The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-04-03
BY BASIL c. KALFIDEs.

er can lose his job for any little reason you
may imagine, for scratching his head, for lean
ing against the wall after the rush is over, for
speaking to the guests or for not doing so, for
not smiling to the guests or for doing so, for
saying good morning to the guests or for not
doing so.
The slogan of the hotel owners is: Fright
or Wrong, the Guests Are Always Right" So
you can imagine what the walters have to
struggle against They have to deal with
cranky old bourgeois ladies "who will kick
even in heaven as an Irish waiter remarked
4 to me one day. They have to deal with young
Sophisticated intellectual bourgeois boys and
y girls, most of whom are vegetarians, and will
ask for anything except things that are on the
bill of fare. They have to put up with the
swell-headed bourgeois women who will call
up captains, head walters, maitre dhotel and
managers to complain about the SERVICE just
to make a show and to feel the power they
possess and how important they are. The
waiter is sacrificed on the altar of the conceit
and false pride of nervous bourgeois woman.
For all those things and for a million other
reasons it is customary and normal for a hotel
waiter to be out of work-to be on the road
most of the time.
As l was walking in the center of the great
metropolis of wealth around the hotel
zone near the Grand Central high class apart
ment hotels at Forty-ninth street and Park
avenue, in New York City, my friend Gus, with
whom l had worked in many places, hurried
towards me and with smile on his face told
me: "Come on, get ready, there is a chance
for you in the hotel where l work in the room
service. / spoke to the head waiter about you
and he told me, All right, bring him around
and l will see how he looks You have to
have a new full dress suit he told me, and the
trousers have to have black silk stripes. The
head waiter is very particuar-he wants first
al loo Loxx IN
have five or six clean stiff front shirts and
French military collars. You have to have pat
ent leather Shoes for he always examines our
shoes. They have to be shined at all times so
you save trouble by wearing patent leather
shoes. Have everything prepared so that you
can start to work right away"
So took the street leading to Seventh ave-
nue. where the secondhand clothing stores are
located, looking for full dress. l had about
fifteen dollars in my pocket, and l had to be
very careful how | spent the money to make it
last till l got the job. Therefore, l was very
cautious in buying the full dress and all the
paraphernalia that goes with it. / went to
secondhand clothing store and asked for
secondhand full dress. The storekeeper asked
me if was going to use it for dancing pur-
poses, or If | was waiter. / answered him
that was working man, waiter, and he un-
derstood. He brought down from the shelf
different kinds and sizes of dress coats. "Mil-
lionaires wore them BEFORE he told me; ''they
cost hundreds of dollars, but you can have
any one you choose for twenty dollars"
told him once more that knew the game
and l offered him ten dollars After formal
elaboration, he agreed and we closed the deal
Next had to get some stiff shirt fronts
cuffs and military collars for which l spent
about three dollars. l did not have to buy any
patent leather Shoes for happened to have
them from the previous job
NEXT morning with the walters panoply
in my suit case, l started for the hotel.
went thru the delivery door, the employees
entrance AS l went in, the timekeeper asked
me whom wished to see. The house detec-
tive was standing just like dragon staring at
me with a suspicious look
.Ql told him wanted to see the head waiter
The detectives asked me if / was looking for
lob. I answered him eyes Sir,