The Holbrook news., 1910-02-25
BADGES A HOBBY WITH MEN.
fin Cleveland Failure to Wear One
 Regarded as Significant.

in Cleveland Failure to Wear One
 Regarded as Significant.
 He was a plain man who walked
 down the steps from the Hollenden
 Hotel. His clothes were as quiet as
 unassuming.
 His shoes were square toed and a dusty black. His collar was low and his necktie was of the ready-made sort you hook to the collar button in front.
 His hat was black. His suit was old fashioned pepper and salt He was not trying to impress any one.
 But across his coat front a row of badges, red and yellow, made unpro- voked assault upon the eyes of by islanders, says the Cleveland Plain Dealer. There were rosettes at the top md gold lace at the bottom. Letters of gold proclaimed the fact that the plain and unassuming citizen was member of an organization with a long name; that said organization was holding a convention and that the man behind he badge. was on some committee
 The man himself would have told you quietly enough. His badges shriek- ed it. He seemed somewhat embarrass- ed by the attention he attracted. One wondered why he suffered them so pa. tiently.
 He was willing to talk
 He gave his name and said he had come from Peninsula, Ohio. It deyel- oped that he did not suffer from the badges at all. He thought them pretty. He was proud of them.
 It's a weakness we men folk have. It's like the passion for red neckties, but more general. More than half the men in Cleveland wear badges.
 Some wear them all the time. Some i wear them on special occasion only, | just as one would wear a medal or a decoration from the emperor of some place or another.
 If you don't wear a badge it's a pret | ty fair sign you don't belong to any hing. Most everybody belongs to some organization and nearly every or ganization in Cleveland has badges for its members. Many of us have half dozen. We wear one in one lapel but ton hole and keep the others in a bu- reau drawer at home.
 The badges or emblems that we wear for every day are mostly small. It may be fraternity pin or it may be an emblem that signifies we belong to the Brotherhood of Pretzel Varnishers
 It may be on the under side of our coat lapel or 1t may be on the edge of our waistcoat. It may take the form of necktie pin or decorate the end of a watch fob. You may not see 1t the first glance, but two chances in three it's somewhere about.
 These everyday pins of labor or ganizations, fraternal and benevolent miscellaneous clubs and societies are small enough. The ones for conventions, balls and other spe cial occasions may be nearly as big as folded bath towels.
 One can't get too many rosettes O. too much gold lace or too many meta, and cross bars and spread eagles hung on a badge. The more there are the more pleased and proue we men are to wear the badge
 Alfred Henriques runs an office in the Williamson building from which all sorts of badges and buttons are sold He says more buttons are worn now than during the button craze a few years ago, a craze that preceded he present picture postal-card mad. ness. The difference is that the but tons are not worn all the time, but more for special occasions.
 Many of the badges cost as much as B each. They are elaborate with en- amel. Some of gold are even more ex- ,ensive.