Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1870-08-05
Begging as a Speculation.

THERE are two classes of beggars 49,
those who beg from sheer laziness, lack of
self-respect, and total want of the courage
necessary to make thief; and those to
whom the misfortunes of life present the
alternative, beg or starve. The former
may or may not be in the majority, but
they are very numerous, and it is ex-
tremely unfortunate for the large class of
worthy and respectable beggars who are
eager and willing to earn an honest living
that there are so many imposters in the
business. When man by industry and
frugality has accumulated stock of
crippled limbs or obscured optics, and
sets out to do business on them with q
conscientious intention to deal fairly with
the public, it Injuries his prospects Of
pecuniary success to have another man
come along pretending TO be lame or blind
when he amt, especially if the public
finds it out. The public don't like to be
taken in by beggars. It is astonishing,
though, how the severity of the operation
of being taken in is mitigated when the
swindler has money.
It is not our intention to enter into an
elaborate classification of the different va
rieties of beggars, but simply TO speak Of
the manner in which professional beg
ging is systematized here in Cincinnati.
We have it from gentleman who claims
to have investigated the subject closely,
and to his own satisfaction, at least, that
there Is man here who hires beggars
who are blind or lame, or who have other
infirmities which excite the synpathies Of
a feeling though somewhat hurried pub
Lie, paying them a percentage on their
collections, or by the day, he controlling
and directing their movement" Our in
formant AYERS that he has watched the
man, and seen him locating his forces
early in the morning, an operation which
he performs with consVmmate tact. Long
observation and experience in the bust
ness have enabled him to judge Of the
value of certain corners and stair
ways, and he can figure to a. cent just
what doorstep is worth. There is a nice
discrimination to be used in stationing
his men. For instance, beggars with de-
formed limbs must be placed in a position
best calculated to make the deforulity con-
spicuous and noticeable. Sore.eyed beg
gars are located where the sun viii shine
in their faces, as the sun increases the
wretchedness of their appearance. A
sore eyed beggar has about twice the
commercial value In the sun that ne has
in the shade. When the sun gets around
in the afternoon the boss goes around and
moves his sore eyed mendicants to suit.
They don't like it, of course, but that is
the way they are compelled TO have it.
The rules of the boss compel beggars
with one leg to stand all the time they are
on duty, leaning painfully GA a crutch.
Wooden legs are strictly prohibited, inn
pairing as they do the idea Of helpless
ness. iaa 9ee. 1.53Ft s999 ah "s
Very old beggars command the highest
pay. A young and vigorous beggar
might obtain money of the passing pubic
by the aid of club, but, temporarily
successful as that means of begging may
be, 1t hurts the business in the long run.
The young and vigorous beggar must be
content to work for small wages until
such time as age and infirmities overtake
him, when, if ne is industrious and per-
severing, he may be able to make a very
comfortable living.
Tumors are in demand with this speeu-
lator in mendicity, particularly if they
are on the head and large. They are bet.
ter, too, on children. Ii In passing by
you pause q moment, wondering which is
the head and which the tumor, there is an
opportunity for your charitable feelings
to be worked upon, don't you see? One
of those extreme and (thank heaven) rare
cases Of inflammatory rheumatism some
times seen where the joints are SO swelled,
distorted and drawn up as to make the
man look ike a heap of log chains, would
doubtless command a big price from this
singular Spectator. Cjnc69o9aGtS Times.