The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-02-12
STRANGE FINDS IN RAG SHOP
Sometimes Very Valuable Books and Pa
pers Turn Up There.

pers Turn Up There.
In one of the smaller business streets on
the north side stands, and has evidently
stood while the cycle Of time has made
many rounds. an unpretcntous three-story
brick building. It's exterior and for that
matter its interior, is not inviting, but to
one who loves to rummage in strange
hooks this Old brick structure offers great
interest.
why said the president of the COM
pany which operates the business carried
on, there are office boys, janitors and
porters for wholesale houses in Chicago
who yearly throw away enough of
the goods 7 handle to buy themselves
two suits of clothes year.
"Thats the sort Of property they throw
away" and the president waved his hand
toward piles and piles of goods stored
on the three floors of his establishment
The goods to which he referred consisted
of waste paper of all kinds. classes
shades and grades; of rags of all colors.
textures and prints, bones. rubber, old
iron, Irvine. sacks, mattings and we'll
worn carpets. There were bales piled high
upon each other and heaps of the goods"
not vet assorted. Almost everything of a
waste nature which could be turned
over was there. A dozen employees were
moving brskly about the first floor. Some
were at work on the hydraulic presses
wedging In great bundles of assorted pa
per and rags and baling it up. Others
were weighing, some overhaulng the
goods which had Just arrived and some
loading up the big transfer wagons which
stood al the door.
On the second floor veritabe field of
waste paper and other much use. material
was revealed. Most of it was ready for
shipment having been passed on by the
expert. On the top floor large number of
girls and women were busily engaged in
sorting out the various grades of paper
and rags which came under their eye.
Their fingers from constant habit fly nim-
bly, through the great mass of goods. :"
| their eyes, trained to detect the slightest
variation in the fiber of the paper or rags
which they are handling, rarely fail them
as they hurriedly sort out and lay in lit
tie piles each grade and class of paper
"Oh this is no small business. | can as
sure you remarked the president, as he
| noticed the look of surprise on his ques-
toner's face Il have been in it for "a
years and l am positive that I have not
remained in it all these years simply as a
matter of sport
See those bales of waste paper-that
| acknowledging kind that the counter hop
| per wraps your socks in? Well that's
manila, and is, in our business, very cost
| ~"
Are those old postal cards manila
| too?' was asked as a number of them
bearing dates and eight and 10 years back
were pulled out of the table.
Not exactly. but they go all right
enough for manila. This manila" he con-
tinued, ''is worked over. and again comes
to merchants and business men as neat,
! tidy and attractive paper for various uses.
| Here we have our straw goods depart
ment,' continued the president with the
ready lingo of a sideshoW lecturer. as he
pointed to many bales of what common.
everyday folk call cardboard. With the
present it was strawboard. These bales.
if they could talk, could perhaps tell
many an interesting story. Sticking out
from one end of bale was battered and
smashed old paper collar box, while wedg-
| ed up against it was a dainty continuance
| once filled with toothsome caramels
which had been the property, perhaps. of
some society girl. Who knows but the
owner of that smashed and battered ole
collar box had TO wear paper collars &c
be able to bug that other box llied wit
caramels? The president said he didn't
and continued: This strawboard goods
we get mostly from box factories, hu
small dealers, of course, bring in the othe1
truck. 1t is sold to paper minis ana !!
made over into wrapping paper. We han
die on an average Ii tons week
| On the top floor the workers were al
women. Great stacks of bank newspapc
paper and old newspapers from AL owe
the United States were piled to the cell
ing This is again worked over and ma!
for the fourth or fifth time come betoT
the reader at his breakfast table, bright
crisp, newsgiver of the previous day
events.
DO you ever make any strange finds il
sorting over this Stuff?'
Lots of EN-. Look here; got that IN
sack some time ago" and the presiden
pointed to a copy of THE Lie, WIZ AM
Eloquence of the Late Emory A Storrs
at cost me a cent a pound. Here Is an
other thing. French English dlctlon
airy. printed in London in 1852. 1t is al
there, and ! consider it quite prize An
this one You see. it is an old German
prayer book and was printed in Berlin i
1877 by John Andrew Rudlger. The cover