St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-07-26
THEY HAVE THE GIFT OF CAB
Street Merchants Who Make En0r-
nous Profits by Selling Trinkets.
How Prize Packages are Made up and
'SGold'' Jewelry Distributed.

often learns things which in after life
make him a successful business man. His
knowledge of character is often thorough,
for to be successful he has to be able to
read his customer almost instantly or lose
sale. He can tell stranger from citi-
zen block away and at once bends his en-
ergies towards making some money. Be
fore the man approaches him he knows
whether it is best to touch him gently or
give him whole dose, and he governs
himself accordingly. He always has an
eye open for business and, on the whole,
makes good living, yet there are hundreds
VINO wonder how he does it. To stand be-
side him as he makes a sale one would
naturally pity him while thinking what
little profit there was for him in the sale he
was closing. Yet if you would express
that pity in words he would puzzle you by
very peculiar smile, which you could not
understand. OF course, he would tell you
that he was making from 100 to 500 per
cent. profit, and if he did tell you so you
would think he was lying, but he would
not be. Consequently, the sharpness of the
street peddler does not go to naught, and he
always considers himself committee of
one to look after self and
BIG PROFITS.
There are different kinds Of peddlers, and
each kind is so distinct as to become type.
The one who handles the most goods, and,
consequently, makes the most money, is
the Yankee peddler. He does not confine
himself to one corner, neither does he con-
tent himself with accOSting passers-by, but
he gives little lecture and draws a crowd
around him on the street corner. He talks
like the winds and charms one by his elo-
quenee. His talk is not alone of business
but branches off into different themes. But
he never fOrgetS to return to business, and
generally with great success. Then next in
line comes the Overgrown street gamin, who
hopes to rise above backing boots and ped
ding papers. He gets stand on some good
corner or i'll some vacant doorway and has
his stock displayed to the public gaze. He
Is shrewd and attentive, and seldom closes
up his business at night without having
made good days wages. Then comes the
Polish Jew, with his insinuating manners
and broken English. He is always will
ing to
WARRANT HIS GOODS
as being firSt-claSS, and common gilt col
lar-buttOn when sold by him is guaranteed
to be triple-plated gold. He is always
found handling class of goods in which
there Is the highest profits, and is generally
able to keep an inventory of his stock on
his finger ends. Then there is the old,
WORKOUT street merchant who sits under
shady cover near ''Stand"
which IS laden with all those little
necessarieS like combs, pocket mirrors.
knives, pOcketbOokS, memorandum books,
and cheap jewelry. He smokes his pipe
calmly and is generally satisfied with what
trade comes to him without wasting any
energy in securing it. A wooden trunk is
always near at hand, and atnight he quietly
packs his stock away and carries it into
some convenient store and then slowly goes
to his lodgings.
1t was to learn something more of this
queer class that caused a reporter to visit a
wholesale jobbers' house to-day. ''TO say
the least, they are an odd lot" said the
merchant. THE average peddler, on a
stock costing him 81, can live comfortably
in the city here, or with a stock costing
him, say So, can make a good trip in the
country and come back with plenty of
SILVER IN HIS POCKET.
Some of them go as far as from three to
four thousand miles and have their goods
shipped by express to them. In this way it
is often the case that the express charges
are more than the stock originally cost him.
Do they ever save anything? Well, most of
them do. remember well Polish Jew
who worked here two years and then sent
his wife in the old country So. 2OO-mOney
that he had saved. Then there are hun
dredS OF instances where they have by
peddilng, saved enough money to start in a
regular store business in country towns
There is one man in this town, well known
on the street, who sells backing. He made
fortune and sent his children to college.
lie has no money now, though, having lost
it all, and is still on the streets. Not long
ago the peddlers formed club on the West
side, and for while it prospered, but 1
guess it was too ariStOcratic for them and
now it is thing of the past'
Are they hard persons to sell goods TOP"
Generally. They look at the pennies
pretty close, and are shocked if man
makes 10per cent. on them. Then they go
outside and sell the goods at from 100 to
500 per cent. profit"
just then well-known street peddIer
entered. He was crippled in one leg and
had
CROOKED EYE,
He haggled over the purchase of some
memorandum books, and then purchased
two razOrs with fancy handles. Il made
while ago." he said, as he examined the
raZOrS.
''How's that?" asked the dealer
''Well. | sold these here two razOrs," he
answered, for 81 apiece. and they only cost
me % cents apiece" Then he hObbled out.
GLOW is it that street peddlers can sell
goods so cheap and still manage to make
such enormous profts?" asked the reporter,
turning to the dealer.
We'll" he said, ''you see those four
inch combs in case? They are sold on
the street for and 10 cents and cost the
peddler less than 2 cents apiece, leaving
him a clear profit of over cents. Glass
china collar buttons which they sell at two
for cents cost them 2 - cents dozen. 1t
is the same with the imitation bone button.
The gilt collar button which they sell for 5
cents costs them cents dozen. Imitation
silk handkerchiefs (which never contained
one silk thread, nor even linen) they sell for
10 cents and buy for cents.
PoCKET-KNIvEs,
with fancy handles and looking bright and
pretty, they buy for from to Z cents
apiece"
'But how do you sell goods so cheap and
make profit on them?"
ITO tell the truth, do not understand
it. All these goods have quoted are i'm
ported as we could not buy them so cheap
in this country. Here isa combination that
some street men sell for 20 cents: 'One old
English razor, gilt letters, shell handle, one
extra good hair brush; one shaving-brush.
one shaving-eup with mirror; one dressing
comb and one fine rubber comb Now, YOU
would think that cheap enough at 20 cents,
wouldn't you? Well, sir. it costs the street
men just 80 cents, the whole lot.
Another favorite package with shrewd