Evening journal., 1902-04-12
BilIParSOn'S 'SCOIumn
Published Now and Then.
The Bargain Counter

! ne bargain OOuuteI
The woman who takes a railroad
trip to Philadelphia to look at a bar
gain fer S49S which originally sold
for S5 is not as rare as is often sup
posed. That the department store
people are wise in their generation is
shown in their method OF catering to
the whims Of the masses, but they are
also expert psychologists and hypnO-
fists who know how to bring the
average shopper under their influence
There are two elements that are ever
present in human beings; curiosity and
avarice. And since most merchants
are not in business for the purposes
of their health, they are ever alert to
attract custom. Their appeals make
little impression on the masculine
mind. the reason being, perhaps, that
the average man has learned the value
of his time, and he may shrewdly esti-
mate these sO-called bargains at their
real worth
Occasionally there are bargains, and
at times goods are sold below their
real value. We have all heard of de-
partment stores which offered to sell
newly-coined twenty-five cent pieces
during certain hours for twenty
cents, and they kept their
word. but when we see establishments
which indulge in cut prices every day
in the year, and ON all articles, we are
apt to think that something is wrong
and yet we give that store our pat
ronage.
There is a fascination in the Thought
that when we buy that s. article and
get two pennies back in change, we
have driven a shrewd bargain. In
waiting for the change we may have
missed a train which compels us to
ratronize a restaurant, which requires
another outlay, but we have saved the
two pennies, and regard the dinner as
a necessity.
Something for nothing, is a prin-'
ciple which animates most of our
waking moments, notwithstanding we
are conscious Of the rule that under
the law Of compensation the
uttermost farthing is exacted by
the dealer in commodities. A great
many generations since was laid down
the rule that by the sweat of our brow
we should eat our bread, and the race
has been busy ever since in trying to
discover a means of setting it at
naught
But it a principle broader in its ap-
plicatiOn than most men think, and
bread" may be used in tine sense of
any commodity, physical or mental,
that we may desire. Some of us offer
up a prayer when we are not too busy,
which contains the petition, give us
this day our daily bread" and what
most OF us get is the opportunity toI
rsrrINu - q
wise. we have no appetite. and decide
we don't like bread any way.
o Q o
Many life is spoiled by short cuts
towards our object, when frequently
the longer path takes us to our desti-
nation with less discomfort and in the
least time.
| know Of man who is a jack of
all trades, and a natural born tinker.
When he was married he reached the
conclusion that much of the expense
in fitting up home he could save by
his own labor; so he started in.
He painted floors, and laid carpets
Ad hung shades for week. Then
Ne turned his attention to make-shifts
in the line of furniture. He made a
table that his friends thought was
wonderful OF course he had to buy
lumber and tools. and paints; in fact,
every half hour he had to take a trip
to the hardware shop. He valued il
at ten dollars. which was more than
il was worth, and it cost for materials
81. besides taking him q week to do it.
He Thought he had saved $40, but his
time at his trade was in demand at SO
a day, so the profit was difficult TO
figure. He could fix heater if it was
out Of repair. OF course it took him
five hours for every one hour that il
would have taken heater man.
Sometimes his neighbOrs. knowing his
skill. brought in little jobs to be done
at his leisure.
In the course of time he reformed,
and then he sat down and figured it all
out In two years his skill and fndus-
try had cost him a sum which he
itemized as follows.
Tools ........ .....,.... 5 $3.50
Time 100 days "a 3d.. 10000
Total ......... ...:... s47S.5O
I.Oss of needed rest not cOunted)
But he had certain assets. but these
consisted principally in articles of fur
niture which had been relegated to the
attic and which would be an encum-
/ Ibrance forever, unless a fire came as a
| relief
But this is not a solitary instance.
Neither is the propensity 10 make
something out of nothing confined to
man. We all know the woman who
buys a box of brass-headed tacks, a