Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-03-23

nv 90 motel clerks wear dlamonde!"
The Adonis behind the marble counter com.
placently Surveyed his handsomely dressed
figure in the mirror. and then shielding the
weak eyes Of The STAR representative from the
Hastings of the headlight upon his immaculate
shir. bosom he said:
There are several causes WHY hotel clerks
affect diamonds and are always well dressed.
natural fondness for the Jewel and the innate
vanity that Ii with us all might. by the super
tciai reasoner, be considered the prime motive
But it is part OF hotel clerks business to be
well dressed. and diamonds compete the
picture. Much of the success of a hotel de-
penis upon the clerk IL he is well dressed
affabe. smiling and polite he makes friends for
the house. Our general appearance has much
more to do with attracting the public than the
casual man imagines. and We always endeAyor
to present as good front as possible.
The life OF a hotel clerk is one continual
round OF bluff. He does it, of course IN q
polite and conciliatory way. but ITS nothing
but kick. kick. kick IRON morning till night and
half OF his business is to pull the kickers down
but In such a manner that they think that they
are carrying their point. IL We stow q man
away IN the top story in a close room and there
are other rooms better in the house which We
are reseryinS We mast make HIM believe that
we couldn't run the hotel without his patron-
age and q thousand aud one other things
There are three kinds OF clerEs-the fresh
clerk, the suriy clerk and the accommodating
clerk. The fresh clerk fourishes like Q trop-
zeal plant IN Chicago and New York. He ought
TO be dragged around the block two or three
times a day in the mud. The surly clerk ought
to drive horse car. because he is the last man
who should be behind a hotel counter. for he
drives away guests. The accommodating clerk
is altogether jewel. He attracts people, is
always ready To answer all sorts OF questions,
idiotic and other wise. has a smile for everybody
and is everybody's favorite
.As a class the hotel clerks in Washington
are accommodating. In New York city or
Chicago when you apply at the counter and ask
is Mr.. Smith stopping hereF the clerk viii wheel
the register around to YOU and say There Is the
register. sir But in Washington answer all
these questions and hundred others. and IL =
guest Is not stopping AT our hotel and We know
where ne IS stopping we inform the questioner
and do all We can for him.
Hotel clerks are paid to be accommodating,
polite and attentive TO everybody, and IL they
are not they have missed their vocation and
should be fred"
''Will you have a strong or mild cigar7''
mild"
'Ten years ago." said the man at the ciear
stand in an uptown hotel this morning to TEE
STAR representative. I'VE never asked this cues.
ton. Everybody then smoked strong cigars
The wrappers were artifcially stained. We
could not sell hight wrapper cigars, there was
no call for them and men wouldn { smoke them
The man to whom just sold that cigar 10 one
out of the nine or ten who no xadays ask for
mild cigar. This shows how mems taste
changes. and il is rare that a man will insist on
having strong cigar. In fact, it is almost i'm
possible for the trade TO supply light Wrapper
cigars, SO enormous Is the demand.
Many men think that the spots q cigar in
dictate the quality OF the tobacco. Even men
who are connoisseurs of cigars LABOR under this
popular deiusion. The spots are what are
termed sand burns, and come mainly from the
leaves being IN contact with the ground either
while growing or when cut and laid upon the
ground. for the sun very quickly raises biister,
although The spots are also found on the upper
leaves. In cheap grades they burned with
acid. The best cigar is really the cigar with
out the spots, because there is no favor in the
spot. as the oil is burned out. In q very dark
wrapper Havana cigar one almost see the
OIL
because a cigar has q mild wrapper, how.
ever, il does not signify that il is a mild cigar,
for the hller that goes into a maduro or colo
RADIO claro in one lot or grade of tobacco In the
same But = light slightly dark Wrapper
catches the smokers eve, and that is what sells
the cigar. Mexican cigars are very black and very
dry. Havana cigars are moist. A Mexican viii
smoke only dry cigar, while an American viii
smoke only a moist cigar. 1 will illustrate
what curious ideas some men have about to-
bacco. An imported cigar selling two for o
quarter is worth at this figure Ell an ounce or
$16 pound. Yet when a man comes in and
we charge him 50 cents for quarter Of pound
Of ine smoking tobacco he kicks. Cigar DEAL
ers do not profit by the tariff and as Q clsss
would like to see il removed. Here u n
example:
"A cigar selling in this country for twelve
and one-half cents sells in HAVANA for three
and one-half cents. The duty OF i've cents
brings the cigar up TO eight and one-half cent?.
30 the wholesaler and retailer have 10 get their
profits out Of the remaining three and . half
cents. Before the new tariff We sold q Certain
brand Of cigars for twenty-five cents. Thsv
cost us eighteen cents apiece Now they cost
rs twenty-five cents apiece, and We are oblieed
to sell them still for twenty-five centA We
make our money of Of domestic cigars, ana nos
from the imported article