El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-05-01

cerned- Apartment living IN cities
tends TO frequent changes, and during
the past ten years moving has in
creased nearly a hundred percent
With this increase has come increased
skill in handIing. so that compare
lively few articles are broken by
modern movers.
Tradespeople find that moving day
is a good thing for them and do all
in their power to encourage its fre-
quent recurrence. This is especially
true of furniture dealers, for there are
few movings at which some things are
not dfsca rded and new articles sub
stituted for them in the new abode
Progressive dealers are so alive TO this
fact that in the western cities it is
becoming customary for a furniture
firm TO supply moving wagons and
men experienced IN handling furni-
ture to take charge Of them. One firm
recently advertised we will move you
free of charge" and they actually per-
formed this service for customers who
purchased certain amount of new
furniture from them. In any case
furniture stores that supply moving
wagons can do so at lower rates than
the regular transfer companies. which
of course causes no small amount Of
rivalry between the two businesses and
the customer gets the benefit Of 1t.
There IS a great cooperation between
transfer or nioving companies in the
different large cities. Several large
companies in America have branches
in each of the large cities equipped
with all the modern conveniences for
family movings- A modern transfer
company in ore city viii pack and
ship a family moving and notify its
associates in another town to receive
ho Il = -
its proper destination This is a great
convenience to families moEing from
one city to another. Some Of these
companies own great steel vans hold
ing as much as an ordinary freight
cars. These are moved on automobile
trucks to the house to be vacated The
furniture is carefully put in and the
vans sealed up. Then they are taken
to the freight station where they are
placed on dongOla cars and shipped
to the city desired. At that station
they are again loaded on automobile
trucks and taken TO the new house
where they are unpacked and put in
order by employees OF the same COM
pany who shipped them and who are
absolutely responsible for every article
Of their contents
The Steel Moving Van.
The steel moving van has lately been
responsible for a romance according
to a Chicago story. A young couple
after year Of welded bliss quarrelled
seriously and decided to separate The
household furniture was divided. each
selecting certain articles She was
to take a lakeside cottage and he was
to have a bachelor apartment down
town. Two steel vans were taken and
the furniture packed as ordered Then
a mistake was made and the van con-
tanning the heavy library furniture and
other articles intended. for the bachelor
apartment went 20 the lakeside cottage,
while the dainty upholstered feminine
effects were taken to the mans apart
ment The next day the young couple
who had vowed never to meet again
came together to discuss the exchange
of furniture. A reconciliation followed
and the contents of the two steel vans
were again gathered under the same
roof
The Professional Packer.
The increase in the household moving
business has led to the development Of
a trade almost unknown a few years
ago-thar of the professional packer.
A large number Of men and not few
women have entered upon this work
Equipped with liberal supply of pa
per, Irvine, burlap and other wrap
pings, they enter q house and proceed
to pack valuables with scientific exact
ness. For this service they receive so
cents to $50 per hour. Every moving
company has a staff Of these workers
ready for short notice orders.
While the number Of movings and
the skill and care in handling them is
increasing each year. the expresses are
really less than formerly. Twenty
five dollars viii cover the ordinary
moving expenses of a good sized fam
lily moving from one house to another
in the same town. Fifty dollars will
pay the expenses OF q steel van to be
used from one city to another. To this
OF course must be added the freight
transportation which varies according
to the distance the goods have to travel
While the cost Of msving a millionaire
from his city residence to his country
home may run up into the thousands.
there. are many families living in
small apartments who will change
their residence today at an expenditure
of $40 or even less
Tomorrow-COmmissi Government.
I-Growth of City Problems