y curious and misdirected
expressions. Policemen on certain traffic corners are remembered by many
gifts of money and cigars from persons who have no other contact with
them than a nod from a limousine as they pass the corner daily. Why
should the feeling of appreciation run to thought of money as a token of
expression? It is because the persons who give entertain the idea that
the policeman is in a stratum of society under them and that, being an
underling, his self-respect will not be hurt by offering money. The same
persons would not think of offering a friend money and would be insulted
if any one offered them money. The golden rule is a dead letter to them.

Some clubs have handled the tipping custom by forbidding gratuities
during the year and then allowing the members to contribute to a fund to
be divided among the servitors at Christmas. This is a great improvement
over the tipping custom but it is still short of the democratic ideal. A
servant who is adequately paid for his work throughout the year has no
more call upon the generosity of patrons at Christmas than a clerk in a
shoe store from whom you purchase shoes four or six times a year.

GOVERNMENT HOTELS

The Government operates hotels in the Canal Zone, and tipping is
permitted. Guests who fail to tip are treated by the servitors precisely
like they are treated in private hotels, but the writer, who boarded
three months in one of the Government hotels in the Canal Zone, during
which time he did not tip the waiter, found that a complaint to the
manager about poor service would result in the prompt discipline of the
offending servitor. This is more than can be said of many privately
operated hotels.

In this connection, it is noteworthy that the only whisper of graft in
the building of the $400,000,000 canal was the charge made against the
purchasing agent of the Commissary that he split commissions with the
houses from which he purchased supplies. Splitting commissions is the
itching palm in commerce.

It would seem that before passing laws to regulate tipping among
citizens, the Government, state and national, should be able to come
into court with clean hands. Until the Government rids its service of
the spirit of graft the law-makers are beating around the bush.

XV

LAWS AGAINST TIPPING

Efforts to abolish or regulate the custom of tipping have been made in
the Legislatures of practically all of the States. Often after passing
legis