Evening journal., 1899-05-30
DEPARTMENT sToRE MoRGUEs
Packages That Arc Misdirected BE-
come '.s5cEi Goods ana Are ~
Held Cor Identification.

There IS a "morgue" in every large
store In Chicago, but not of the ghast-
" characteristics Of the city institu-
ton Of THAI name. This odd store de-
partment is given its grewsome name
because it is the storehouse for what
are called dead goods which are held
awaiting Identification.
Goods become dead" when they are
misdirected or when the addresses are
lost from the packages. 1t seems hard
to believe that people will buy goods
and, after paying hard cash for them,
give wrong addresses for their deliv-
cry but that is what they do quite
often, and it is these careless, thought
less and absent-minded customers
who have made the establishment Of
"the morgue" necessary.
A few days ago a visit was paid to
the "morgue" of one of the big stores
on State street On the shelveswas an
array of articles that represented al
most every department. Of the store,
There were dolls, washtubs, ice-cream
freezers, baseball masks, baby car
riages, clocks, brooms, and wrapped
up packages which, it was said, con-
tanned everything from hats, dresses
and shoes to jewelry, groceries and
bairpins.
Most things are brought back undo
livered during the holidays and soon
after the LIST of May" said the
superintendent "Of course during
the holidays many things are brought
back because purchasers were mis-
taken as to the addresses Of friends to
whom they were trying to send pres
ents. But some people, by some pc
culiar metaphysical slip, succeed in
giving their own address wrong.
"That sounds funny, but it's true.
suppose they are here in the big rush
times and get so ratified in their hurry
that they don't know just what they
do say Then, again, presume they
sometimes humble their address so in
distinctly that the clerk misunder
stands them and gets the address writ
ten incorrectly.
II think that soon after the Is
Of May we have greater influx O.
goods in the morgue than even during
the holidays. OF course, everybody
knows May 1 is the popular moyin!
time. After it is all over lots of alb
sent-minded people who have moye'
forget that they have changed ad
dresses. They come in here, make a 10
of purchases, and give their old ad
dresses as the places for delivery
Then the next day they come back her
mad as fury because their goods wer
not delivered. They cool off suddenl
and look cheap when we send down Il
the morgue and bring up the package
with the addresses they gave tagge
on them.
Then in another way, which is nc
body's fault especially, we get some @
The morgue's supply. In handling q
many hundreds OF thousands of pacl
ages as we do. il is no wonder that bC
tween the shipping department an
the points of delivery numbers Of &C
? dress tags get knocked Off. OF cours
when the tags are thus lost empoyC
are at a total loss TO know for wha
, points the bundles were intended, S
the packages are at once turned Owe
E to the morgue to be kept until the
2 are claimed by the right purchaser
r Goods which are rot perishable an
e which are not claimed we keep in II
{ morgue about year awaiting identii
cation. At the expiration of that tin
s they are turned back into the stock {
e be resold. "-Cmcago Tribune.