The sun., 1909-02-14
MEN The BARGAIN HUNTERS
WORSE THAN WOMEN, SAYS THE
DEPARTMENT STORE MAN.

Not Ashamed 20 He Seen at the Marked
Down Counters, rs They Once were
Rush for sl.zs Hats That Made a
Football Rush seem Tame-Fights.
SITS about time men stopped giving
their women folks the comic supplement
laugh over their bargain hunting activi-
ties said the manager Of the mems
section Of department store. "ln these
days women haven't got a single thing
on the men as bargain counter fends .
Tho men are just as keen on the trail OF
the marked down stun as women. and
they're every bit as pushy and scrappy
in their way Of swooping upon the bar
gain stun al that.
'You've only to stand by for a little
while and watch the progress OF cut
price sale OF mems gear here to find out
what eager and sometimes peevish
bargain chasers men are nowadays.
They don't make any bones about 1t,
either.
Il can easily recall the time when men
looked sort of sheepish and hangdog over
IL when they attended sales Of marked
down stuff. They were sort OF depre~
catorlly grinny and they would glance
around furtively to see u anybody they
knew was spotting them. They plainly
felt cheap and uncomfortable over their
hunt for the bargain stuff and they often
took the attitude that they were merely
looking around, and had just dropped
in to see II the advertised marked down
stuff really was on the level II they
happened TO be caught snooping around
the marked down counters by acquaint-
ances they'd look frustrated and fahber-
gasted and thr-'l mumble things about
how they wer Just poking around
without any intention in the world Of buy
ing any Of the cut price stuf; they were
just poking around that's all.
Altogether different now, though.
The men themselves are on the job at
the mems bargain counters, and they
don't make the least o"" to hide or
to look apologetic. eithe As a matter
Of fact they appear to be rather resent
full over it when they find women folks
around the counters where mems marked
down stuff is heaped up. They don't
want women around when they're bargain
show this. either.
We've got into the hp5it OF standing
by for regular football 'hes here when
ever we advertise an 'pecially note
worthy and attractive inc Of mems
marked down stuff It's no uncommon
thing to find crowds of men folks kick
ing their heels outside the entrances
when the establishment is opened up for
business in the morning. They're the
| fellows who've read the mems bargain
advertisements in the evening papers
the night before or in the morning papers
/ on their way downtown to work and
! they drop of on their way TO work to
get first whack at the cut price stun
before it's all paved over and snapped
! up. This early morning crowd hasn't
much time 10 spare because. as ! say,
/ they're on their way TO wora, and the
way they do V wedge toward the men g
| bargain counters and grab hnld Of the
piled up stuff is something that would
gladden. the eyes Of women who've been
| listening 20 and reading about their own
bargain counter madnesses all Of these
long years.
|
Of them during the noon hour. when
they're out for lunch. They bolt their
lunches and then beat it for the men s
bargain counters, and they pick and
paw the gear over as busy as bird dogs.
Then there's still another big mob Of
male bargain hunters late in the after
noon.
/ There isn't particle Of difference be-
tween the spirit manifested by men and
women at their respective bargain coun-
ters. except that the men are sometimes
rumblingly growly where the women
merely snap AT each other and that's a
fundamental difference between men and
women that obtains every old place,
doesn't il?
For example. yesterday we had a sale
Of mems marked down derby hats. We
were closing out line of sure enough 81
and s. derbies for 81 .25. We had big ad-
vertisements Of this sale in the evening
papers for dav before yesterday and yes
terday mornings papers.
when ] got down to the store yes
terday morning you'd have thought a
mas meeting was in progress out in front,
The sidewalk wasn't wide enough 10 hold
the mob OF men who'd dropped of their
car 8 10 he early on the job at this derby
"a le. When the porter let me init was
about five minutes before the regular
opening time he had all he could do 10
bang the door shut upon them. They
were determined 70 burst in right AT my
hels
when the doors were opened they
stormed in like a gang of lynchers bent
upon dragging some murderer out Of his
cell and they beat il at a dead gallon for
the rear of the main floor. where the hat
sale was all ready Their feet thundered
on the floor boards like an army as they
darted 10 the rear, and the saleswomen,
not for a moment realizing what was
coming of. looked nervous and scared
until they found out the cause of this
noisy swoop.
-Some of the derbies were stacked up
on easily reachable shelves. with the size
numbers on slips pasted right below each
shelf, but most of them were heaped up on
long counters placed in the middle Of the
aisles.
"well, you wouldn't believe the way
those fellows mobbed those marked down
hats. The scene reminded me Of nothing
30 much as big gang OF news sboys scram-
bling for silver coins hurled into the street
by Tummy with a generous jag,
"Two or three of them would grab at
the same time for hats resting on the
shelves on which the size numbers were
pasted and the fellow whose hand got
there first and who snagged out the hat
and tried it on had TO stand for the growls
of the unsuccessful reachers never
heard 70 many 'G'wans' in my life.
"0ne little chap. not blessed with a
/ long roach WAS baaten IN in two or three