The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-10-05

city and sometimes they purchase it from the pedlars Of
china ornaments who, in exchanges for their ware
content to receive old coat vest any other article
OF dress which is thrown of by the original
| At for further use. These clothes not, may
| be supposed, much improved by coming in
| tact with dirt Of every kind, aud in few months
are worn and full OF rents to
| der frequent repairing necessary. 1t is, in fact,
quite common thing coat literally made up Of
patches none of which by any chance of the
color The many coored garment which the Scrip
lures tell by Joseph certain was not
"a circumstance" compared With the garments Of the
New York rag pickers Black red green brown parple,
blue yellow all the color Of the rainbow and many that
there 70 BE- found in chiiionner's
| coat.
The children Of whom, as We have stated, there is
generally large number in each family very poorly
! clad At all OF the year They are however
healthy and hardy, and capable of enduring an ex
traordinsry amount OF hardship and privaton evil
dent from their manner of life 1t incredible that
| young and tender children could be reared in
the poverty have seen; but it would actually
appear as if they grew fat and hearty in the
midst Of it, One winter passed in of the habita
tons have would Kill three ourths the child
of wealthy citizens who have been brought up
the midst Of all the comforts and lIxuries of life Here
problem for political economists 10 solve. How is it
that state Of poverty is favorable to the increase of
population while wealth and luxury the contrary
| inimical TO it,
The dwellings of the chGonnier correspond with the ap
learance of the inmates. Some of them miserable
novels consisting Of apartments which in size
! exhibit the remarkable economy that has been at
tanned the erection Of houses for the poor.
The bedroom is very seldom if ever lighted by window,
and of course thoroughly ventilated. Imagine
| room about eight feet by ten, without any gat
| cept what il receives through the door, and
pied by five six persons every night and have
something like idea Of the sleeping apartment of
/ rag picker. The sitting room is made to AL the
purposes of sleeping apartment also and kitchen. The
furniture IS general thing Of the desert ption
but have in two mahogany beisteads
that would grace the sleeping apart of any
who belong to what is termed tho upper classes How
such furniture found its way into these dwellings would
be hard to determine Some Of the rag pickers pride
themselves the style in which their furnish
ed and the neatness with which they kept; but in
their occupation is almost impossible preserve clean
illness They keep their rags in some part of their
dwellings and the principal part Of these picked
up Of the street, they eugender dirt and dust and
sometimes infect the atmosphere with most disa-
greeable odor Those who fortunate
to have yard attached 10 their dwell
lings hang their rags out to dry lines which
stretched from wall to wall in every direction appear
ing when from above, like network. On these
lines YOU can see rags of every color, and in every
condition collected from all parts OF the city-ban
dages still bearing the evidences OF the service in
which they employed, the tattered remnants OF
shirts stockings with and without feet and the remains
OF all that terrible array articles which make up the
total of human dress. Little does the imagine,
when engaged the costly piece OF CLOTH to what
vile purposes ii at last Each piece that the
ehonnier scrapes out Of the CUTTERS and filings into his
basket among scraps Of iron and old bones has history
Of its own which would equal in interest the celebrated
Adventures of Shilling: but the rag pickers never
afflicted with philosophic speculaons of any kind, and
the interest they attach to .ags is in proportion only
TO the price they will bring.
Third street inhabited by largo number of rag pick
who chiefly occupy houses In part Of this
street there nine houses which believe,
entirely occupied By them. They four stories high,
and the number Of inmates in each ranges from fifty to
hundred. On every story there is balcony which
projects eight feet from tho rear the front
of the houses being laid ont in similar These
balconies also hung with rags closely arranged to-
geiher lines that the windows only dimy dscera
bio through the open space The whole Of the front an
back Of the houses from basement attic, is literally
covered with rags and whom there pretty strong wind
The appearance presented by these they blown
and fro better be imagined than described. Each
days collection il is brought home washed and hung
UP to dry these lines they sell for much better
price when cleaned.
Besides those streets we have mentioned there are |
several others in the Eleventh and Seventeenth wards
and in the upper part OF the city, which inhabited
BY these people Those who live up town, from Twen
teth Foreth street generally occupy those little
wooden shan.ics erected unen lots. In addition
what they make by rag picking they keep two
pigs which they feed upon Tie garbage they find in the
streets procure At houses. The number who live in
this isolated b however very triing compared
with those who congrcgate together for they gre
garious of people. There is sort OF classification
among them, but the distinctions not strongly mark
ed. Some employed in gathering bones and rags, |
while others exclusively engaged in picking rags
and paper. Where there is whole family engaged in
the business the rags washed and hung up |
to dry 81 have described When sufficiently dried
they taken down packed il large bales, AMI sold to
rag merchants who visit the districts reg liar intervals
through the week Those who too poor to wait till
they collect them in such quantities. carry what they
have gathered during the day the shop At and
sell them. These rags generally full Of dirt, and will
not bring than two cents pound.
The rag pckers who live in those house.
described have certain beats localities Of which
they seldom never travel Where there is a large
family they make division Of work, that all the
bers out at the time Thus the day Is
divided into three parts in proportion to the
number Of members in the family three of whom
saly forth three clock in the morning These go
round their particular beat returning at five six O'Clock
when their place is supplied BY Others and till
the lsbors Of the dag The younger scons Of
the family 60 about nine ten in the morning.
Of them returning till nghtfalL They are employed
principally in the lower part Of the city collecting paper
which they sell their bags full sometimes
filling three four bags in the course Of one day This
paper bought by the rag stores in the First
and Third wards The proceeds Of the days work often
amounts to and sometimes two dollars They |
occasionally pick up knives silver spoons, and money
and we we're told Of rag picker who found gold
watch and chain valued at two hundred dollars for
which an appeared. When the family have
all returned they ASSERTING the rags, separa
ting the woolcn from the cotton and lhen and placing
~. NJ L. Nm. E..