The Washington herald., 1907-01-17
Growth of the Tipping Nuisance
BY FREDERIC j. HASKIN.

BY FREDERI
The manner in which the people Of the
United States are borrowing the perni-
cious tipping habit from Europe is a mat
Ter for grave concern Already the annual
sum we are spending to oil each other
palms runs into the millions, and the
practice is increasing 50 rapidly that
goodness only knows where it will end if
something is not done to remedy the evil
Take the case of your smiling friend.
the Pullman porter Do you know that the
dimes and quarters and half-dollars given
him by our travelling public every year
amounts to more than S2,oe0,0o0? That we
present him with 5000 every morning be
fore breakfast? Let's figure 1t out. There
ara about 5000 pOrters in the employ Of
the Pullman Company II the total
amount received by each of them was a
dollar a day, that would be S 000 But in
order TO make allowance for time off, and
for stingy or frugal travellers who give
little or nothing, suppose we knock of a
couple Of thousand dollars every morn
ing That would make $500 a day, or
$Z,ls00O0 for the year.
This generosity on the part of the tray
cling public would be all right If the por-
ters got the benefit Of it. But they do not.
Under present conditions the tips are
merely another source Of profit for the al
ready fattened Golfers Of the Pullman
Company. One would suppose that all the
time Of grown-Up man, in most in
stances with a family to support. would
at least be worth SO week. or $40 a
month. to a rich concern earning millions
Of dividends. But the porter is paid only
So month, and is left to get the remain
de from the public. Therefore. the Pull
man Company. on account OF the tips
given its employees. making a saving of
SIS per month on each one OF them,
amounting to $4,000 or S1,440,000 a year.
This is as much Of a pickup" to the
sleeping car trust as If it found that much
money lying around loose somewhere It
makes that saving in the salaries Of its
men. simply because the public steps up
and foots the bin.
After the thousands Of passengers ar
irving at their destinations in this coun-
try every morning turn over 5000 to the
Pullman pOrters. they give away another
thousand 20 station boys who carry their
bags out from the trains Before they
get comfortably settled down 10 the
breakfast table another donation Of s., 900
or such matter is made to hack drivers.
Then the walters proceed to get theirs
After the porters no other class of serv-
ants depend 50 much upon tips as the
walters
In many of the large establishments in
the cities the attendants have a perfectly
organized system for securing and shar-
ing the proceeds they get from the public.
One way Of working it Is Ike this: When
you enter the dining-r0om for first meal
at hotel the head waiter places YOU at
"a table and then watches carefully when
You leave to see if you fee the waiter
L you leave some change the head waiter
claims part of it. II the one who at
tended you should refuse to divide. the
next time you enter the dining-room you
viii be put at some other table presided
over by a square man.
Sometimes the only way a waiter can
get prompt service in the kitchen for a
favored guest is to see" the server. Thus.
when you leave a quarter under the edge
81 your plate 1t does not always go into
the pocket of the man who attended you.
rfcvfrf -
among a number Of employees with whom
you do not come in contact. If you fail
10 leave any change under your plate
and remain AT that hotel for any length
o. time, you VIII be likely % receive scant
consideration, for the servants viii be
busy looking after those people who are
not absent-minded when they finish their
meal.
One hotel proprietor told me about an
experience he had with a new waiter
who came to his place The new man
came on at the breakfast hour. and in
the course Of time was sent to wait upon
the manager without knowing who he
was. Instead OF serving a 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" We have no cream" said the
newcomer. The surprised manager looked
up AT him quickly, and said: Like
thunder you haven't 1 am the manager
of this place. and I just checked in 100
gallons of cream not more than twenty
minutes ago With genuine embarrass-
ment the new recruit replied: "Oh. l
didn't know you were the manager: IN
bring it at once, sir" The inside motive
for the dodge. revealed in this manner.
was to please certain regular customers
OF the dining-room, who made a practice
of tipping, by keeping a liberal quantity
Of cream in reserve for them. giving
ordinary patrons milk with their coffee.
The BARRIERS in the large establishments
OF the cities are also well organized for
securing tips. Most of them work on per-
centage, and have all kinds of extra
things they try TO sell each customer. The
man who does not give 10 cents above
the tariff Is an unwelcome customer. in
most of the big shops. The up-to-date
barber 'educates" his customers 10 the
idea Of tipping He begins friendly
line of talk, and tells you confidentially
that things are going pretty bad with
him He Will likely say: DO you have
any idea what wages they pay in this
place? They pay so little that if il were
not for the tips we get we could not paw
rent and provide for our families. OF
course, nearly everybody that comes in
here gives us something. so We manage
barber makes his customer understand