Show ASKS THE REASON FOR OLD CUSTOM service plate worries this old timer 1 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 1 I think that I 1 have compassed the where and when of them but I 1 am still extremely foggy about the why of practical utility I 1 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 la is its own excuse for being and many of tho the service plates have as high claims to beauty as anything that can be displayed on the lal board whether beauty Is appetizing depends I 1 suppose on the temperament ot of the diner doubtless it makes some people hungry to start their dinner by gazing at an exquisite example of the ceramic art but with most of us I 1 am afraid that it Is not a wholly effective substitute for the hors I 1 am still further hampered in my efforts to understand the situation by m my y extremely material mind with its strong trend in favor of labor saying saving and effle efficiency lency the service plate has to be put on by somebody assuming that it Is a decoration as it undoubtedly Is it seems to ni 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 but if hearsay has correctly informed me it Is returned to its business of decorating that I 1 Is 81 of presenting something for the diner to look at other than the cloth I 1 cant 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 weavers the embroiderers embroider ers or the lace makers art or perhaps a combination of all of them please understand that I 1 am not offering any objection to or making argument against service plates rm im merely trying to get their ralson raison detre through my head bead A custom that has been so widely adopted by so many people of the highest culture and intelligence must 1 have tare other 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 1 am not without hope that some day I 1 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 1 do so it occurred to me to sound him on the subject buck I 1 said how bow do ou regard service plates on a dinner table 7 apprehensively he be replied whenever a meal starts with service plates its a sure sign that ill use the wrong fork before it Is over ever s indianapolis news |