El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-12-27

pie costs 25. and a cup custard often
I costs you quarter per person
Dining Car Rates as High.
The rates in the dining cars on the
railroads are almost as high. 1 have
the bills of fare from which I ordered
my meals in the past few days. They
come from the leading railroads Of the
country and 1 pick out few items at
random.
Two lamb chops, IS cents; scrambled
eggs with chopped toast so cents; roast
beef with Drowned potatoes, 20 cents
spha getti, 25 cents; baby turnlps, 20
cents; spring chicken, a whole one,
S1.50; a sirloid steak costs 81; bacon
and eggs. 65 cents; and two boiled
eggs a quarter. All soups are % cents
or more, and no orders are taken for
less than quarter per person. one
must pay at least so cents before he is
allowed to have bread and butter, with
out charge, on the side.
1t was in refreshing Gntrast to these
a Ia carte meals that 1 found on one
of the fast trains from Milwaukee to
St Paul the old-fashioned dollar dinner
that We used to have everywhere as
we rode over the country. These have
been discontinued on most of the lines.
and as the fast trains do not stop for
meals, one is forced to pay the high
priced Ia carte rates or go hungry.
In order to show the difference be-
tween the old 81 dinner and the meals
Of the present 1 have taken one item
menu, beginning with blue points and
ending with coffee and cheese and
added up the prices Of the various
dishes as they are on the a Ia carte
list The total is just 1854. In other
words, the dinner which we used to
have for 81 now costs US more than
five times as much If our pockets can
stand it.
Tipping Adds Heavily to Expenses.
In addition to these, the regular ex-
al . = #
tipping, which has swept over the
United States, north, south, east and
west. 1t is common on the railroads
and In almost every hotel, and there
are certain hotels where the tipping is
farmed out to outsiders The streets
are given over to certain taXicab COM
panies, whose charge is about that Of
the regular rates, and the cloakroOm
attendants are supplied by companies
which pay dividends out of the fees
which the travellers give them. Tips
are commonly expected by the walters
at meals, and the. percentage which is
commonly paid is higher in our country
than anywhere else in the world. The
lowest tip possible is 10 cents, II the
bill runs under 81, and rs cents If it
is SL25 or more. A fair rate for large
bills is considered about 10 percent of
the sum.
The fees begin as soon as one enters
the hotel The porter who takes in
your baggage expects a fee and YOU
boy who shows you to your room It
used to cost from so cents to 81 to get
from your train to the hotel and back.
1t now costs more than twice as much.
The red-capped boy at the station eX-
poets 70 cents to carry your bag TO the
taxi and the taxicab charges from so to
rs cents to the hotel, while the driver
locks for an additional fee. Then there
is the 10 cents to your room and the %
cents back to the taxi when you leave.
There is a taxi charge to the train and
another quarter to get to the cars. In
London the initial taxicab rate is Is
cents and you can go a mile or so for
a shilling. Tuppence there is equal to
a dime here in the way of fees. and fees
are now less common than here.
"HOldup7 on Sleeping Cars.
Speaking of the tees on the trains,
the sleeping car pOrters should be so
well paid that the passenger will not
be expected to give % cents or more
every day in addition. The company
which owns most of the sleeping cars
is said TO pay low wages on the basis
that additional sums will be given by
the passengers. That company is now
stocked at S12O. O00, 600 and it has been
paying dividends of eight percent for
more than 25 years. In 1898 it gave
its stockholders a stock dividend of
so percent and in 1906 it cut another
melon by which they received gratis
another stock dividend of Sc percent.