The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-08-17
VALUABLE ARTICLES
ARE OFTEN LEFT IN LAuNDRIEs MONEY IN GARMENTS.
Romances and Tragedies of the Washtub-The Marks on Linen an Aid to Police in Trac-
 ing Persons.

Do we find anything strange or valua- ble in the clothes sent to us to be wash- ed! l should think we do, said the sec- retary of well-known public laundry company to a writer in Tit-Bits recently. Some little time ago the son of an Eng fish earl sent one of his summer vests, amount other things, to one of our laun- dries to be washed in the usual way. Dur Ing the sorting of the work nothing was found in the clothes. but just as the man was about to place the vest in the wash ing machine he noticed what he thought was piece. of cigarette paper sticking out or waistcoat pocket, and, as any, thing of this description might damage or spoil vest, he rightly removed it. To his great surprise 1t turned out to be a e5 note.
 customer, who was very glad to have his 95 back again, and was so pleased that he sent Fl, saying we were to give 1t to the man who found it. Curiously enough, this individual was under a weeks notice for being too slow in his work. but the directors were so impress ed with his honesty that they decided to keep him, and he proved to be faithful and trustworthy servant.
 Probably the largest sum ever discover ed at the washtub occurred recently in St. Louis. While on a visit to that city a citizen of Texas pasted three $1,000 notes for safety on the inssde of his shirt front. He then started on round of pleasure. After wearing the precious garment for four days he tok 1t to laundry with some collars and cuffs. for getful of the notes which decorated its interior surface. It was not until next day that he discovered his mistake, when a species of insanity seized him. He could remember everything but the name and location of the laundry where he left that valuable shirt
 In frenzy of despair the man behaved so fooiishly that he was taken into cus- today. The police dispatched him to friends in Baltimore, where he arrived very i'll. lingering for two months in an almost hopeless condition. Finally. he recovered, when, like a flash, came the memory of the laundry where he had left the linen in St. Louis. A few hours dry where he had left the linen in St. Louis. informed the manager who he was and inquired brethlessly about his lost bills.
 bosom by the merest chance on earth The bundle of linen was thrown on pile with other things and as l was passing through the washing room caught sight of your fortune through the opening the back of the shirt. I steamed the bills loose and put them away, expecting you to call any moment"
 But the stories which the big London laundries have to tell are simply innu- merable and would fill a whole number of Tit-Bits. One of the most romantic we heard, and which happened only few weeks ago, was the following: 1t Is nec- essary to explain that 1t is the custom of the ironers in all large laundries to place their initials or some number over the mark on the linen after 1t has passed through their hands, so that should any can be at once identified, and 1t was en- tirely through these initials that wealthy and well-known Englishman traced his lost daughter
 It appears that the girl got into dis grace, ran away from home and married someone very much beneath her. Her father disowned her and for some years nothing was heard of her. Her husband died and her fortunes reached sucn low ebb that she sought work in laun- dry as an ironer. Quite unknown to her she ironed some linen belonging to her father and placed her initials In pencil in the corner on the articles. The father recognized them, and, after making sure on this point, he took his daughter back and freely forgave her.
 find laundries invaluable for tracing per- sons through the marks on tleir linen. The identify of Mrs. Bennett, the woman who was murdered o1 Yarmouth beach, was traced in this way. To the casuai visitor a modern laundry 's an interesting establishment, with It's aatomatic was wash- ing machines and huge drying rooms.
 One of the largest in i"l1don, ana 70 which the writer is indebted for much information, Is the London lniteo Laun- dries, Limited. It is quite an everyday occurrence for this firm to collect 2OO or more pieces of lined from a hrst-class hotel at, say Il o'clock in the morning or more pieces of linen from a first-class and deliver the same by o'clock in the afternoon. When 1t is remembered that articles have grst to be sorted wasaed ya;aed caIendered. ironed,. .gonsred' Ioidsa and carefully packed the feat must be regarded as remarkable and could only be Accomplished where the latest machinery nnd most un-tO-date methods are adopteQ