Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-28

Queer Articles Collected In the Lost
and Found Bureau.

and Found Bureau.
Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
CHICAGO, Sept. IS. 1893.
II you want to see queer exhibit at the
fair that is not on exhibition. look up the
lost and found bureau in the new serv-
ice building back OF festival hall Ask for
Mr. W. F. Singer, who Is the custodian of
the bureau and tell him you have read
about his department In The Evening Star.
and you would like to see for yourself some
Of the queer things he has found.
When I went over there Mr.. Singer said
to me: Now IL you want to see an odd
collection of umbrellas just come in here
and look at mine. i have an umbrella for
every day in the week. umbrellas for sun
shine and for rain. and umbrellas to match
every suit Of clothes / ever had or ever
Will have" / followed him to the end Of
the room, which Is boarded off with par
ution about four feet high, the space with
In being stacked with umbrellas of all
KINDS, colors, styles and ages; some are
veritable antiques some puffy about the
waist line, others were middle-aged and
very uncertain about their upper notes,
some lacked heads and some lacked feet:
some had even lost their ribs and had evil
IDENTIFY seen hard lines. few were aristo-
Gratis of the first water and were not herded
with the common lot; put Were kept in
all there were not less than a thousand
umbrellas waiting for their owners.
Where are the owners and why don't
That is what I want to know" said Mt.
Singer A great many of these umbrellas
are not worth coming after and to tell the
truth. when man loses his umbrella he
knows 1t Is a goner. and 1t is no use to
look for 1t, and very few people know there
Is such place as the lost and found bu-
reau."
What will become of all these things
Erter a hat In
question:" said Mr.. Singer, Il presume we
Will sell them of In packages the way the
POST ONCE Department does with its I'M
Claimed mail matter.
Vow in these pigeon holes, which line
the sides Of the room. we keep the wraps
and reticules. most of the articles lost are
the collection. Every article is tagged
with number. description and date OF
nnding There are ever so many wraps
and some of them are quite nice and pref
gfon- There are all sorts and conditions.
silk and leather. cotton and wool. black,
red. yellow. green and blue. Why is II
that women prefer carrying such ungainly
things to having pockets In their dresses?
] defy any one Of them TO give me a SEN
sible reason why she should not have pock-
cts. If I were a woman-but I'm not, so
won't say what would do II I were.
While / am moralizing MIR. Singer Is
diving into his strong box and bringing to
light some Of his valuables. He looks at
d
me a policeman's billy. and says: What
do you think of the guardian OF the peace
who would lose that? Yes. sir, that was
found on the grounds one morning and the
owner has never called for IL, as you might
suspect. But Just hold on a minute, I've
got something better than that to show
YOU What do you say TO this jolly pair of
beavers that were found on the wooded
island one morning last week, what a tale
might they unfold II they could speak; and
they were both bought IN Chicago, too
I exclaimed again when Judges badge
never called for" said Mr.. Singer.
Mr.. Singer would be well of IL he could
lay claim to the contents OF all the pocket
books found on the fair grounds. These al
SO belong mostly to the ladies, who have
a way Of carrying their purses in their
hands.
i was surprised to see so many gold spec
tacles and eyeglasses unclaimed. knowing
how serious such loss must be and how
hard to replace. A man must be in a pretty
bad fix who comes TO the fair and loses
his eyes. for IL takes time to make eye
weight in gold
OF watches Mr.. Singer has quite an ar
ray, gold ones as well as silver ones. Among
other articles are opera glasses and fans,
gloves and handkerchiefs, hats and wells
Just think of a girl losing her hat, and Just
think Of a man losing a white boiled shirt ,
Yet there 1t lay on the table. white linen
shirt,
There were several hundred note books
lying on the floor. piled against the wall.
together with q number OF novels.
1t Is estimated that since the LIST OF May,
over $4,000 worth OF property has been re-
stored to the owners. Fully 80 per cent
OF the articles lost are brought to the lost
and found" bureau and about 80 per cent
OF those found are returned or claimed.