Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1871-10-22

EDITORS CHRONICLE: With your permission
l will give my views on the present huckstering
business, which from the report of action of the
City Council last night, is sanctioned by that
body, or at least that they refuse to repeal the
ordinance authorizing the huckstering trade
which is so extensively carried on at the market
house, and which i will endeayor to prove to
the minds of all unprecedented persons is detri-
mental to all, save certain few who are in
gagged in that business. / will state that | am
not engaged in the mercantile business and
not personally interested" lie. no more so
than any person who depends upon the market
for his supplies In the report of the remarks
of Mayor Van Glider, which appeared in the
Press and Herald, The says: That by allow
ing the hucksters to trade, after obtaining
license, caused producers to obtain better prices
for their marketing" Just here l take issue
with Mayor Van Glider. Let me illustrate. We
will suppose eggs are scarce in market (which
is true at the present time) and are worth 20
cents per Dozen, if the Mayor will take the
trouble to go to the market house on Monday
morning, or any other morning, at or 81
O'clock and observe closely, he will see
that rs soon as q country team is seen
approaching, the hucksters will run for it and
head it off, and buy up all the eggs, and any
other articles that are scarce which are con-
tanned in the wagon, and the producer gets no
better price than If he sells to the conSwnter;
but when the consumer goes TO market at ct or
O clock, no eggs or other articles that are
scarce can be found in any of the wagons which
surround the market; but just step inside the
market house, and you can find the articles at all
the huCkster stands, you can get what you want
by paying the huckster from % to 90 per cent
profit. A at
/ will give another instance that was related
to me by a reliable gentleman. 4 nice lot of
peaches came into market-about three bushels.
No sooner had the wagon stopped than crowd
of consumers rushed up to the wagon, among
them several ladies' with their baskets but a
huckster is ahead of them, and buys all the
peaches at so cents peck, and takes them to
his licensed stand, and consumers could buy
them at 60 cents peck, and if they didn't want
to buy at that price they could go without
peaches, as this was the only lot of fine peaches
in market that day.
l give the above as instances of the working
of the present huckstering ordinance, which the
City Council have refused to repeal, and l am
informed the principal reason for continuing the
ordinance in force is that it brings in a revenue
of about $50 per year; but if Mayor Van Gill
der supposes that the people of THE city will
submit to the extortionate prices of the hack
sters without word of complaint, he will find
himself very much mistaken. l have noticed
the workings of this huckstering, and will ven
ture the opinion that nine-tenths of the people
who depend upon the market for their supplies
are satisfied that they are paying % per cent
more for their supplies than before this Ordi-
nance was put into force.
In conclusion will state that it is not my
purpose or desire to find fault with the Mayor
or the City Council, but it is my purpose to have
1t understood that others besides those person
ally interested are opposed to paying 25 per
cent. additional for their supplies for the sake eff
supporting hucksters, or Of adding $50 per an
mum to the city treasury. ~ .-
A CLOSE OBSERVER.
Knoxville, Tenn, Oct q, 1871.