The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-04-22
OUT OF WORK.
HARD TIMES" THE LEGEND IN EVERY
BUSINESS LINE.
Story OF Discharged Clerk at Starvation
PoInt-A Picture from the Panorama
Of COntempOraneOus HUI
man Distress.
r1oe Howard in Philadelphia Press.l

tJoe Howard in Philadelphia Press
The fact OF the business is-and what folly
it is TO deny it-that in every line Of trade
hard times is the legend. Every stOrekeepar in
New York city, from Tiffany s. Co., with
their 80, 900, 900 Of stock, down to the hum
bic jeweler on Park row, will tell you, as
many Of them have told me, that never in
all their experience was trade so dull, and
profit so small The butchers in Washington
market even complain; the clothiers that
line Broadway and the Bowery were filled
with criticisms of the times. In all the ex-
perience Of the pawn-brokers, there never
was so continuous a procession Of "please
let me have something on this" as they have
encountered during the past six months, and
as bids fair to be greater and worse in its de-
Velopements than the panorama of contem-
poraneous human distress now unfolded be-
fore the eyes of the average publicist.
A friend of mine was smoking a cigar Of
breakfast solace this morning, looking
through the pane of wonder upon the street
of unoccupancy, when he saw a middle
aged man, well-dressed, with no overcoat.
The man looked at him for moment,
touched his hat, assembled the steps and
rang the bell My friend went to the door
himself.
"What do you wants"
@Work
81 have no work for you"
"Won't you kindly allow me to clean the
snow from your door, steps and side
waIkm
'What will you do it forg'
"For my breakfast"
Now that tells the story. Here was an in
telligent man, well dressed, though without
an oyercoat, who wanted work wherewith he
might fill his own stomach with satisfactory
food. He cleaned the steps with broom and
shovel borrowed from my friend. He cleaned
the sidewalk, and the cutters, and then
he came to the basement door for his
breakfast compensation. Ny friend had
the table put in the far corner of the
room and an appetizing and satisfying break
fast spread, but the poor devil was too
chilled to enjoy it. After a while :he thawed
out, and, two or three cups Of coffee
bracing him, he tackled the liver and
bacon, the baked potatoes and biscuit
before him Mellowed somewhat, he
regarded my friend, who had
smoked and fused around the apartment
gently, with cOntemporaneous human inter-
est, whereupon my friend, who is man and
a brother. said: whats the meaning of
this? Why are you seeking employment for
this kind of pay?' To which answered the
stranger: II was clerk in Blank & Co. s, u
namir one of the greatest dry goods retail
firms on Sixth avenue, "and have been for
With thirty others l was discharged, last
week, on forty-eight hours notice. I had
spent all my money, and, for the sake of
sending some to my parents in Connecticut,
had anticipated my salary, by the courtesy
of the cashier, so that, when l was dis
charged, l had nothing coming to me.
Il pAwned my overcoat, for it was mild
last week. / pawned my watch, and on
Saturday night found 1 had nothing.
borrowed something of chum, and started
| out to get work have been to every great
I dry goods store and every little shop where
l had been previously known, but IN every
! place was met by the words, We are dis
! charging, not hiring men, You may not be-
Iieve it, but haven't eaten morsel in forty
eight hours, and, in despair, seeing you at
| your window, Iventured to make the request
that you would permit me for my breakfast
( to shovel off your snow"
My friend believed his story, and gave him
! a dollar. But, bless your heart, what's q
| dollar7 Fortunately, this man was not
| married He has no wife, no children, nc
home to support. Suppose he had. Where
| would he be tonight? Where would he have
been last night when the heavens were
opened with storm, when the clouds burst
/ upon us with magnificent development OF
snow, whirled hither and thither by the
| winds, sent hither by the whirlwinds, eddy
ing up and ebbing down, until the very city
was buried and every spire in all the town
was a magnificent picture for an artist-but
not much of a picture for a hungry devil
with wife and children and an unpaid rent