San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-10-07
Haste and Efficiency Has
No Place in Some Estab-
lishments Here, Yet
Owners Are Prosperous.
Dentist Gets Along
Without Telephone.

and efficiency who measure mans
ability and standing largely by the
up-to-date appearance of Lis establish
ment and the adoption Of the latest
approved methods of management in
his business, may be surprised to learn
that even in this day of high speed
automobiles, high-speed statesmen and
high-speed youngsters of both the male
and the female sex there yet remain
! in San Antonio considerable num-
Der of capable individuals who re-
fuse to pay homage to the deity OF
modernism.
They are not proclaiming their
righteousness from the house tops,
these rarities among present-day mer-
chants. They may never be seen By
| their own restless contemporaries
whore eyes seldom stray from the road
that leads straight to results. But a
brief search If the regions that lie
back of the glare Of the white lights
and the din of those who strive TO lead
the procession will reveal these stall
wart citizens. They will not oe found
living a life of hopelessness or penury.
On the contrary, they will ,e found
enjoying life Of contentunsnt and
prosperity that may well arouse the
envy of some of their neighbors who
worship at the shrine of progress. :,
In San Antonio can be found one
store where the owner handles moth
ing in which improvement has been
made since woman first began to heap
| trouble on the shoulders of mankind
Snakes are his chief stock in trade.
A large and varied assortment OF
parrots which speak no language save
that of their unframed ancestors and
one genuine monkey of pre-evolution
type compose the remainder of his
merchantable goods.
Can Take Your Time.
| Here, too. you will not be hurried
from one place to anotherby high
speed salesman. You can wander
about in. the front room unmolested
by any of the inventions or contri-
vances that are designed TO hasten the
interchange of the worlds products
You will Lot even be called upon to
answer an uncoarteous what will
you have?" You may take your time
in gazing at everything in the store
except the snakes. A keep OUT sign
turns you back from the entrance to
the loom in which they are kept.
Perhaps It is the tranquility of the
place during the interval between per.
iodic quarrels of the parrots that makes
the cardboard sign over in the corner
Of the room seem entirely appro-
pirate. You will not be surprised tc
learn therefrom that the proprietor
has been cussed and discussed, lied tc
and lied about, held up and robbed
and is now in business only for the
purpose of finding out what will hap
pen next. And yet, if you are sc
curious as to inquire. you will find
out that he has difficulty in supplyins
the demands of his customer.
There is a book store in the edge
of the business section of San An
tonic into which costly fixtures and
an abundance of high-priced volumes
have never strayed. No over-zealous
clerk will meet You here with shop
| worn smile and i determination tC
sell you the book you want or a sub
stitute. guaranteed TO be better. But
as you enter. you will , receive 0
friendly greeting from a studious in
dividual who will neither. rise mol
close the book he is reading.
Browse at Leisure.
Eve leave our customers to their
own devices here" he viii tell you as
he settles himself for further Peru.
sal of the pages of the scientific vol.
ume in his hand. >
School books, novels. scientific
works, law, poetry-seek what you
may and you VIII find it there un.
less, the last copy has recently been
carried away by one of the many
customers who are continually CON-
ing and going. There you win dis;
cover the light fiction of Mary Roberts
Rinehart almost within reach of a
volume of Freud's Latin : Lexicon
which was published in Boston long
before the automobile made the art
of thinking unpopular.
Down on Commerce street in the
very heart of the city there is a den.
fist quietly going about his task of
building bridges and erecting crowns
in the mouths of his suffering friends.
He never stops to answer the tinkling
call of the telephone, for it is: one
of the luxurious additions 10 the COM
plexities of modern life that has never
succeeded in forcing its way into his
office. No superflucus distractions
are permitted to interfere with him rs
he follows his profession or joins his
| friends in discussing the dire fate that
is likely 10 befall this reckless ma
ton. a
Can Buy Buggy Whip.
Not far away rom his office there
is store where the sign announces
that harness and saddles are still sold
in locality long age, devoted TO the
handling of wares copnected with a
more recently adopted means of trans
portation. As you enter that place,
one of the first things that will meet
your gaze will be rack of old-fash-
toned buggy whips. The large stock Of
harness and saddles that you will see
before you will bear mute but con-
vincing testimony 10 the fact that there
must still be a considerable number
of San Antonio people, who have not
branded the horse as being entirely
useless.
But if you win go back toward the
rear of the. store you will perceive
that the proprietor has compromised
with the invader. > A part of his
space and attention is devoted to. max
ing tops and handling parts for autos
mobiles. s@s
If your senses are not so completes
ly deadened by the noises of the city
that you are unable to distinguish old
| fa-.;l.o .o,,,ls q rida aIaur Uasf