The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1900-02-28
live HIGH ON CREDIT
,.,NTy DINERS WHO GET COSTLY
MEALS FOR NOTHING.

some Big Accounts That Are
xsr Paid Are Hun Up at the Fash
h,a Restaurants That FIOurtah
In New York city.
Legal proceedings recently taken to
..cover from 4 well known citizen who
.o,ongs to the fashionable" class the
.mount of "A tailCr's bill revealed the
,oc, that the man was poor, had no
money and no means of support and
orred many bills. Besides tailors, shoe
.oskers and hatters, he owed money to
sorists. jewellers, livery stable keepers,
soslers In theater tickets. shrtmakers,
.,atIouers and restaurateurs. One OF
,he largest bills against the man was
oontracted in the course of several
-aars at j prominent up town restau-
rant
"You must have been hung up for a
rreat spread" said a patron Of the
olsee to the manager, pointing TO the
item.
"Not at ALL" he answered. THAT bill
,enresents hundreds of charges and has
cent proportions
"But how is it done-hOw do people
run big bills in restaurant:
"Well. in the first place. because we
,oor upon men vino come here as gen.
tlemen and treat them accordingly. |
don't remember just how the account
IN ouestion was opened, but usually it
q done in this way: Some day. after
man receives his check, he scrawls his
name across its face and tells the wait
or III pay this tomorrow; it's all
right and then if the person In charge
At the desk marks it %. X the check Is
'hnng up,' and an account is opened
with the man.
in most instances the man comes
hack, as he said he would, the next
day and settles his little bill and
thanks US for accommodating him. If,
however. the man intends to work the
house, he does not come back the next
day and settle, but waits three or four
days. Then he drops in and orders a
modest luncheon or not elaborate
dinner and scribbles his name across
the check. gives the waiter a tip, and
the new account receives its first adj
diti0n.
Little by little the account grows.
but never by any really large charge.
and when at last the man has Il little
dinner party with big appetite the
check is liable to be %. K.'d because
the account is already so large that ii
would be poor policy to turn it down.
when the account has grown so
large that we think 1t should have at
tention, we give the head waiter
tip, and without telling the man IN so
many words he is given to understand
that cash would be preferred TO an
autograph. Sometimes the man takes
the hint and makes a payment or asks
for more time and tells US that he will
pay as he goes, and he remains a GUS
toner without increasing his account,
but generally he leaves us and goes
TO some other place and complains
about poor service here and in other
ways tries to injure our business be-
cause he can't have what he wants to
eat and drink for nothing. His account
remains open, and when it becomes
Outlawed We put it on the list which
bears many good names, but we never
dun the man.
To show how anxious some people
are to have it known that they are
well acquainted IN the fashionable
restaurants the following story was
told
Some months ago man came here
early in the day and said that he would
have little party of friends to supper
with him after the theater that even
ing and ordered what he wanted. His
order showed that lie was unaccustom-
ed to the part, but it is our business to
I'LL orders, and we said that his supper
would be served all right Then he
Aid down sum Of money, more than
enough TO pay the bill, aud said, This
Will save me the trouble this evening,
and went away. The supper passed
on nicely the mans friends from the
country Or the country part of the city
seemed to enjoy their spree, and finally
the host asked for his check, looked at
1t and then said grandly and loud
enough for all to hear, Charge it, The
supper was grand affair In the eyes
OF the guests, but the climaX-the order
to charge t'-overwhelmed them. and
dare say the man accomplished his
object. which was evidently to make
himself solid with his guests" New
York Tribune