Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-10-13
FORTUNES IN TIPS.
HOTEL PORTERs AND HEAD WATERS
ROLLING IN WEALTH.
One Hundred and Twenty-Five Thousand
Dollars Accumulated from Tips
in Fourteen Years.
From the philadelphia Reeord.l

in Fourteen Years.
From the Philadelphia Reeord.l
All of the prominent hotels of this city
have rich head porters who have amassed
their wealth in backing boots, carrying
baggage and starting fires in the rooms of
guests. Some of them live in brown-stone
houses more imposing than those of their
employers, and enjoy life all the time.
The head portership In hotel like the
Continental, Girard or Lafayette means
sinecure with plenty of money and little
actual work. The chief has a corps of
eight or ten men under him, who look to
him for their living and obey his every
beck aad call Besides this, he is given a
handsome salary of from 81 200 to $4,000
a year by the proprietor, who intrusts to
him the disposal of all the guests luggage,
the attention to all the fires in the rooms,
and score of other minor duties. The
hotel proprietor has nothing to do with
the pay of the under porters. That comes
from the well-flled wallet of the head
porter. The salary which the head porter
receives is but trihe compared with what
his position brings him, and out of which
he can pay his underlings and have
handsome sum to lay up at the end of each
year.
The magnate of the hotel baggage de-
partment makes his money by ''tips." The
guests tip the under porters for attending
to their baggage and carrying it to their
rooms, and the underlings then hand the
tips over to the head porter That impor-
tant functionary pockets the money, and
with smirk thinks of the latest fad in
household furniture, and how few silver
trappings would look on his fast-going
span. A head porter of one of the large
Philadelphia hotels inadvertently adm m,tted
yesterday that his position brought him
clean 81, 900 year above the cost of his
family expenses, besides enabling him to
pay off his men, who receive 81 day and
board at the hotel.
"There are several head porters in this
city who have become as rich as the we'll
known head porter of the Palmer House,
Chicago, who was recently discharged by
his employer" continued the loquaciouS
baggage custodian above referred to.
Didn't you hear about that case? Well,
Potter Palmer, the proprietor, was one day
speeding his horse along one of the drives
at Chicago, when some one attempted to
pass him. 1t was the head porter, John,
of his hotel. The day after Palmer called
his head porter into his Office and asked
him where he hired his horse. With a
glow of pride the porter answered that the
horse was his own. The proprietor knew
that he had established a rule that the
employees in his hotel should accept no
tips, and that the head porter could not
make such display without having made
his money in this way. An investigation
of the case was made, and Palmer found
out that the man was accumulating his
charged him. The Palmer house is the
only hotel in this country that | know of
where tipping of porters is not allowed"
The head porter then dropped into
reverie, and after few moments refec-
tion suddenly aroused himself and ex-
claimed "There's old John Carl, the
former head porter of the Colonnade Ho-
tel, who died three years ago. He held
his position for nearly fourteen years, dur
ing which time he amassed fortune of
over $l25,000 by means of bis salary and
tips. Carl lived on South Seventeenth
street in fine residence. He had some
handsome paintings and works of art in
his home. There was never a hotel porter
who could get more tips out of man than
Carl. He was suave, and had the best
.tip-me-please smile that | ever saw.
Mighty sharp man, too, and very econ
omical. He used to say that he averaged
one So tip day. Yes, good many
wealthy men who stop with their families
at our hotels give as large a tip as that.
They are really repaid for it, too. Their
baggage is handled with especial care.
There is Frank McIntee, who now
helps the ladies out of their carriages at
Strawbridge & Clothier's establishment.
He was head porter for fifteen years at the
old St. Cloud Hotel. McIntee is wealthy
man, and he made his money when he was
head porter. Pll wager he is worth
anywhere between $4,000 and 100000.
He owns a number of houses and has big
bank account.
"Charley Sweeney, the present head
porter of the Centennial Hotel, is worth
fully 100000, which he has made mostly
out of his position. Sweeney used to hold
the same position IN the La Pierre House,
now the Lafayette. He resides in beau
tiful brown-stone-front house in the lower
section of the city, and owns a fine driv-
ing horse.
''Henry Bradley, the fne-looking, ruddy-
faced old porter of the Lafayette, is richer
than Sweeney. Bradley has eight porters
under him, and judging from his luck on
tips and his inimitable suaviiy of address
l. L l.. III.
dozen times. There are on an average $50
pieces of baggage that have to be
handled by Bradley and his men every
day. Almost every piece brings him
nice tip. He lives in S15 1000 house on
Catharine street, and its interior is pic
ture of home comfort. Bradley's fortune
is least 100000.
another wealthy head porter is Michael
Reagan, who is at the Aldine Hotel He
has held his position there ever since the
house first opened in 1873, and it is said
he is very clever in working tips. Reagan
employs six porters to help him in his
business. He lives in pretty little house
on Dickinson street, and possesses a fortune
of $4,000.
"Three years ago, after the death of John
Carl, the wealthy head porter of the Colon
made, Michael McAnnany stepped into the
position, and has in that time made enough
money out of it to buy nice home on
Mifflin street, besides investing some spare
capital in other properties.
"The head portership of the Girard
House. is held by two men, Thomas Love
and his brother George. They have in
their employ six other porters, and handle
on an average seventy-6ve pieces of bag
gage day. During the eight years that
they have been the lncumbents of the po-
sition each has been enabled to lay by
$4,000
'John st. John, the head porter of the
Stratford, and Patrick Donnelly, who holds
the same position at the Bellevue, are also
in good financial circumstances"