The evening times., 1901-05-07
LIVE TOPICS ABOUT TOWN.

GIuS business IN the past IFt.llE i've
years. remarked a weII-knowu druggist
last evening The drug store Of today is
as different from the one Of quarter of
d century ago as day is from night. When
1 started in business ] dealt almost eE-
cIusively in drugs of course. 1 carried
several lines of articles. and during the
summer months I ran modest soda va
ter fountain The drug business was
profitable then Stores We're not kept
open all night or even until midnight be
cause a night clerk was employed by al!
druggists. and there was no Cut-rate COM
petition in prices on patent medicines,
such as mark the business today Nor
did we have to compete with large de
partment stores. as we do now
In every city in the country that sup
ports department stores. you viii find
drug store annex OF medicine department
which is conducted simply and solely as
a drawing card Today our drug stores
are equipped with almost everything per
tanning to the hygienic wants Of the hu-
man family And the competition we are
forced TO meet is something fierce. There
is hardly a patent medicine of standing in
the market that commands the price ad-
vertised on it's label The manufactur-
ers of the standard high-price patent med
icines still adhere to the old retail price
so far as advertising purposes are con-
Cerned. but the purchaser now buys the
same article anywhere from % TO 50 per
cent cheaper.
Indeed the profits of the drug business
have been cut fully 20 per cent very
few stores now have night clerks True,
there are a number Of stores that keep
open all night, but they are far removed
from the resident portion of the city
I would like to see Congress pass a
law requiring all drug stores to keep open
all night and limiting the hours OF duty
of a drug clerk TO twelve II that were
done there would be fewer mistakes in
COmpounding prescriptions Of doctors who
write so rniserabIy that IL would puzzle
Philadelphia lawyer to deCipher their chi
Biography. Mistakes in putting up pre-
scriptiOns are made nine times out OF ten
ty CverwOTked drug clerks Such 2 law
would I think. have a tendency to reduce
the number of drug stores. but it would
help the business generally and enable the
prODTietOTS to pay better salaries TO the
clerks. The best paying branch OF the
business these times IS the soda fountaIn'
and in dull seasons it helps TO pull many
a druggist through
Washington, with its parks, has all the
new floral beauties. but Georgetown has
the flower gIories that come with old age.
A trip through West Washington is well
worth while at this time Of year, if only
to take view of the fine old creepers and
the tDWEEAlB vines ne DlL settlers 81
Georgetown knew what they were doing
when they planted their wistaria- They
were planting for posterity. and II some
real estate agent or city imprOver with
fad does not tear down the old buildings
upon which the vines have grown, pcs
terity viii get the benefit The cracked
sides Of the diIapidated houses are Low
hidden from view by the purple dropping
flowers, growing in splendid profUsion,
and the pendant bUnches Of purple bios
SONS hang like beautiful friHges from the
Old balconies On the line OF the Metro
poitan Street Railway alone there are
nearly twenty-five big vines visible. and
they arc-nOw all at the height OF their
beauty
The city of Washington is not SO
blessed, but there are a few wistaria wires
to be seen, notably that which grows on
the Old house next TO the Lafayette The
atTe. There are a few vines too, in the
. older portions OF the city particularly on
( Capitol Hill
There are many advantages in being
clerk in the Post0aIce Department, and
not the least is that Of being on a fav-
ored parade street Nothing spectacular
comes TO the city that the Post
Office clerk does not get an oppor-
tUnity to see The building has plenty Of
windows. and from nearly all Of them
may be had. Even those on the side are
not entirely closed out from the view, for
/ they overlook the low buildings next
to them Yesterday when the circus
parade was passing there was good
evidence of the avidity with
which the clerks take advantage
of their opportunities From the sound OF
the first brayius band that headed the pa
Tade until the last clown and donkey had
/ passed. every window OF the building was
filled with Interested spectators. and on
I a venture il might be said. without much
fear Of contradiction. that business was
at a standstiu while the pageant passed.
Summer sports are engaging the atten-
ton Of the little folks, and the streets are
fun OF children engaged in the seasons
pastimes. The games Of each season are
/ fixed laws, and have been so within the
memory Of the present chiIdren's parents
and grandparents Now is the heyday
Of the roller skate, lie hoop. and the
jumping rope The former Is monoDoIized
by boys, the latter by girls with an oc-
CasiOual interchange. while the hoop be-
longs to both sexes The last IS certainly
the most iunOcu0us form Of entertain
ment, and is indu'ged in by children of
/ every size and degree from the --po' H'T
cuiIUd chile" with his diIapidated and
patched bari hoop to the petted and
pampered darling who tTundIes the latest
thing in gayly decorated hoops through
Dupont Circle \ noticeable thing in re
gard to the children who jump rope is
their tender age The rope jumping
pSrlod used not TO come in q girls ex-
lStence much before she was eleven or
twelve, but nowadays youth is precocious
Little tots of five and six show practice
and agility quite remarkable In the even
ingS the streets reSound with the voices
OF children playing prisoners base and
Il spy, commonly called high spy"
games their parents and grandparents
have played before them, and their own
children and Children ) children viii play
after them. fer the fashions in these mat
teFs never seem to change
Men who are familiar with the con-
dition of President Diaz, of the Mexican
Republic, have never had the slightest
idea that there would be "a meeting be
tween him and President Mckinney. They
have taken il for granted that there
would be some excuse offered for the
head of the Mexican Government not be
ing present At FL Paso, and SO the an
uouncement that he was detained in Mex
leo city because Of congress being in ses-
sion has caused no surprise. Ii was only
the expected thing. and the excuse was
the best that could be offered under the
( circumstances.
One of the c0nsUlS of the United States
who has seen President Diaz. and has
gruSped his hand within six months said
Z q few days ago As SOTTE as I am to
say II. in my opinion President Diaz has
certainly not more than six months to
live. Every DTeCaUUiOu IS being taken to