Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-29

Wnlle IN some the Dill IS far larger. Even
the smallest OF saloons will use up about
81 per month In glasses. and this does not
| include an occasional mirror In which
| some longshoreman takes a shy at him
| self with brick just to hear the tinkle.
With the exception OF mirrors. the
guests of hotels are never called upon to
pay for glass not broken maliciously. The
boniface expects some glass to be broken
ton batting or have excelsior on the floor
He does not become exercised, therefore
when some rare bit Of crystal rolls off OF
| q table. or loses its thin shank by being
brushed over. He simply puts the smash
In the profit and loss fund For 1t is all
loss and the pile Of broken glass, if
heaped, probably would be nearly the
size of the city hall, while in value the
breakage in the state would pay for a
pretty good sized battleship.
glassware manufacturers assert that
there accrues to them an average of 500
annually from each drinking place in the
state This average is figured from the
500 accounts of the little corner places
to the. $4,000 bills of the most heavily
patronized cafes.
Whisky and beer glasses entail the
greatest cost, for while generally speak,
Ing. the least expensive. they are in more
frequent use and consequently expire"
most often in handling.
The array Of cleaning. highly polished
glassware displayed and used in the hotels
and cafes in Manhattan is unexcelled
anywhere In the world. and proprietors
are constantly planning to improve the
stock. Many have glassware designed
and manufactured especially for them.
Beer OF the finest brew-not necessarily
the most expensive-is auaffed in Broad
way and In Fifth avenue from beautiful
tall cone-shaped glasses. Also there are
specially tinted glasses for various wines
Of rare vintage. blending in perfect hart
mony of color with their intended con.
tents. So exquisite are these that they
indeed woo old men from the chimney
ycorner"
Hotel and restaurant men comment
with unaninity upon the fact that to
souvenir collectors Is due rather con-
siderable part Of their glassware expense.
There are men. and women too, who seem
to be unable to resist the temptation to
slip into their grips some nicely etched
glass which they bear away triumphantly,
great deal accumulate quite a collection
in this way, 1t is said, and while hotel
men try to prevent the petty larceny
practice. they cannot do so entirely. and
compute that several thousand dollars of
glassware is lost annually by the hotels
and restaurants In New York In this way
1t is absolutely imperative that drink re-
ceptacles in even the unpretentious cafes
must be above reproach. If a glass is
"nicked'' In the slightest degree it is cast
a customers vision or scratch his lip but
also because the swift-n1oving mixer
cannot take chance of having his hands
mutilated.
X
A unique plan to prevent foolish extrav-
agance In casting away fine glassware
which has most minute abrasion Of It's
rim is in practice in several high-class
horr Chot Sc IrN sOri dive
machine" Is employed to smooth away
such imperfections as might not be de-
tected by the eye. but this is done only
in case of the least departure from
smoothness Of surface. Rare wine glasses
are most often treated by this process.
Some of the best bartenders and mix
ologists' break up mosts glassware" said
the proprietor of a well-known cafe, land
yet we have no censure for them. for
their rapidity In compromising more than
compensates for their breakage.
Is there such thing as life in q
glass?" a reporter asked.
II see what you mean." he responded
quickly. I've thought of that-whether a
collapsed--died. so to speak. My conclu-
sion is that the average glass in use in
Broadway. at least. hasn't time. OF
course. some glassware Is harder than
glasses are the despair Of most persons.
Just little twist-and they're snapped"
One often hears that New York is
great cocktail drinking town, but the
stewards at the big hotels say that mixed
drinks are taken not one-tenth as often
as beer and straight whisky. They base
their statements on their glassware bills.
and hold the exhibit to be incontroverti-
BILE.
From an economic viewpoint alone, the
glassmakers of the United States couldn't
help making wry faces when the state of
Georgia climbed upon the water wagon"
What they would do should the drinking
places in New York state be closed would
not require much imagination to estimate.
Four million dollars a year, of course is
not to be sneezed at.