The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1907-02-27
Spread of the Tip Graft.
Millions Paid Yearly to Portcrs and Walters.
Custom We've
Europe to Our Own DISADVANTAGE
Pullman Employees
$2,00o00o a Year--Easy
Money


= = ~ u sN~-~
The manner In which the people of
the United States are borrowing the
| tipping habit from Europe Is u matter
for grave concern. Take the case of
your smiling friend the Pullman por-
ter. Do you know that the dimes
and quarters and half dollars given
him by our travelling public every
year amount to more than s2,000,000
and that we present him with $4,000
every morning before breakfast?
| Let's figure IL out. There are about
| 5000 porters In the employ OF the
| Pullman company. III the total
amount received by each OF them
was a dollar day. that would be
$4,000 But In order to make allow
ance for time off and for stingy or
frugal travellers who give little or
| nothing suppose we knock off cou-
pie of thousand dollars every morn
ing. That would make $4,000 day,
or $2,190,000 for the year.
This generosity on the part OF the
travelling public would be all right
II the porters got the benefit of 1t.
| But they do not. Under present con-
| ditions the tips are merely another
source of profit for the Pullman COM
pany. One would suppose that all
the time OF grown up man, In most
| instances with family to support,
would at least be worth $40 week,
| or $40 month, to concern earning
millions of dividends. But the por-
ter gets only s25 month, and is left
to get the remainder from the pub
lie. Therefore the Pullman company,
on account of tips given to It's en-
ployes, makes a saving OF s15 per
month on each of them, amounting to
S120, 1000, or $1,440,00O year.
After the thousands of passengers
arriving at their destination In this
country every morning turn over
$4,000 to the Pullman porters, they
give away another thousand to sta
ton boys who carry their bags out
from the trains. Before they get
comfortably settled down to the
breakfast table another donation of
$4,000 or so Is made to hack drivers.
Then the walters proceed to get
theirs" After the porters no other
class of servants depends SO much
upon tips as the walters.
In many of the large establish
ments in the cities the attendants
have perfectly organized system for
securing and sharing the proceeds
they get from the public. One way of
working it Is this: When you enter
the dining room for a first meal at a
hotel the head waiter places you at
a table and then watches carefully
when you leave to see If you fee the
the head waiter claims part of 1t. If
the one who attended you should re-
fuse to divide, the next time you en-
ter the dining room you will be put
at some other table, presided over by
Square man."
Sometimes the only way waiter
can get prompt service in the kitchen
for a favored guest is to "see" the
server. Thus, when you leave a quar-
ter under the edge of your plate 1t
does not always go into the pocket
of the man who attended you, as you
might suppose, but. is distributed
among a number of employees with
whom you do not come in contact. II
you fail to leave any change under
your plate and remain at that hotel
for any length of time you will be
likely to receive scant consideration,
for the servants will be busy looking
after those people who are not alb
sentminded when they finish their
meal.
One hotel proprietor tells this ex-
perience he had with new waiter
who came to his place. The new man
came on at the breakfast hour, and
in the course of time was set to wait
upon the manager without knowing
who he was. Instead of serving
small cup of cream for the coffee he
brought milk with it. The manager
said to him: Here, take this milk
back and bring me some cream"
1--WE have no cream" said the new
conner. The surprised manager
looked up at him quickly and said:
Like thunder you haven't. am the
manager of this place, and 1 Just