Arizona republican., 1902-12-08
A NOVEL ROOF INDUSTRY.
Enterprise of the Janitress of a, New
 York Flat House

The ingenuity of a clever woman has made it possible for flat dweller to do much of her marketing upon her OWE premises, and thus avoid dressing, walking, pricing, and other discom- forts. The inventor of the method is the housekeeper of a large flat build ing on the west side. Her little bazaar is on the roof, and contains a cheap but capacious ice box and many shelves. The place is neatly decorated with an awning on the sunny side' De- meath which are settees.
 Tt came about" she said, in speaking of her enterprise. through one Of the tenants who had fallen sick asking me to do her marketing for her. At tho end of a week she told me that l had saved nine dollars on her account and from thct Ire on -le h I :9-e b;y her goods for her upon small com nlssIon. l n discussing the woes of housekeeping with a neighbor, she recommended me to the latter, who soon afterward be- came my second customer. Before long I had two more. ln doing my daily work l noticed that the tastes of the people ran closely together, and soon l could predict quite nicely what they would-want each day. Of course, there were minor differences among them. Catholics and Episcopalians invariably wanted fish on Friday, while dyspep- | tics and diet cranks require whole wheat flour and similar preparations At the market one afternoon there was | a glut of supplies from the country, and ! prices fell very low. It occurred to me ! that if l put in an extra large bill of | goods I could dispose of it to my peo- ! pie at less than market rates the com ] ing week, and thus make a handsome profit. So I picked out what l thought | they would desire in the next four or { five days, and had it sent home.
 Every day I go to the market and i buy my goods wholesale. I have them sent home either early in the morning
 or late in the evening. so as to escape the heat of the day. l use my ice boxes as much as possible, in order to keep i everything sweet and fresh. Tn addi-
 tion to this I conduct daily list of
 everything in the market, and their
 prices. When I receive Gn order for | goods I have not in stock, I telephone
 to a wholesale dealer and receive them
 within an hour or two. My customers
 cume up in their wrappers and make the morning shopping a sort of social
 reunion. There are no men around | and they feel perfectly at home. The
 only trouble l am having is in refusing trade from women living ip other
 apartment houses on the block. If accepted it. I should be compelled tu hire help, which would makeAmy busi-
 ness a little bit too cumbrous. In tho last year there has been an increasing demand for delicatessen- and l now
 supply these foreign preparations. and
 also make several Of them myself. This
 is rather a delicate undertaking, be-
 -ause tastes v2ry from day 10 day n
 matters of this sort While you are
 always sure of disposirg of little green
 peas. stringless beans, high class torna-
 toes. cucumbers, and lettuce, there is nc
 such certainty about potato salad, i'm
 ported cheese. and preparations of fish
 and cooked meats. Yet, as the profit
 is large, I try to carry regular stock
 in these cIticles.-New York Post.