Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1899-05-10
DEPARTMENT STORE MoRGUEs
Packages That Arc SIisdirected Ne
come Dead Goods" and Are
Held for 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 stone 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.
4 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
]
tanned everything from hats. dresses
and shoes to jewelry, groceries and
hairpins.
most things are brought back unde-
livered during the holidays and soon
after the 1st 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.
4 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.
u think that soon after the LIST
of May we have a greater influx Of
goods in the morgue than even during
the holidays. Of course, everybody
knows May is the popular moving
time. After it is all over lots of alb
sent-minded people who have moved
forget that they have changed adj
dresses. They come in here, make lot
of purchases, and give their old adj
. dresses as the places for delivery
t Then the next day they come back here
. mad as fury because their goods were
a not delivered. They cool off suddenly
t and look cheap when we send down tC
the morgue and bring up the package:
3 with the addresses they gave tagged
on them.
Then in another way, which is no
Z body's fault especially. we get some O
the morgue's supply. In handling Al
many hundreds of thousands of pack
> ages as we do, it is no wonder that be
s tween the shipping department an,
t the points OF delivery numbers Of ad
b dress tags get knocked off. OF course
e when the tags are thus lost employee
e are at total loss to know for wha
: points the bundles were intended, S.
I the packages are at once turned owe
1 to the morgue to be kept until the,
are claimed by the right purchasers
Goods which are rot perishable ant
!, which are not claimed we keep in III
!, morgue about a year awaiting identif
d cation. At the expiration of that tim
4 they are turned back into the stock L
| be resOld. Chicago Tribune,