The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1908-12-21
THE COOK IN THE LIGHT OF A
CRATER"

Many uncomplimentary things have
been said about cooks. They have been
accused Of dominating households, OF
keeping back the best things for them
selves, Of deliberately burning the bread
in order to get even" for some slight
of demanding every other day off and
to have callers in the parlor. These
are traditional grievances, and we as
sumo there is something in them else
they would not be brought forward SO
often
But none of the charges that have
been made, so far as We recall, equal
those preferred against the cook in the
household Of the well-tO-dO New
Yorker. There they are said to graft
in a way that would make the ordi-
nary political hanger-on green with
envy and consider himself an amateur
in the business of knocking down"
Their way of going about it is very
simple; nothing more than a demand
on the butcher to stand and deliver.
They say to the butcher that ne must
give them a "rake-Off" or he VIII lose
trade, and the butcher finds that they
know what they are talking about.
Here are a few Of the curious stories
told by leading butchers in New York.
A wealthy customer took his trade
from a well-known meat dealer, and
when the dealer wrote to find out why,
this answer was returned:
Dear Sir: I have your favor Of the
18th. In reply / VIII say that l have
no complaint to make of you or Of
your supplies. The simple fact is.
have changed my cook. and when /
that I change my tradespeople.
have neither time nor disposition TO
fight against the cooks They, not
their employers, are the masters. If
/ don't suit them, ! have to quit and
look for another situation. Perhaps
I can do better with my next cook,
but I can't get on without him now.
Housekeepers are, from this, evi-
IDENTIFY not always ignorant of what is
going on. Indeed, they cannot well be,
as the matter has been common
knowledge among merchants for a long
time WelI-known meat dealers say
that there are many ways a cook can
make meat tough, or put the onus on
the dealer for its not being exactly
right, so that, if they make up their
minds to keep him out of the trade,
they can easily do it by never sending
to the table a good dish of the meat
he furnishes.
But all of the customers do not yield
so readily to the situation as this letter
testifies. 1t is from a prominent New
Yorker whose wife during his absence
was induced by the cook to give her
trade to a certain dealer. When the
head of the household returned he
wrote this letter:
1 have asked Mrs. -- to change
her custom back to your store, be-
cause you don't give commissions to
servants, thereby putting a premium
on dishonesty and waste in custom
ers' households. Since leaving you
my butchers bills have grown and
grown until they became simply an
absurdity. The meats you sent aboard
my yacht were eminently satisfactory
They lasted me all the way across the
ocean and back
From a butcher who has conducted
a systematic investigation of why
trade goes elsewhere the following in
stances were obtained:
4 driver was approached by a but
Ter and chef in one of the beSt-known
homes In Fifth avenue. He was told
a commission Of 10 per cent would
give his concern the trade of the
house.
A cook called on the concern, point
ed out how easy il was for cook to
make a family dissatisfied with their
supplies, limited at commission, and
was told, she would get none. She
Soon after the patronage was with
cook told a driver that she had
some tickets TO a ball to sell his firm.
When he refused she criticised the
meat. and said: ~YOun be the los
ers." The family soon withdrew its
I :, weII-known financier was inform
ed that his cook had demanded a 3
per cent rake-Off from a firm OF
he had said nothing TO his cook, but
that rather than lose q good cook he
would like them to pay the per cent
and put il on his bill
In another case a chef who had the
authority changed his trade to a
house which would pay a 5 per cent
commission. The employer, ignorant
of the change, called on the original
butcher and learned Of the change
He asked the reason and was told of
the 5 per cent rake-Off. WELL" he