Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-09-03

peeved with myself. but tndt, diter all
didn't obtain me anything. Becoming
petulant with Yourself over these deadly
impositions never does get one nythlng.
But we are at least entitled to the TOOL
1sh, not to say gruesome. fun OF lmlg1n-
ing that we are getting back at somebody
when we carefully nurture ana exhibit
the peeve amid such circumstances
Here is another thing that inevitably
causes the writer hereof to work him
self into state of ferocity with himself
whenever he stops to think about it. viz
that double service charge that he and
all the rest of the victims pay for having
meals delivered in his or their rooms.
You arrive al hotel somewhere in a
state of languor brought on from travel
and too much consideration OF the sad
ness of the world, and after You get
swabbed and fused up In your room YOU
don't feel like going down to the dining
room to partake of food. So you grab
the receiver and order the waiter to drop
up to your chamber with copy of the
carte de jour, or the bill of fare. If it's an
American-plan house.
The walter comes to your room, fair
ly dribbling obsequiousness, and you
take the menu and conrider 1T care
fully. lodging the heavy kinds of eats
and picking out nice neat little sum-
merry things that you have been told
by your medical man are the proper
things for your system. 1t is even
quite within the range Of probability
that in going over that menu you will
be shameless or shameful enough to
consider the cost of the viands; such
things have been known to happen.
In half an hour or three quarters of
an hour or SO. when you've forgotten
All about such carnal thing as food
and are In the midst of a pleas SAINT nan
wherein the having money idea Is the
predominant note Of your dreams the
obsequious waiter raps on your door,
obsequiZes whole lot more and
spreads the fodder out on the table.
When he comes back for the dishes
and hands you the check you ease him
two bits or 40 cents or 30 cents or
whatever sum happens to hit you as
being the proper bride money or
blackmail backsheesh, to dish up in
the circumstances.
Thus YOU discharge your debt to the
obsequious waiter for the service he
vanity in attending to your watering
wants
But when you go TO pay your bill at
the hotel desk, you, of course, find that
you've been charged by the hotel for
that same service that you already have
paid for. The price charged for serving
a meal in the room generally is two
bits; often it is as high as half dol
lar. But, whatever it may be, the fact
everlastingly remains that you pay
twice for the same thing You'd never
walk into a haberdasher's for a pair
of socks hatband and pay him
two times for the one article. why
then in the name of the commonest,
not to say the onneryest, kind of sense
do you permit yourself to be outraged
by paying twice for the same thing
just because 1t is dished out to you
at a hotel?
Again I dunno; but every time I do
it, and wake UP long enough to take
notice of it, l accuse myself. justifiably,
of being no less than nineteen pounds
lighter than sheet of excessively thin
Chinese kite paper; which, Of course.
is only another way of saying that /
become annoyed with myself over some