The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-14
PATRIOTISM WITH A RUSH.
Things Coming the Collectors Way In q
Flood.

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Things Coming the Collectors Way In q
Flood.
The war fever is epidemic, but II
breaks out in various and sundry ways.
The salespeople in some of the shops
are becoming acquainted with one form
Of the disease. 1t Is a mania which has
attacked certain persons-a mama for
collecting patriotic novelties.
A month ago the few people who had
been thus seized were industriously
hunting for material for their pros
pective collections. They had subpoe-
naed their friends as scouts and COM
missioned them to overhaul and bring
In any possible captures in the shape OF
pins or pictures of flags. There was
great hustling among the early victims
of the fever. They preserved newspa-
pers and cut out advertisements which
referred to Cuba and Uncle Sam and
Spain.
Three weeks ago the skirmishing line
of friends was called off. The collec-
tor was able to do his own hustling.
Things were coming his way. He be-
gan to think he might have as many
as 50 or 75 articles in his collection.
This did not include newspapers and
advertisements. He had ceased adding
them to his collection, but being pre-
pared to build either a museum or a
warehouse.
Two weeks ago things were still COM
ing his way. They were coming by
dozens and hundreds. His innocent
and worthy fancy had turned out to be
an old man of the sea and was likely
To crush him. He was swamped In fiaks
and pins and buttons. Yet he felt a
feverish anxiety to ave more and
more and more. And he still has that
anxiety. He has cut of his little ex-
travagances; he has gone without a
few necessaries: he can see a new pin
In. Asa 90 a md iii mo
without a cigar and walk home in order
to possess that pin. And the end is not
yet.
He has reconsidered his calling off his
friends. That is to say. he has changed
his methods. When he began collect
ing he asked his friends to bring in any
additions they might find. He said he
would pay FOR these articles and re-
main their debtor i'm the bargain. Now
he follows another course. He shows
his collection to his friends so that they
may know just what he has. He grows
eloquent over his ambition to add to his
list. And secretly he has a deep yearn-
ing that these friends will help him out.
Sometimes they do. good souls, They
meet him on the street or they come to
his house and they say, as they dive
into their pockets:
oh. by the way. here's something for
your patriotic grab bag"
His eyes glisten as he waits for the
contribution TO appear. and then there
frequently ensues a terrible five min
utes. If there Is anything more trying
To have duplicates presented TO him a
collector doesn't know IL. OF course. IL
is unnardonable. especially when the
collection has been previously exhib-
tied to the friend to guard against just
such a catastrophe. The man who grits
his teeth and a smile, albeit a
sickly one. under those circumstances.
has a halo waiting for him in the
heaven for collectors.
Seriously. however. ii is pretty trying
To have well-meaning friends. with a
SNUG. self-satisfied air. present to the
haggard collector something he already
has. Whereas he thought he might
swell his collection to 20 specimens. he
now realizes that a complete one would
contain almost 10 times that number.
1t has become really a ~pecuniary ex-
~travagance i'm which he is not able TO
indulge. But the fever is hard to shake
The number of such collectors is in
creasing constantly. Men and women
alike have fallen victims. From Chi
come reports that the disease has
broken out there. too. One prominent
chicagoan is making a scrap book
which is to belong to his little girl. now
only 3 years old and not patriotic to
He is filling IL with the pic
f'o ~ cN'h PooitNhth III ''h- I
nection with the war. He buys them
separately. cuts them from papers and
magazines. selects the best and those
that tell the most and pastes them i'm
the book. He advises others who may
think of doing the same thing To keep
all pictures at least two weeks before
putting them in place. In this way one
can choose the best which has APP
peared. With these,pictures he has i'm
~troduced articles of special interest in
regard to the subject of each picture,
and the telegraphic announcements OF
the most important events. such as the
declaration of war. the call for troops,
the victory at Manila.
A Harlem woman is making a collec-
ton of buttons and badges. She Is ar
them Pm a glass case table very
handsomely made. She is SO enthu- |
shops for her summer wardrobe, but
goes literally upo the war path. hunt
ing for new manifestations OF the red,
white and blue.
Anothe New York woman who be-
gan To make such a collection started
out with the determination to get
everything she saw. She did not know
that she had undertaken a land Office
When she had accumulated
so pins and badges. IL occurred to her
that what she did have was as a drop
In the bucket compared with what she
did not nave. So she went forth one
of the rare afternoons when IL did not
rain and she carried with her a pencil
and a piece of paper. She merely looked
In the windows and made notes of some
OF the things displayed as wal novel
ties. She did not go far. She became
discouraged after she had written the
following actual list:
Red. white and blue celluloid tor
pedo balloons. neckties-about 20 va
rieties Of red. white and blue neck
ties-ruching, shirt waists. hats. belts.
buckles. paper dolls. picture frames
their name is legion-pompons. sheet
music. held glasses. handkerchief, hat
pins. shirt waist sets, separate cuff hut
tons. bangles. watch guards, candy.
candy boxes. cotillion favors, pin trays.
address books. postal cards. stationery,
stationery boxes. pin cushions. pocket