The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-06-15
sHonISe oNE-LneenD .mEN.
Shop in London Where Odd Boots Are
 SoId--Mecca for the Afflicted.

Shop In London Where Odd Ba0ta Are
 Sold--Mecea for the Afflicted.
 Where do one-legged people buy their boots? The mystery is not in- soluble. As fact, many thousands of the great army purchase their foot wear at certain shop in one of London,s byways which specially cat CTS for them. and which is known to cripples living in all parts of Eng land. as well as in some of the colo- nies.
 Here a curious business Is done in single boots, Beneath the shop, in the cellar. are many thousands Of odd boots, shoes and slippers. Bins are ohockful of every kind of foot wear to navies ponderous hob-nailed earth crushers and the rubber boots worn by ewer-men; from Tiny Tops "nrst' to the giants No 12s. There are foot iington boots boots of all colofs, ma- teriais and sizes in the trade. And yet there is not a pair together any. where, These cannot De found % eyen are the usual lines of cardboard boxes each of which apparently contains pair of boots, ready to be Ia aen away by a customer; but though there are fer .ieftss s or Tights" of the same size. [ This huge assemblage of odds con- sists largely of bankrutp stocks etc., though 1 surprisingly large prop,or' p,. A traveller WILL on leaving head. quarters for, the North. take 2 right while its felowr lefty will accom-. pany man who who works e sann nnT r,tsd wdst for. p ever. Both ultimately reach the Nee. ca of the one-legged, but not ID company.
 onl a nnrGlASe1 by OF on behalf of the one-legged. From here is supplied certain school for crippled girls. the managers sending for three or four single potts at once friends living in London purchase sln- gle boots and send them to her.
 Among other customers.3 said the, manager. +are some who come here regularly for twenty or thirty years, because by dealing with us they save money. We can supply single boot for a man at as low as 1Sd- Now. you go to an ordinary shop ana youn nuchA for one boot as for pair. so customers have stuck to us from the time when they wanted children's size to now that they want adults! our old oustomers include several one-leg- ged cyclists who buy cycling shoes as well as single lSoots.
 ed -by or on behalf, of the one-legged. Many are ultima tSIy worn by those with the normal number Of neither limbs. It is daily occurrence for d person to turn up with a boot or shoe and require, 1t to be matched. be- cause the other hes been lost pr aecl- dently destroyed. sometimes the. cus- toner. in taking home a pair ptha,o Of new others a boot has been lost during a removal, or having been put to dry too near the kitchen fire. has been partly incinerated. Every mother knows again how adept children are at kicking off a shoe. which disappears forthwith. So there is a steady de- mana for single boots and shoes mere iy 10 replace those which have been lost or destroyed and to make ot ser vice such as are in hand.
 Thousands of pairs are. however, made up of boots which are. strictly, odd. one may be 'S" and the other a "7'' one unlined and the other lineds one brown and the other black. And great is the rush for these. more or less dissImilar couples. At the annual sale-here is a sidelight on Londons poverty-barricades have to be erect ed to prevent acidents and keep bar gain hunters in order.