Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1885-10-30
IN A NICKEL SNAP.
where the Thousand and One Odd Pieces
Come From to Make Up the stock in
PAHlI.ly8Ei T0.l

Few peyaOns who patroniZe tive cent
stores ever take the trouble to exercise
,h-ic minds over the Tast amount CT intel
tger; h5oc required 10 keep tue counters
filed with the endless variety Of GIN.
cracks" and odds and ends OF various de-
yvses of usefulness aud uselessuess. There
are seyersl nickel snaps IS the factory
iris ca., Gys-cent sores in Philadelphia
/ reporter WAS lured within the labyrinth
o. one CT the larges, the other day, and be.
,UIz, bright cvss, spssmodic CGsh-2Irls,
p.-,xf,nal woodward, fabrics and toys,
b. Was sitLla the space OF five minutes re
GgcsG TO q state Of mental iucompetency,
aai saw biz figures as in Infinite varieties
o.. shape AID form during the entire SUI.
ceed.uc night.
You see. observed the acro5stic man
aver. "a he caugh: falling bauble, exiri-
Gated dozen lady customers out Of @
snagl, admonished cash girl, smiled at a
saleslady and smoothed wrinkle out OF
his vest running five cent store isn oil
suu. We must have as many eyes as a car
driver Or mssher in church doorway,
as many hands as d bank cashier, as many
legs "a Q 20 IS YOU please pedestrian and a
temper as untriable ga q boarding house
sponge cGke. Everything has q tendency
to get topssy-turvey in g place Ike this
eg,,,we've got everything.
At this poiLt the douO.e-actioned mana,
ger was rapture1 oy blsck'eyed honEi,
who presided over the collar ard cuff but
ton repository, and the rudderless reporter
was swep. along in the stream. He toat-
Cd pas' counters where Climax tireshoy.
els hooEo55ed with vide jawed boot Jacks
and disdain.ll green, yellow and red
feather busters: drift ed past huge mounds
OF po'ato Washers, sufficient to hold In
everlasting sutiec,ion all the club men in
town, if jlGiciously distributed and dIs,
crsetly applied; corkscreTs enough 10 pull
all the c5rbs out Of all the wine and whisky
bottles in Philadelphia; whizzed between
counters hasped with five cent "tou7ln-
hand" neckties. shoestriugs, corset laces,
zebra stockings, sweet little oval elastic
edge the use Of. stereoscopic views Of all
possible and impossible lands, hairpins,
soap. tooth.powter, fish scalers and can
OPENERS, stove lifters ard hair oil, flash
pictures of stage fayori,es sardwiched IN
between buslles and sststypirs.
At length the mansger succeeded IN
eludipg the Establishments Of the collar,
button goddess aid dragged the newspaper
man under q stairway. Now, said he,
a6ias.ing o diamond in his necktie, may
De you think all these things grow IN t1e
back ward. They don't 1t takes Mg
head to run five cent store. 1t requires
intimate kuo.ledge Of the markets CT toe
world. Mos. Of cur goods are manuisc
tprad in Germany, and no American whole
sale house can cell a. Wholesale for what
many If Der goods are sod by Us Ct rvtaI
We calculate 10 make 30 per cent. on the
aversgp. hut We have 10 keep leaders 10
draw trade. Look at this baske: We sell
i, at ) cen,s, yet they cost US 5N cents
dozen 70 import them from Germany, and
10 factory in this country will make them
for us .cr less than - cents. Lots and
lots o. goods thst you see marked down
be.e fo- ) cents gre sod in o her stores for
n 70 40 cents. Take that line OF cutf
hattous. | will show you mates to many
Of them for sale in geniiemens furnishing
s;orss at Is CeE,S.
People buy bills OF Sl5 ard so here
ever7 day, 10 one article costing more thar
i've cents. How do they do it? Why
easy enough A ladv -" buy dozen o
each article 5t '.o.v ware, including knives
and forks spoons, butter dishes, etc
Then she will buy five or six yards Of lac
At I'VE cents q yard, as many ct ribbon q
the same figure, FIVE or SIX toys tor tn
children. two or three hardkerchieis, ant
before she is aware OF it she has goodIy
.izad bill and big parcel to have sell
home
This il d profitable business ones 1t
thoroughly established, but it requires
year 70 get it going, because you have "a
10 impor, from first hands and keep u
your stock. You have to buy for cash
ee, the best figures, al you have to pql
chase in enormous quantities, and as tn
last words Gied away the manager shot II
70 the crowd and was swallowed up.