1931 Old Waldorf Bar Days by Albert Stevens Crockett

Old Waldorf Bar Days mery," and it was soon followed by the sheer but ac– cidental destruction of enough sparkling wine to make a modern prohibition agent jealous. Bootleggers did not figure in this last episode, but what might be called "pants-leggers" did. Among those invited to meet the Kaiser's brother was almost every important newspaper editor in the whole country. The pantry was piled high with cases of wine, and these had been opened ahead of time. One result was that many waiters had proved unable to resist temp– tation. And wine sometimes has a way of inflaming na– tional ardor. Every waiter employed by the hotel was on duty, as was every bellboy on the staff. The former, serving the various courses, laden with trays, hurried along the hall– way from the pantry in single file and at fixed distances apart. And when courses were finished, out they came, still in a long line, bearing trays of soiled plates and remnants. This went on in military fashion under the argus eye of the maitre d'hotel, its grand marshal, who stood near the door of the ball room, with eye and ear alert for any sign of interruption to the program he had so carefully planned. Everything moved like clock-work for a time. But all at once the smooth-running wheels stopped. A sudden halt in 'the steady procession of waiters and omni buses. Something had gone wrong! What had happened was a flare-up of national jeal– ousies. At that time there were many French as well as German waiters on the staff of .the hotel, and the former, in some cases, undoubtedly cherished memories of the [ 96]

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