Razors First.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 29, Issue 36, 11 May 1917, Page 2

Razors First.

There is scarcely anything In this wide world that a person up against it financially can’t pawn, for the pawnbroker is a gambler, whose instincts either are acquired or born in him, and he will take a chance on anything provided the article is not falling to pieces.

Women, according to the pawnbroker, work their ruin frequently by liquor and drug addiction, but in a great many cases it is derelict husbands who cause the women to patronize the pawnshop. And the woman makes the sacrifice to protect her children.

“A woman who is struggling to save her children,” the pawnbroker said, "will begin by pawning household things. The alarm-clock or another kind of clock will go first. Then she will sacrifice, a few dishes. Maybe some of the furniture will go next. Her clothes will remain for the last, because she needs clothes in her quest for work. The best dress will be saved, if at all possible, but I have known hundreds of cases where they have pawned corsets to keep the family supplied with a bite of food.” In things offered for pawn the three-ball man says that razors lead hy a wide margin, while alarmclocks strange as it may seem, come second. Umbrellas, too, are a common article to be pawned. And only about 30 per cent, of these articles eventually are redeemed.