32. Etiquette in Business and Politics. Post, Emily. 1922. Etiquette


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CONTENTS BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD


Emily Post (1873–1960). Etiquette. 1922.

Chapter XXXII.
Etiquette in Business and Politics

A CERTAIN rich man whose appointment to a foreign post of importance
was about to be ratified, came into the corridor of a Washington
hotel and stopped to speak with a lady for a few moments. During the
whole conversation he kept his hat on his head and a cigar in the
corner of his mouth. It happened that the lady was the wife of a
prominent senator, and she lost no time in reporting the incident to
her husband, who in turn brought the matter to the attention of
certain of his colleagues with the result that the appointment did
not go through. 1
It is not unlikely that this man thinks “politics played against
him,� whereas the only factor against him was his exhibition of
ill-breeding which proved him unsuitable to represent the dignity of
his country. 2
Etiquette would not seem to play an important part in business,
and yet no man can ever tell when its knowledge may be of advantage,
or its lack may turn the scale against him. The man who remains
“planted� in his chair when a lady (or an older man) speaks to him,
who receives customers in his shirt sleeves, who does not take off
his hat when talking with a lady and take his cigar out of his mouth
when bowing or when addressing her, can never be sure that he is not
preparing a witness for the prosecution. 3

ETIQUETTE IN SMOKING

The above does not mean that a gentleman may never smoke in the
presence of ladies—especially in the presence of those who smoke
themselves—but a gentleman should not smoke under the following
circumstances:
When walking on the street with a lady.
When lifting his hat or bowing.
In a room, an office, or an elevator, when a lady enters.
In any short conversation where he is standing near, or talking
with a lady. 4
If he is seated himself for a conversation with a lady on a
veranda, in an hotel, in a private house, anywhere where “smoking is
permitted,� he first asks, “Do you mind if I smoke?� And if she
replies, “Not at all� or “Do, by all means,� it is then proper for
him to do so. He should, however, take his cigar, pipe, or
cigarette, out of his mouth while he is speaking. One who is very
adroit can say a word or two without an unpleasant grimace, but one
should not talk with one’s mouth either full of food or barricaded
with tobacco. 5
In the country, a gentleman may walk with a lady and smoke at the
same time—especially a pipe or cigarette. Why a cigar is less
admissible is hard to determine, unless a pipe somehow belongs to