Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1885-06-04
At the Dumps.
$1,000 YEAR FROM THE ASH BARRELS.
THINGS FOUND IN A GREAT CITy's REFUSE.
New York SUM-

| New York sun.
! The ash barrels of the city. before their
contents are finally dumped into the sea, are
made To Yield quite S5.O00 a year TO nearly
100 Italians VINO handle the refuse at the
dumps. This is exclusive of the rag picking
/ in the streets. which still goes ON in spite Of
police prohibition. The city gets its share
o! the profit. The work of trimming the
scows, or in other words, cf packing the
| dirt evenly before they are sent out to sea,
is sold by the city to one Tom Roach for
Sl20 week Roach hires the privilege of
sorting over the refuse as the carts dump
their loads aud picking out what is worth
having. He is, however, merely the middle
man. and Jose Cicarilla. an Italian, is the
real contractor. He pays TO Roach, or his
equivalent, bonus Of $40 week for his
contract. and hires sufficient number of
his countrymen at from - to - week to
do the work. At present his staff embraces
- men, whose duty it is to sort over and
trim daily scow load of refuse at each
dump, exclusive Of the waste paper gather
ers, who form sort OF skirmishing line at
The dumps. helping a little, and receiving a
p,ttance of 81 or 81 30 a week from the sub
find. The aggregate amount of money paid
to this army OF scavengers in the course of
the year b, their boss is between $50, 900
and S1O0Do Some of them live under the
dumps, others IN cheap tenements, al IN
sqnhior and misery.
Rags and bones are the principal sources
of revenue OF the ash heaps. Some rags
are much more valuable than others. but,
taken a, whole. the, bring a cent and IA
quarter pound. The loss IN weight caused
hy the new order 10 wash them before they
are packed IN bags and sent to the junk
shops, and the extra pay Of four men who
are needed TO handle the baskets, are more
than made up for by the greater yield since
the police made their systematic rad on the
h-barre ag-plckers- Though hooks are
pied slNlY, Vet IN every street a change has
been worked Seventy five or eighty rsk-
pckers have been locked up in station cells
ior dISobeling the law. and in Little Italy
It : beginning to be understood that the
health cttccis mean business.
Bones thut stand next upon the list and
are scrupulou.ly saved by the delivers, bring
go cents a barrel a. material for bone black
knife handles and hIttons. They are exported
"a closed wagons, principally 70 Grow Hllt,
across the rt,er, where the charcoal factories
are. VINO, bottles are quoted at - cents.
and broken clear glass at a quarter barrel.
IniA recently In cans we're an important
source II r,,,nur. al the rate Of SIX or
seven dollar. a bl. lond the supply be-
inp unlimited. Bat now they ar. drug
"A tn. market ma Are left to the
,t,,, hrrr workers. Tney have had their
day
The east ,ld,r. a presen, resident of First
Avenue. Nh, fri, saw visions of wealth
II til, IN and solder Of ,mpry preserve
cans r.alz.d hi, dream. He has retired
with a ,nu, fortune. TN, waste paper,
too !. I,.pi..I M M. ,rImmer.. and !. left
ii ihr >kirmI,h,r,. who sell il for wha, they
ran .,.r
Ju>t now !. CicarIl,', harvest time.
n uoyin, time Aid When p-ople prepare 10
,,,,n tb,. r,,l,ir, ,r ar,. coming hack lot.