The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1888-07-20
WAYS OF SHOPPERS.
MONDAY THE BARGAIN HUNTERS
DAY IN THE STORES.

ton, he can 'size up" o crowd with remark
able quickness and accuracy. He can usu
ally tell at q glance whether a person in q
big dry goods store is straight" or ''crook.
ed" There is something about every thiel
that ''gives him away" Notwithstanding the
DISCUSSES which they adopt, female sboplifters
and pickpockets can never deceive Inspector
Knox. The way they act when they meet
him Is often amusing. The detective pre-.
tends never to see them, and they at once
begin maneuvering to ascertain whether he
has really noticed them. Wherever there is
q mirror or q store window that offers an
opportunity to see what is going on without
looking around, the suspects" strive in in
genious ways to study the inspectors face
and eye. .""""
The officer has been too long in the bust.
ness to get caught mapping in this way, and
the thief will gradually come to believe that
he has not been observed. 1t is, Of course,
the object Of the officer to make a case
against the suspect, and ct the same time to
find out in what manner stolen property is
likely to be disposed Of. The thing then to
be done IS to shadow the Suspect through all
the stores which be or she may visit, and
finally to the lair. This Is a most difficult
thing to do, as the thief who has had expo
rience will always make a number of ''bluffs"
at going home, perhaps calling at half a
dozen different places, going in front doors
and out back ones, until tho officer has lost
the scent
DAY FOR BARGAIN HUNTERS.
monday, said Inspector Knox to the re-
porter, sis the bargain hunters day. They
have taken all the Sunday papers just to SEQ
what they have got to offer. The news and
literary articles have no interest to them,
They grab up tho paper as soon as they ret
out OF bed Sunday morning, and all day long
they pore over it, reading the cut down
prices Of shirts, busters, dress goods, house
furnishings, including tin pals and brooms,
and oil the rest, and they can hardly wait for
Monday to come, they are sc anxious to get
to the bargain counters to inspect the mark
downa' Monday is a hard day for the en-
ployes IN the stores. These people predomi-
nate, and they look over $4,000 worth Of
stuff for every dollars worth they
buy. OF course, there are other peo-
pie out on Monday, but I mean
to say that the bargain hunter has
the right way. Some Of them are known in
tho stores as hens and 'rifters' and their
mission In life seems to be to make the clerks
tired Monday after Monday I SEQ hun
dreds Of faces that I have not seen for lust q
week, and I know them like a book. don't
suppose any Of them spend more than hftv
cents or 81, but what they don't know on the
subject Of bargains isn't worth knowing.
They know all about prints and prices, il
they don't know anything else. Some Of
them haven't got over the old fashion Of
trying to beat the clerk down. That used TO
be the favorite pastime Of many estimable
old ladies from the north end, but with the
modern methods Of doing retail business. it
Is just as useless as talking to q stone wall
Tuesday Is q bettef'k kind of shopping day.
The 'miseresses come out. I suppose they
have come to learn that the bargain hunter
must have her day, and there IL not much
comfort In entering into competition with
her. So the 'mistresses' wait until Tuesday.
and then they come forth In all their glory.
We know them pretty well now, but there is.
Of course, less sameness in this class Of Gus
toners than there Is In the Monday set
FOLKS FROM TIE COUNTRY. ".
"wednesday we expect the country people.
The Sunday papers have by this time been
read far and near, and the farmer and the
farmers wife having read, marked, learned
and inwardly digested all that was therein
contained, harness up, drive to the depot and
take train to Boston, with pockets well filed.
It is the easiest thing in the world to tell when
there are a lot Of country people in town.
They clog up the sidewalks, if they are at
oil numerous, and they cape into windows
and hang over counters, as II half bewildered
by the rush and noise. Ono would SUPPOSE
that where they came SO often, as many of
them undoubtedly do, they would get used to
this; but then, there IS a great difference be-
tween working on q quiet farm and elbowing
your way through Boston's narrow streets,
and If they should come every week, I don't
believe that it would be possible to ret used
to tho change and act like city people. The
country people are good people for us to
handle. They are always polite and much
more considerate than the people Of the city
arc. We watch their interests closely. too.
and guard themagainst pickpockets, to whom
they might easily fall victims. Yet l will
say this for the country housewife; She
knows how to carry her money q great deal
better than the city woman does. You never
sec a country woman going along with a long,
narrow pocketbook sticking away out Of q
hip pocket, from which it could be taken
with the greatest ease. The country woman
holds on to her money as though it had come
hard, and was going Just ia the same man.
ner.
Thursday brings a remarkable chaneeL
It is the Biddies' day. There IS the plain.
every day sort Of creature, tho lady help
from the Back bay, and the nurses, cooks
and chamber toilerz Two out Of three OF
those we see ON Thursday are servant girlaL
They food the stores, looking for dress goods
q few grades better than their mistresses
wear, and they fill the horse cars with the
knockdown fragrance Of their perfumes.
The wives Of Solomon, In all their glory,
were not arrayed like some ct these. The
Thursday class IS generous one in many
respects I don't believe that the average
servant girl is saving much money. They
spend literally, and on their day Oft they
have a pretty good time Of it.
"Friday is shopping day which has no dis
tinctive feature. There are almost all kinds
Of people out on Friday, and usually, l think,
retail business is pretty good. Saturday IS
sno s ss%S; Sn'y a more . So Tery T here is . e big 1u 81
money is suddenly put into circulation. The
to run out and buy something he
has had his eye on all the week,
and the clerks wife, having got a little
money from him in time to make some pur-
chases before the closing hour, rushes around
~ VOAAA0A0 A&A0V0 ~ OAO0A w w al kk4&2 8uo
wants to before the shutters are put up.
She comes out late, because her husband
hadn't got his money earlier in the day, and
she must needs be quick. She snaps up things
without causing the storekeeper much loss Of
time and fits away. It IS an easy thing Tor
me to see that there are many thousands Of
people in Boston who are living from handto
mouth and who have hardly any money ex-
cept on 6aturday."-Bogton Herald.
Hot Weather and Insanity. .#
It is now pretty well understood that q
DOT spell Of weather throws people off
their balance. They become depressed
and morbid. Their nerves arc torn to-
~tatters, and many men and women ex-
hibit some of the worst symptoms of mental
arrangement. Under these conditions
our most horrible crimes Of violence occur
every year. Ordinary crimes, requiring
deiberation, generally occur during the
winter. Insane and impulsive and utterly
n~naccountable deeds may always be
looked for in the summer when the Their
mometer is we'll up in the nineties.
Perhaps there is no remedy. Something,
however, can be done. People must be
made to. understand that the summer i
time for excuses, exposure or over
work. 1t is dangerous. The police, too.
should everywhere be instructed that this
is the season for extra watchfulness on
their part. This Is about oil that can be
done, and when we add that it is everv-
body's duty to keep as cool as possible.
nothing more remains to be said.-Atlanta
Constitution. w..
Mr.. Sponord and His Books.