The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-10-07
THE R G COUNTER.
A Temptation Which Few Women
Can Resist-Expensive
Economy.

Love of a bargain is innate. Lit is
not entirely the desire to get some-
thing for nothing that fires the aver
age PERSONS soul for bargain hunting,
but it is a combination of love of risk,
pride of Judgment, and the following
out of personal or necessary schemes
of management in money matters.
This combination of mental forces
varies with the individual, and is it.
self in turn varied by outward circum-
| stances. The masculine mind, though
not free from indulgence in this trait,
usually hides it away under that
| handy cloak business" which is
good for all weathers and all turns OF
domestic comment, while a woman is
much more frank in her delight in
bargains. Her work is largely made
up OF small multitudinous duties,
and she inevitably becomes adj
dicted to the pursuit OF small game.
Making money by small savings IS
ordinarily a woman's only available
method, and naturally she loses that
acute perception of the relative worth
of the game and the candle, until she
becomes the target for the indulgent
sarcasm of the other half. Sometimes
feminine love of bargains remains I'M
quenched when the purse grows fat.
But generally other factors-pleasure
in buying freely, ease of selection
when money is not the question, and
the delight of doing as other fortu-
nate people do-reduce the desire for
bargains TO insignificance. When this
does not happen, the bargain passion
becomes debasing. and in direct pro-
portion to the fulness of the purse
and the methods OF bargain pursuit.
But are the contracted perceptions of
women in this respect altogether
laughable? Are the continuous and
uime-honored stories about wo1nen's
passion for bargains fair pictures OF
the motives which lead them to can
with eager interest the tempting adj
vertisement and to hurry to the shop?
Let us go to the bargain counter and
see if we can read between the lines.
What q crowd is here! Is it posi-
BILE women really like to be crushed
and pushed and driven like this?
There are many attractive, pleasant
faces, but how few withe--t careworn
lines? See that dark-eyed young
ONE owe there-the one with the
baby in her arms and the sturdy boy
clinging to her skirts. She has stood
there a long time awaiting her turn
and growing paler, but there is no
trace of irresoluteness in her hammer
Why didn't she leave those tiresome
children at home? Because there was
no one to leave them with. Why
doesn't she go to the ordinary coun-
ter. where she can sit on the stool and
buy al leisure? Because she has just
ten dollars in her pocket, the savings
of a month, which must buy that long
list of needs which she carries crum-
pied in her ungloved hand. The words
in the list are not all spelled right,
and the pencil lines are cramped, but
she knows that a remnant Of flannel
will cost much less than the same sold
by the yard. Her roughened hand
tests the cloth, and her choice is
slowly and carefully made while men
tally she debates the quality, width.
color of the flannel, and whether it
will wash. Soon she disappears from
our view, to repeat at other counters
the same tedious waiting and choos-
ing. When she gets to her tiny three
roOmed home on the fourth floor OF
q block on a narrow side street, her
arms ache with the weight of her
dAu llcI UdDy. Lie CuituiSu
are tired and are f%retful, and she
drags them almost roughly up the
dark stairs, too tired to be patient.
The sight of those mean but neat
rooms cheers her a little, the chill
dren find their battered p~laythings,
and, satisfied with crackers, cease to
drag upon her. She gets the supper
"a pot of baked beans-from the oven
where they were baking while she was
gone, and then she irons till her hus-
band comes. That pot Of beans tells
of thrifty country training. Yes, they
belong to that multitude OF people
who come yearly to seek their fortune
in the city. John could drive horses,
so he is driving a horsecar for two dol
lars a day. They are not starving.
They have food, clothes and shelter,
and rejoice that they are not i'll. The
poor woman will suffer in time for ali
this strain of both strength and cour-
age? Oh, yesl but she cannot afford
such luxuries as considerate rest and
change. She is thankful for bargain
counters. -H0gpea'S BazGr.