Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-12-20
THINGS YOU CAN BUY.
AusT OF ARTICLES NOT GENERALLY
CONSIDERED MERcHANrAeIE.

CONSIDERED MERC1ANTABlE.
Time and Water For Sale In Nov Yora.
r,.ctric;,, and Power Are Daily Bought
and View Has Value In Real Estate.
People WHO Sell Their Dead BODIES.
In New York, Us in other great cities.
where tho fight for life is fiercest, there
i price for everything-even under
certain conditions for the very air we
breathe. Father limo himself is on SALE
The Western Union Telegraph company
In, desks in tho national observatory
in Washington. Four minutes before
noon the wires of the system all over
the Uritcd States arc cleared of bust
ness. aud the instant tho sun passes tho
scvcnty-tifth meridian electricity car
rics the news to every city. The time
hall falls in New York at noon. in Chi
caso at II a. m, in Omaha at 10 a. m.
and in San Francisco at 0 a. m, in
simultaneous obedience to that single
click from the instrument at Washing
ten.
In all tho large cities the Western
Union has supplied business houses,
banks and offices with electric clocks
that respond obediently to tho daily
mandate Each of these rents for $50
par year, and in New York alone over
5000 have been put up. Last years
revenue to tho telegraph company from
the sale of time approximated 81, 500,
600
Water is sold regularly to the ships
in the harbor, and the water boats"
with big tanks ON board, are familiar
objects to all yachtsmen. Brooklynites
viii recall the discomfort incident to
the breaking of big main not long
since. and the people of Newark cannot
forget the annoyance and cost Of their
experience three years ago. The supply
from the Passaic was like mud soup.
and for the time being the owners of
az artcsian we'll in the Oranges did q
largo trade in water. The householdcrs
of Roscville and those even farther
down town watched for the morning
water carts more eagerly than ever q
milkman was awaited and saw suf-
fcrnt quantity for the day provided be-
fore taking train for New York.
ordinarily there is no sale for air;
hut. like water, when a man wants it
b. wants it mighty bad This for
awhile was the case Mt Libby prison,
where. before the prisoners organized n
SOFT Of government of their own, it was
customary for the stronger men to get
as near the windows rs they dared and
thon sell their places to weaker COM
rldcs who were gasping for breath. Fire,
ot course, in the form of various COM
hustiblcs is n recognized commodity.
One frequently hears of those who
suffer from strange and incurable dis
eases and who make comfortable their
last days by selling their bodies to the
surgeons for dissection.
At church and other sorts of fairs
kisses may sometimes be purchased, the
tariff varying according to the purse OF
the Eisser or tho charms of the kissee.
Reduced gentlewomen often derive reve-
hue by chaperoning and introducing tt
good society the daughters of the newly
rich. Invitations to select balls occa
sionally represent large outlay. and
1t probably costs as much to get into the
swell set as it does to gain seat il
congress. The social aspirant make:
presents, while the political is ''as
scssed''
Relics, sacred, profane and CHASTITY
have their price. Autographs Of famous
people are always in demand, and bi
Of the rope with which murderer ha,
been hanged is valued by gamblers ant
the suporstitious. In Paris it is custom
ary, once q year, to sell at auction tn
personal effects of those who have beer
executed, and this always attracts I
large crowd of purchasers. Locks O
hair from the heads of noted beauties O
celebrated men arc marketable.
Charms, including, Of course, tn
rabbits foot, dear to the African heart
bring roSenue to thcis cunning devisers
and astrologers and fortune tellers hav
clientele respectable in numbers
Lucky stores and madstones arc prize
Ivy those who believe in their virtues.
Consurptives often pay for the priv
ilcgc Of drinking fresh blood as it pour
from the nec!is of butchered animals a
the slaughter house, hoping that tn
sanguino draft may stay the ravages Q
disease. The big hotels in New Yor
and elsewhere derive some income fror
the sale of unspoiled scraps Of food t
the keepers of cheap restaurants, an
Thus the latter are able to serve thei
Patrons with large bowls of stew at
maximum price of 10 cents.
On the east side of this city sewers
people exc ont scanty living by writ
ing letters for the illiterate. Even tn
i"ur leavcd clover may be turned int
coin. A big business is done in sellin
electricity and steam power, while man
y man in New York is paying hig
PRICE for sunlight. A ''view" adds ms
tcrially to the value Of o house. Net
York World.