The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-10-18
TEE PASSING OF THE TIP.
THE WORK or A SOCIETY FOR
SUPPRESSION OF SOCIAL ABUSE.
New Regulations For Hostess and
Guest and the Introduction OF the
New System Mt Popular Wom-
ans Restaurant.

Beware how YOU munificently and
frequently tip servants in a private
house. A year ago you might not only
have done it with impunity, but sin
cerely thanked Your stars. after a
country house visit, if the domestics
left you enough cash to secure your
railway or steamboat ticket back to
town
From the maid, who did up your
room, to the sub-gardener, whom like
~ enough you never saw, tips had to
be given and cheerfully too. BY care
full calculation numbers of thrifty wo-
men preferred putting up at hotel to
stopping with a friend, purely for the
sake of economy and the saving in
fees, but all that is changed now. If
your hostess catches you sprinkEng
largess among her servants she is apt,
If she belongs to the newly organized
Society for the Suppression of Social
Abuses, to regard your action not
only in the worst possible taste, but
little better morals than bribery and
corruption.
The society above mentioned, though
SO young, is strong in membership and
branches, extending into Boston, Chi
cago, Philadelphia and Washington,
from the parent stem in New York.
1t includes as members nearly every
hostess whose name is in the social
registers of these cities and their really
big work, so far, has gone toward cor
rection of the tipping abuse So ex-
cellent have been the results of their
efforts that you can go from house to
house these days, on round of visits,
and enjoy, in eight out of ten of them,
the unique sensation of having maid,
butler and coachman smilingly and
gently wave aside your crisp bank
bills.
If you are courageous or curious
enough to go to your hostess, for an
explanation of this phenomenon, she viii
tell you that the question of fees is
now thoroughly threshed out when the
servants are hired. The regular wages
settling the matter Of evenings out and
half-holidays the employer guarantees
an average of so much in fees.
On this basis the maid or butler is
engaged and every time at tea, or din
Ter, or luncheon, breakfast or a fort
lights sojourn, guests are entertained,
a record is kept. Then at the end of
the month every domestic of whom
was required the least extra work on
behalf of the guest, receives bonus.
In the houses of millionaires this pre-
for, but the servant, who engaged I'M
der such an agreement, accepts a tip,
is at once dismissed. There are houses
where the fee is not Jumped and paid
monthly, but is carefully doled out by
the master or mistress, Immediately
after the luncheon, supper or dining is
over and no grumbling nor eXtortion
is permitted.
The rate agreed upon at the time of
I, H. - Ill
this costs the head of the house a little
more than formerly for their hospi-
tality, the guest psofits by willing
service free of charge. The servants
agree to the arrangements, because
their fee is always a sure thing, they
are never left=in the lurch, by some
over-silrewd or .impecunious friend of
their employers, and the effects Of this
system are beginning to show in pub
lie.
The manager of new hotel in New
York city promises to introduce in his
establishment this latest method of fee
ing. His plan is not to pay higher
wages but give q bonus on all salaries,
dismiss any servant who accepts a tip
and he plans, under such a regime, to
draw a patronage and gain a reputa-
tion worth his salary premiums twice
over. This effort has been made and
most successfully in a famous restau-
rant There the women go and stand
in rows three deep for the chance of a
table during shopping hours. They
sound its praises far and wide, and or
der about double the amount ofldeli-
cacies they used, because they are
allowed to rake the change plate clean
and fear no scoWls or neglect for their
economy. On the same principle they
have redoubled their patronage OF the
railroad recently supplied with station
porters, who carry THE babies, lug
hand bags, hail street cars and make
change free of any other charge than
q courteous thank YOU which is as
1t should be.