Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-12-26

A Quiet Man-The Noisy Fellows-Few
American PeddIsrs.
II Is difficult to believe that all the noise
and confusion occasioned BY the carts and
cries Of the peddlers, hawkers, venders, and
hucksters in the city Is made by only 5,671
men and boys. Such, however, is the fact
indicated by study of the books Of the
mayors marshal. From the din which
tho hswkers 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
1000, 900 of these peripatetic merchants. As
it is, however probably not less than ~, 900
persons are dependent, directly or indirectly,
upon the chance sales Of these curbstons
venders, whose names are all In the mayors
marshal's books, and whose license fees are
to them, a tax infinitely greater in proper
ton to their volume of business than is that
which Mr.. Jay Gould is called upon to pay.
Numerous among the street venders are
the fruit peddlers. At every populous
street corner may be found a basket or
stand heaped up and made attractive with
its display Of fruits in season. It Is not
many years since the street sales OF fruits
were in the hands of the Irish women, whose
stands were deep baskets with false bot
toms some two or three inches from the
top. This device gave the appearance Of
a heaping basketful Of apples to a shallow
veneer of the red checked fruit spread out
over the deceptive tray. A good many
pipe smoking old women may be still found
at certain street corners, where 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 COM
plete possession OF the fruit business, and
the Irish venders are working at the
trades or going into politics
ITALIANS AND PoLANDERs.
A great majority of the oeddlers in ths
streets are Italians, anu for the rest there
are very few Americans in the business
From the records it appears tina. licenses
have been issued to Italians, Irishmen,
Turks, Bohemians, Poles, Greeks, French
men, Armenians, Germans, and some few
Americans. Not a 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,
because they can maintain themselves
longer on small sales and small profits until
they have successfully established them
selves on a paying basis. An Italian will
open a fruit stand at first, perhaps with
the earnings Of his blacking box, and will
tend it day and night, sleeping at his post
and sustaining himself upon the over ripe
fruit as it becomes unstable In this way
nine mills out Of every cent is profit, and
SO he thrives. The Italians, too have .
knack of displaying fruit temptingly. Per
hapS another reason why the fruit stand
business is controlled by the Italians, is
that the capitalists Of that race are now
largely interested in the importation of
tropical fruits
The business OF the street vender and
huckster has grown to bs Of so much con-
sequence of late years that dspOts 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 imitation Russian leather note books
and purses; again with glassware, or with
lead pencils, or last years diaries, travel
ing caps, Autographs, song books, or sus-
penders. The penny ballad dealer Is q
relic Of bygone days, who remains as a re-
minder OF q primitive time when there
were no patented novelties Of q thousand
kinds to be had at every curbstOns, and
when ballad writing WAS more Of an indus
try than it is now.
But the venders who congregats in
crowded streets and b,-set the public ear
with praises of the trinkets that they offer,
arc dumb and lovable as compared with
the huckster who with berries, watermel-
ons, apples, fresh fish or CLAIMS drives his
rattling old wagon through the up town
streets, believing and bowling in . 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
Mariner stopped, He cannot choose but
hear" Il is in the eVly morning when
this huckster goes through the streets car
rolling like a steam calliope, that outraged
citizens wish for fire arms and hand gren-
AIDES.
THE HOT wAFFLE NAN
But there is in the town an interesting
vender whom no one hates, and who goes
quietly and decently about his business
without unnecessary talk or nose. That is
the hot waffle man. Hating his wagon at
the curb, hungry crowds always besiege
ne nt~u 10 J6l
wares; and dipping the batter from big
bowl and pouring it into the hot mould,
he turns out well Drowned and very hot
waffles Just about as fast as the people
about his wagon can fish the nickels out of
their pockets He is regarded as . friend
by great many downtown clerks and
office boys.
The buttermilk man rides about In q
wagon which looks a good deal like big
chemical fire engine. Shelves at the sides
afford standing room for the glasses from
which on a hot day good many gallons of
butterrmlk are drunk. There Is another
wagon, shaped like large bottle, in which
an attendant sits and dispenses temperance
drinks, hot or cold.
The shoestring peddlers, though never
seen to sell anything, are very numerous in
Park row and lower Broadway. Thick
punches of leather ties of various grades
and sizes are hung by brass pins from the
peddlers's breast, while in each hand he
carries a long bunch of leather strings,
which is always in motion like the tail Of
horse in fly time. These peddlers are all
Polish Jews.
The most prosperous peddler in town is
probably a man who haunts the neighbor-
hood OF the Stock, Produce, and Cotton
exchanges, selling diamonds to rich brokers,
who think they know a bargain when they
see one. Many of the venders in that part
Of the town do well, and some of them are
thrifty. When Wall street man wants
anything the price is rarely consideration,
and the huckster profits by this freehanded-
ness The peddlers in the neighborhood
of the exchanges are mostly Irish or Ameri-
can. The Hebrew peddlers rarely have the
fnesse necessary in pushing q bargain
with q broker The characteristic per-
sistence of the Hebrew is apt to defeat him.
New York Sun.