The Savannah morning news., 1902-12-21
IT'S AWAY THAT WOMEN HAVE
They VIII Lose All Kinds of Things
when They shop.

AhNs AhNs ShOFs
There is a found" desk, in fact two
found" desks, in every big depart
ment store, one for merchandise, the
other for money and pocketbooks and
satchels containing money, says the
New York Sun. and the clerk in
charge of either is apt to have pref
ty lively time of it just now.
Il think women in general would
lose their heads IL they were not fas-
tened on" remarked manager, land
1t seems to me that just around the
holidays they are at their worst. Men
are not nearly so careless.
Were it not for the vigilance of
the salespeople and cash boys, shop
pers would lose a good deal more than
they do. Why, we have customers
whose propensity to lay personal prop
erty down on the counter and then
walk off and forget all about 1t is SO
well known that our statesmen make a
point of keeping an eye on them and
sending their belongings after them
from one department to another. When
wouldbe buyers are standing two
deep at a counter, though, as they
generally are at the holiday season, II
is no easy task to do this.
Sometimes before the salesman can
make up his mind that a certain piece
of property left lying on the counter
belongs to a customer who has Just
gone, another shopper may coolly APP
propriate 1t and walk off. Under such
circumstances none but the owner
would dare to challenge the proceed
ing.
I'VE tried it once, the salesman be-
ing positive that a certain woman had
walked off with a pocketbook that
didn't belong to her, and the result
was that the woman made such a
row that out of consideration for by
standing customers / was thankful
to get her out of the store. As it hap
pened, the salesman was right. The
owner of the pocketbook came scurry-
ing along a half hour later looking for
ii.
Strange as IL may seem, women
are just as careless with their purses
as with anything else-in fact, II any
thing trifie more so. Stranger still,
nearly always the purses found con-
tain large sums of money.
Just now many shoppers carry their
money in a small satchel or wrist bag,
which in nine cases out OF ten Is reck-
lessly deposited on the counter when
a woman becomes interested in look
ing at goods. The other day woman
who spent some time at the trimming
counter 1t quest of a particular kind
of passementerie remained for several
minutes after she had made her Sc
lection and paid for 1t, turning over
the pile of goods which Uttered the
counter, as If in doubt whether to buy
something more or not.
Every saleswoman was busy and no
one paid any particular attention to
her. Finally she walked off. In few
minutes she came tearing back, breath
less and as white as a ghost.
Have you seen my satchel?' she
gasped, rushing up to the girl who had
waited on her and almost knocking
down a customer who stood in her
way.
"Of course the saleswoman had not,
but struck with the tragic manner of
the woman, she began at once to help
turn over the trimmings on the coun-
ter, and In less than a minute fished
out the missing satchel and handed 1t
TO the owner, who at once dropped
down on a stool and began to cry.
All my Christmas money, $3.50, is
in this she explained after a while,
wiping her eyes, and am sure / don't
know what / should have done IL had
lost it,
Just fancy a woman carrying every
cent of money she possesses I'm her
counter she comes to-
"Boas and NUTS share the same fate
as pocketbooks. They are left all over
the store and every five minutes we
are piled with questions as 10 their
whereabouts. A good many OF them
reach the found desk. but more do
not. for the reason that nothing r.
easier for a dishonest persons 10 pick
up and carry OFF than either OF those
articles.
80 far as number goes. though,
bOas are not In II with eyeglasses.
Why, ! believe we could stock a small
store with those we have on hand
sometimes Just now, for example,
we have a box about a foot square
piled fun u them.
"curiOufiy enough for people come
back after eyeglasses. Possibly. they
are ~ az sea ~ ~ whore they were
left"
A would seem. however, that noe
where ID Womnu's carelesenees more
nlaFmlngly al evidence than ~ fhe
dressing rooms ~ the Big sfrFes
where they ~ on gowns, wfsps and
underwear.
f..t..f f..ra..s....-... -. s.s.a A.