My "hypothesis" is that the practice of tipping bartenders in the U.S.
could have evolved out of the "Boss Saloon System" (which was a version of
the "Company Store"). The urban saloon and Tavern was throughout much of
the nineteenth century (and a good part of the twentieth) the central
gathering place for workers and townsfolk. As an institution, it became
very powerful because it's joined workers and management from other
industries in one place (a seminal influence on the labor movement), The
Bar... Due to its central position, saloons carried considerable influence
over their customers in a number of ways too numerous to mention here.
 
        For the saloon the bottom line was money, and because this was a very
competitive industry, bar owners and tenders needed to come up with new and
different ways to make money...Thus the tradition of the "gratuity" or
"tip" to show/prove how much you really think of your barkeeper was evolved
into a custom. This "put your money where your mouth is" approach could
have emerged right along with the storepay system...
 
Again, I stress this is only my theory put forward for argument. Please by
all means correct me if you disagree!
 
There is a very good book on the subject that may have more info on this
subject (which I do not have a copy, nor have I read it in years, and my
local libraries do not have). I also contacted the publisher and they no
longer carry it...
 
AUTHOR      Duis, Perry, 1943-
TITLE       The saloon : public drinking in Chicago and Boston,
            1880-1920 / Perry R. Duis.
PUB/DATE    Urbana : University of Illinois Press, c1983.
DESCRIPT    380 p., [24] p. of plates : ill. ; 24 cm.
BIB NOTE    Includes bibliographical references and index.
SUBJECT     Hotels, taverns, etc.--Social
 
Regards, Steve
 
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