TIPS AND BRIBES

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVII, Issue 143, 19 June 1913, Page 2

TIPS AND BRIBES

THE TIIOUBLE IN ENGLAND

SECRET COMMISSIONS

. LONDON, March 21. iliere have been some comments in Australia regarding the increase of the tipping system, but it will be a good many years before the evil becomes as prevalent in the colonies as •* 1S J\ London- In a large city in which there is always a wealthy class, whose main occupation in life is to spend money, and in which *so many of the wage-earning class are inadequately paid, there is a favorable atmosphere for the growth of the tipping system. But it is not merely the wealthy people in England who tip. The custom lias become part of the life of the nation. There are many services for which everyone must tip. There is1 no secrecy about handing over tho tip except in those few places which display the notice "No Gratuities." There, out of regard for the professed desire of the management tp put down the evil of tipping, you hand over your gratuity surreptitiously. But elsewhere you tip openly in. order to show that you have paid) for the service rendered,' and in order to preserve the self-respect of the person who renders it. In, a democratic community like that of Australia there is a general impression that,the person who takes a tip l>a?-ts with liis self-respect. In England the tipping system is so much a part of the daily life of the person who is tipped that when he renders a service without being tipped he feels like the victim of a

confidence 'trick, , and his self-respect is wounded.

BASIS OF THE SYSTEM

Tl\e basis of the tipping system in England is 2d. That is the amount ptiid to the porter for cany ing your b;x£ from the cab /to the carriage. The samo amount is paid if you merely ask a porter a question about a train. It is 2d that .you pay to the barber's assistant who cuts your hair. Twopence is paid to the boy in chai-ge ot tbe cloakroom at any restaurant.or public institution who takes charge of your overcoat and hat. A* an overcoat has to be worn in England for about nine months of the year, there, are cloakrooms at ©very institution.' If you give the boy an extra, penny he will help you on with your opfat. The hotel porter who whistles for a taxi-cab for you expects 2d for his services, and the porter who opens the swinging glass doors for you expects a. similar reward. A visitor who goes about 1.-ondqn wants <to be well supplied with coppers in order to meet the unspoken bu£ insistent demands for tips, but coppers are always plentiful ii' London. If you tender a shilling for a, penny paper you get five pennies in your, change, and sometimes the elevenpence is made up of coppers. Threepenny pieces are extremely rare- in London, and a visitor may not obtain more than one in, a. month in his change. Australian visitors to London •usually make the mistake of giving 6d tips until they become better acquainted with the London tipping system. They believe that a smaller tip would indicate meanness, but •after a few weeks in London they find the tipping .''system is so extensive that they cannot afford to keep up. 6d tips. "In the restaurants the size of the tip varies according to the j size of the bill. Roughly speaking, 'the tip to a .waiter should be 10. per | cent, of the amount of the bill. In a middle-class • restaurant one can dine at a cost of 35,. if due economy is exercised and wine is dispensed with; but a meal in a West End restaurant, will cost something between s's and £2 a head, according to the price of the wine. , Although 2d is the regulation tip-: for most occa§ions, there, are times when a penny is the correct thing to give. 1 The waiter in an East End restaurant who serves his customers with "sausages and mashed" does not expect''more than a'penny.iip, and does.'-not always get thrtt. But even in the West End there are seiv'ces for which a penny is regarded as adequate. . The ragged and dirtylooking individual who closes the door of the taxi-cab after you get in, or opens a it for you when you get out, is paid, a penny. You may think that you are quite able to perform that service for yourself, but so numerous are these individuals that you are seldom allowed to do so. They are the latest addition to the long list of persons, who have to be tipped, and, strange to say, their presence is strongly objected to. But if is possible that the objection to /them is based on the fact that they are always ragged and dirty, and that in pursuit of their occupation they thrust their poverty and wretchedness under the notice of the wealthy and idle clases* in tlie West End when entering or leaving the restaurants and theatres.

THE EVIL IN BUSINESS CIRCLES.

Bui the tippyig, system is less of an evil than theTpffce'm of secret commissions, which-jpermeates the commercial life of the nation. In London there is a 'society called The Secret Commissions and ; Briery Prevention League, which exists for the purpose of enedeavotring to stamp out the system: of secret '.commissions and bribery by means of prosecutions under the Prevention of Corruption Act, which was passed in 1906. Victoria, has its Secret Commissions Act, which was passed in 1905, but this form of corruption never reached in Victoria the extent to which it is manifest in England to-day. A pamphlet published by the Secret Commissions and Bribery Prevention League, gives a list of over eighty illustrations of the way ;in which secret commissions and bribes are offered or demanded. Every on© of these illustrations is founded on a case which has been reported to the league or to a special committee appointed by the London Chamber of Commerce to inquire in to the prevalence of secret commissions. The fololwing illustrations are taken fl'om the list: —

Military officers receive payment at regular intervals from army contractors. In one case the colonel of a, regiment received in .commissions of this kind nearly £300 a year.

A firm offeirs a man already in employment a superior position if, before changing situations, he brings them certain, details as to the business of his present employers.

An inventor obtains, permission to demonstrate at certain works the value of his patent, which, it is claimed, would replace machinery already installed. The engineer is bribed by the manufacturers of the old plant to spoil the test.

Directors of a co-operative society receive gifts from trading firms as. an inducement to place orders for goods.

A coal merchant Offers firemen money to prevent them reporting that the coal he is supplying is not that contracted for.

A foreman who has the engaging of workmen will only take on those who pay him Is to 2s in the pound of their wages; and if they pay this. no regard is paid to their capability. Undertakers bribe the servants of an infh'inary so that they shall recommend them to the friends of patients who die in the institution ; they also pay secret commissions to nurses in private practice. ,

Clerks in a * shipping office are bribed by some emigration agents to supply the names and addresses of intending emigrants who happen to make inquiries

West TDnd shopkeepers bribe a courier to bring tourists to their shops."

* A courier demands commission on the. amount of purchases made by his temporary employers, and on being refused threatens to-take the tourists to rival places of business.

A motor-car dealer offers a chauffeur a secret commission on all petrol bought of him, and on all repairs entrusted to him.

A chauffe\ir gives an order for so many gallons of petrol, and asks for, and receives, a receipt for double the quantity, the difference to be paid to him.

A butcher offers a bribe to a cook to spoil in cooking the joints supplied by another butcher, who had hitherto given satisfaction.

TROUBLE WITH THE

SERVANTS

It is well-known that the servants in many fashionable houses in the West End, where the hosts entertain largely, demand a commission from

tho tradesmen supplying the house with goods. The rate of commission paid is usually o per cent. The payment of this commission is an incentive to the servants to waste as much food as possible so as to increase the household bills. The (servants at the principal West End Clubs and restaurants also exact commission from the tradesmen. If a tradesman refuses to pay commission the servants find a way of taking the custom of their employers away from him.,' The chef at a club who was refused commission by the fishmonger who supplied the club deliberately kept the fish until it was stale, and then served it up. There were so many complaints from members of the club regarding the fish served there, that the secretary Of the club transferred the custom to another tradesman at the suggestion of the chef.—-Melbourne Age correspondent.