Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1904-09-22
THOSE VULGAR,
AWFUL TOOTHP|CKS
BEST OF RESTAURANTS KEEP
THEM HIDDEN.
THEY'RE WORST OF FORM
Patrons of Swell Places Never Think
of Asking for Them, but 1t Is Diff.
ferent in the Low Places on de
Bowery-Interestine Things Lea n
ed in Restaurants.

To obtain positive and complete in
formation from accred. ted sources uIol
the question of how the patrons OF
restaurants of every class in New York
regard the toothpick, a canvass was
made of the principal ones of every
grade, from Sherry's to the Bowery
quick lunchroom.
If you are dining in Sherry's, Del
monico's, the Waldorf-Astoria, the
Martin, the Holland house, Rectors
or Shanley's, and YOU feel the need o;
toothpick you must order it. Then
the waiter goes somewhere and gets
some sharpened quilts for you.
That using toothpicks in the pres
ence of others is very bad form was
the positive dictum of the managers of
all these restaurants. They said that
such conduct by any of their patrons
was practically unheard of.
I'VE have toothpicks, of course,
said one, ''but there is not one call in a
month for them. The class of persons
who dine here know that it is unspeak-
ably offensive to use toothpick
in the presence of others, particularly
at table.
1--WE have toothpicks in a glass on
the cashiers desk, and often men viii
take one as they leave the dining,
rooms. OF course they do not stand
on the steps and use them"
| At the other restaurants named the
managers had many interesting things
to add to the general statement. One,
at famous hotel, said that he had
many times observed a patron take a
toothpick on leaving the diningroom,
bite it in twain and unostentatiously
chew half of it.
at seems to me they use it because
they feel the smokers need of some
thing between the teeth after dinner
1t excites the secretion of saliva and
promotes digestion, a doctor told me,
he said.
In cosmopolitan place like this
! have been annoyed to see men picking
their teeth at the tables just as | have
trembled to see others put their knives
in their mouths. But we cannot con-
| duct examinations in table manners be-
fore we admit persons to our dining
rooms"
So in Fifth avenue the offensive use
of the toothpicks may be regarded as a
negligible quantity. Not so in Sixth
avenue, the Twenties, Park row and
the Bowery.
There the toothpick is an institution.
II is regarded as extremely thoughtless
to treat your lady friend" to portion
of beef and" without delicately pass,
lug the toothpicks at the conclusion OF
/ the meal.
DO toothpicks cost much" said the
manager of a great lunchroom system.
We'll, you know they are very cheap.
bat you ought to see the number we
have to buy.
III bet that ton of lumber is TAX.
/ en- out of our restaurant every six
months in the form of toothpicks. I
have stood by cashiers desk and seen
man after man grab anywhere from a
dozen to fifty as he walked out.
What do they do with them? am
satisfied that on the east side there
are many persons who eat at our
restaurants who save the expense of
kindlings by taking our toothpicks.
Most of our customers are not sty-
! fish and they do what they want to,
whether it is regarded as ill-mannered
or not. We will not let men without
coats eat in our places, because there
is always objections to it. Personally
think a man who conducts himself
properly at the table is less offensive
with MS coat off than is one wearing a
coat who is jabbing a toothpick into
his mouth in the presence of other pa
irons.
But we are here to feed the people
and not to teach them manners.