Daily camera., 1899-08-24
LOST IN THE STORES.
Babies Are Among the Articles
Carelessly Left
The Great Department Stores Have .
"MoFRoe" Where -Absent-Minded
Customers Find Their
Belongings.

and blue frock?" anXiously inquired
a young woman of the clerk in charge
of the linen counter in a great depart
ment store.
why, no! Are you sure you brought
her in here?"
Indeed | am! left her sitting be-
fore those ninety-eight-cent damasks
to look at those dollar-forty-t three shirt
waists marked down from a dollar-fif-
ty, and now l can't find her anywhere.
I'm worried to DEATH"
Don't be alarmed" remarked the
clerk, consolingly. She'll turn up all
right. l expect she's up in the dead
room by this time"
| THE what?"
'The dead room-the morgue, you
know"
The morgue? Oh, my Irene! Oh,
my darling!"
"Sh-h-h, madam" softly command
ed floor walker, for commotion
seemed imminent. Your child is safe
enough, I'll venture. The 'morgue' is
simply the cant name of our lost and
found department. Come with me, and
we will see if the little girl is there"
The young woman followed to a long
room, the door of which was labeled:
Lost and Found" and there, sure
enough, seated upon monument of
packages, boxes, baskets, umbrellas,
canes and other articles, sat tiny
golden-haired girl in blue frock, con-
tentedly kicking her small feet against
n pasteboard bonnet box.
That's the second kid and contin-
gent sensation I've had to-day" con-
fided the keeper of the morgue to me
as the recovered child, Justify scream
ing in the fervent embrace of her tear
full parent, was carried away. mo, it's
nothing unusual. It's almost daily
occurrence. In the excitement of bar
gain rushes persons very frequently
lose sight of their children for few
moments, and the natural tendency of
the children is to stray away and take
in the strange sights of the store on
their own hook. OF course they might
wander out of the establishment, and
to prevent this the floor walkers in
variably send to me every child they
find unaccompanied by a guardian.
II don't know if there is any portable
article, animate or inanimate, which
does not find its way to the morgue,"
continued the keeper, retiectively. mo
class of people loses things so readily
as shoppers do. You see, they become
so interested in looking at bargains
that they lay down whatever they may
happen to have in their hands and
perambulate between counters with
hardly thought as to their actions.
Suddenly they discover their loss,
land mild panic seizes them. They go
flying about from one counter to the
other, prosecuting their inquiries with
out stopping to think whether they
have visited those same counters before
or not. Therefore the morgue has be-
come a valuable and indis.ensable de-
partment in very large store.
"Some of the things which drift into
this place would amuse you. Last week
a Great Dane dog was brought up by
our nerviest floor walker, and an ugly
customer he was, indeed-the dog, not
: the floor walker. We triced him up
by short chain and tried to make
him lie down, pending the arrival of
his owner. But he wouldn't. Instead
he took stand, braced himself and
let out howl which froze the souls of
sone half dozen saleswomen within
) earshCt. Then he broke his chain and
started in to clean out the morgue.
!, what did 10? Oh, 1 adjourned, and
r everybody went on a still hunt for the
owner of the dog. We eventually found
, her, and she came up and lambasted us
. for abusing her precious darling, with
never word about the rough way he
had handled the morRue's accumula-
tions.
] Dogs of all sorts and conditions are
constantly brought to the morgue, and
. now and then pet cat, which has
escaped from basket. I've even had Il
cage of canaries left on my hands to
feed for week before the careless
owner, who had left the cage down in
the crockery department during a spe-
cial sale, appeared to claim her prop
erty.
Watches, purses, babies, parasols,
bundles and even diamond rings are
) parts of my stock in trade here. I'd
e have horses, too, / verify believe, were
e our customers permitted to bring them
, into the store. I'd like to set up in
business with the things brought to the
morgue. I'd get rich, sure.
"Ycs, fully two-thirds of the things
4 are claimed, and nothing worth com
. ing after remains in our possession
> long. Neither do many other things
which are not worth hunting up. We
S keep lost articles a month from date of
:. turning in, and then, If it is found that
k they were originally sold in our store,
2 we put them in stock Frequently lost
articles of serious value are advertised
at the end of month.
n Enquirer.
Prevalence of me Lying Habit.