The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 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 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
an Irishman, looked with some suspicion
on the reporter, and gruffiy inquired
what he wanted, but became quite civil
on learning the nature of the visitor s
business. "Sure, there's so manyqua
customers goin' about now it takes one
to keep their eyes open" he said, apollo
getically. "Tother day tony-lool1in'
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. l wish l could jist set my
eyes on him again, I'd AK neither Judge
nor Juryr' 10y ...' .....t...'-'
The interior of his junk store, which
is fair sample of almost all, presented
queer appearance. In one corner
there was pile of pieces of rusty iron,
and in another 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 "stuff that had been graded"
The Office was a spot in the corner
about four feet square, roughly boarded
off, and containing a rickety table, q
chair and stove.
A ragged, bleared and exceedingly
dirty little object, which nature probably
intended for man, entered while the
reporter was present, and opening an
old sack which he carried, exhibited
about bushel of dirty-looking rags, al
the same time muttering some words in
foreign tongue. The dealer took the
sack and tossed over the rags with his
hands, then weighed them, and counted
out tifty-four cents into the foreigner s
dirty paw without word. When the
latter had departed the reporter said
"You don't seem to have much trouble
making bargains?'' ...fht .
''No, 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" % Tt"f l... .l .....i. ! = -.."
''He's an Italian, l think?'' a.
cay, | 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 pokih' in the
gutthers. There's thousands of them al
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 furrinert
can't do that. SIGH people and the
poorest beggars, and great many chill.
dren OF poor people, too, spend all theil
time gatherin' rags and bones in yards
and back alleys over the city. They
generally make from seventy-fiye
cents to 81. 50a 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 a shirt to their backs, and the frs,
thing they start to their pickin'. They'll
live on anything to make moEey-eat
the ,crusts they pick up and sleep
crowded up in cellars an tiniments yt
wouldn't put dacent pig into. They
save every cent, an then when they r.
here "a while they ~ to peddlin' an
other things. Dhirtyg Och! they're sick
'enin', most of them! Why, that one yor
saw was a king to some o. them tha
comes in, There's not much to be made
rag-pickin' now, though. The weather
is bad, the price is low, and there's toe
many at it. There's lots o. people who
work in fumber-yards, an on the street.
and at hundreds o. things in thu
summer an can get nothin' to de-
in winter, an then most o. them goe
peddlin' for rags. They trade little trifle
SIGH as needles, an combs. and so on TO
a handful of rags, and can earn from
one dollar to one dollar and fifty cent
or maybe two dollars day at it. Thel
there's better class who go round witt