New-York tribune., 1919-01-26
Mattresses Earn Their Paw.
Says Girl Who Tried II
Hours Are Long, Work Is Hard; Rumor Exagger-
ates Size of Tips and Romantic Frequency of
Girls Marriages to Dukes and Monaires
By Natalie McCloskey

around thc table to see if every one
else was leaning wearily on her ell
bows, went ahead and made ourself
comfortable.
"Say, dearie, you amt an old-time
hasher, are you % The speaker was one
of the girls who had spent her morn
ing more or less looking after this par
ticular new waitress.
In fact. we want to acknowledge
that every waitress in this hotel
and from what We near they are
pretty much like the Mattresses in any
other large hotel did countless small
things that made the day less full Of
mistakes and corrections for the new
conner. The captain, the head waitress
and the customer are all counting the
minutes a waitress is out getting an
order And all are likely to comment
on something lacking to make the or
der complete the service less perfect
when the order arrives. Nobody
likcs to be corrected in public, and no
new girl is going to be- evidently, if
one. of the old girls can catch a mis-
take in time to help remedy it. Co
operation plus is the motto among
mattresses.
"That's some swell ring you got,
YOU wear no iewelry, you know. Bet
:.
is just a tip"
'Rcmember, kid you don't get no.
where's by being shy. Speak up if you
want to know anything, and if you
can't find out come to me-
'Think you're gonna like the work,
pirlieo Iis always hard at FIRST, but
things con easy after time. IT
you're feeling a bit weary sneak OIL
awhile and I'll keep an eye ON your
station and bring you the tips.
These were Just a few of the g2od-
natured. human being sort of remarks
that made the day easier To them We
were lust another "hash Singer" but
entitled to a boost over the hilly
spots just the same
Tips Are Overestimated
BY the end of the day about half
after midnight. we were through.
Eleven p. m. until - midnight. with
an aggregate of three hours off, is the
working day of a waitress. Sometimes
her shifts run in different periods
in order to cover breakfast and to
allow for the few customers VINO stay
in the grill an hour or so after md
night.
We don't Know just what the wait
ers are striking for, but, anyway, we
are all for the Mattresses, and 50 are
the customers whom we interviewed.
they admitted that. as rule. they
tipped the men better principally be-
cause they stood aggressively waiting
for the tip and made it plain II they
didn't like its size The girls placed the
change from d check on the table and
then stepped off shyly, gratefully ac-
cepting whatever was given.
And whatever it is, they earn 1t. 1t
isn't $500 a month, or a sum nearly so
munihcent. We left the Grill that
night with s4.42 in tips rafting in our
skirt pocket. and Sl.55 regular pay,
This hotel gives its girls 1925 a week,
for a six-day week, and the tips aver
age from SO TO 81 a day. This makes
her weeks total from S27 to S35 and
meals besides. Good wages; but not
fortune. One girl had managed to put
nearly 5000 in the bank, and the ma
jority said that they preferred the
work to anything they had done be-
fore
Nor is there any more romance at
tached to this Job than to any other.
The nearest we came to excitement al
most proved tragic.
Our college chum and her tiance came
in; but knowing our proclivities and
never being particularly surprised at
anything we choose to do, they merely
ordered am elaborate meal, demanded
de luxe service and thoroughly enjoyed
themselves at our expense; but the tip
was commensurate.
Jr,'t Init