South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-03-25
Seeing America
First
BY Fred Kelly.

1t is interesting TO get the point of
view of persons IN various lines of
social or business activity. The under
dog, the man higher up, the painless
dentist, the banker-no two look at
a thing alike and each can give one
pointers. l have always intended to
have a heart-to-heart talk with the
man who eats with his knife.
would like To know just how he views
everyday affairs and what he thinks
about when not engaged at his hobby
The other day l got TO wondering
about the point of view of the New
York hotel proprietor who charges 10
cents extra for a piece of bread, and
for cream, on whatever one buys that
calls for cream. So L cOntriped TO
fall in with such a person and en-
gage him in conversation. From him
/ learned that the whole proposition
of extra charges in New York res
tauraRts is for the benefit of the GUS
toners Suppose there was no extra
charge for bread. A man might
come in and eat bread-just lots and
lots of bread-while waiting TO get
an order of soup, or a little old plat
ter of steak and mushrooms. Now
the bread has to be paid for. of
course. If it isn't paid for by the man
who eats it. the cost has TO be spread
over that of all the other food eaten
by all the other customers.
I've seen men come in and eat up
nearly half a pound of butter" said
the proprietor. 1T wouldn't be fair
to ask YOU to pay for a part of that,
would 1t? Certainly not. Certainly
not
The same with coffee. Mebby you
don't care for cream in your coffee.
A great many doctors say coffee
should be drunk without cream. Now,
I If everybody VINO orders coffee gets a
/ little pitcher of cream with it, the
man who doesn't care for cream is
paying for something that he doesn't
care for, isn't he?
Maybe so, maybe so. At any rate
the man who wants even a single
drop of cream in his coffee in a first
class New York eating place pays a
total of 80 cents for the layout.
There was another point that / was
anxious to know about, but the pro-
| prietor was called away just then and
our talk got no farther.
l wished to learn what he thought
about the application of cream ON Ger
tain breakfast foods that it is impos-
sible to eat without cream.
One morning l ate breakfast with a
/ friend who thinks nothing of starting
/ off the day by consuming a dish of
roughage, OF Battle Creek design.
obviously this type of food if eaten
/ dry. would choke a man 10 death. The
i stuff must be mOistened and sOftened
and the common way OF doing this is
I by means Of cream or milk Now,
submit that when the menu specifies
an article OF food 10 cost let us say
! 60 cents. the assumption is that il
/ will be served for that price in a form
suitable fer eating. Otherwise why
not charge extra fox potato because
! the potato Is cooked?
Well. my friend got his dish Of
/ roughage and there was no cream
| Not being foOlhardy enough 10 try 70
/ choke IT down in its dry state. he
| asked the waiter for cream.
You want cream. sir?" asked the
waiter.
! Whenever you ask for something
/ for which there is an extra charge
the waiter pauses and asks you over
again IL you want il. for the pur-
| puose, apparently. OF impressing the
transaction on your mind.
! That cream was. of course, 10 cents
extra. Just for the sport of the thine
my friend called the head waiter. the
assistant manager. and finally the
proprietor. The latter agreed e
knock of the extra charge for cream
But il is still charged against those
who do not take the trouble 10 fumt
and fuss and complain.
Some day napkins will be extra il
New York hotels and then mayb'