, 1918-08-15
A Very Bad
Moral
o0
BY JANE OSBORN
Copyright, 1913, by the Mcclure Newspa.
per Syndicate.)


Say, there's a new efficiency man
and les some LOCKER" commented the
tall brunette In the beauty parlor'' of
Reeds dry goods store to the rather
shortish, rather blondish young woman
who was laying out her manicuring
outfit at the table next to the tall
brunette's.
Charlotte Day, the rather blonde,
rather short, young woman, made no
comment.
Honest, he's stunning" went on her
companion. ~ saw him when 1 went
up to the stock room for nail files just
now. He's the real thing, I'll tell you
none Of your namby-pamby, pa~le-faced
floor walkers, either. He never worked
in a store before. He was a college
professor or something and went in
for this efficiency stuff. He's going
to give some talks on selling and
success at noon hour. You don't want
to miss 'em. The one today is called I:
Know your customer You don't
want to miss it-he's certainly a
dandy-looking young man."
Charlotte snorted slightly as a short
cut to express her lack of interest in
the new efficiency man in general and
his good looks in particular.
Say, I'm through with this eff
cheney DOPE" she said. ever since I
came to this place two years g I've
been listening to that kind of thing.
The man they had before gave that
same idea of Know Your Customer
1 was just young enough and foolish
enough to take 1t all in, and 1 read
uplift talks in the paper at night on
Forging Your Way to the Front They
all give the same advice. They say
II you tend to your little job the best
way you know how, why some day
you'll be head of your department, or
maybe make a hit with somebody and
get married to someone who'll appre-
ciate how hard you've worked and
everything. Talk about knowing your
customers-don't /. know every wart on
that fat Mrs. Peabody's old face? And
don't 1 know just how many double
chins that Armstrong woman has?
And talk about being diplomatic-'oh,
yes, indeed, Mrs. Armstrong, the facial
massage does make one dreadfully
pale. Not thai you would usually need
any rouge, but after the massage I'd
better put on a little. Oh, I'm sure
you don't usually need it
And then this to Mrs. Peabody:
body. No, indeed, it isn't dye. But
this new electric treatment makes the
hair look a little dull and vou really
need a little of this tonic to bring out
the natural color of the hair And of
course she knows and I know that it's
straight walnut dye. And that's what
I've been doing for two years, kidding
them and studying them and saying
what they want m to. Where has it
got me2 Yes, they smile at me and
ask for me when they make appoint
ments-but catch them doing any
thing more. Why, to hear these eff
cheney men talk you'd think that they
were going TO ask you home in their
limousines and were going to introduce
you to their families and get rich hus-
bands for you, or that you were going
to be buyer for the department or
something. No, Indeed" concluded
Charlotte, rising and smoothing her
diminutive apron. "Tm through. I'm
going to act just the way l feel like
acting. / have a feeling that 1t will
get me further than the other way"
So Charlotte abandoned her eff
cheney methods and proceeded to try
different tactics. When Mrs. Arm
strong came she bluntly announced the
presence of an additional chin, and she
referred to Mrs. Peabody's hair restor-
alive as dye in a way that made that
lady blink with surprise. She told one
woman frankly hat she was running
her hair having 1t waved so often, and
another that she would look far better
IL she didn't get the expensive trans
formation" that she was thinking of
buying.
Then a well-dressed young man
came to have his finger nails mani
cured, and Charlotte performed her
task with none of the customary play
of small talk hat was calculated to
make the customers return.
"How do they look?" asked the man
after Charlotte had put on the final
high polish.
"If you really want to know" COM
mented Charlotte, thinking only of her
resolve to be perfectly frank, II think
they look like fury on a man. The
way they were when you came In is the
way a man ought to have. his nails
kept. Now they are shaped and point
ed and polished till they look like a
woman's. Somehow you're not the sort
or man that looks as If he would go in
for that sort of thing"
Charlotte noticed the young mans
eyes studying her face.
"Still," he said, at is rather bad
business; 1t seems to me, for you t
give that sort of advice. Perhaps you
are right, but your game is to get as
many customers as you can for your
store. isn't it?"
"You talk like one % those efficiency
men," commented Charlotte, with a