The Savannah morning news., 1904-01-31
TRIED TO MATCH
LAUNDRY COUPONS
CONFUSION IN HOP SINGS
WHEN LAUNDRY CUSTOMERS BE-
GAN CLAIMING THEIR LAUNDRY.

Matching Tickets That would NOT
Match-Amount to Be Paid Failed
to Solve the Problem of "WbO
Owns Which s"-StOry of Hop Sing,
His Departure, and the Confusion
1t Caused.
The scenes about the former estab-
lishment of Hop Sing, the Oriental,
Acknowledged laundryman who used to
do business at No. All Broughton street,
west, yesterday bordered closely on the
scenes typical of a crazy-quilt party,
or puzzle picture, in Sunday news
paper.
The boy in charge of the work of
disbursing the laundry grew dizzy
matching yellow slips covered with
markings resembling the multiple
tracks of hen feet, with similarly
| marked packages, containing collars,
cuffs and shirts. The only real pleas
ure in the entire entertainment was
secured by those who stood by and
congratulated themselves on having
Occidental laundrymen.
The first warning of the disorder and
with the complaints of laundry GUS
toners who called and called at the
| esta blishment, and yet could get no
answer to their calls. Within could
be seen the neatly piled bundles, but
no smiling face was behind the coun-
ter. So it went until some one, more
anxious than the others for the i'm
lr%A oh
to make inquiries.
An appeal was made to fellow ORR
entail, one who was supposed to know
of the customs of the Celestial King
DOM and of the whereabouts of the
subjects who had wendell their foot
steps to this land of steam laundries
and writing that ran from the left to
the right of the paper, instead of from
the top to the bottom. But the COM
fort dispensed by the sage was very
| meager: Hop Sing gone; he no COM
NEE backee."
Then a united howl was made. and
the owner of the premises asked to
come to the rescue. The building was
opened and the customers admitted.
There were eighty-odd bundles of
laundry, all neatly wrapped in white
paper and marked with the peculiar
writing which says much to the writer
and is prolific of all manner of
thoughts in the minds of the unso-
| phisticated. Who owned which was a
problem more bothersome than the age
of Ann and none wished to open a
package and claim the contents for
fear his brother might lay a claim of
wrong-doing against him.
Matching Matinee Arranged.
Finally the owner of the building de-
cided upon the novel plan of holding
matching matinee, and accordingly ad-
vertised for all holders of chicken-feet
| coupons to assemble at the laundry be-
tween and IL o'clock p. m, and as
sist in the dispensing. The only pro-
viso was that each man should recog-
niZe his own laundry when he saw it.
and never mind the marks.
Just before the matinee commenced
the promoter, seeming trouble from
afar, placed a boy in charge of the
place, giving him the apparently SIM
pie instructions to "just match the
tickets with the markings on the pack
ages"
This appeared easy work and the boy
job pleasant and clean. But the trou-
Deared.
Shortly before o'clock a number of
children began collecting about the
place, attracted by the idea that the
mysterious Oriental had added another
mysterious count by the silence and
secrecy of his departure. And it was
before this small. but thoroughly ap
preciative audience that the first num-
Der of the matinee was pulled off. and
fhp enpO11I.a oornaYf fhoU 0aXa verbally
to the boy in charge to look closer"
was not calculated to smooth his tenn
per. nor that of the customer.
Claimants Begin Appearing.
Shortly after o'clock the first claim
ant appeared at the store. He flshed
out one of the chicken-foot admission
cards, entered, and confidently handed
it to the boy. The boy took it just as
confidently and politely murmuring
Just a minute, SIR began the
matching business. But the minutes
grew and the tantalizing question
who owns which," was as far from
solution as ever.
Then somebody noticed that the
amount of the laundry bill was marked
in good, plain, American figures on the
bottom of the slip and also on the
packages. Wisdom whispered that
here lay the solution of the problem,
for no two men were likely to send in
exactly the same amount of laundry.
AZ was the number on the custom
er's slip and in a remarkably short
time bundle with the number al"
also on it was found.
Customer and boy-clerk both began
smiling, but just as the package was
about to be delivered in exchange for
Al cents, one lynx-eyed member of the
diminutive audience spied another "41'
on a different package. He at once
called the attention of the clerk to
this matter and the glazing number
again echoed the question who owns
which,"
The only solution was to open both
packages and look at the number of
the collars. After considerable time
the question, which had become almost
a terror as it was re-echoed from the
small audience with all possible varia-
tions, was solved and the customer
seized his package and made for the
free, open air. The clerk tied up the
others again. his mind filled with fore
bodings of what was to happen If the
other fellow holding a al" did not
agree with his decision.
Clerk Makes Change in Business.
After a time a second customer ap-
peared and the first number was en-
cored, the encore being better, in many
respects. than the original Customer
No. followed in a short time and re-
peated the bill put on by Nos l and 2.
The performance delighted the au-
dience. but the nerves of the clerk. who
was officiating as leading man and I'M