The Progress. (Shreveport, La.) 1892-1900, 1894-03-31

THEY BUY ENGAGEMENT AND WE'D
DING RINGS ON CREDIT,

Contract TO Pay on the installment Plan,
and the Fair Swrethearts Never Know
About It--An Interesting Talk With q
Confidential Clerk.
An engagement ring contracted for
on the lnstaIlment plan IS now as COM
mon a business transaction as the fit
ting up Of boarding house on the same
easy payment plan. There are several
New York jewcry firms which do a
prosperous business among prospective
bridegrooms on the credit system.
One of these is located on a promi-
nent down town street. Engagement
rings aud wedding rings are here sold
on credit, the weekly payment being 80
cents. At this store the other day a
bashful young man asked the chief
clerk to show HIM some rings suitable
to present to young lady.
Engagement ring, ch:' said the
clerk in confidential undertone
Here you are. sir, the very latest
Forty-fve dollars exquisite stone
payment in 10 months. This shell ring
is our own design. ANY girl would have
| fits over it. See that dainty spiral
thread of gold about the setting? That
emphasizes the gem and makes it az
! pear worth more than it is. You can t
better Yourself, sir, PAY cash and
vou'll get discount of s."
The young man seemed much i'm
| pressed. He cave the measurement Of
! the little finger Of his fair charmer and
left his name and references.
In his pocket as he went out he car
ried a stupeudous contract printed in
red INK. which stipulated that in ease
| of uonpavment according to the terms
of contract, etc., the ring must be for
| feited."
"That's fair samIlc, SAID the
clerk in answer to a onestion. "That
fellow represents a certain element of
middle class society. Most Of the hard
working voung men buy rings for their
sweetheart, that way. The girls would
never get any engagement ring at all if
the money had to be paid outright. "
Another shy young man was ushered
in, and the clerk notioned him to a pri-
vate room adjoining the main office.
There they were closeted for several
minutes, and then the clerk emerged to
seal contract with the new customer.
The necessity of the private audience
room, it seems, is because financial en-
barrassment, coupled with native modes
ty, prevents lovers in the first stage from
! divulging The terms upon which they
wish to pay for a ring. They prefer to
state their case unheard by any one tx-
cept the head clerk, who, in the course
of his business, has cultivated pro
found sympathy for the entire race OF
sweethearts
oh, they tell some pathetic stories,
said the clerk. They let me Into all
their secrets gratuitously. One very
devoted young lover told me the other
day that he earned 81 week, but
couldn't get married until he had been
raised to IS. When advanced to this
position Of opuIence, he thought he could
afford to buy diamond ring Oh Install
ments of so cents week.
But it is in the case of lapses that |
hear the most pathetic tales. As a rule
our customers ale straightforward and
! honest. AS long as a Young man has
work we have no difficulty in getting
| his money, When he loses his position.
he usually lets us know, and then if
the fellow is honest we ease up on him
lust little
But what if the girl and the ring dis
appear simultaneously" he was asked
"Oh, the young man always pays up.
and if the girl has thrown him over
you can bet he never tells any one
about it. ...
There are lots of we'll to do young
men who spend $50 or $40 in night
for pleasure and who do business with
rs because they prefer to regard jewel
~ as a luxury ard pay for it on time.
Here. for instance, is a ring made
to order for a broker down town" and
the clerk held mp diamond ring val
ued at $3.50, which lad been made to
! tit the finger Of some metropolitan belle
who may never know the terms OF the
contract, "
Il don't know of single instance