Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1882-09-14
Traffic In Old Shoes.

shoes staad ut the head of basement
stairs on the lower side Of Baxter
street. all the way from Chatham tn
Canal street, from early in the MORN
ing until late at night. They are
patched and pieced, and the soles and
heels on them are new, but their ap-
pearance tell Of long and hard wear.
There is not an unworn shoe to be seen
along the entire street. They are all
second-handed and in the worst pos
sible condition mt that for the most
part. Pcering down into the gloomy
easements hundreds Of others viii be
seen on the floors, while on insecure
benches from one to four cobblers will
be stitching, patching, soling and heel
ing dilapidated shoes. Here, scarcely
a minutes walk from the busiest part
Of the metropolis, in the lowest quar-
ter and in the most unprctentiOus
manner, is conducted "A business the
proportions of which one would never
suspect.
The old shoe trade is confined almost
exclusively 10 Baxter street, although
here and there in Sixth and Seventh
avenues are places where better grades
Of secondhand articles are sold. Both
mems old boots and womens shoes are
dealt in. From five cents TO 81 pair
is paid for mems shoes. Boots are
worth little less because the sale for
them is not so large. For women's
shoes from FIVE 10 thirty-iye cents a
pair is paid. So long as the uppcrs are
not completely spoiled the shoes can
be utilized. Shoes that most people
would suppose were entirely past re-
demption can be patched up and made
/ prcscntable. After solcs and heels
have been pat on the shoes and the
rents concealed by patches, the
price is increased about fifty
cents on the average. 4 pair
Of shoes for which twenty-five
cents was paid are sold. when repaired.
for seventy cents The profit 10 the
dealer IS from ten 10 thirty-hye per
cent. The dealers pay their cohblers.
as rule. eighty cents pair for re-
constructing shoes. and in addition to
this they count the cost Of leather In
their expenses. and thus it will be seen
that their profit is not heavy. One Of
the shopmcn was askcd how long the
shoes would last. I'VE don't like to
sell shoes in wet weather" he replied.
THE solcs are liable 30 float of and
leave the uppcrs without any bottoms.
Maybe they viii wear for one day and
maybe they will last for one month.
We guarantee no goods because the
profits are 50 small. The cobblcrs
can't afford TO put in many pegs,
and We can't afford to put in
much leather" The reporter picked
up pair II Hhucs. and he was
not long in reaching the conclusion
that. like glass. they must be
handled with care. The business Is
not restricted 90 the retail trade. but
includes the wholesale. \ great many
cases Of the shoes are shipped to Balls
more. Washington. Boston and other
cities on the orders of secondhand
clothes dealers The profits in the
wholesale trade range from five to ten
per cent. under those in the retail.
The patrons of the place are from
the poorer classes. The busiest days
in the retail trade are Saturday AMI
Sunday. more particularly the latter.
The shops open. some Of them, rs early
"a o'clock in the morning, and many
of them do not close until midnight
The rent of the Easements Is from $2J
to eco per munth. This is the
greatest expense to the proprietor, and
| little wnder is il that he pulls hi.
customers in by main force to make nj
for the heavy drain.
The suesticn will naturally h. asked
! where all the shoes come from. The
Italians, those scayengcrs Of tsIc streets
fish old shoes out of the ash barrels h,
the huRdrcds They know their valu,
az well as they do the worth of rags
, bones and bottles. They carry tn,
shoes to their quarters. scrape the ashe'
off of them. and take them TO Baxtel
street. The junk and rag dealers bur
: or ask gift Of old shoes in their wan
derings, and they take them to Baxtei
street. The bootblacks at the hotels ant
q other places seize upon old shoe