The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-04-20
TALES OF THE WATCH.
How the Country Youngster Bites at
the Cheap Chronometer Bait.
From the Chicago Mail

Un0, Cn6ap ChrOnOm6C0r Bait.
From the Chicago Mail.
In Chicago there are several jewellers who
make a speciality of dealing in cheap
watches They fill the cheap magazines
and story-papers and the columns of the
country press with grandiloquent descrip-
tions of the elegant silverine hunting case
watch; full ieweled, expansion balance pat
ent dial, stem-winder and setter, malleable
hands, and patent lever escapement; limi-
ted number of which we will sell TO those
first ordering for the low sum of $3.50, on
condition that you show the watch TO your
friends and acquaintance. The descrIp-
ton, lengthy, technical, and imposing, is
strictly truthful. Most of the goods
sold in this way are sent by mail, and any
misrepresentation in an advertisement is
pretty sure to be followed by a visit of
post office inspector to the advertiser and
the explanation must be very satisfactory
or a prosecution for using the mails for
fraudulent purposes" ensues. This is we'll
understood by most of those who sell goods
through the medium of the mails, and they
take the greatest care to make the CORE
spondence between the goods sent and the
advertised description of them as complete
as possible. The trick lies in making the
description technical, verbose and meaning
less. In the extract given above any state
ment made concerning the watch adver-
tsed is strictly true, and the article itself is
fair value for the small price asked for it,
but the brilliant description in the county
papers leads the rustic pumpkin to imagine
that for "a so he will receive a Jurgensen
chronometer-that is, his idea of watch
such as described is about on par with the
bctter-informed persons knowledge of
Jurgensen.
The possession of watch is one OF the
first ambitions that fire the youthful Ameri-
can breast, especially in the rural districts
To be able to tell the time without resorting
to the time-honored custom of facing the
south and using the arm extended toward
the sun on a line with the nose, as sort of
human sun-dial pointer, is a great distinc-
ton At the "corn shuckin'," or rail
splittin'," or "house raisin'," and the
party" which invariably follows these
hard labor entertainments, it is proud
moment when Josh" or "Lihu' can pull
out bis newly acquired emblem of financial
prosperity and social Advancement, and in
a careless sort of way, as though he had
been accustomed to it, say, "Why, gosh, all
hemlock, boys! It's yittin' on to 4 o'clock"
1t is the "Joshes" and the "Lihus' that
the cheap-watch man caters to, and by
them mostly his wares are bought. One
dealer, who does only what is considered in
the trade small business, said TO a re-
porter: Yes, we sell great many watches.
In the busy season, which is from Septem-
Der TIL April. we will send out on an aver
age more than $50 a day. During the week
Immediately before Christmas and the week
between Chri. tmas and New Year, we send
out froia 800 TO 900 day. | keep two men
and three girls the year round who do
nothing else but enter orders as they are
received, pack the watches, and direct the
cases to the purchasers. We use for ship
ping a small tin pnper-coveret box, which
has been approved as a mailing package
by the Post Office Department EIch
watch is packed in cotton, the ends OF the
box bent shut, and the package is sent by
registered mail or express. Now this
watch, :" taking up time-piece that looked
very much like a Waterbury, but having
''hunung case sis the one we sell for "a 30.
These are made in Switzerland aud import
them in 5000 and 10000 lots. When packed
for mailing they cost me a trife less than "a
each, SO / make only Soc. ON each watch,
but il ] can do large enough business that