which you live. You
will not become less of a gentleman or lady if the socially submerged
classes rise to a normal plane of self-respect. In declining to place a
false valuation upon them you are promoting the true mission of
Americanism.

"To thine own self be true,
And it must follow as the night the day
Thou canst not then be false to any man."

Third, the fear of violating a social custom is overcome when you
understand its pernicious nature. The general observance of it gives the
custom neither rightness nor authority. With full assurance that the
custom is wrong and with a measure of the courage Decatur showed before
Tripoli, an apparently formidable, but really vulnerable, custom can be
destroyed.

VIII

THE LITERATURE OF TIPPING

Writers of books on etiquette uniformly accept tipping as the correct
social usage. They state just the amount that it is proper to give on
various occasions and thus do their utmost to rivet the custom upon the
people.

A few extracts from such books will be given here to show how the custom
is strengthened by the arbiters of etiquette. Those masses of Americans
who are aspiring to a broader culture naturally turn to these books, and
have their Americanism poisoned at the very start. They are educated to
believe that tipping is essential to social grace. The feature
departments of newspapers in answering queries about tipping usually
confirm this impression, though now and then a side-swipe is delivered
at the extortionate attitude of the serving persons.

HOTEL FEES

Taking up the hotel first, the following advice is from "Everyday
Etiquette":

"A porter carries a bag and he must be tipped; another carries
up a trunk, he must be tipped; one rings for ice water and the
boy bringing it expects his ten cents; one wants hot water every
morning and in notifying the chambermaid of this fact, must slip
a bit of silver into her palm. The waiter at one's table must be
frequently remembered, and the head waiter will give one better
attention if he finds something in his hand after he shows the
new arrival to a table, and, of course, on leaving one will give
a fee.

"It is usually best for a transient guest to fee the waiter at
each meal, since another man will probably be in attendance at
the next one. The usual rate is to give 10 per cent. of the sum
paid for the lunch or dinner--ten cents being the mi