Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 166, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 July 1918 — TALES FROM BIG CITIES [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

TALES FROM BIG CITIES

Old Clothes Dealers Get Rich on Treasure Trove NEW YORK.—To the average per-on who rushes from his apartment to the subway station each morning the man who stops him to whisper something about "hi-cash” and “ol’ dose” Is but a lowly dealer in cast-off garments. But Id reality the old clothes dealer Is a

gambler in human nature, who count* his profits not in the difference between the cost’and selling price of the garments handled, but his dally find oficash, jewels or valuable papers that are in one of every 12 suits that pass through his hands. One denier in second-hand clothes, who covers a territory he has mapped out for himself in the Washington Heights district, estimates that $5,000

. , a year is a conservative estimate on the money left In discarded clothing of the average New Yorker. His findings last year, according to his own estimates, totaled $5,600. “Of course, I try to restore any jewel that I find in the pocket of a suit I buy,” he said. “If I know where the suit comes from I take it back immediately and usually am given a reward. ~ “But in buying old clothes you must remember that we get mxny suits in, the course of a day; we meet many people and we don’t have time to do much examining of pockets if we are going to get over the district we must cover. “The result is that if I get in at night with half a dozen suits I nearly always find something stuck in some hidden pocket in one of the coats. Sometimes it is a five-dollar bill that the owner tried to hide from his wife and succeeded in hiding from himself. Sometimes it Is a piece of small change—too small to warrant a return trip to the owner. But occasionally it is something of value, such as a diamond ring, “Once I found an engagement ring valued at $450. I returned it and received SSO as a reward. On another occasion I found an old jewel that looked as if it was worth about 15 cents. I returned it because It was so old, however, and found it was worth more to its owner than If It had been made of diamonds. He gave me SSO as a reward. “In my experience I have found that one suit in 12 has something of value in it. That really is the profit of the business, since the margin of profit in handling old clothes is not enough to make it worth our time unless there were other means of making an income out of it to be found.”

Saloons of Hoboken Are Turned Into Libraries NEW YORK. —Since Uncle Sam took the bock out of Hoboken, three of it* saturation centers have been converted into libraries. Three months ago the library war service took over the three vacated Saloons for use as receiving

and shipping stations for books bound for the French front.. The saloons were stripped of their fixtures flfid have been the sorting and packing centers from which 100,000 books have started on their journey to the firing line. Inside the cases the spigots that once, gurgled with glee when spoken to are now speechless, and the beer cases have given way to book cases. Of all the transformations wrought by the hand of Mars in Hoboken none

is more drastic or complete than the supplanting of bottles with books and liquor with learning. In place of stocks of wet goods there are stacks of dry books heaped high before the massive mirrors, and the only signs of beer are beer signs on the walls. There are books in the drawers, books on the shelves, books in the ice boxes—tons of books rising from the floor in immense masses and tapering at the top like pyramids of knowledge. In the olden days, before Uncle Sam picked up Hoboken and left her broken-hearted, these cases were the gathering places of Germans. The spacious rooms which perhaps rang with cheers at German victory are now flooded with books until sometimes they burst through the front doors and run out upon the sidewalk. Those who unknowingly* wander up and down Hoboken s principal street in search of liquid refreshment find only food for thought In the form of that which inspires, but does not inebriate, and stimulates, but does not intoxicate. j

William Old-Bear of Oklahoma Stirs Up Chicago CHICAGO. —There came into West Madison street one William Old-Bear of Cushing, Okla. There lingered about William the quaint fancy of the Wikiup, the gentle somnolent zephyr of the endless prairies, the song of the

coyote, and the solemn silences of the starlit night. The crash of traffic appalled him, automobiles zoomed past him like dragons, and the street seemed a rushing, bawling, hopeless bedlam. William Old-Bear turned In at the sign of the dusty larynx and bought himself a man’s size snifter, and more of the same. When he had filled his person with potent mead he stood forth upon the sidewalk at Jefferson and Madison

streets and winked a sinful eye. A pedestrian chanced by among the hundreds who scurry. Perhaps something in the unconscious phiz, of the pedestrian recalled an ancient foe. For William Old-Bear drew back his fist and let fly. It caught the pedestrian a prodigious Jolt and set him astonished upon the curbstone. Another pedestrian tripped past. Suddenly he sprawled upon the walk. William Old-Bear- had dealt him a wallop that came clear from the stone age. Two more pedestrians fell and dropped into the profound sleep of unconsciousness before someone thought to turn in a riot tall. Policemen Marshall, Joiner and Gall of the Desplaines station came at a gallop. In the police station he almost tore down the jail. Then it was realized what ailed William Old-Bear. He was rushed to the bridewell hospital, where the reflections of his all-beholding retina came true. There was no wikiup, no somnolent zephyr; but pink buffaloes and blue snakes and turkeys with straw bonnets on frolicked in endless profusion before him. For-William Old-Bear has the D. T’s.

Airedale Popular With Signal Corps in Chicago CHICAGO— The Airedale, a shaggy, sad-eyed dog that gained popularity only in recent years, has convinced officers of the Central department, Signal corps, United States army, of its superiority over all breeds as a canine war

messenger. While official authorization for use of the Airedale on the battlefields of Europe has not yet been Issued by the war department, schools for Intensive courses in training have been established and officers say that reports from the various army camps show that the dogs have made remarkable progress. “The Airedale surpasses all other dogs in point of intelligence, and al-’ though peaceful, is also most courageous,” said one officer. “Tests have

established beyond doubt its superiority over other dogs as a war messenger, particularly those used by the German army. » “The Airedale is a cross from a ball terrier, otter hound and Berkeley terrier. It is a result of years of careful breeding, and its name. It is said, is derived from the Aire valley of England, where is originated.” The dogs now In training were either given to the Signal corps by patriotic citizens or purchased by interested army officers. Scores of them with long pedigrees and vafbed highly have been given and other offers are coming In daily. Females are in greater demand because of their Intelligence. Methods “When the dogs are taken at the age of from ten to eighteen months and properly developed as one-man dogs (for the Airedale is distinctly a one-man dog) no beast can equal them as war dogs,” said the officer. “Their color blends perfectly with night shades. The ability of the dogs to slip quietly through barb-wire entanglements without a scratch le remarkable.”