Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1883-04-04
Trade in Old Shoes.

basement stairs on the lower side of
Baxter Street, all the way from Chatham
to Canal Street, from early in the morn
ing until late at night. They arc patched
and pieced, and the soles and heels on
them are new, but their appearance tells
of long and hard wear. There is not an
unworn shoe to be seen along the entire
street. They are all secondhand, and
in the worst possible condition ut that
for the most part. Peering down into
the gloomy easements, hundreds of other
pairs will be seen on the floors, while on
insecure benches from one to four cob
blers will be seen stitching, patching,
soling, and heeling dilapidated shoes.
Here, scarcely minutes walk from the
busiest part of the metropolis, in the
lowest quarter, and in the most unpre-
tentious manner, is conducted a business
the proportions of which one would
never suspect.
The old-shoe trade is confined almost
exclusively to Baxter Street, although
here and there in Sixth and Seventh
Avenues are places where better grades of
this class of secondhand articles are
sold. Both mems old boots and shoes
and women's shoes are dealt in. From
five cents to one dollar a pair are paid
for mems shoes. Boots are worth
little less, because the sale for them is
not so large. For women's shoes from
five to thirty-five cents pair is paid.
So long as the uppers are not com
pletely spoiled the shoe can be utilized.
Shoes that most people would sup
pose were entirely past redemp-
ton can be patched up and made pre-.
sentable. After soles and heels have
>becn put on the shoes, and the rents
concealed by patches, the price is in
creased about fifty cents on the average.
A pair of shoes for which twenty-five
cents was paid are sold, when repaired,
for sevcnty-iive cents. The profit to the
dealers is from ten to thirty-iive per
cent The dealers pay their cobblers, rs
a rule, thirty cents pair for recOnstruc-
ting 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
asked how long the shoes would last.
1--WE don't like to sell shoes in wet
weather. he replied. "The soles are
liable to float off and leave the uppers
without any bottoms. Maybe they will
wear for one day, and maybe they will
last for one month. We guarantee no
goods, because the profits are so 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 of shoes, and he was not long i'm
reaching the conclusion that like glass,
they must be handled with care. The
business is not restricted to the retail
trade, but includes the wholesale. A
great many cases of the shoes are
shipped to Baltimore, Washington, Bos-
ton and other cities on the orders of sec
ond-hand clothes dealers. The profits in
the wholesale trade range from five to
ten per cent. under those in the retail.
The patrons of the places are from the
poorer classes. The busiest days in the
retail trade are Saturday and Sunday,
more particularly the latter. The shops
open, some of them, rs early rs five
o'clock in the morning, and many of
them do not close until midnight. The
rent of the Easements is from twenty-five
to sixty dollars month. This is the
greater expense to the proprietor, and
little wonder it is that he pulls his Gus
toner in by main force to make up for
this heavy drain. Up in Sixth and Sew
enth Avenues, where q better business is
done, from one to four dollars is paid
for shoes. Only the best shoes, not much
worn. will be bought, and the trade is
entirely different. The Baxter Street
dealers sell their finer shoes to the men
on the avenues. The largest stock Of
Baxter Street shop is 1000 pairs, and
oftencr it is much less. Noticing re-
paired shoes with stretched-out elastics.
the reporter asked why new elastic was
not put in. He was informed that the
cost was too great. The elastic would
cost forty cents, and that would make
the price too high; besides, the trousers
covered the tops, and it made little diff
ference.
The question will naturally be asked
where all the shoes come from. The
Italians, those scavengers of the streets,
fish old shoes out of the ash-barrels by
the hundreds. They know their value
as well as they do the worth of rags,
bones and bottles. They carry the shoes
to their quarters, scrape the ashes off
of them, and take them to Baxter Street.
The junk and rag dealers buy or ask n
gift of old shoes in their wandcrings,
and they take them to Baxter Street.
The bootblacks at the hotels and other
places seize upon old shoes rs prizes.
Some of the pawn-shops and old-clothes
stands buy old shoes, but only when
they are in good condition. 1t is only
at the shops that the shoes which need
to be reconstructed are bought. Moderate
fortunes have been made in the old-shoe
trade i'm Baxter Street Men have gone
into it and advanced to the trade in new
goods or retired altogether Many of
the present dealers own their places OF
business, and seem TO prosper ut least as
well rs the old-clothes men.-N y.
Times.