Democratic Sentinel, Volume 12, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 December 1888 — ACCOMMODATION’S SAKE. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ACCOMMODATION’S SAKE.

BY DART ELTON.

>OR acc om m o dation’s sake.” What a world of meaning in those few words, and how proud we as a people are because foreigners have an impression in their minds that we are “an accommodating set of people.” Weil, it depends. If

the man who applies to us for accommodation is well known in the circle to which we all seme day or other have aspirations—the circle of bon-tonism—-then we are ready to be accommodating; but if it is a poor man who wishes to be accommodated with the loan of a few hundred dollars, and his only security is his honest face and words, then we are “very sorry; but all our available funds are out at present, but probably Messrs. So-and-so can accommodate you. ” Perhaps we are a fashionable uptown lady, and our next-door neighbor wishes the loan of our pony and phaeton to air herself down town. We consider; Mrs. --- always visits the most fashionable portion of town, and folks will know the turnout is ours, and so we are accommodating. Perhaps it is only “an upstart of an acquaintance,” who used to know us when we were not so rich as we now are, who wants the rig to take a sick child out in the country for an airing, and nine times out of ten “we are truly sorry, but we have just promised the turnout to Mrs. ---." or, “the pony is lame, and James positively forbids it being driven. ” “A white lie,” we think, but then “one can’t be expected to accommodate every one. ” A sturdy young man calls on a merchant for a situation, urging that “it will be a big accommodation,” etc We scan him over and mentally conclude that we can get about three times as much work out of him as we propose to pay him for his servicee, and so we are accommodating. Perhaps w r e are a merchant who wishes to dispose of a lot of shop-worn goods, so we resolve that, “owing to the fact that w’e bought our goods for cash and secured great bargains, we will accommodate our customers and sell the lot off at cost. ” Of course the country buyer thinks, as he departs with his “bargains,” that we are very accommodating indeed, while we figure up our profit and gleefully rub our hands as we realize that these tricks of the trade are very accommodating indeed. Oh, yes, we are “an accommodating people.” But the great question nowadays seems to be, “Will it pay to be accommodating ?”