The New York herald., 1870-01-15
BUSINESS IN BARRELS.
Uses and Abuses Of the Traffic In Second
Hand Barrels.

A ssStnying,s Trade in Dirt-Aroma Of Antique
Exss. Docayed Fruits and Vegetables and
'Aaiusase Bedbuss, COckroaches and Inani-
mate Rats and Mice Infused Into Flour and
suSar-ship Fever, Smallpox, Cholera and
Other Diseases Gernainated by this Traffic
Legislative Rcmedles Invoked.
There is large business In barrels in this city.
Monster vehicles bearing az burdens miniature
mountains OF barrels constantly TO be IN our
pupllc th0roughfares. II not half our population
know how the other half lives IL Is sale to say that
not one In thousand knows where these barrels
come from, ana IL likewise profoundly ignorant Us
to their destination aud use.
Thereby hangs tale.
1--we do not succeed in what is written below ON
the subject OF barrels to
tale unfold whose slightest word
Would harrow thy blood MAKE Thy ss 10Y syS, hair
To stand end. h4e qull upon the rstfa pofcupae,
we shall at least throw some Important as well as
startling light upon the topic.
WHO BUY THE BARRELS.
witt, all the uses TOR Darrels IN our city of over
million population there are but few coooers The
buk of the business IN fact Is monopolized
by some half dozen persons, and these
DO very littic In the way OF making new
barrels. In the daily and unintermitent pro-
cess OF supplying the muItitudinous wants OF
large and growing population most Of the required
supply is brought here, which at once are made
available to meet the continuous demand.
1T don't pay to make new barrels" said cooper
whom we were Interviewing" IN the matter.
show sosr asked our reporter.
'sOd barrels don't cost SO much and pay Detterr
Here IL the subject IN nutshell and
explained IN the most explicit and pointed
terms. Economy Is the bass-or to paro-
phrase tho word in accordance with the
prevailing spirit and genius OF the tmes-that fun
damental principle or modern business manage
menI looking IN every Kind Of venture to the largest
possible profits. Buying up Old barrels Is therefore
an Old Us wen as steady aud large an lucrative
bu1lnes3
WHERE THE BARRELS coGE FROM.
The sources from which barrels are obtained are
quarter OF the city Is ransackcd In their collection
They come from the paatlal residences OF our
tenement houses, from The public markets. from
stores. from ships. nom asyluln5 ana pubic
institutions, from boarding houses. from hotels,
restaurants bakers and, III fact, from every sort OF
nook IN every sort OF place IN the city. And these
barrel buyers extond their nquisIsorlal researches
and purchases beyond our metropolitan boundaries.
They go over into New jersey and push their way
into all the towns bordering our railroad lines on
She Hudson river and IN Connecticut ana on Long
Island. There a clean sweep OF the country all
about the city. Few as the buyers are. there u
lively competition among them. They have made
their contracts advaacc 10 furnish iour and sugar
dealers with barrels, and they move heaven and
earth 10 make their contracts paying ones.
PRIOR OF THE BARRELS
We are now reaching the great and important
pout OF our narrauon-tne pendant tale to when
we referred In opening paragraph and which
though pointing a moral, does not present any fea-
lures usually adorning tales THIS point has to do
manner revealed above and will be best eliInlpated
In giving portion OF our conversation with cooper
largely engaged In these purchases.
What ere the previous uses of these oarrelsW we
inqnlred
Tor everything. We never inquire about that. We
only look 10 see how sound tney are anu whether
they can be revamped into good barrels
.'Many nave been packed with eggs and apples
and other stu and The rotten debris adheres TO tae
bottom, does IL not r
"Most decideuiy.o
'.Thc stencil from this decayIng matter is very
apparent 7"
"Is not the timber OF o barrels OF such sort nature
that 1t VIII absorb this eiluviumy ~
"rhat OF Inany OF tnem certainly is."
"Do not some OF the barrels come from ships
where there nave been yellow fever. ship feyer,
oholera and Cther contagious dlseasesyn
"UDquestlonably So"
sAre not some collected from prisons. amshouses,
asylums. hospitals and pententiarlcss'
''Uf course; large number OF them.'i
'Do you not ofen find II them bugs eockroaches
and other verminM
''lienty OF them"
"And burrow Tor rats and micey
''fes dead old rats and mice, and young live ones
arc found In abundaucen
is there much trouble taken to clean thems''
"we give them good shaking and brushing out,
that's about aIi.n
"Yon make them look fresh outsider
"As fresh as possible"
"AnC tueSs DiTrcls Vo 10 tue iOuT u6dcTs
s'Some OF them. Some OF our isle.s will only
use new barrels; put they are only few. 40 gen.
erai thing the class barrels used ;.Ota
toes and other vegetables, and for glassware and
such like goods"
..po you ever buy ash barrciss"
.'Certalnly.n
"And they go into the general lotf'
s.Certainiy."
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE.
We will not pursue our interviewing. As we have
said, this Is large business. For the barrels thus
bought are paid from twenty-five to thirty three
cents apiece. New barrels cost cents. It Is
easy TO whore the moral and profit come
in. A little shaking, as stated, new hoop TWO,
possibly head, and at least shaving Off the
Old bands and the barrel becomes, II not good
available as q new one. Many rub -four inside TO
cover the dlrt. 1t is easy TO divine the aroma
infused into -four and sugar packed into these Old
second hand ana filthy barrels Ii 10 easy further TO
sec that by tins nelarlous practice the public health
u largely jeopardlZed The only course to be taken
e TO get Law passed by tue Legislature prohibiting
such uses Of old barrels petition 10 this effect Is
Already In circulation and 1t is to be hoped that The
subject VIII receive at the hands OF our State iegis
letOrs the attention II deserves.