Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1904-06-08
CASTOFF CLOTHING.
IT PAYS 70 SEARCH THE POCKETS
AND THE Innings.

Bills. Coins and Letters Have n Way
Of Hiding ThemselvcS-ENperi
Of a Man Who Buys Discarded car-
ments-iIints To the Careless.
"One can't buy castoG clothing for
many years without meeting some
queer experiences" remarked an old
clothes man" the other day rs he FUN
bled through the pockets of a suit
which he had just purchased for 90
cents. "Of course don't expect to
find anything nOthng except maybe
some old letters. But it pays To run
through the pockets and feel the lin
ing. II man who lets his wife sell
his castoG clothes only knew what
got lost in the lining OF his coat some
times he wouldn't feel SO easy about
parting with them. y man sticks i'm
portant letters IN his inside coat pock-
Ct and some day when he wants them
they are not there. He hunts and
fumes around. but the letters don't
turn UP. Then he thinks they must
have been torn up or burned. and he
forgcts the matter
but important letters don't 20 that
way generally. They turn up some
times TO accuse man. They find their
way between the lining OF the coat or
vest, and we fellows get hold of them
II ! wanted TO 20 into the blackmall-
ing business could make plenty Of
money. I've found letters and papers
in castO1 clothing that would make
pretty startling reading for some peo-
pie. OF course WHOM we get the clothes
by hunting up the address I'm the d.
rectory we can locate either the writer
or the one receiving it,
Il don't think that as n rule women
sell their husbands castoff clothing
any more without going through all
their pockets. Maybe they've got into
the habit OF searching them so that il
becomes a second nature 10 them. So
il is not In the pockets we find things
It's in the lining, where they have
found their way gradually.
You know how easy it is for small
coins 70 work their way through n hole
IN the lining OF a vest and snuggle
down in the corner Of the cloth. Well.
we pick up quite a number Of dimes
and nickels in this way. Usually n
vest is q small silver mine. Probably
the wife of man feels something
there and thinks it is only n button or
some such thing. or maybe a penny,
and she won't bother in trying 20 fish
1t out. But pennies don't work down
there nearly as readily as the dimes do.
In the same way bill will get mix
Cd up in the lining of the inside pocket
and finally disappear. The man prob
ably misses five or ten dollar bill
and thinks he must have lost it or
spent il foolishly. The matter escapes
his mind, the suit is thrown TO one side
and some day it is sold to the old
clothes man Ii doesn't escape us.
We go through every inch Of the lining
and examine the corners and inside
carefully. The bills we find in the
course of a day will often more than
pay us for what we have given for all
Of the clothes.
Many men are eXtravagant in get
ting rid of their castoff clothing. They
have so many that they become n nui-
sance TO them. Sell them to the first
man who comes along is the easiest
way for them to dispose of their use
less belongings. If the servants don't
take them, we get a fine pick at them.
For from 90 cents TO a dollar You get
suit that will when brushed, steam
ell, cleaned and pressed easily bring
So 10 So. The clothes are not worn
much. but just soiled and mussed q lit
no Ct, f.l,n oil - 10
so they will bag at the knees when
used n few days at time. y man
with plenty of money won't stand that.
He will order his wife or valet to sell
them.
The greatest amount i ever found
in money in one coat was n ten dollar
bill, but several times I've found two
and five dollar bills and one dollar bills
by the score Once ! found n check
for 500, but as that was no good to
me / returned it To the owner and re-
ceived a dollar reward for my honesty.
The best find, however, was several
years ago, when / discovered bunch
Of railroad coupons between the lining
and inside cloth Of one of these fancy
vests. ! suppose ! might have cashed
the coupons and received $1,000 for
them, but there was some risk to such
proceeding. SO / concluded to turn
them over to the owner and trust TO
his generosity. He gave me 500 in
bills and commended me for my hon
esty. He had missed the coupons and
had advertised for them. Later /
found that he had offered a reward OF
$500 for their return. You can bet I
was mad then that l didn't get more
for returning them.
"As for important letters, 1 might
say that they come to us in droves.
Generally we read them and chuck
them in the fire. It's the best way. If
n man has lost letter which would
incriminate him hc.doesn't like to have
it turn up. 1t win always worry him n
little, bat he lives in the hope that It is
lost for good and gradually forgets It,"
Washington Star.