The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1883-03-17
RAGS AND RAG CATERERS,

RAGS AND RAG CATERERS,
Our reporter. concluding that short
article on rags would be of some inter-
est to the public, and, deciding to begin
at the beginning or as near it as possible,
visited a few of the small outlying junk
stores. The first called on was a small.
rickety, tumble down, wooden structure,
in one of the poorest quarters of the
city. The proprietor, who was evidently
AMI rishman, looked with some suspicion
on the reporter, and gruffly inquired
what he wanted but became quite civil
on learning the nature of the visitor s
business. .'Sure, there's so many quare
customers goin' about now it takes one
to keep their eyes open" he said, apollo
getically.. 1T other day a tony-lookin
covey come in to light his cigar when it
was snowin' hard, an | brought him
into the Office there, an when me back
was turned he opened the drawer an
stole me pocketbook. It's little good
it'll do him, bedad! No, there was no
money in it; nothin' at all but some bills
an rasates an little papers that keep
together, but of coorse he didn't
know that. | wish | could jist set my
eyes on him again, I'd ak neither Judge
nor Juryn'
The interior of his junk-store, which
is a fair sample of almost all. presented
queer appearance. In one corner
there was pile of pieces of rusty iron,
and in another a barrel half-filled with
bones. The floor was covered with
heaps of rubbish such as old hats. dirty
paper, old shoes. ropes, pieces of canvas
and any quantity of dirty rags. The
walls were shelved around and covered
with bottles of every shape and size
There was no room to move without
stepping on mound of rags. Some
barrels were arranged at the back of the
building which the reporter was told
contained "stuf that had been graded. :"
1.-The Office was a spot in the corner
about four feet square. roughly boarded
off, and containing rickety table, a
chair and a stove.
A ragged, bleared and exceedingly
dirty little object, which nature probably
intended for a man, entered while the
reporter was present, and opening an
old sack which he carried. exhibited
about a bushel of dirty-looking rags, at
the same time muttering some words in
a foreign tongue. The dealer took the
sack and tossed over the rags with his
hands, then weighed them, and counted
out fifty-four cents into the foreigners
dirty paw without word. When the
laster had departed the reporter said:
"You don't seem to have much trouble
making bargains?"
'sNo, not wild the likes of him. He
knows my. way, and comes here every
day, and what | offer he has to take, for
/ would not give more if he chartered
for an hour, an he knows [ pay full
price lt
"He's an Italian, | thinkp''
"Ay, | believe so. Some O them
dhirty, jabberin' furriners, anyway"
In response to further inquiries, the
junkman continued:
'It's mostly them furriners that does
the dhirty work, SIGH as pickin' ashbins
an manure heaps an pokin' in the
gutthers. There's thousands of them at
it. Poles, an Bohemians, an Germans,
an Italians, an hardly one O. them can
spake a word of English. English
spakin' ragmen go peddlin' an gatherin'
round the houses, but these furriners
can't do that. Sich people and the
poorest beggars, and great many chill
dren poor people, too. spend all their
time gatherin' rags and bones in yards
and back alleys over the city. They
generally make from seventy-five
centsto 81 SO a. day. Then these emf
grants are landing here every day who
don't know a word of the language, and
have not a cent scarcely in their pockets
or shirt to their backs, and the first
thing they start to their pickin'. They'll
live on anything to make money-eat
the crusts they pick up and sleep
crowded up in cellars an tiniments we
wouldn't put dacent pig into. They
save every cent, an then when they re
here a while they 60 to peddlin' an
other things. Dhirtyp Och! they re sick
enin', most of them! Why, that one you
saw was king to some o. them that
comes in. There's not much to be made
rag-pickin' now, though. The weather
is bad, the price is low, and there's too
many at it. There lots O people who
work in lumber yards, an on the streets
and at hundreds O. things in the
summer an can get nothin' to dc
in winter, an then most o. them goes
peddlin' for rags. They trade little trifles
sich as needles. an combs, and so on fol-
a handful of rags, and can earn from
one dollar TO one dollar and fifty cents
or maybe two dollars a dag ct it. Then
there better class who 60 round with
hand-carts or wagons and buy or trade
for rags who make good big wages at it.
or coursesa good deal depends on abil
ity, same as in every business. l knew
man here who made from three to foul
dsiiars and fifty cents day by gather