Evening star., 1927-10-21
ABOLITION Of TIPS
FAVORED BY LABOR
Personal Service Employees
Want Living Wage Instead
of Gratuities.

"gan," Or George" or whatever il
~ pcrters of Pullman cars are called
would i've freed from the hurdensome
necessity Of taking tips, the family
barber would SternIy resent any i'm
plication that he should he reimbursed
for his services beyond his regula,
wage. and hotel and restaurant EN-
ployes, chauffeurs and taxicab drivers
would gently but firmly remind the
tipping patron that they are paid q
living wage and may not take grat1li
ties for services rendered. if the
unions to which all these personal
service" employees belong have their
way.
For it seems that tipping, one of
the great American arts. is due for
early adjustment. relegated to the linn
ho, where lives the brass rail. chin
whiskers and other early Americana.
y great tide of sentiment is manifest
ing itself in the trade unions, involv-
ing personal service, against the tip
ping evil according to a Labor De
partment survey annouSced yesterday.
In its place all employees whose serv-
ices fall into the personal" class
should be paid a living wage and not
. he required to depend on the hazard
ods and tenuous income from tips.
Abolition Would BE Welcome.
at is safe 10 say that the abolition
Of tipping would he welcomed by the
public" the department said. Many
patrons now tip because they feel
tha, tho tip inSures better service, or
because without it ths service VIII
he mediocre. Many do so because
they are cogniZant of the fact that
the tipped occupations are usually
nnderpaid jobs and that the tip is
the necessary supplement to the
wage; or do so unwillingly, because
they think that the tip is expected
and they feel they must do the usual
thing. The tip is often an embar-
rassment To the giver in that he may
he uncertain as 10 the amount he
should give, and to the recipient in
that there is implied in the taking
a certain inferiority of status.
THE unions oppose gratuties on the
ground that receiving tips tends to
detract from the independence of the
workers and to create servile spirit
among them. AS soon, therefore, as
the union feels that it is strong
enough to do so ii is likely to press
for the establishment of a fair basit;
wage and the abolition of the tipping
SYSTEM"
the unions think about the tipping
practice: Daniel J. Tobin. president
of the International Brotherhood of
Transfers, Chauffeurs, Stablemen and
Helpers of America: "One of the sub
stantial things accomplished by oIr
organization since it's formation is
that of discouraging the practice of
tipping. The only branch of our craft
in which tipping prevails was among
the carriage and hack drivers of old.
and this has heen somewhat inherited
by the taxicab drivers.
Custom Said to BE Fading.
"This custom, however, is gradually
being eliminated among union men
due TO the fact that our union has
raised the standard of wages and
brought up this class of workers to
real high-grade, independent indivi-
duals.''
An orga nizer for the Brotherhood
Of Sleeping Car Porters: I'm their
struggle to organize, the porters and
maids have set their faces resolutely
against the tipping system as a
method Of rewarding them for the
many excellent services they render
the travelling public. This phase of
the campaign marks the porters'
dS TIE HlOSl CilOI
of the negro since his emancipation
Tips for the negro as a reward
for his labor bring hack to the dim
corners of his memory years of sor-
row and bitterness spent in slavery,
and they tend also to keep alive the
fog of prejudice and ill-feeling."
A recent convention of the Journey
men BARRIERS International Union
adopted the following resolution: That
we hereby go on record as being EN-.
phatically opposed to the acceptance
of gratuities by master and Journey
men barbers.''
So it seems that the good old Ameri-
can custom of dropping half dollar
in Sans hand as one steps off the
train. or leaving 10 per cent of the
check hidden under the napkin as the
diner leaves the table is about to be
abandoned The unions are attempt
ing tn cast off the tipping habit under
the banner of living wage for all.