The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1912-06-01
LEAGUE TO GIVE 10 PER
CENT. TIPS IS FORMING
About $50 Men Who Eat ~.
town at Midday Have Joined
So Far.
HOTEL MAN APpLNIlI,
1t Started When Il Favored
Waiter Went Out in thr
Middle Of the Soup.

The story was going the rounds vn.tc,.
day at luncheon time tha, among ,h,
numerous theatrical. professional. b,.
ness and sporting men who form n con.
siderable part of the male patronsr. os
the higher class restaurants uptown at
the midday meal a movement ia on foo,
to limit the size Of the tips that these have
hitherto been bestowing upon the waters
who served them. According to promi.
nent theatrical man. the idea originated
as a consequence Of the treatment Of two
other we'll know men by favored waiter
on the night Of the strike al tho Knicker.
booker.
These two men had the same waiter at
every meal they took in the cafe of the
knickerbocker. Occasionally there wa,
third person in their party. and the
waiter invariably got ST. In the last
twelve months it was figured out tha.
this waiter had got from the two men
alone somewhere in the neighborhood Of
$500. enough. they thought. to insure
good attention from him in any crisis.
On the night Of the strike. according 10
the story told. the two men We're lust
having their soup when the signal came
and the waiter. benefits forgot. walked
out with his fellows. leaving them IN the
middle of it. When he disappeared a.
the doorway the two diners smiled at
each other. They knew that whatever
others might do, Jean would come back
But minutes passed and Jean came moi
and the rest of the dinner that had been
so carefully ordered they did not get
After day or two had passed, and the
two had talked more than once over the
detection of Jean, a suggestion ,ooA
shape. There must be Others who had
suffered in the same fashion and thrv
made inquiries. Others did turn up and
it Is said that after some conversato ion thu
deserted feeders concluded they had 20,
into the habit of being too generous, hat
walters were an ungrateful class that
now the hotels were going 10 pay higher
wages il was up to patrons to save money
in tips.
No Use. they argued. in paying waiter
a dollar for bringing on a few dishes.
when the old tale about scant wages aud
starving family cannot be made To 20
any more. In the end. still acco-din,
TO the report. some of the bunch Of tie.
trayed got together and drew up written
agreement, which during the last few
days has been circulated among IN. m"n
who eat uptown at midday, and it Piled g.
the signatories to refrain from giving 1t
any time tip of more than 10 per cent
OF the total of a bill. This agreement was
said yesterday TO have attached aloGt
l5O names. The man who gave the H.
formation said that those who had signed
did not wish their names to get into print;
as they did not want the waters To know
who were in the agreement
When this was told to a prominent hotel
manager he applauded the idea III u
bound to come. he said. You will nnl
tina, the public is more deeply concerned
with this strike than has vet seemed =
he said. The public is suffering nov
and II Is the public that will have 10 pa;
in the end
This talk of the walters abo,I. the hotels
making so much money has little iound..
tion. 4 few hotels do make a grea, deal
but with the ma ajority the profit own.
10 the number of hotels is small nova.
days In my opinion the public should
90 even further than this small sruup of
men are agreeing to do. II should stop
Tip giving in the event of the waiter,
getting what they are demanding
As ! said the public will have to paw
Tor this strike in the end and | say that
not as a hote man but as one of the public
In" public always pays in the end for anv
strike. In this case there was no need
Tor u strike. Any Just grievances of the
walters and other hotel employees could
have been adjusted through conference,
But strikes have taken place in hotels
where there are no grievances.
The waiter. in this country az least,
is Il man of unskilled labor. would vsn-
ture to say that if the international Hotel
Workers Union has the u 600 members
they claim not as many as 2.GS of them
nav" ever served an apprent iceship The
majority OF these men spend all IN" MONEY
they get and they have no funds To fail
back on. venture 10 predict that il will
not he long before some of the strikers
who have been intinidaied into quitting
comfortable Jobs will h. thraatsuin, =,
lynch the men who have been leading
them in thiS movement