The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-26
AROUND THE CORRIDORS.

"rve got kick coming, and 1nfeno 70
kick" said Colonel K B. Brown, as ne SAT IL
the corridor of the What Cheer House, WIN his
heels higher than his head. 81 want 10 protes'
against a nuisance, might almost say an out-
rage to which hundreds of restaurant patrons
are every day subjected. l refer to the practioe
in vogue among restaurant walters OF giFlhs'
unasked, joint check TO one OF TWO OF HUN
persons sitting at the same table.
"For instance. a customer enters, takes seat
at one of the tables and gives his order. Pres
emily another person enters takes seat at the
same table, and gives his order The TWO per
sons, we viii suppose, are slightly acquHln'e
recognize each other, and during the meal en-
gage in conversation. When the meal Is M
ished the waiter comes forward, ana having
noticed the exchange of words, looks dlrectiy
at one or the other. and with unWarranteu pre-
sumption, asks, 'One checkr
eli the person addressed has the weakness
which is born of politeness of g. gentleman-a
quality which that particular waiter lacks-he
viii in all proba bility say Yes, take the
check and pay the bill, although having no
such intention when he sat down. Ii the Gus
toner is unprepared or does not feel Ike pay
ing for both, it is humiliating and awkward TO
call for separate checks in answer TO the wait
er'squestion. If either customer desires to pay
for both it is an easy matter to inform the
by taking both checks to the cashiers desk.
'This criticism applies also where friends
enter the restaurant together, and likewise
parties composed of ladies and their several
escorts. Instances are, no doubt, numerous
where, in the latter case, gentlemen have been
placed in very embarrassing situations by
being presented with 'one check for the entire
party by an unauthorized and presumptuous
waiter
GAS frequent patron Of restaurants, one
who sometimes either by accident or purposelT
sits at the same table with q casual friend or
street cquaintance, though the intimacy may
not be such that l want to pay his board or
have him pay mine, emphaically protest
against this pernicious custom. I protest
against it whether the custom prevail TO en-
courage the walters laZiness, to display his
ignorance, to crafty his pleasure at seeing
others embarrassed or, it may be, to satisfy the
economic scruples of the restaurant proprietors
by saving the walters time and also the paper
upon which the checks are printed.
"In the interest of patrons, and incidentally
in the interests OF the proprietors themselves, l
should strongly advise restaurant proprietors
to instruct their walters TO give separate
check to each customer, making an exception
only where ladies enter in company with male
escorts or where an unsolicited request is made
for joint cneck; and immediate dismissal
from service should be made the penalty for an
infraction of this rule. I speak earnestly on
this subject, by George! for I have been a re-
cent sufferer, and il will be a long time before
my next pension day win come round"
Judge Seymour Thompson of St. Louis clev-
erly captured q burglar who had entered his
room at the Russ last night. The fellow had
not noticed that the Judge was lying on
lounge in the corner doing, and proceeded to
ransack the wardrobe. When the Judge woke
he saw the mans back and asked what he was
doing, but the burglar, without waiting 10
explain, bolted out of the door. He did not
get far before the iurist had overtaken him,
knocked him down and collared him. This
seemed remarkable considering Judge Thomp-
sons avoirdupois and the fact that the burglar
was an active, compar atively young man with
good start. The Judge explained 1t by say
ing: "When was young man was mem
Der OF the metropolitan police OF Memphis and
so formed a habit OF acting quickly in just
such emergencies. One instinctively makes a
rush without taking any time TO consider,
while the average citizen would hesitate and
lose his opportunity"