The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1877-10-27
Our New York Letter.
Busimess-Ehe ObeIisk-AnOtIa-
err Strike-The last Swindle-
lotteries.
NEW YORK, October 20, 1877.

New YORK, October 20, 1877
EDITOR CHIEF
As every thing pertaining to the
business of the country is of interest,
called upon several of the heaviest
jobbers. The reports were all alike.
Business is now healthier than at any
time since the war. The volume OF
trade is not so large, but more discre-
tion and Judgment is being used, and
the quality of the goods purchased is
different. The purchases of fiue goods
are much less, and trade runs largely
to necessaries.
The English succeeded in getting
permission of the Kiedive of Egypt
to remove to London the Alexandrian
obelisk, which every schoolboy has
read of, known as Cleopatra's nee
die" 1t is now ON its way to
England, and will be set up in Traf-
algar Square. Not to be behindhand,
an American merchant, who with
holds his name, persuaded the
Khedive to permit another one to be
brought to New York, and he dona-
ted the cost of bringing it-$100, 900.
The papers are all drawn, and as
soon as steam can do it, an obelisk
that Moses and Aaron looked upon
will be set up in the youngest of the
great cities of the world. Who the
donor is, no one knows, but time will
reveal tue secret. 1t was generous
and noble act.
This time it is the cigar-m akers.
Five thousand of them have quit work,
and are trying to make the strike
general. The notable feature in this
emeute, is the fact that a woman is
one of the leaders-Mary Heisler, a
young Bohemian woman who has
great deal of influence over the Ia
borers of the city by her fervid ora
tory and advanced communistic ideas,
was elected president of the Gen.
trail association, and she at once took
position as its real head. The cigar
makers, who are largely foreigners,
look upon her as second Joan of
Arc, and they obey her commands
without question. The majority of
the cigar-makers are the lowest grade
of Germans and Poles, who live in
the filthiest tenement houses, doing
their work there. They are under
paid and overworked, for the reason
that the trade is easily learned, and
there is such glut of workers that
the employers can get any amount of
labor at their own price. The en-
ployers are almost all foreigners, and
are merciless toward the poor of their
own nationalities.
The last swindle is ariation of
an old one, which originated in this
city, and is being prosecuted from
here. The mOdus operdndi is very
simple. It is wire fence of not very
new pattern, aud which is not even
patentable. The smooth -tongued
agent shows it to farmer, and solic-
its him to become agent for it. AS
an inducement he is offered fifty rods
free, provided he win put it up along
the road where it can be seen and
serve as an advertisement. 1t is
handsome fence, and the farmer bites
at the offer. First he gets fifty rods
of fence for nothing, and if he does
take an order, he gets a liberal com
mission. He signs what he, suppOses
is an order for fifty iods, and imme-
diately the wire is sent him. Then
comes another agent who demands
pay for one hundred and fifty rods.
Indignant farmer explains that he
was to have fifty rods free. Agent
says, certainly, but you have or
dered one hundred and fifty rods, and
the one hundred rods you must pay
for at four cents fOot.n And he
produces an order with the farmers
signature, to that effect. The process
is very simple. The farmer saw a
contract for fifty rods, but when he
came to sign, that order was slipped
up, and he really put his name to an
other one for one hundred and fifty
rods, that lay just underneath. He is
frightened into giving his note for,
say 5000, which he expects to resist,
but he always finds that it has been