Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-06-27
WATCHES LEFT TO BE REPAIRED.
Some of Them Ncmain for Many Years.

Some of Them liemain for MANY Years.
An exceptionally handsome god
watch, apparently very solid and beau
l1'ully engraved, attracted a NeWs re-
p%orter's attention while looking in at
the window of q Broadway matchmaker,
whose store is situated near John street.
IL was hung upon a wire line among a
hundred others, and had evidently been
cit for Hospital" treatment, as the
watchmakers facetiously term repairing.
The most striking peculiarly" re-
p'led the proprietor, in answer to the
reporters question, lis that one never
knows how long l shall have to keep a
watch left for repairs before the owner
calls to claim it. Now this particular
watch could not have cost less, origin
ally, than $3.50, and that is a moderate
estimate. Well, it has been in nv
store nearly two years, and as you see
bv the ticket, the charges are $3.50"
The reporter suggested that the
owner might have left the city, or was
dead.
Not at all. He is still in the citv
md l see him pass the store two or
three times a week. He belongs to q
large insurance company and holds a
good position. About once a month he
comes IN to tuke q look at the watch,
examines it, asks a few questions about
It's t~lme-keeping qualities, and then
says he hasn't the change about him
then, but that he will cali again when
passing.
That little watch you see on the end
OF the row yonder, with a monogram
set in diamonds on a blue ground, 1
L have had in my shop nearly seven
years. 1t belongs to a woman who re-
sides in the country. Up to a year ago
she came to town every four months.
gave her address, and was sure to come
tor 1t either once more or would send
send for it by express. What has be-
come Of her, I don't know. and 1 SUP
pose that 1 shall have to keep it until I
retire from the business, when my son
may have a chance some day of renew
ing the owners acquaintance. How
much is owing on it? -Four dollars!
"Of course we have our legal remedy
fer getting our money. The law per-
mits us to advertise the sale of an ar
tlcle after it has been in our care a year;
but irst-class watchmakers rarely do
this, except when they retire from
business OF change the name of the
firm. Then, 1 believe, the law is COM
pulsory. in order hat the new firm
shall be relieved from the responsibility
Of the old one.
Every firm has its own way of run
ming its repair business. Some give
checks; but checks are apt to get into
other peoples pockets. Our plan is
always to take the signature of the
person who leaves it and to compare it
with his signature when he takes it
away. This involves o little extra
trouble, but it is much the safer way.
"A lost repair check causes q good
deal OF Inconvenience to ali around,
which sometimes does not compensate
for the cost of the job for repairing the
article. 1t sometimes happens that q
crook will nave IL good watch to be
cleaned in order to get it out Of his pos
session for a short time, and possibl,
he may v have the opportunity Q
calling for it.
"Only a few weeks ago a seedy look
ing man came to me with u Letter writ
ten in a bold business hand in which tn,
writer requested me TO 6etiver a golt
watch which the writer had LETT at m,
store in April, 1883. The man wht
sent the order is doing time in Sing
Sing, and the bearer had just come out
l compared the signature with the entry
in my books and foundit to be the same.
The charge of So was paid and I de-
livered up the watch"