Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-07-11
, .,,,,,,rn nrsopT SUGGESTION.

s,onally lack for patronage, put ne'e'
advice. Next TO the newspaper men,
,hov are the best advised people III al
the country about.
Those observations we are led 10 HaAe
by seeing in the Boston Herald an az
Gle urging the proprietors aforesaiuo'
such OF them as have not yet mace 'he
cha,se-,o change the dinner hour from
what Il IS at present to between anu
s O'Clock =. NJ.
The Herald declares that most water
ing-place patrons are In the habit OF eau
ing late dinners, and that when 'ney ~
away for the summer they do not reiish
being forced 20 dine at an hour az Which
they are accustomed 10 lunch.
II the premises OF the Herald could DE
admitted. we should have less reason io'
questioning its conclusions. But we
seriously doubt IL the majority OF SUM
mer birds" so TO speak, are used TO ia'e
dinners. 1t may be so In New iorA'
Boston. Philadelphia, and Washington
but the custom is not OF general accept
anee I'm the smaller cities OF this country
Mind. we do not say the custom Is uh-
known. or is not practiced to some ex-
tent. but that IT is not OF general accept
ance.
Certainly, in the great cities the custom
Is founded upon excellent reason. Ihe
menfolk may have their offices hve OF
ten miles away from their homes, ana IL
js more convenient for them to take
lunch at midday and dine when they re-
turn home, than TO follow the old haDit'
But. at the summer resorts, TINS reason
does not apply. There the CHIEF ann oil
the guest is to get up an appetite anu
eat heartily and have jolly good tlrne'
II the suggestion Of nature be followed
the dinner will be about ! or O'Clock.
About that time the appetite usually
calls for substantial consolation.
However. we do not mean to combat
the Herald's proposition. We 80 In Tor
the spring proprietor's pleasing his
guests. And to this end he ought to give
his patrons dinner whenever they wish
it--in short, at any time between IL NJ
and u p. NJ. But II the COOKS anu
caterers could have a voice In the mat
fer. they would vote for the maintenance
of the prevailing custom, as 1t enables
them to get release from their duties
earlier than they otherwise would.
All this leads us up to the suggestion
that it would prove interesting If every
watering-place proprietor would set up
question box, into which each guest could
put such inquiries as occur to him.
Then, when the company is gathered
together. in the parlor at night, the pro-
prietor could read these papers and make
reply to them. In this way he coula
explain why the beef is so tough, or the
milk so thin, or the ice-cream so scarce
or why the children are allowed to romp
up and down the porches, etc.
AS a means of communication between
the proprietor and his guests, this method
would be simply immense" We fell
citate ourselves very much, indeed, upon
thinking of it, feeling sure that it will
he universally adopted. But success Will
depend very much upon whether the pro-
prietor is bright or dull, quick or slow
at repartee.
One of the very brightest speeches that
we ever heard was made by hotel man.
This was at the meeting Of the Demo-
cratic National Committee, held more
than a year ago, to determine the time
and place for holding the national con-
vention. Every competing city put forth
it's best speaker. one of New YORK $
was the gentleman we refer to, and his
praise of New York and ridicule Of chi
cago were a gem. And no doubt there
! are many other great wits among the
hotel men. We do not see why there
should not be. All the good stories and
best witticisms are told them by the
drummers. and all they have TO do is
to remember them. A bright fellow thus
equipped could have fine fun with his
! guests and the question-box.
The truth is that the waterng-place pro-
prietor If the innocent, is not the de-
fenceless creature that he seems to be.
He could explain, if he would, that the
man or woman who is most vociferous
in his or her complaints is not always
the one who pays the best rates for what
he or she gets. On the contrary, quite
likely, he or she may be a great higgler,
and may have beaten the proprietor
down to the uttermost in his prices.
1t is a proverb among watering-place
proprietors that those who have seen
most of the world and are most used
to the good things of life at home are
the persons easiest pleased. The chronic
grumbler Is apt to be set down as a
parvenu. Whether this conclusion is
the result of actual observation or has
been put forth as a terror to grumblers,
is a question which very properly may
be dropped into the proposed question
box. At any rate, We may well imagine
that when proprietors are asked to break
the even tenor Of their way by changing
the dinner hour, they Will quietly inves-
tigate the antecedents OF their guests.
with the view Of ascertaining how they
live at home.
We conclude from the Boston Heraid's
article that in New England the custom
is much the same as ii is in Virginia and
West Virginla-to wit: That the late
dinner has only been adopted at a few
watering places and that the majority
of such resorts adhere to the old-time
hour However, as we have said. the
proprietors will be guided by the wishes
of their dear patrons
---
ABDUL HANDS DILEMMA.