The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-12-15
CITY PEDDLERS.
AN ARMY OF LICENSED VEND-
ERS IN NEW YORK.
Some Account of the Men Who do
the Selling-Variety of Goods
in Which They Deal
The License System.

carts and cries of the peddlers, hawkers,
venders, and hucksters in this city is
made by only 4, 6Tl men and boys. Such,
however, is the fact indicated by study
of the books of the Mayors marshal.
From the din which the hawkers make
in crying their wares, and the frequency
with which their push carts and trays are
met in the most crowded thoroughfares,
one would say at venture that there
could not be less than million of these
peripatetc merchants. AS is, however,
probably not less than 20, COZ persons are
dependent, directly or indirectly, upon
the chance sales of these curbstone vend-
ers, whose names are all in the Mayors
marshal's books, and whose license fees
are to them tax infinitely greater in
proportion to their volume of business
than is that which Mr.. Jay Gould is
called upon to pay.
Under the provisions of the broad and
somewhat loosely drawn law huckster
may peddle from a wagon, cart, basket,
or tray any kind of merchandise, the sale
OF which is not prohibited or restricted
by law. Gunpowder, kerosene oil, and
liquors, for instance, are otherwise pro-
vidcd for, and the street vender cannot
handle them. He may vend anything
from clans to jewelry, ard there is truly
nothing that may be carried about in
big basket, trundled in hand cart, or
drawn in wagon that is not offered for
sale through the streets of New York.
Numerous among the street venders
ere the fruit peddlers. At every popu-
lous street corner may be found basket
or astand heaped up and made attractive
with its display of fruits in season. It's
not many years since the street sales of
fruit were in the hands of Irish women,
whose stands were deep baskets with
false bottoms some two or three inches
from the top. This device gave the ap-
pearance of heaping basketful OF apples
to shallow veneer of the red-cheeked
fruit spread out over the deceptive tray.
A good many pipe. smoking old women
may be still found at certain street cor
ners, wLere they have been known for
years, and where two generations of
workmen have bought cakes and apples
at noon time; but it is noticeable that
the Italians are getting pretty complete
possession of the fruit business, and the
Ir sh venders are working at the trades
or going into politics.
A great ma .ority of the peddlers in
the streets ore Italians, and for the rest
there are very few Americans in the busi-
hess. From the records it appears that
licenses have been issued to Italians,
Irishmen, Turks, Bohemians, Poles,
Greeks, Frenchmen, Armenians, Ger
mans, and some few Americans. Not
e single Chinaman or Japanese IS on the
list. Foreigners seem to succeed at
this business, and especially is this
true of the Italians and Polanders, be-
cause they can maintain themselves
longer on small sales and small profits
until they have successfully established
themselves on paying basis. An Ital-
isn will open fruit stand at first per.
haps with the earnings Of his blacking
box, and will tend it day and night,
sleeping at his post and sustaining him
self upon the overripe fruit as it becomes
unstable. In this way nine mills out of
every cent is profit, and so he thrivcs.
The Italians, too, have knack of dis
playing fruit ternptingly. Perhaps an
other reason why the fruit stand business
is controlled by the Italians, is that the
capitalists of that race are largely inter
ested in the importation of tropical fruits.
1t is no doubt by reason of the frugal
habit, of the Italians that they are ena-
bled to prosper at blacking shoes, selling
papers, peanuts, plaster casts, and va
riety of other articles. The Poles and
Bohemians hold Their own in the sus-
pendcr and sLocstring market, however.
The business Of the street vender and
huckster has grown to be of so much
consequence of late years that depots or
stores have been opened to supply
hawkers with wares other than fruits
and candies. On certain days all the
push carts about town will be laden
with knives; on another day with imita
tion Russian leather note boJks and
purses; again with glassware, Or with
lead pencils, or last years diaries, travel
ing caps, Autographs, song books, or
suspenders. The penny ballad dealer is
a relic of bygone days, who remains as
reminder of primitive time when there
were no patented novelties of thousand
kinds TO be had at every curb :tone, and
when ballad writing was more OF an in
dustry than it is now.
But the venders who congregate in
crowded stree. and beset the public ear
with praises of the trinkcts that they
offer, arc dumb and lovable as compa ed
with the huckster who with berries,
watermelons. apples, fresh fish, or clans
drives his rattling old wagon through
the uptown streets, believing and howl
ing in a way that the most hardened
nerves cannot stand. He brings one to
the window by the sheer force of his
agonizing shrek, and like the wedding
guests whom the ancient m lriner
stopped. "he cannot choose but hear"
1t is in the carly morning when the huck-
ster goes through the streets carolling
like steam caIliope, that outraged citiz-
ems wish Tor fire arms and hand gren-
ades.
But there is in the town an interesting
vender whom no one hates, and who
goes quietly and decently about his bust
ness without unnecessary talk or noise.
That is the hot wa lie man. Hating his
wagon at the curb, hungry crowds al
ways besicgc him before he has had to
cali his wares; and dipping the batter
from big bowl and pouring it into the
hot mold, he turns out well-browned
and very hot wa fes just about as fast as
the people about his wagon can fish the
nickels of their pockets. He is regarded
as friend by great many downtown
clerks and office boys.
The buttcrmilk man rides about in a