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Show ASKS THE REASON FOR OLD CUSTOM Seryice Plate Worries This Old Timer. "I go about so little, and am so generally unsophisticated, that my knowledge of service plates, and the rules and regulations governing them, Is pretty much of the hearsay kind," said Mr. Cato Ninetails. "I think that I have compassed the where and when of them, but I am still extremely ex-tremely foggy about the why. Of practical utility, I have not been able to discover the slightest trace. The argument that the diner should not sit at table with nothing before him strikes me as fallacious, for nothing could possibly be emptier than a service plate. On the other hand, beauty, as we all know, Is its own excuse for being, and many' of the service plates have as high claims to beauty as anything that can be displayed on the prandial board. "Whether beauty is appetizing depends, de-pends, I suppose, on the temperament tempera-ment of the diner. Doubtless it makes some people hungry to start their dinner by gazing at an exquisite exquis-ite example of the ceramic art, but with most of us I am afraid that It Is not a wholly effective substitute for the hors-d'oeuvre. I am still further hampered in my efforts to understand the situation by my extremely ex-tremely material mind with its strong trend in favor of labor saving sav-ing and efficiency. The service plate has to be put on by somebody. Assuming As-suming that it is a decoration, as it undoubtedly is, it seems to me that It ought to be allowed to stay on the table and decorate instead of being removed at the expense of further labor. Not only is it removed, re-moved, but if hearsay has correctly correct-ly informed me it is returned to its business of decorating; that is, of presenting something for the diner to look at other than the cloth. I can't find any reason why he should not look at the cloth, which in all probability also is beautiful, and in many cases is an exquisite example of the weaver's, the embroiderer's or the lacemaker's art, or perhaps a combination of all of them. "Please understand that I am not offering any objection to, or making argument against, service plates. I'm merely trying to get their raison d'etre through my head. A custom that has been so widely adopted by so many people of the highest culture cul-ture and intelligence must have other oth-er justification than mere imitation. All customs start with a reason of some kind, and some of them, in the course of time, may even get back to it; so I am not without hope that some day I shall find out what it is, for all things come to him who waits. "As an eminent physician, Buck goes about a good deal more than I do, so it occurred to me to sound him on the subject. " 'Buck,' I said, 'how do ; ou regard re-gard service plates on a dinner table?' ta-ble?' " 'Apprehensively,' he replied, 'Whenever a meal starts with service serv-ice plates it's a sure sign that I'll use the wrong fork before it is over.' " Indianapolis News. |