Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1901-04-12
Business in the State of Delaware for the Year 1901
A PUBLIC RAGE FOR LOOT.
More and More tribes In New York
That Have to Be Nailed Down.

More and More tribes In New York
That Have to Be Nailed Down.
The proprietor Of the combination cigar
and stationery store stopped short in his
dissertation on the merits of a certain
style of note paper and leaped across the
counter and made for the outer door
Hi. there" he shouted Bring that
back here this minute. you rascal I'll
let the police on you if you dontr'
As he bawled out this threat he darted
into the street and presently returned
with a slender sandy haired young man.
whom he towed along by means of Wig
orous grip on the coat collar.
"Now just put that right down there
commanded the :rate stationer.
The young man obedientiy set down a
little metal contriyance for clipping of
the ends Of cigars and stuck his hands in
10 his pockets.
Now you get OUT said the storekeep-
er. and be sure and steer clear Of any
more such monkey tricks as that, or
you'll be sent up the first thing you
know"
The young man shuffied ont of the
room. and the proprietor looked at the
cigar clipper sadly
other thing that viii have 70 be nailed
down. I'm not a pessimist by long
shot but ! must admit that it is a
sad commentary on the honesty of the
race 10 see so many things chained
down to keep the public from running
away with them.
Directories and telephone books are
considered especially valuable plumber,
fcrfN 70 IN LOT p.,s.
minute unless you've got plenty Of money
TO replace them. Combs and brushes are
also highly priced, aud in offices. stores
and public buildings of all kinds it has
been found necessary TO chain them fast
Or else lay in fresh supply each day
| Soap, too. is looked upon with favor by
crooks with an eye TO cleanliness, hence
the system of supplying saponaceous
/ powder in pepperbox arrangement
which has been adopted in so many pub
! lie lavatories. In this same category
come towels. which each user considers
his own personal property if it is not
! fastened
Libraries and other public reading and
] writing rooms long ago found it neces-
sary TO adopt a policy Of claiming pens
and pencils, and now the ink bottles are
! made stationary. Last summer some Of
the drug stores had good deal of trou-
| Bile with their patrons because they serv-
ed soda water in glasses that fitted like
beeswax into metal frame, which frame
| was in turn fastened to the counter by
slender but strong chain This drastic
measure was unavoidable. however. for
no matter how lynx eyed the clerk might
be there were bound TO be moments
| when he cOuldu't be lOOkinfy every yvav
at the same time. and just as soon as
he was off his guard some sharper would
vamOOse with glass. spoon and all
Then there are mats and rugs Jan-
tors have been forced to fasten them
down good and tight. The owner Of the
fat building next door rebelled against
this extreme measure for some time. He
said it looked little TO do a thing like
that. but he lost so many mats that he
concluded at last that a good many peO-
pie in this town were littlrr than he was,
and now he uses a chain Then there
are the showcases standing outside the
entrance to small stores. There was a
time when man could put his umbrellas
and things in a rack and with a reason
able amount Of watchfulness ne was in
sured from loss by the paSserhy. Now.
adays everything has to be incloscd in a
glass case, and even then the case unless
very heavy. has to be nailed down."
The proprietor looked around the store
and smiled drearily. Il thought" said
he, that had everything in this room
that anybody would want to steal clamp
ed down solid, but had forgotten that
cigar clipper. guess that'n have to be
chained New York Sun.