Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-03-04
Won will be ouite delighted"

store, ana tueu RolHS Dack 10 the PIE
which she had just rejected, sna.ched
up several pieces, and sold her one Of
them almost Immediately. Customers,
the old merchant says, were often bull
lied into buying things they did not
want.
Many q half Enlightened girl he
remarks, "haye / seen go out of the
shop, the tears yelling up into her
eyes, and saying, / am sure ! shall
never like it '; some shawl or dress hav-
ing been forced upon her contrary to
her taste or Judgment
The new clerk, although by nature o
very honest young fellow. soon became
expert in all the tricks Of the trade. 1t
was the custom then for employers to
allow clerks reward for selling things
that were particularly unstable. or
which required some special skill or
impudence in the seller.
For example. they kept on hand a
great supply Of what they pleased to
call remnants" which were supposed
to be sold very cheap; and as the pub.
lie of that day had passion for REM
nants, the master OF the shop took care
to have them made in sufficient mum.
bers.
There were heaps of remnants of
linen, and it so happened that the rem
nants were exactly long enough for
shirt, or some other garment. Any
clerk who could push off one Of these
remnants upon customer was allowed
penny or two-pence as q reward for
his talent; and there were certain costly
~; ri o,,nh oJ, MI nj o,lh, -
unstable patterns, upon which there
was premium of several shillings for
selling.
There was one frightfully ugly shawl
which had hung fire so long that the
master Of the shop offered reward of
eight shillings 1.-TWO dollars) to any one
who would sell it at the full price.
which was twenty dollars. Oar lad
covered himself with glory one morn
ing, by selling this horrid old thing.
A sailor came in to buy satin scarf for
a present. The boy saw his chance.
"As you want something for pres
ent," said he to the sailor, Is would you
not like to give something really useful
and valuable that would last for years?"
In three minutes the sailor was walk
ing out of the store, happy enough,
with til Q shawl under his arm, and the
sharp youth was depositing the price
thereof in the money drawer.
Very soon he had an opportunity of
assisting to gull the public on great
scale. His employer bought out the
stock Of an old-fashioned dry-goods
store in another part of the town for
small sum; upon which he determined
to have grand selling Off"
To this end he filled the old shop with
all his old. faded, unstable goods, be-
sides looking around among the whole
sale houses and picking up several cart
loads OF cheap lots, moro or less dam
aged.
The whole town was flooded with
bills announcing this selling off OF the
old-established store, ct which many
goods could be obtained at less than
half the original cost. As this was
then comparatively new trick, the
public we're deceived by it, and it had
the most astonishing success. The
selling of lasted several weeks, the sup
ply of goods being kept up by daily
purchases. 90 .fil'.I.. laa .'.s-
Our junior clerk was an apt learner
in deception and trickery. Shortly
after this experiment upon the public
credulity, careless boy lighting the
lamps in the window (for this was before
the Introduction Of gas) SGT some net
ting on fire, causing damage OF few
shillings, the fire being almost instantly
extinguished. As business had been q
little dull, the junior clerk conceived
the idea of turning the colfagration to
account. Going up to his employer.
and pointing to the singed articles, he
said to him: ......f f...it &c..
10 "Why not have q selling off here,
and clear out all the stock damaged by
fire 2" 9t'''. .'-
The master laughed at the enormity
OF the joke, but instantly adopted the
suggestion, and in the course of day
or two, flaming posters announced the
awful disaster and the sale. ......4.
In preparing for this event, the
clerks applied lighted paper to the
edges OF whole stacks Of goods, slight
ly discolored the tops of stockings,
and, in fact, they singed to such an ex-
tent as almost to cause real conhagra-
ton. ....t l.... ..H..
During these wicked night opera
tions great deal # beer was consumed,
and the whole effect OF the maneuver
was injurious and demoralizing to every
clerk in the store.
This sale also was ridiculously sue
oessful. A mob surrounded the doors
before they were opened, and to keep
up the excitement some low-priced
goods were ostentatiously sold much
below cost. Such was the rush of Gus
toners that at noon the. young men
were exhausted by the labor of selling;
the counters were mere litter of tum-
bled dry goods; and the shop had to
be closed for while for rest and put
ting things la order.
To keep up the excitement, the mas
ter and his fayorite junior clerk rode
about London in hackney coaches, in
search Of any cheap lots that would
answer their purpose.
In the course of time this clerk, who
was at heart ~ honest, well-prjncipled
fellow, grew ashamed OF all this trick
cry and fraud, and when at length he
set up in business for himself, he
adopted the principle of Zone price
and no abatement" He dealt honora-
bly, with all his customers, ard thus
founded one. of the great dry-goods