The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-12-14

ADOTher DOiIl, IL JIG
cies for European travel are certainly
in some sort of partnership with the
hotels for which they shall coupon
ickets. Those on the inside OF hOtei
business in Europe know that these
hotels are p~atrOnized largely oy
Americans, spendthrlfts on thelr 'rlp'
STAYING a few days at a time ana usu-
.Hlv speaking English onl. and there
| fore disinclined to hunt up stopping
places for themselves. ence, at such
hotels there is a harvest Tor every
body, a situation which eVentudlls
leads to bad food, bad ok1n pau
| service. and a hold-up at every turn OF
the guest
Tn going over the possible methods
in a change for the better IN this
sorry business. my waiter friend said
hat first Of all he believed that a big
trade union must be orme or hotet
help. Tipping must give way to tar
wages. Te public could give it's share
Of assistance. He recommended that
guests at either hotels or
should follow these rules notes OF
which were taken on the spot: Pat
roniZe whenever possible n hotel
and eating houses where tips are Tor
hidden; there are such places in Eng
| land and on the continent. Refuse
opportunities for tips either by words
or hanging around where there has
been no service. Where, for your own
comfort, you feel constrained to tip
| give the Dare minimum. Whenever
possible, do not tip at all" He added.
and l felt that he had me also IN
mind. Some easy-natured people
believe they tip the nearest itching
palm to them Of their SYM
patty with the poor. Reflection
times be real charity without demon
stration. Church people might with
this purpose give through their own
congregational agencies" In Lon
don, the American traveller wishing to
do the best with his withheld tip
appropriations, might send it to the
Westminster Children's Aid Society;
in Rome, to the Society for the Pre-
vention of Cruelty to Animals; in
Berlin, to the s~emi-public lodging
houses But Of course, il the tippeer
gives not from motives Of good
heartedness. but mere vanity, al ad-
vice is thrown away on him. The
hotel keeper will continue growing
rich on him and despising him.
Other folks in Europe may have good
~ son to tell him, what a plain
spoken Swiss citizen told me: You
Americans with your dirty dollars,
are running my country
1t is true that through organization
the workers may be a factor in re-
forming the worst abuse in the Eu-
ropean business of catering tC the
traveller as he eats and sleeps, | do
not see how any human agency is ever
going to improve his condition as he
actually travels. The European rail
way system must certainly be regard
ed by every American as in almost
every respect an example of how
not to do it" except that it gets you
somehow to your destination. One
Of the very least Of its drawbacks is
the general bYjhaTv of guards or con-
ductos above mentioneed. The sys-
tenn started wrong, has gone on keep
Ing wrong.
The ordinary continental European
passenger car reminds Americans one
OF Barnum's menagerie vans and it's
half dozen compartments are like dog
kennels, the first and second class
slightly varied by differences in up
holstery and the third usually having
only bare boards. To get in or out OF
a car, except from the larger station
platforms, IS a steep step-ladder climb.
The bad air in a compartment, at
night especially, when the Europeans
Close all the windows tight, gives an
American an experience somewhat
being confined in summer in a
freight bar car in the Chicago stock
yards. Barely enough cars are made
up IN a train at a main station to
carry away the travellers who have
bought tickets, another car or two Of
ten being added at the last m to
accommodate the crowd cIamoring for
places. At the big stations the por-
ters, knowing all the tricks. take care
Of their patrons by pushing brutally
ahead and reserving seats by putting
slgage on them. The American.
puzzled by division of the train into
classes and the cars INTO
ments for smokers, non-smokers and
women alone, usually gets left, to take
one of the poorest places to stand.
Repeatedly, in Germany, Austria, Italy
and France, l looked on in amaze
ment at a train load of excited passen-
gers filling up from the crowds Of the |
station platforms and asked myself is
| was in a civilized country. After The
start. ~wrangling over seats and rack
room for ~haDd-bags was a 81 IN