The News And Herald

HABIT OF TIPPING SERVANTS.
One Instance Illustrating Its Abuses on the Continent of Europe.

A Chicago woman who recently spent a brief season in Germany speaks in terms of condemnation of the custom, almost universal there, of tipping servants. The practice is not confined to the hotels and inns, but guests at the private houses of the rich are expected to cross the palms of those who attend to their wants. This woman, in relating her experiences, said: 'When my visit came to an end I was in such a dilemma as to what was the proper thing to do in the way of feeing the servants that after some deliberation I went to my hostess for relief: 'You have such a retinue of servants,' I said to her, 'that I simply cannot fee them all. I want you to tell me which ones will expect a remembrance and what amount it ought to be.' Whereupon she said me that the question had come up so often in this very way that she had at last hit upon a plan which her husband agreed was a good one and which had been in operation for a long time in their household to the entire satisfaction of all concerned, including the servants. She showed me a locked box in a dark nook in the hall, and into a slit in this her guests dropped whatever amount it was their pleasure to give the servants. Once in six months the box was opened and the contents distributed among the staff, the gifts being proportionate to the place held-the butler, footmen, room maids and others who come in direct contact with the guest receiving the larger amount-which I can assure you was the greatest kind of relief to me, and seemed a good idea to adopt elsewhere.'