters can DO
divided into three classes, first, second
and third. In the first one can secure
good service and an excellent dinner for
about 81. In this class tips are indispen-
sable. For half the sum a good dinner in
to be obtained In the second class restau-
rant, and whilo tipping Is not absolutely
necessary, it goes q long way toward Sc
curing the choice cuts. Tho third class
includes the twenty-five and fifteen cent
restaurants. in which the food may or may
not be clean and well cooked. Walters
in first class Brooklyn restaurants do not
affiliate with members of the craft en-
ployed In the second and third class eat
ing houses. The line is very broadly
drawn, whether from social caste or not,
| am unable to state.
To return to my second class waiter.
He can be found all over Brooklyn, but In
larger numbers on Fulton street and
Myrtle avenue. These are his stamping
grounds. He knows and is known to
everybody, and when on any one of these
pleasant sunshlny mornings 1t pleases
him to walk abroad he is saluted on all
sides. l have in mind a waiter employed
In a restaurant recently established in
Willoughby street. he Is a typical mem
Der of his class, with perhaps this excep-
tlon, that he dresses better than the ma
jority of his fellows. Just now he is
ablaze with diamonds. In his shirt front,
which is fully exposed by a low cut vest,
are three stones of two carats each, min
iature electric lights in their way. On
his left hand he wears two large rings,
just how heavy l do not know. His dress
is always correct N one would never
take him for a waiter. 1t is In the win
ter that he shines out In all the glory of
bright young manhood. His particular
fad at this season is a coat with fur col
lar and cuffs. His is a striking figure.
and one would hesitate to ask him for a
sirloin and have it rare" During bust.
ness hours no wears his diamonds the
Same rs though on dress parade, and 1t is
really a luxury to be waited on by him.
Colored walters do not seem to be popu-
lar in Brooklyn. Very few restaurants
employ them. French and Irish walters
appear to be more In demand. although 1t
is doubtful II they give us much salts
faction as their colored brethren of the
craft. Men get attached to a waiter and
often will stop trading at a restaurant
from which their favorite has been dis
charged A word as to g In the
first class establishments less money Is
paid than In the second class because tho
means of making is easier. First class
diners tip. while second class seldom do.
Walters In one or two restaurants I might
mention make from $12 to $19 a week,
and others, very popular, perhaps 50
moro. Second class walters average So q
week and three meals u day without lodg-
ing. The pay is not such as to induce
men to enter the profession, although this
certainly is true, "Once a waiter, always
a waiter" The life is not an excessively
hard one and has its advantages. One Is
always sure Of getting enough to eat, such
Us 1t Is, and with some mon this Is tho
acme of happiness.-"Sesame" In Brook
lyn Eagle.