The Washington herald., 1915-07-20
Tipping.
BY JOHN ID. BARRY.

by JOHN ID. BARRY.
~ HERE are signs OF public rebellion against
| l tipping. newspaper in the East has been
| conducting a crusade And here and there public
| organizations making compacts not to give
tips. l have been told that some of the womens
clubs here in San Francisco are agitatng the mat
i ter.
Such efforts are, of course, not new. Often we
hear of them of something like them. They are
usually sporadic and ineffective. Tipping goes on
just the same, quietly effectuslly, and those who
refuse to tip continue to be at disadvantage or
suffer humiliation or to feel that they are doing
something that is resented.
OF course there have always been those who
refuse to tip. Sometimes they are simply selfish.
Occasionally they public spirited and stickers
for what they believe to be justice wealthy
San Franciscan is known for his opposition to tip
ping. Each day he lunches at great hotel. Never
docs he give waiter fee. The walters all know
him and dislike serving him. To them he repre-
SCENTS so much loss. Naturally he is subjected to
great deal of annoyance But he bears it with
the stoicism of martyr He feels that he is the
champion of Perhaps the public will
come around to his view. But the prospect is
doubtful.
Once thought that the tips all went to those
receiving them. Now know better. Often it
is true, they do. But often they shared by
employers and by fellow-workers A waiter in
hotel recently gave me account of the elaborate
system of tip-sharng established in the hotel where
for years he was employed. The head waiter, hav=
ing control of a large number of men, wishes to
secure at least part of the advantages he feels
that he provides For example, there are certain
tables in the more favored parts of the dining
room. To these the more wealthy patrons are
assigned. And, rule, these patrons represent
the more generous givers of tips. For placing
men at those tables the head waiter expects to be
paid He takes his pay in share of the tips
Often he must be cheated, for the walters, in
many instances, must feel that they have right
to keep the full amount of the tips. But expert
ence has taught that head waiter how to make
pretty correct estimates. Moreover, his employers
undoubtedly know just what that head waiter is
doing and the whole tipping system influences
those employers in establishing their scale OF
wages. In this way the employers themselves
secure a share of the tips.
Here indeed, is one of the most trying features
OF the tipping system. Often, when we are tip
ping waiter, also tipping head waiter
and employers out OF sight. In other words, so
ldL dS INT employers are concerned we are tip
ping the very people who are already making
profit out OF us. We are giving them two profits.
In many kinds of employment tips tend to lower
wages; in some kinds OF work, even to destroy
them altogether And yet as rule, workers like
tips. 1t would seem if such means OF earning
money would be unpleasant. But into tips there
enters the attractive element of chance They are
not unlike gambling. One days tips may be sur
prlslngly large. Such day gives the thrill that
goes with finding money 1t compensates for the
disappointment OF the day when the tips are low.
So tips give certain relief to the monotony of
labor. 1t is, l imagine, the exceptional worker
who resens tips and insists that he should be paid
the full value OF his work. But such workers are
increasing in number. And they will go on in
creasing when workers become convinced that
ultimately they will be paid according to their
work.
The great trouble now is that most workers
have no faith in the possibility of securing JUS
tice for themselves. Tips give them the illusion
of something that, the surface, seems better
than justice, something with romantic flavor,
believe that if those workers who receive tins
were to think out the effect of the tipping system
they would vigorously oppose it. And their opposi-
ton would be the quickest and most effective In
stopping the practice. Consider barber shops, for
example. Many men who dislike shaving them
selves would go to BARRIERS if shaving were not so
expensive. Though they may pay only IS cents
for shave they feel that they must give tip
And they cannot offer less than 10 cents that is,
two-thirds OF the cost of the shave,
An acquaintance of mine who recently expert
cnccd a rather heavy financial loss went carefully
over his items of expense with view to cutting
them down. One of the first items that he Topped
off was his bill at the BARRIERS. He found that
for his daily shave he paid about 500 a year.
There must be great many men like him,
This illustration might be applied to many kinds
OF industry. If our hotels and restaurants were not
sustained on expensive plan with large items
for tipping, more less directly related to the
amount spent, they would draw far larger num-
Der of patrons. As matter OF fact there are
people who avoid such places altogether for the
simple reason that they feel they would be ex-
pccted to spend there what is to them a good deal
of money. The tipping system, indeed has made
great snobs of some walters They have fine
contempt for those patrons who do not spend
avishly. They gauge the merit of their patrons
by the amounts spent, and yet some of them, the
more intelligent, must have a profound contempt
for these very spenders. No wonder they are
inclined to become Socialists and Anarchists, par
tcularly those that come from Europe where the
unfair conditions of living are SO much franker
than in this country and SO much more emphs-