The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-02-04
BARGAIN BATTLES.
What Happens When Women Want
Something for Nothing.

There was handful of glove and shoe
buttons. several ostrich plumes and curls
of bonnie brown hair made fast TO pins.
a pompadour rat. two wells rent 10 strings.
q dozen pennies. piece of gun metal neck
chain. seven bits OF old envelopes showing
shopping lists, thirty hairpins. babys
knitted shoe. and a miroir velvet bow,
gathered up by the sweeper from under
big empty table in the centre of the
shops aisle.
1.-The usual relics. take EN- all TO the
found desk" directed the floor walker.
holding an oyster TO one eye and display
ing a badly scratched hand, while he
watched sympathetic saleslady hastily
whip together half dozen rents in his
best business coat.
Higher education may he thought
fully remarked, have done a great deal
to change the status and ennoble the ann
billions of the fair sex, but it has not yet
succeeded in iniuring in the least the
trade of the bargain counter. This is the
sacrificiai season with all the retail mer-
chants, you know, and a course OF bar
gain days brings the eternal feminine TO
the surface II is harder on the employees
in these big department stores, / assure
you, than the Christmas trade at It's
worst.
To-day We offered. for instance re-
markable opportunity in fringed table and
piano covers. and | feel and look as If
had been storming a Boer laager. was
toied of this morning by the higher pow
ers to see that the sale5ladies on duty
came TO no harm and that the gentle Gus
toners goI fair and respectful treatment,
There is some consolation to me now in
the conviction that the gentle customers
were no harder on me than on themselves.
Strike and spare not that's the bargain
hunters motto. l saw at least five hats
worth fully SIS apiece go down like chin
ney pots in a Kansas twister: buttons few.
pompadours broke and scattered but l
kept my temper and did my duty until
one woman began throwing covers out over
the heads of the crowd TO her friends Skin
mishing on the fringe of the battle, and
in the effort TO fulfill my duty as gen
tleman and an employe at the same time
| got some OF my worst wounds.
But that's the way with the bargain
hunters; you never know what they will
do next However the worst phase OF this
sort of thing TO a man of heart is the wo-
man who goes about looking for opportu-
mites with a batch OF babies on her hands.
Last week we had a necktie and najarna
sale and widow woman whose eldest
male relative We found later on was her
son in petticoats, came upon the scene OF
action, gave a snort and snif when her
eye caught the sign, pumped her eight
months old baby in my arms. anchored
couple of toddlers to my trousers. and with
nails and elbows out carved her way TO
the counter.
well. / was mad for keeps and madden
still when she came back in half an hour.
her bonnet hanging down her back, TO
abuse me for letting the baby cry and then
for packing the whole bunch of infants eff
for safety's sake to The nice girl at the
found desk.
However. those are mere incidents in
days work runoa the bargain counter, for
l hear all the complaints CT the women
who believe themselves insulted and pur-
posely ignored by the cverworked, half
crazed salesladies l am held responsible
if a hat is crushed or If after two hours
hard fighting through the ranks. a shopper
gets within feeling distance of the ribbons
or stockings and finds herself disappointed
in the quality.
II am steeied Now to the tears Of the
woman who comes back after the bargain
is over to say her husband won't wear the
ties he bought or the goods wasn't what
she thought it. and yainly learned how TO
arbitrate between a couple who get hold
of the same piece CT goods. Sometimes we
have tears and a pretty little tussle or |
again they will stand blocking the way,
insisting on giving up to each other until I |
come froward and play Solomon by dis |
covering a duplicate Of the coveted ob- /,
iect in some mysterious box under the |
counter.
well, as / said before" concluded the |
soldier diplomat lit is all in a days |