El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-11-17

servant Il is mostly that of the en-
ploying proprietor. 1t would be unfair
to say that mine host invented tips
he did not. But he has encouraged them
from the beginning and he has devel-
oped the system its present high
power for evil. It was IN innkeeper
not a servant who put UP IN an Eng
lish tap-rOOm a box with slot IN II,
! obviously inviting the pennies OF gen
erous guests: On tnaI DoI M-s me n
scription ITO Insure PromptneSs-
other fnn-keepers saw that the idea
was a good. one and they put up similar
boxes. BY and by the inscription was
/ abbreviated by the initials T. l. p
And that is how the word tip got
into the English language From mat
day until this there have been rev Inn
keepers who have objected to their ser
wants getting their pay, or as mucn OF
it as possible from the guests.
PrOprietOr's Defence.
OF course the hotel proprietor has
defence. Usually it Is stated IN the
proprietor. paid his walters DelDoys'
porters and other servants three times
as much as they get and tipping were
abolished, would not the patron nave
to pay for it in the end? And why Is
it not better for the guest to pay
small gratuity and thereby procure
some special attention and speclaI
service?"
Hotel rates are quite high enough as
they are, according to the view OF the
travelling public and the DIVIDENDS palo
by the hotel companies but even a.
that il is probable that most persons
would prefer to pay a little more 10
be relieved Of the annoyance OF the
tipping system in its present form.
some Cannot Afford Tips.
The hotel man puts up this same de-
fence in 4 different way. He says;
do not believe that the public Woulo
fare as wei as 1t does now If walters
were paid higher wages and tipping
were abolished, for the reason EnaL the
waiter and the other servants would Go
their work In a perfunctory manner.
They would be polite and might not
give direct cause for complaint put Sun
there would be something missing LuLI
now tends to make the patron content
ed. If the tips were regulated as they
are in other countries so that each
person would pay a certain percentage
Of his bill there would not be so mucn
trouble. But in this country we oIIen
find that some men are extremely gen
erous, making II difficult Tor oIners 20
get the same service simply because
they cannot afford TO pay such large
This hotel man, for the man who said
IT IS the manager OF one Of the most
famous hotels in the country, admits
that the tipping syestem encourages MS
servants to discriminate against some
OF his patrons, but the only thing ne
suggests as a remedy is regulation"
fiction around New York, but let a man
now try to tip 10 percent. on a check
for $3.50 in a first class hOtell In
! France the tip is percent and it is
not exceeded b. any but the European
relatives Of the DOuceur tribe and by
Americans who don't know any bet
ter. "A famous Frenchman came to New
York few years ago for his first visit
to America. He had coffee and rolls
at the breakfast hour and the bill was
% cents. He left percent, three 1
cent pieces, on the table for the waiter.
He couldn't understand why all the
walters laughed.
The trouble is that the hotel mans
remedy would aggraVate rather than
cure the evil. Under the European sys-
TEN OF regulation everybody must be
tipped, even the street car conductor in
some cities. The tips are small, but
they are universal If regulation" is
imported into this country it Will mean
that the tips viii be universal but
large.
As for the superiority OF service un-
der the tip system, that part Of the
hotel mans defence is absolutely over
thrown by the universally admitted
fact that service in clubs where there
is no tipping is better than IT is in
hotels and restaurants.
Hotels Profits by System.
The truth is that the hotel men de-
fend the tipping system because it is
profitable to them. They have substi-
tuted the European plan for the Ameri- I
can plan Of conducting their hotels be-
cause the European plan means more
and larger tips. They have cut wages
lower and lower as the cost Of living
has mounted higher and higher, thus
forcing their employees to catole larger
tips out Of their patrons. It is they
who benefit by the system and they
know IL.
The hotel proprietor formerly was
content to take tips only indirectly, I
that he permitted the servants to take |
them and he prOfitted only by cutting
down their wages In recent years. |
however, the hotel proprietOrs, espe- /
ciauy in the higher hotels Of the larger
cities, have yielded TO the promptings
OF greed and have insisted on getting
a part of the tips in a more direct
fashion.
Practically every large hotel in New
York, Chicago and other large cities /
leases out the hat check business. That !
Is another story, to be told later, but |
the fact is that the hotels get from |
$4,000 to $40 700 a year for this cOnces- |
sion. The one large hotel in New York /
that gets only $4,000 for its hat check |
privilege explains its lack Of thrift by /
letting it be known that the cOnces-
sionaire is a former employee and they
let him have it cheap for the sake Of !
auld lang syne
When the hotel man accepts this !
huge sum OF money for an annual dtVi- [
dend on the generosity, or cOwardice, Of /
his mulcted patrons he is particeps I
crimints to species Of blackmatl that /
IS WITHOUT the law Out Lndt ought 10 ]
be met and dealt with by public senti- i
ment.
London Boys Suit.
In London this same thing is done, /
but not quite so gracefully. A few 4
years ago a cloak room boz discharged /
from one of the principal hotels OF
London sued the hotel company for
some S4i5, which he alleged to have
been Wrongfully distracted from his l
tips by the hotel management. The I
cloak room boys in that hotel, it ap-
peared, were paid S1.25 a week wages.
All tips received were placed in a com
mon box. Once a week the box was
opened. The hotel management took
out S65 and the remainder was divi-
ded equally among the boys. Whether
the box held much or little, whether
the tips were great or small, the hotel
took out its $65 week and the boys
got the rest
An American hotel proprietor would /
be insulted If one offered to tip him
directly. Yet he will take the tips in
directly without offence. Even the Eu-
ropean inn keeper has become a land
lord and will not take a tip directly
The only European hotel keeper that
habitually lines up with the review
of walters, chambermaids. porters and
so on to make the departing guest run