New-York tribune., 1918-03-13
Strike Changes
Club Members
Into Walters
Railroad Heads Hit Deserted
Trail From Tables
to Chef

flain folks who lunched at the Flap
jack Front and the frugal One Arm
had all the better of it yesterday.
In their exclusive midday clubs, high
up in the skyscrapers of>lower Man
hattan, millionaires sampled their soup
with their thumbs before ever it got
to their lips. Railroad presidents
found it necessary to give their per-
sonal attention to such minor trans
portation problems as the movement
of one order of broiled mushrooms
Under Glass-Handle with Care!-
over the short lire between Swinging
Door and Silver Forks. Merchant
princes and princelings fetched their
own filets. Lawyers, whose eloquence
many time had lined twelve men to
their side, failed of words to bring one.
And captains of industry learned with
a shock that greater and more puissant
than they were lowly captains of
walters.
With $50 walters already on strike
against the downtown clubs anG threat
ening to extend their activities uptown,
self-service in clubdom promises to be
the style until the demands of the
strikers are. met. For walters are
scarce these days. Thousands of them
have gone to war; other thousands
have turned munitions makers. Be-
sides, the "club waiter" ranks himself
as specialist. He schools himself to
hit the personal note in service, and
rather deprecates the hotel and restau-
rant waiter with his gusto for gratui-
ties. He's a different animal.
Walkout Not Advertised
The club managers say they were un-
prepared for the sudden walkout yes
terday. The New York Club Employees
Association says they shouldn't have
been. The point is--they we're. At II
O'Clock in the morning, when the wait
ers reported for duty, ultimatums were
served on the managers of the White
hall Club, the Downtown Association,
the Lawyers Club, the Drug and
Chemical Club, the Railroad Club and
been dragging on since February tS.
mat was altogether too long, the men
said. Either they would be assured of
raise from $40 to $50 month or out
they'd go on the spot
There had been managers meetings.
! TOO. An increase to $44 was offered and
rejected. The early lunch trade coming
IN met the walters going out Cooks,
cashiers and dishwashers were i'm
pressed into service, but even at that
/ there were few club members wo did
not have to travel to the ranges for
some one or two items of their rcpast.
At the Railroad Club members of the
house committee, who somehow felt it
was up to them, served as walters.
j. II. Thorpe, superintendent of this
| club and one of the committee of man
ayers which has been dealing with the
union, said that S44 a month was am
pie compensation for the work expected
Of the walters.
Clips double their earnings" he as
serted. Besides, they work only three
or four hours and have other jobs in
the evenings"
revenue brought an indignant reply
from N. J. Flattery, secretary of the
union.
eve don't want tips" he said "If we
did we couldn't take them. Anyhow, we
don't have the chance. So much for that
What we want is a fair wage for our
work. Being good waiter is as much q
I trade as being good carpenter. We
want to keep it that way
Says Rule Works One Way
every club IN the city has rule
against tipping. It's in all the bylaws
/ that member can be expelled for it.
never heard of anything like that hap
! penng, but it makes it easy not to tip.
! There's another side to the rule. A
man who takes a tip is bounced. That
F., part means what it says
/ "The walters are supposed to get a
1 share Of purses that the clubs make up
| every year But the managers are
! pretty careful just before Christmas to
/ clean out every one who's been on the
job long enough to Be entitled to a
( split. 1t makes their own share that
much bigger"
Delegates from the union visited
three uptown clubs last night and pre-
sented demands-the New York Ath-
letic, the Transportation, and the En-
{ gineers' For walters who work from
| morning until night they want 800 a
month. An increase from $40 to $50
was asked for those whose hours are
| from O'Clock until midnight. The trick
! from p. m. to / q. M, they told the
managers, must bring s70 month in
!