Charlevoix county herald., 1906-10-13
His Old Clothes
Problem

| ne pIODlem Oh wearing out Olu
clothes bothers some people, others
1t does not.
| Some solve the problem by selling
their old clothes to the old clothes
man, some solve 1t by giving their
| old clothes to deserving charity, and
some solve it by having their old
clothes cut down and made over for
the rising generation.
| But there is yet another class who
neither sell nor give away their old
clothes, and not being blessed with
children, they undertake to wear out
their old clothes themselves, thereby
getting the greatest possible re-
! turn value for their money 1t is of
representative of this class / would
| speak.
| He is a friend of mine. met
him the other day in Sumner street,
and as we shook hands | noted that
he seemed to be wearing new suit.
| Now, when one meets personal
| friend who Is wearing a new suit it
| is as little as one can do to say: "Ah,
/ see you have on a new suit! It's
or some such pleasant compliment as
that. The which l said, or words to
the same effect.
! No, not exactly a new suit" he
| said; the coat and vest are new, but
/ the trousers | got last fall. l began
, buying this suit 1 have on IA years
ago." he continued, looking down at
Il 0fa I,oE
what he said about the newness OF
| the coat and vest and the oldness of
the trousers was true. Leading me
into a convenient doorway, he ex.
planned:
Before | was married | used to
get my clothes made to order" he
said, with an air of faded gravity,
but afterward l began wearing hand.
me-down clothes. The first store
suit l purchased II years ago this
spring. BY the following autumn the
trousers, which always go first, were
shabby, but the coat and vest were
yet in fairly respectable condition.
l told my wife l would be obliged
to get another new suit. She has o
which l have noticed manifests it.
self in my own behalf more than
when she is buying clothes for her.
self. She pointed out that to buy an
entire new suit would be rank eX-
travagance. She said If she were l
she would buy only new pair OF
trousers to go with the coat and vest, |
W nb
gestion appealed to me, so | bought |
new pair of trousers, matching them |
up as well as l could with my old |
coat and vest.
The following spring found me |
with my trousers in better condition |
than my coat and vest, and to piece |
matters out, then purchased new
coat and vest, and continued wearing |
my old trousers. The next purchase,
a few months later, was a new pair
of trousers to go with the coat and |
vest, which were not yet much worn.
To make a long story short, l have
been doing this for IA years-getting
1T one time a new pair of trousers
and at another time a new coat and
vest, but never buying both together.
The result has not been very salts
factory. l have never felt dressed I
only feel about half-dressed | have
the consolation that | am wearing out
my old clothes, but it doesn't compen-
safe me for the sacrifice l have to
make in personal appearance. But"
he added, his face lighting up there
will be an end to this some day. /
have figured it all out. To- explain,
l will say that my experience. dating
over the last IA years, has shown me
that a coat and vest do not quite
outlast two pairs of trousers-almost,
but not quite. In other words, be-
tween the durability of two pairs Of
trousers and coat and vest, there is
a discrepancy of 10 days, II hours,
SO minutes and seconds.
Now, basing my calculations on
these figures, | find that on the Odd
day of May, 1926, my coat and vest
and my trousers will both be worn out
at the same hour and minute; then !
can buy a new suit out and out and
start again in life clothed like a gen
tleman."
But" I demonstrated. what will
you do in the autumn of 1926, when,
you find your trousers going and your
coat and vest in too good condition to
throw away"
Il tell you what I'll do" he Kissed;
with note of reckless abandon in
his voice; IN chuck the whole suit
and buy a new one. regardless of
what my wife says. I'll never 60
through this piecing out. continuous
performance business again
Then we shook hands and parted
There is man who has something to