The age-herald., 1898-01-30

tail profit, would amount to handsome addition to the merchants income.
 Small articles of merchandise, services, goods sold without profit, accommodations of one kind or another. are given freely to any one, whether he be a steady customer or only one in prospect. It Is by such that the merchant extends his trade acquaint- ances and holds present customers And all these cost money.
 It is difficult to determine from just which branch of trade the most is demand ed. Probably the druggists do more for the public in small services. A drug store In one Of the busiest corners of the city Is veritable bureau of accommodation. shopping women make it a rendezvous. The druggist provides for them directory for which he pays $6.5O a year, a telephone which costs him $72 a year, a messenger call box and paper, pencils and envelopes for notes to be sent to the messengers. He sells stamps without profit He gives matches to smokers and furnishes any passerby with a' light for his cigar He gives many small dose of headache med- icine to casual customers who drop in for relief, to say nothing of drinks of water demanded by women who use his store for a waiting room in wet weather, if he hap- pens to be on car line.
 A down town shoe dealer pays out s50 month in free gifts to customers Be- sides shining the shoes of anyone free gratis he gives shoe laces to his custom CTS. inls amounts to snug sumNin a year With each pair of button shoes button hook, and with low shoes & nickel plated shoe horn. In winter he in- serts many pair of insoles, and makes hundreds of insignificant repairs on shoes bought of him.. Altogether these things cost him ,0O0 year, for which he only hopes to retain old customers and win new ones.
 A restaurateur on Main street gives away $7O year in toothpicks, and a pho- tographer nearly pays out $10O year for tissues and envelopes in which to enclose his wares A clothier in the same bloclx gives away coat hangers, which cost him $150 year, and boxes, instead of paper and twine, which increase his expenses s100 more.
 The saloons are at the greatest expense. however. A saloon on Walnut street, one or the best in the city, gives it's patrons to nfbble between drinks, pickles, crackers, cheese and spices, such as cloves, coffee, etc., ana fresh popcorn. This modest free lunch costs the proprietor a little less than 1000 a. year. A beer saloon on Dela- ware street. which makes speciality of Tree lunch and serves a great variety, is at an expense of more than 5000 year.
 One of the leading hotel companies gives out over it's desk every day $6 worth of stationery. In it's bar room it serves a iree lunch that costs it $723 a day. Talk S~AN Is at an expense of 5000 a year, for which it expects no return. All the hotels in the city do the same thing in a some what lesser degree.
 One of the largest steam laundries in the pity is at great expense every year for two apparently small items that have de- veloped into necessities in the las,t few years. When shirt comes from the laundry the sleeves and back of the gar ment are fastened up neatly with pins and the top button holes are brought together and held by a small button opposed of eel luloid, glass, wood or metal. This laundry buys one-half ton of pins a year and It's pin bill Is $500. It also pays $500 a year for the small buttons. These buttons are imported. They come fin boxes containing six gross each, packed in great cases.
 Cigar dealers give to their casual cus- toners paper cigar cases that will hold three cigars. One store pays $40 a year for these. To more profitable customers they give cases made of leather, about $60 more Wax matches and match boxes, pocket books and other sundries bring this ex- pense up to about $20o a year.
 The banks are at great expense every year for printed checks for their custo- mers. pass books and even pocketbooks. One of the banks gives its customers pock- ca books that cost 1t 18 cents each But the greatest givers of his kind are the