El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-03-22

y
one Of the millions Of Americans who
find themselves enrolled by conscrip-
ton in the United States army Of tip
payers. The rank and file has been
ready to revolt for many years, but the
summary punishment sustained by a
few brave rebels from time to time IS
the awful warning that keeps the great
majority on the reservation. Seldom
does a rebel who has been caught and
punished have the backbone 70 take
another tilt at tipping. The tipping
bond slaves are crying for a sticker.
A sort OF sUperman who will boldly
defy the creased palm brigadiers If
it takes all summer More than
500, 600 is expended annually IN
tips in this country, 1t IS claimed
Popular murmurings against the
tipping crime are louder than ever
before. The public temper seems TO
be getting beyond the be it resolved
stage. Here and there it is a trifIe
less easy for the hOney-mugged mental
10 extract his time-hOnOred perQuis-
ite from an unwilling patron. Some
Of the associations Of drummers who.
in 1911, put a ban on restaurants, no
tells, barber shops. etc, which permit
tipping, or COvertly insist upon it. are
actually getting results in spots.
Tt is now clearly understood by the
people that only one thing bulWarks
the tipping curse-the big hotel Their
task now is to boycott the hotel large
or small which brazenly insists upon
forcing its patrons to pay the wages
OF its employees through the medium
OF heavy tips unWnIngly given.
Is a Fight on Hotels
Barring the exception that makes
the rule. the American hotels have re-
duced the wages Of walters. bell boys.
etc to the point where they simply
must be tipped to live. It is a matter
of bread and butter to most Of them.
Therefore the small change Of the
American
exudes at every pore from the mo-
ment he ventures beyond his own
doorstep, lines the pockets Of the ho-
tel and restaurant owner.
A great deal Of this Illegal exchange
Of coin, with the servant as the mid
dleman on small commission, repre-
sents the handsome dividend which
more than one hotel writes off every
year. While the hotel proprietor is
not wholly to blame he IS at the bot
tom Of this deep-seated economic sore.
The only way to beat him is for the
public TO select the Motel which DIS
plays the mo tipping" sign and means
It. II this could be done consistent
" in every city It would not be long
before the combination in restraint OF
grateful tipping Tor real personal SerF-
ices duly received would be broken up.
A certain New York hotel has re-
Gently established ~ per cent rule
on the bills Of its guests, the deduc-
tion apparently designed TO cover the
guests tipping outlay. In likewise do
ing hotels viii yield their old atti-
tude Of pay to the limit or beat it."
Tipping cuts a big mole IN the daily
expense account. Ten per cent dis
count is conscience fund but 1t
does not go far enough.
Not So Bad In the West.
The time has long since passed
when 10 per cent is acceptable TO the
hotel or restaurant nunkey. Nova
days a man in the east would hardly
dare offer a waiter dime for dol
lar meal It IS not so bad in the west
and south, except in Chicago and San
Francisco. A few weeks ago a we'll
known Irish-American a New York
CITY entered a famous restaurant for
a luncheon with his sister As they
ate lightly, the bill was a modest $1-65-
Ten per cent for tips had been the
Irishman's rule for years In this
instance he laid TWO dimes on the
table for the waiter. With a snarling
bah" that pampered pOrkchOp at
tache swept the money TO the floor.
The head waiter was called, and in
this particular case the man was dis
charged
In the first place. only a brave man
tries TO get by with the customary 10
Der cent that was deemed liberal a
few years ago II ne does it once the
lofty cOndescensiOn or the plying
smile OF bitter insult with which the
waiter receives the pittance blisters
the patron into resolving that il is
even better to be robbed than to be
Amounts to Many Millions.
Tipping in this country easily
amounts to s100,OOO,OO0 a year. Com
mercial travellers estimate that they
spend fully S5O,OOO,OOO.
G. A LOrenzen, a Chicago drummer,
who has Just quit the road has an
nounced that in 20 years he lost $18,-
600 in tips. He kept accurate account
of every tip, no matter how small,
throughout the entire 20 years. He
found that TO get proper service and
make the right connections with his
trains 1t was absolutely necessary to
smooth the way with gratuities. Also.
he testifies that the tips are twice to-
day what they were ten. or even five
wears ago. A quarter now works hard
10 do the duty Of the thankfully re-
ceived dime Of a few years back. Mr.
I,orenzen says that although he was
not a piker. a large percentage OF the
drummers give up more than he did
for tips.
Then there are the thousands Of
travellers who are not drummers. Be
sides the ueripatetic uppers there are
the hundreds Of thousands who tip,
but do not travel; they who pay daily
toll to the barber, the butchers boy,
the candlestick maker and the waiter
in their own home town No reliable
statistics are at hand, but fl can read
IN be seen that $10O,000.000 annually
iq rather under than above the amount
expended in the United States to per-
Detuate the tipping evil.
Opposed In Some States.
number Of western legislatures
have passed laws which prohibit en-
Moves from accepting tips unless con-
sent is given by the employers. What
ia needed is laws forcing public places
not TO permit the practice in any
form Wages, Of course, would go up.
THE public would still foot the bill,
buf ii would not be at the expense Of
its own sense of fair play and the
seIf-respect Of the emplOye. Further
more. what the public now pays in
-aaseJess and constantly increasing
5Ti1lets is undoubtedly more than il
you'd ever have 20 pay in broad day
light.
before the Missouri legislature. In a
oIafntive interview, two weeks ago. the
author said that he had been a marked
man ever since its introduction in
nearly every hoCel restaurant and bar