The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-12-14
Copyright, 1909, by P. S. Ridsdale,
for Samuel Gompers.)
Washington, d. G., Dec. Z, 1909.

series, Teldt1Fe 10 my European tfl),
having given my impressions with re-
gard to matters Of more serious i'm
port, L wish to say something about
the almost hourly Sufferings Of Amer
lean travellers in Europe from mos
quito bites. The sharp rush from
these insects, with the resultant pain,
fever and disgust, the bitten Traveller
is obliged to submit to continually,
at hotels and restaurants, on the rail
road, and often elsewhere as he goes
seeing the sights. To illustrate: our
party on arriving at the Hague en-
gagged two mosquitoes in the form OF
station porters to carry our handbag
gage to the bus Of the Hotel Blank
waiting at the court Of the station exit.
The station pOrters passed the valises
over to the hotel bus porters at a point
just within the station door. Nip!
Nip. by the two station pOrterS. When
we arrived at h hotel door both
the bus porters and the bus driver
asked me for what they regarded as
their due drop of blood-nip! nip!
Within the door of the hotel the man.
ager informed us that all his rooms
had been engaged by telegraph but
that he could give us good rooms at
a clean hotel near by and we took
them. Two hotel porters who had
carried our bits OF h~andbaggage into
the hotel lobby asked me, as soon
as the manager had turned his back,
FOR their tribute-nip. nip. Yet an
other porter. after taking the things
4 few steps down the street to the
other hotel, stood by in the hallway
and waited to give me his nip. Seven
bites out Of my pocket Of silver
change before We reache, our rooms!
But the probes of the mosquito
swarms Of his hotel reached even
further. The little hotel charged US
Hotel BLANK" rates for our rooms,
about double what would have been
a 1-~-{ D-I
barSained for accommodations. And
the dinner at the Hotel Blank cost
us half a florin apiece more than
The price set down in the guide-book.
IN this incident the reader sees some,
but not all of the methods of singing
which the hotel mosquitoes practice.
In Berlin. just at the of
our departure, the "POrtier,' the gold
AGED and brass-buttoned ~dignitary
that browbeats lamblike guests at
European hotel entrances handed us
our laundry bill, every article Of which
was charged double to treble New
York prices. In Vienna, tired of
biood-letting to each mosquito sepa-
rately in the group OF servants always
assembled upon our departure-"the
review" they themselves call this evo-
lution-I drew the aside and
said: 81 understand that there is a
way of giving tips to all hands
through the managenlents." one bleed
'ng as it We're: how much extra shall
I give you? He replied: Twenty per
cent Of yOur bill
l was rather tickled han bitter the
first time [ got a nip in a European
railway train. One of Our party Sug
gested that as the second-class places
were crowded we should go into a first
class compartment and await results.
When the conductor in his jim-dandy
Uniform came along, he was handed
our ~second-class tickets and a mark
L silver coin worth a paltry twenty
i've cents. And he took our tickets
and passed on without seeing for what
class they called. The vast POSSIBLE
ties of cheaply purchased privileges
On future trips acted as a palliative
% this little sting. And the thought
5f what might happen if the traveller
N America should try to overcome the
virtue of one OF our express train
conductors with "a quarter brought
all our party to see the circumstances
rom q humorous point Of view. Truth
% relate. it marked the beginning Of
L custom We followed-since we
learned that it was Seneral-of buy
ing our way over any obstacle that
appeared to interrupt the snoothness
Or comfOrt Of our daily way. With
4 little oliver we henceforth obtained
concessions from grand looking
policemen, soldiers on guard. vergers
in churches, and cuseum It
is a mmon custom for the conductor
of street cars in continental Europe
to hold out their hands to receive a
tip of any small change due, but first
handed over to the passenger. You
may have your choice in European
travel-bribe and be otherwise happy
and free, or, ~virtuouSly decline to
bride and be snubbed, ordered about,
and forbidden to gee things.
The tipping system, bad as 1T is be-
coming in America. is in FTIYOnn mi.
Versal, accepted of all classes Of trav-
eiers as an inevitable nuisance. and
often borders on blackmail. Tippers
are raving mad in r~ecounting their
system, the rail or ,nate
nnt b oyer It, the hotel keepers and
o'her employers of the class have