The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1879-03-02
GROCERIES FOR THE room.
What the Few Customers bodybuilding the
Best Husband In the World.

What the Few Customers Buy-FIndtng the
Best Husband In the world.
&C. would like TO stand here for two or
throe hours" the writer said to the proprietor
OF tho little grocery at Mulberry street. and
watch the persons who come to buy their gro
ceries of you. l suppose you come In contact
with terrible poverty Z"
Well. you could hardly have selected
poorer neighborhood than this. the proprietor
replied; but II you want to soc any OF our Gus
toners you had better make UP your mind to
stay hero for two weeks instead OF two hours.
We are doing nothing. can't imagine how
the people around hero lve-that Is. the Irish
portion. The Italians do pretty we'll. but an
Irishman would rather starve. and sec his wife
and children starve. than do the work that an
Italian is willing to do. Why. sir. they get up
at o'clock in tho morning. and when other
work fails, they go about the streets collecting
pieces OF torn paper and rags. bones. and bot
ties from ash barrels In that way they can
mako from sixty TO seventy cents n day on
which they live quite well. But they never buy
anything hore. They always 10 to one OF their
own countrymen or to German TO mako their
purchases.
OF course we have some customers but we
mako worry little profit on what we sell 10 them.
We arc obliged TO let thom have everything ut
tho very lowest price possible. And then you
wouldn't believe what small quantities OF things
they AJAX for. 1t ia raro thing for us TO sell
more than an ounce Of ten AT one time. and half
pound Of shoulder" or few cents worth
OF sugar are ordinary purchases. Now. in
weighing those things we never can go under
the mark. and we generally go a little over 1t.
Tho small amount we losc ON one customer In
this way is not noticeable. but. toll YOU 1t
/ ~ M fpr bnNa tha I M "A
hundred times. and makes It rather hard for US
To- zee ,,. where our profits come M"
profit on coal. Selling it by the bushcl, you
Bushe" the proprietor interrupted with
great contempt. " Lord bless your innocence.
We revcr sell hushcl Of coal TO one person.
1t is not often that wo got beyond five cents
worth. and we don't make u cent Of profit on
that They ask for halfa pAiiful, which would
cost hvo cents. but II IL like selling ale tn a
person who goes 70 bgrroom with can; We
nre Obliged 10 MI the pail To the hrm. and then
they want US to pio 1t on until 1t pours over;
Slmrtimcs they are so greedy Tor il that you'd
think they'd ask rs 10 flll their pockets.
There is great foOlshness about tho money
we make in selling coal 10 tho poor.
never calculnt9, on lnhh ihE pronI nut nm
lost ANYTHING. We sell our coal 10 our custom
ers cheaper than they can get II in the coal yard.
though tho German md Italian aroccrs work
on u different principle. They always make u
profit because they soil hall a pail and no moro
when half 4 pail Is called for. Oh. here's a
customer That's funny"
woman came in aud bought two onions.
She looked longingly at the coal, aud her eye
ranged rapidly over loavcs OF bread and chests
OF tea; but her funds were exhausted with the
purchase of the onions. and with ono OF these
pungent vegetables IN zach hand, she went
Wenrlly out into the falling snow.
" wonder II she's got anything 90 eat with
those onions" tho proprietor said speculative
~ after he had carefully examined tho coin
she had given him in payment. and sounded IL
upon "A salt box to ascertain whether II was "A
a "A tHn
-" DO ever trust any ono7" no continued.
after that question had been put 10 him. Well.
no. can't say | ever do. suppose am con-
sidered hard mau around hore. but | must
cerioin tbat n Five credit sbal 5s never rc t
paid. ! might Just Ms VOL throw my stores into
the East River US give them without getting
ready money In return. was Innocent once
! as innocent ms you are, almosi-nnd i gave
credit then, but I cant say that did that long.
for $500 put my father rim law in charge Of IT,
He WIS good natured, and he pitied the poor
people who told him how they and their fhmi.
lies were suffering for want OF luOd He allowed
them to gtt into his debt to the amount of 81 100.
OF course. that was all lost. and We had hard
oh. tho people around here arc horribly
poor. poorer by Tar than those who live IN hand
some houses uptown have any idea OF. but the
grocers can u help them, YOU know, Tor some vi
Us nre nearly ms poor ~ they are
| For two hours thereafter beyond the pur-
chaser OF the two onions nobody came in 10 buy
| anything. A Visit To other groceries In tho
| neighborhood revealed the same lack of bust
ness nearly everywhere. Al Onn place only WAS
| there any sign Of prosperity. Ii WIS the Ger
man store. of which tho proprietor At Mulberry
street mad spoken, and here there was u con-
| slant influx ot Italian men and women. dirty
! but cheerful. and evidently not suffering from
] want Their purchases were made in tolerably
liberal quantities. and trade seemed tn be- brisk.
/ In small rear room of n tall tenement house
! In Mulbarry strnet. u wretuhed looking woman
was found nursing one child Another was
! crying in the corner, n third WIS asleep in bed
and from underneath the same couch the max d
! foet OF fourth weTr prOtruding. Sho had eaten
! no dinner, she said and sh3 could no longer
! afford to go TO the grocery. but she had no
! doubt that the Lord would provide. Besides
| she expected 10 have some supper soon. because
! the best husband that ever lived had gone GU,
! 10 look for work. and had great hope OF getting
| H. lie WAS u tail man. with red hair. and II
any ono wished 10 sec him. he could be recog-
nzed as he stood at the door with the other
men smoking his pipe In the evening. by his
having a scar across his forehead. and tho little
finger OF his left hand missing
In an unlicensed harroOm within block Of
! this house doZen men were assembled, drink
| ing stale lager beer ~ two cents quart; most
of them were far advanced upon the Tond to in
| toXicaton, but the most drunken customer
there wns rcd-hAired man. tall and disngured
| by lvld mark across his forehead. Az he
raised his LETT hand 10 wipe away the beer from
his lips II was seen that he had but four fingers
| The smallest WAS missing.