Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-09-24
THERE is ONE IN NEW YORK AND
HE DOES A BIG BUSINESS.
He Isn't In n Fashionable Locality, but Is
Satisfied--some Ladies Objec, to Being
Fitted" by n Man. but Others Look at
It Very Sensibly.

| ally charges from $50 to Sl25 for a cloth
| gown made To order Ii he "composes" re-
ceiving or ball costume to suit the style or
taste of ht customer, his prices are regulated
by the length of her purse and her willing
| ness To draw its strings, and often run up into
hundreds If dollars. Recently young lady
| visited a Fifth avenue establishment and
asked the price for making a plain street
gown.
The charge was 500, but was reduced to
$50
"How much for the makingg" she inquired
Ninety dollars" was the reply.
But | have some very beautiful broad
cloth, and | wish to have it made up she
| said
Very well, answered the tailor, blandly,
I'VE will make it. The price will be s9On
''Do you allow nothing for the materialgn
Nothing at all. OF course if you wish to
use your own goods in preference to ours we
have no objection; but we make no deduc
ton I'm price"
As ferryboat was making an effort to
enter its slip the other day there was over
heard snatch of conversation between two
well dressed women. They were evidently
discussing the masculine dressmaker, pro and
con.
"A man made garment has fit which no
woman can give" said one
That may be-" said the other, a little
spitefullv; but, in the eternal fitness of things
am SURE 1t is not proper for a man to fit a
woman's dress; and, according to my idea, no
modest woman will submit to such a thing ~
1T is greatly "A matter of use," said the first
speaker. The man simply looks upon his
customer as an object for whom he is To make
garment. He is an artist in form II her
figure N, eds improving by artificial means he
proceeds to make it nearly perfect as his
skill viii allow. The lady only thinks of him
as the agent who executes her orders And
then the finish. A man is so much more care
tul and painstaking, and when the work is
done IL las a perfection seldom seen in that
which comes from feminine hands There
is no ret son why woman's gown should not
be made as well as mans coat, and no
man would employ a tailoress to make his
coat"
Il care nothing for that" said the friend
obduraiely. Il would not have a man make
a costume for me if he did the work better
than any woman on earth could do it, and
chargeo absolutely nothing for his labor
Every man who makes dress or a bonnet
takes the bread from the mouth OF some
woman"
Does not every woman who sets type OF
digs potatoes take the bread from the mouth
of some man"
That is of no consequence" was the re
ply; "a man can always find something to
do. IL one avenue is closed he has a thou
sand others open" Just here the gangplank
was secured and the rest of the CONVERSE
ton vas drowned in cries of "Kee-abIn
"kee-aJF
Did you ever see a girl behind the counter
of a store whose gown fitted her like a glove
made for her hand, or pretty chorus girl
who W Dre a street costume that might have
been made by Worthi These young women
could never get money enough to pay Fifth
avenue or Twenty third street prices, and
yet they wear costumes which compare fa
vorably with those made in fashionable
quarters
They probably patronize a man who makes
a hundred dresses a week; who allows his
custotIers to furnish their own materials
findings and all, if they wish, whose prices
are re isonable, and whose fit, IL not his finish
Is wei nigh perfect.
To get to his place of business a perso n
must pass through one of the most unclean
portions of the city. 1t is swarming with
children, who have great black eyes and very
dirty faces.
hard black bread for two cents a pound
bread and butter at a penny slice, pretzels
from hawkers who crrry them about strung
on long poles, and at the stalls by the wayside
all kinds of fruits and vegetables in the last
stages of decay, and yet many a lady who
might pay the prices demanded by fashion
able dressmakers up town, and who possibly
leads her friends to think that she does so
brav all that is disagreeable in reaching
the place and that Is uncomfortable while
there, TO patronize this man.
He ~ "a HuuEar-i.n and has hs,e, IN, this
country dozen years or more. He owns the
builc ing which he occupies and others In the
viciI ity.
He has system of fitting of his own inven-
ton and he employs a horde of men to do his
work. He is usually found in his shirt
sleeves with his hat on, and will smoke a
cigar while trying on dress, If no objection
is IN ide
There Is single room where the fitting is
done and where the long string of customers
wait In turn. 1t makes no difference how
maI ~ are there or what haste one may be in,
the man does not hurry Imperturbably he
works on for an hour, if necessary, in fitting
a 81 lgle waist. There are no n.ryous Jerks
in / is movements, hut every stroke tells
There Is no carpet upon the floor, no screen
to step behind when removing a dress or put
tim, one on, only bare wooden chairs to sit
upon, and sometimes not enough of them to
accommodate the people in waiting
And yet this man cannot do all the work
which Is brought to him His customers
represent all grades of society, and in his eyes
they are all on level.
Il should think you would move to a diff
feI ent part of the city, !" said one woman
mattRr ha