Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 July 1877 — The Tipping of Waiters Nuisance. [ARTICLE]

The Tipping of Waiters Nuisance.

Dr. Holland, in the July number of Scribner'* Magtuine, says this whole mati&mr ii ■tliiwi —hi am expecting it^s*to if' 3 t^pl±fc tlie" fiiiifcfliler’sbbligat ions are all discharged. lnta, theft* stands the eiroectitilt waiter, xfrlfo hopes to twice paid tqb his work, or. Wth< hopfs fojfedelve something for nothing. The whoiqarmy’of waiters hare become, ki ilddr ionta/begg^s, v Thoir pn&ttolti.Uld, is a nuisXfcfb mme ©o*»muntfy? J, fts well as a curse tftltelD. Mdfcoqd; goes out as a ttiwferayiHra hankering for a tip We hare said that the waiter is paid for his service by his employe*, but this is not always so. This same subject is beginning to be dispussed in tiutiShgijsh and Continental papers.;. T** reports that the Swiss innkeepcfs inTfcuu to make: to toreygnt from-ltfing gratujtieaf (or, rather, tylackmflSftifMke guesiß.j TThc innkeeper d,isikes because they disorganize discipline. The waiter is looking out for those gifts, wliWSThe (Appreciates more thanr his wages,;when lie ought to be carrying oht fcruecsj and fe aiesfowing on libend gu«tl titoe pvhicp tae landlord thinks should be devoted to the perfection Of the general arrangements of the house. A part of the Swiss- ifioWeinent to abolish fees is said to come from the waiters themselves, who resent the tmfaimearivith which tho. silver-shower falls—the popular watters*'getti rtg tti#-«oiiey,' aixi-«ot the harder-worked ones—and so they are beginning to resept this shown to thetr more , smiling and obsequious competitors; and now. they are,beginning to declare that taking “ tips” is contrary to the dianite de I'homme. Moralizing on this “ Jjp” (nuisance, Me pondon Spectator obsoffea: ‘ 3' .! • <*fllie praoftd Of giving fees cannot be stopped bv innkeepers, who do not see them given; and it will not lie stopped by the public, who, if Englishmen, anathematise gratuities in books, but give them none the less, undSr sofne irresistible and unacknowledged |eeling-of compulsion. Nothing is more curious’Than the intense reluctance of English people to do away with a practice which many of them denounce and none of them cordially approve, which costs them money, involves inconvenience, and helps to keep up a dltforenee df classes bThjph one-half at least of those who give regard with a strong theoretical, dislike. The sensible man does not deny that &u unearned gift is anialms, that an alms given to one who can live without it pauperises, and thht to harden, jdl men against the tendency to mocal daty of a definite ' 3 |mJf bht, while' -faSeirting fully to the argument, he puts his hand to his pocket for th*, .expected, .Shilling. The thrifty man will acknowledge fully that his waste on petty gifts makes up a large portion of his-silver expenditures, much larger than the proportion at which we recently fixed it, but will give all the same, as readily as the judicious pi* ll who grumbles, sometimes, audibly—and rather unfairly—that all gifts ate, "sooner or later, pour-boire, gifts of .drink. He gives nevertheless. And even tiie just man, who knows tliat in giyipg his shillings at a railway station he is directly depriving second and thirdclass passengers of their fair proportion of attendance, nevertheless, though ne asserts the proposition .gives themjust as readflv, ,or at "all events Just as freely, as if he had not asserted it. Here and there an exceptionally firm man or its exceptionally conscientious .woman wtill hold opt, and ffcrmcorla. lilfle time and temper to tlie welfare of society; but, as a rule, .who cm!'give; rives, atid'a great many #ho cannot, till we hive seen woriring-womeo, whose-bundles had been carried to the edge of the platform, apologize for not having the twopence to spare which they thought it either right or poHte-“-Ve neVer could make otitj wfiiqli—to give hi return for the attention: As to thi they give every,day, and.aUdaTjba. If you'stay at a friend's mjm give t> the servants; if you sh'Sot, son tip the gamekeeper ; if you are dMvhn you reward the coachman; if your horse is baited, you paw the hostler as well as the inn; if an urchin ripens k cab-door, he gets a copper; add if a Cabman restores the book you have forgotten, you pay him for his honesty or Iris consideration. A properlydisposed English corpse would tip the hearse-driver, if it only could. The impulse is positively irresistible. Over and over again the prAdiheO oi' givihJlfeeS ifi private housjes has been condemned, and ap'pWentiy tossed, bu| jit revived; while tne railways, which for years tpade'the receipts of gratuities an offense; have at last abandoned the effort, beaten by the lavishness of customers, ■who wotlld. break into open mutiny if the ‘*■ usual -price of their tickets WAS increased by .as much. ’ '—Chicago Tribune.