Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 131, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 June 1910 — PROFESSIONAL SHOE STRETCHER [ARTICLE]

PROFESSIONAL SHOE STRETCHER

New Canton* Which Will Meet the Approval of Multitude*. When the woman said she wanted a pair of shoes the hollow-eyed clerk did not ask, “What Size, madam?” but said, or second-hand?” The woman hesitated, not quite grasping the significance of the question, the Philadelphia Ledger says. “Why, new, of course,” she said at length. « “The reason I asked,” said the clerk, “was that we have several pairs of shoes of different sizes that have been worn a little. Just enough to stretch them, and I didn’t know but that you would like a pair that your feet wouid slip right into and that you’d never have any trouble with.” The woman’s Interest had plainly got started by that time. “Do you mean to say you have shoes like that?” she asked, incredulously. “A few pairs, as I just said,” replied the clerk. “They have been worn long enough by professional shoe stretchers to take the stiffness and newness away. We are thinking of making these stretched shoes a permanent and prominent feature of our stock. Why, do you know,” he continued, with increased earnestness, “if I had a foot that I could contract and expand at will I could make a pile of money by Just trying on shoes. “Anybody who has ever endured the torment incident to stretching a new pair of shoes would be willing to. pay 60 cents more a pair in order to bd relieved of the discomfort of getting them set to the foot. The custom of offer-i g stretched shoes to patrons has already been introduced into several stores, and it certainly ought to become very popular. Judging by present indications, it will not be long until every shoe store of any pretensions will employ people with feet of the standard sizes to wear new shoes for a day or so to break them in.”