Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-02
TACK ON EXTRA CHARGE
FOR BREAD AND BUTTER
Hotels and Restaurants in
New York Raise the
Cost of Living.

NEW YORK, October 2.-'"Ten cents
extra for bread and butter"
With this solemn slogan on the mill
tant menu, the proprietors Of eleven OF
the most famous hotels in New York have
put the finishing polish to the cost of
restaurant living.
The st. Andrew Service Society, at its
various stands, was still selling yester-
good bread for a cent; and the little
lunchroom on Park Row which Pat" Do
Ian made famous was still handing out
its "free-for- air plate Of butter and a
generous supply of bread with a ten-cen,
order Of ''beef-and." But, of course, as
the white-fronted keepers Of the big res
taurants' pointed out. those facts did not
have any bearing on their fashionable
case.
Theater Example Followed.
The interesting innovation of charging
a dime for bread and butter is a sequel to
the recently instituted project of charging
a dime for a program in some Of the
leading theaters. This practice has al
ready produced some of the most dra-
matte scenes of the season-scenes in the
foyer with indignant patrons in the prin-
cipal roles. But the man who had the
program. just like the man WHO has the
bread and butter. turns out to DE the
winner of the argument every time.
The hostelries which have led or In
the extra pay for bread and butter bust
ness are the Plaza, ST. Regis. Astor.
Manhattan, Waldorf-Astoria, Imperial.
Park Avenue, Breslin, Prince George, Vic
toria and Louis Martins.
1t is estimated q total of 100000 a year
extra will be paid into the Golfers Of the
rich restaurant keepers for bread and
butter alone during the coming twelve
month; The bread and butter tie, thus paid
for will cost probably $4,000.
One Of the hotel managers said yes
terday that the cost of service was one
of the principal reasons for making the
change. New Workers.. under the lash
Of the tipping system. have long had
reason to believe, however, that they,
not the hotel keepers, paid for the serv-
ice.
Novelty Is Disconcerting.
1t was said at the Astor and the Man
haitian hotels yesterday that there had
been noticeable diminution Of bread
eating by their patrons. Their man
ayers explained it was not SO much
that their guests were not willing to pay
the additional sum, as the novelty OF
the CHARGE" which robbed them Of appe-
tite for things they had hitherto received
free Of any direct charge.
The late o. Henry used to tell a story
Of a penniless girl who had, fortunately,
one pretty frock left when the crash
came. She had a place to sleep, but no
money with which to eat, and the hunger
Of three days finally drove her into a
fashionable 9Th avenue restaurant. She
ordered something that, she knew, would
require at leas- twenty minutes to cook.
and then began to gorge herself on bread
and butter.
Allowing herself fifteen minutes for
this performance she left the table on
the pretext Of having to telephone. and
then disappeared. For several days this
scheme worked. BY visiting widely sep
arated hotels three times daily for four
days she managed to keep body and soul
together on bread. butter and water. This
can't happen again in Manhattan.