Democratic Sentinel, Volume 21, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 July 1897 — CLOSING OUT STOCK. [ARTICLE]

CLOSING OUT STOCK.

One of the Many Phases of Life in Chicago. Many of the Chicago lunch-rooms that do not keep open at night have an effective way of disposing of the stock that is left on hand at closing time. As the hour of 7 approaches a crowd of from thirty to fifty children collects along the curb of the opposite side of the street, each with a basket and also with a close grip on a 10-eenit piece. They are not the poorest, of course, or they wouldn’t have the dime, and most of them are reasonably clean-faced. They are a bright looking lot, with eager, and some anxious, faces. There are not always enough remnants to fill all the baskets, and the first serviV Is the best. Over in the lunch-room through the window they can see the young men and women preparing for their reception, filling big baskets and getting for convenience all the remnants of a kind together. There is much speculation in the line on the curb as to what the selection will be. Will there be any cream puffs or lady-fingers or meringues? Has any one seen “any o’ them little long cakes w’ith chocolate on top?”

None of these children is starving by any means, but some of them would be willing to tackle a plain bun without any other consideration. The young man Inside, who has the management of the distribution, seems very deliberate about everything. At least It looks that way to the youngsters across the street. After they have got everything assorted he makes certain changes among the big baskets. Then the counter is cleaned off and he steps back to take, a general view to see if everything is ready. “Here he comes!’ says nearly every one in the line. They are crowding a little now, and some of them have got out to the cable track. “Oh, that won’t do at all!” says the young man when he comes outside. “That line is no good. You will have to get back on the sidewalk.” So they scramble back to the curb and line up. The young man waits a few seconds, raises his arm slowly and suddenly lets them fall, which is tue signal to start. It is a pell-mell race across the street, and they go up against the restaurant as a big wave strikes the seawall down on the lake front. The door doesn’t seem half large enough, but in a very short time they all crowd in and fill the counter with baskets. Many of the tail-end-o ers have to wait for the second filling, which Is not so good. The young woman behind the counter, taking up a big basket of rolls, passes along shaking them out into the smaller baskets. Some one follows with a lot of bread of a different kind, and after there is a good, solid foundation of the staple, the attendants tumble in an assortment of cakes. Then one gives out pieces of paper for covers, While another collects the dimes. It is when the children get outside again that the fun begins. Some little girls—the crowd is mostly girls—tuck the paper in around their prizes and walk off priinly for home, but rather more linger in the eddies of the sidewalk or drop down on the first convenient step and begin eating and trading. Some do a thrifty business retailing to those who had not the 10 cents necessary to buy a job lot, but, of course, nearly the transactions are made with one hand, the other being occupied in stowing away cream puffs where they will do the most good. The first mention of the pipe organ in history is in connection with Solomon’s Temple, where there was an organ with ten pipes.