Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-07-07
THE DRY GOODS TRADE.
EeNTURiNG INTO THE DOMAIN OF
FEMININE SHOPPING.
A Phase of Retail Trade Borrowed from
the French How Goods Are Sold to the


Trade.
Nenturing into the domain OF feminine
shopping, / have been astonished 10 learn
Of the extent n which tue credit system Is
expanded Ia this city. The ease with which
dry goods can be purchased ON trust is mar
velOuS There are several concerns whore
materials are sold on the instalment plan,
but aside from that curious phase Of retail
trade the regular stores sell on credit in
manner that seems reckless Not only are
the wives and daughters Of comparatively
money less men thus accommodated, but
sales ON that basis urged upon them.
"Oh, yes, said dealer in reply 10 an in
quiry, we have borrowed that from the
French, and it wUrGs surprisingly well All
We want to know about n woman Is who she
is and where she lives, and then We are
willing to heap up a counter load of goods
Tor her and not take cent Women are
not cautious or forehnnded men are
They lack what you might call that sense OF
responsibility which makes Il man dread
committing him>slf TO debt Women who
Will walk half mile to save a cent on II
cash purchase will buy recklessly II pay
ment down is not asked for. They say to
each other IN the presence of our clerks,
Well. dear, I'm going To buy that don't
have to pay down for it, and heaven only
knows how l ever will pay for it, but 1t
will come out all right oh, yes, the
other replies Il would too u course it's
got 10 come out ali right
1T COMES OUT ALL RIGHT.
But don't you lose a great deal Of money
in this way" | inquired
"Oh, no; practically none at ALL except
through adventuresses who would fool US
Just as much under any system No, the
women are right When they buy an ar
tIclc that they can't see just how they can
afford to buy 1T comes out all right There's
u man somewhere VINO has got to come
down. loving husband, a father,
brother, a rich uncle or somebody or other
who may sto, III and swear a little but who
will not let the lady stand law suit OF
even let her cry her eyes very red or beg
very hard or coax very sweetiy before ht.
relent, and >, Iuaros the bill All that wa
found out in Paris long ago We are in
fants here compared to the French in deal
ing with women A half dozen dressmakers
like Worth, a score of fashionable milliners
and jewellers, florists, and, in short, all
kinds OF persons who cater to women in
Paris, do buSIneS, in tniS way. They very
much prefer a woman who deals on tick
to q woman who pays money down, and
they have made vast fortunes by that plan
Why, all our stores here are petty things
beside the bon Marche and the ether big
ladies stores i'll Paris, and our ways OF buy
ing goods well as OF selling them are
mainly learned from them
y es,7 said, but to get back to the
women suppose hadnt 500 in the world
and my wife bought S3OO dress; coudn
pay for it, that's all, and what would you
do them
III warrant you would pay for it, said
tine shop keap.r; "Or your father would, or
her father would. But it is hardly a sup
posable case Women do not 20 in quite ii,
steep as that They do not wholly lose
their heads under this temptation; merely
buy a little more or pay little more than
they would do with ash They know their
husband purses and bank accounts anu
tempsraments, and inst .ad OF not straining
them AT all, they Just strain them a little.
that's all Its only once in awhile that We
come across an utter fool Of a woman who
buys without any Judgement, and then We
have deuce of thing getting our money.
We get it and we do not keep account
with her any more"
OTHER TRICKS Or THE TRADE
The devices for attracting and pleasing
customers are various and ingenious II
one store q buffet has been ope ned for free
lunchIng A neat maid serves out tiny sand
witches, cakes an coffe. She is an expert,
however, and puts the daintles where they
will do the most gooi to her employers
She diSCrimlnates between little and big
buyers inIuitiveIy, she soon spots th 50 who
bring their empty stonachS too often to be
flied, and especially Is she kind TO the chil
dren of liberal purchasers For these
youngsters she has special supply OF
pastry. auI with them she opens the heart,
and purses OF the fond mothers Probably
tins luncheon counter does not cost NOR,
than 50 a day a rd in uences more than
enough business TO ay foT itself
A young assistant rector lately got into
trouble, not serious but curious, because he
served as a personal advertiser for COS
tuning concern Hou must know that the
masculine pets in reliSio fashionable circles
are those handsome ellows who are the lieu
tenants of ased pastors of rich congrega.
cations Tue socia! duties Of q pastorate
become too heavy and irEsome for old men
to perform and are larse,y transferred to
the active coad utors who ike them better.
OF the church. These atfable and talented
juniors are privileged guests in a.turnt
households, they lun b fam. iarly with the
wives and daughters and are consulted IN
ali matters of temporal taste well
spiritual concern Questions Of costume are
commonly referred to them and | coul
mention several who are absolute authorities
among the sisters in such matters One hS
a fine collection OF prints, showing the IA n
ions OF all ages in women's garments, an
he is considered an unrivaled pert in udg
ing of the effects Of oOlorS and shapes in then
l citations TO individuals Conse Iuently he
is consulted in tho nice pro oIIems of raj
ment that rack the brains Of bellies FriNol
Gus: oSsibly. Polite Never II doubt of
It, for he is the most popular assistant pastor
that | know of New \ ork COR. New
Orleans Times Dem crat
InjudioIous Firing Of Mu-ketry.
In severe battles, such as AntIetam,
Fredericksburg, Getty sburg, and the many
bloody encounters between the Wilderness
and etsrsburg, it can fairly be estimated
that the infantry fired, when closely en-
gagged, all average Of forty shots each an
hour. There were men who fired ninety
and perhaps a hundred shots in the course
OF a two hours hard struggle. OF course,
the musksts became heated with such rapid
firing, and fouled, though the fouling was
more often the result Of inJudicIous ram
ming than Of the heat Of the musket barrel
The writer has often seen infsntrymen i'll
hat frul hat