1931 Old Waldorf Bar Days by Albert Stevens Crockett

OldWaldorf Bar Days the restaurants, a bottle of the brand he represented must stand upon it until he made his entrance into the room. It meant advertisement. From these propagan– dists for sparkling vintages, certain waiter-captains at the old Waldorf drew revenue, receiving a commis– sion on every bottle sold, which ran, in some cases, to twenty-five per cent of the retail selling price, and even higher. The captains commandeered the corks, and upon presentation of the same to Chappelle or one of his rivals, would collect on the stoppers. A tall, handsome man, with a large black beard, who wore at times a flat-topped black derby, but was also to be noted frequently in a silk hat, was Colonel T. J. O'Brien, who had been a local Dock Commissioner and who subsequently became United States Minister to Uruguay. A short, stout man buying for a group at a nearby table might be William J. Arkell, a paper bag manufacturer, who later went into the provision busi– ness, with very profitable results. "Big Bill" Edwards, famous Princeton football player, was frequently pointed out to "tourists," as was Frank J. Walker, for many years starter for the Grand Circuit races. A bigger football hero of the time than Big Bill, if not bulkier>, perhaps; was "King" Kelly, other– wise Addison Wiley Kelly, who was frequently seen in the Bar. Kelly was another of Princeton's great knights of the pigskin. The man drinking next you might be "Billie" Smith, former room clerk at the old Hoffman House, who had gone into real estate years before and found it profitable even in those days when many families still had homes in New York. " Billie" [58]