, 1885-01-31
OUT OF WORK.
HARD TIMES" THE LEGEND IN EVERY
BUSINESS LINE.
stor, ola Discharged Clerk at Starvation
Point-A Picture nom the Panorama
Of coutemporaneoas Hu-
man Distress

Doe Howard IN Phnadelphia rrcss1
The fact Of the business is-and what folly
It Ia 70 deny it-that in every linz Of trade
hard timesis tho lagond Evcry st0rckeoper In
New York city, from Tiffany & Co, with
their sio.uoo.oO Of stock. down % tho hum.
bile jrwelcr on Park row. viii tell you, ns
many 81 them have told me, hat never In
all their experiences wns trade 20 dull, and
profit 20 small. The butchers In Washington
market even complain; the clothiers that
line Broadway and the Bowery were filed
with criticisms Of the times. In all the *
psrisnes " tho p~awn-broknrs fhera never
was 50 continusus a procession OF please
let mo have something on this ns they hAve
encountered during the past six months, and
A. hiis fair To 10 greater ami worss IN IL do
Veiopt ments than the panorama Of contom-
poraneous human distresl now unfolded bo-
fore the eyes Of the average publicist
a friend u mine wa smoking a cigar Of
breakfast solace this morning, looking
through the pans Of wonder upon tho street
Of u~noceupancy. whan be saw a middle
aged man. weii-dressed, with no overcoat
The man looked at him for a momont
rang tho he'll Ny frieod went to the door
himself
What do you wantI-
-Work .
4 hava no work for you
wont you kindly allow mo to eloan the
sno~ from your door, ftepa and side.
walkfe
What viii you do II forr
Fur my breakfast
Nov that tells tho story. Hcrs wns an in
t~fllirent man, well dressed, though without
nm nysrcoat. who wanted work wherswitb hu
might on his own. stomach with satisfactory
- -I..--I IL
shovel borrowed from my friend. He cleaned
the sidewalk. and the cutters. and then
b. camo TO the Basement door for his
breakfast compensation Ny friend had
the table put "a. the far cornar Of the
RON and an appetiKing and satisfying break
fast sprend. but thu poor devil was too
chillei to enjoy "a After a while he thawod
out. and, two or three cups OF coffee
bracins him. he tackled the liver and
bacon. tho baked potatoes and biscuit
tefuru him Aellowud somewhat he
regarded my friend. who had
sin ,kisd and fused around the apartment
gently, with contemporaneous human intor-
ell. wheroupon my frioud, who Is n man n
a brother. said: Whats tie meaning Of
thtsi Why nnu you seeking employment for
thi. kind Of payr' To which answered the
stranger; Il wns a clerk In Blank q Co :, -
naming one Of tho greatest dry goods retail
firms on Sixth avenue, Annd have been for
four yearn past on n salary OF t25 a wook.
With thirty otheu ] was discharged, last
wsck, on forty.eight hours notice.. l had
spent all my money. and. for tho sake OF
Esndlng come 10 my parents IN Connecticut,
] had anticipated my salary, by the courtesy
Of the cashier, so that. whom l was dis
charged. I had nothing coming to mo.
Il pawncd my ovorcont, for Il was mild
last weok. Ipawned my watch, and on
Saturday night | found | had nothing. !
borrowed something Of a chum, and started
out to got work. l have been 70 every great
dry goods sturo and every little shop where
i had boon previously known. but IN cvory
place ! wns met by tho words. We are dis
charging. not hiring men You may not he-
love It. but haven't eaten a morsel in forty
eight hours, and. in despair, seeing you at
your window, Ivenfnrcd TO make tho request
that you would permit mo FOR my breakfast
10 shovel on your snow
My friend believed his story. and gave him
a dollar. But, bless your heart, whats q
dollnri Fortunately, this man was not
married. He has no vito, no children, nc
home 70 support Suppose he had. Whore
would ho be tonight Whoro would no have
bean last night. whom tho heavens were
oponsd with storm. when the clouds burst
upon ua with a magnificent development Of
snow, whirled hithor and thithor by ths
winds. sont hlthrr by tho whirlwinds, eddy
ing up and ebhing down. until tho worry city
was buried and every nplre In all the Owl
was a magnificent pictnru for an artist-bul
not much Of a picture Tor a hungry devil
with q vito and children aud an unpaid rent
NH