The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1890-01-10

this obstacle By saying that everv thins
was sold. Miss Williams was follow..
from counter - counter, and finallv cav.
up IN despair. having been able 10 pur
chase only one article ~ the many shs
had started TO get in this store.
With few exceptions howevcr 4, -
o.ner stores she went TO she found nc
dimcuity In obtaining all that She az
SIRED with tho exception OF I few
minutes for lunch she was on her fce,
nearly the whole day. Several time.
she attempted TO escape from the little
girl who was following her. but each
time was entirely unsuccessful. She
stopped for half an hour at tho house
OF friend. When she came On,
sne thought she had worn ont the
little girls patience. for sha was NOT
IN sight, but several minutes later the
little girl bobbed up sercnely, having
spent tho meantime munchinr cakes
IN bakery across the way from 4 house
At which Miss Williams had been Wis.
iting.
When Miss Williams finally turned
up at the store from which she had
started, tho cash girl was close behind
nor. She saw Miss Williams 70 up-
stairs and report to tho superintendent.
ana managed, through shrewd ones.
ton or two, to find that she was en-
ployed there. Then, with a knowing
nod Of the head and . sclf-satisded
smlrk, she gave up the chase. Miss
Williams had been comparatively sue
cessful, and there were many articles
awaiting her at home. Having an.
nounced this to the superintendent,
she went home, and tho next morn
ing came 70 the store at the usual
hour with written report OF her entire
~periencc and the samples she had OBJ
sained. These were critically examined
by the superintendent, and tLen taken
to the head OF the firm.
Nearly every Monday clerks from the
various dry-goods houses go through
this same experience, so that it has be-
come recognized custom. 1t is the
only way in which the big retail mer-
chants can keep themselves informed as
to the inducements offered by their
rivals. Monday is especially selected
because the greatest bargains are
usually advertised on the day previous.
The object more particularly is to see
whether the goods are really sold as ad-
vertised, and to enable each merchant
TO see for himself whether he Is being
undersold by competitor in any par.
ticular article. Rarely does the same
clerk 60 out for more than two or three
weeks in succession. When the articles
he or she has purchased are brought &c
the merchant, he compares them with
the announcements in the advertise
ments, and il any OF them are sold
cheaper than in his own store, then the
buyers OF those particular articles are
likely to be hauled over the Goals.
"Somc clerks" said the superintend-
mt Of one OF the big stores recently.
go beyond their orders. remember |
yirl who had been buying up bargains
or firm up town some time ago. She
anne TO us and secured employment for
he nero purpose Of getting our prices
md turning them over to the other
irm. OF course no reputable clerk would |
10 that and neither would 4 reputable .
irm countenance IL. A very amusing |
Instance Of one firms picking up the |
'argains offered by another firm &C.
urred about year ago, when an up-
own firm advertised Webster's Una
ridgcd Dictionary for less money than
70 could buy It from the publishers.
very one OF our clerks received orders
hen they went out TO luncheon to buy