Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-12-27


Eve rather got left on the holiday trade, !"
said dealer IN secondhand goods, In answer
TO leading question BY . Stan reporter.
'Or may be ought to have said, on the part
Of the holiday trade that = done before the
holidays Our holiday trade doesn't begin un-
til week or ten days after the holidays are
over"
"How il that?" the reporter inquired
"Well, you see," the dealer continued, 'speo-
pie don't buy Christmas gifts from
Us to any considerable extent, but they
do sell them to us when they get hard up for
cash after the holidays. We always look for q
rush Of trade about this time Of the year. The
articles offered consist mostly Of useless knick-
knacks that were bought for dollars on the
avenue before Christmas, but are gladly sold
for dimes around here on d street few days
after Christmas. A fast follows feast in
nearly all religions, you know, and lots Of
money Is spent for cake and candy during the
holidays that is badly needed to buy bread and
meat later or"
And the old clo' philosopher smiled faint,
economical smile, which had in it about per
cent Of the stuff that ordinary smiles are made
OF. The other 80 per cent consisted Of cynical
satisfaction at the foolishness Of mankind
which brought such good bargains to his coun-
ter.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AT SECONDHAND.
"Do good many musical instruments come
in in the after-the-holidays trader" the reporter
inquired, after carefully watching the rise, de-
cline and gradual dissipation of that curiously
compounded smile, and mentally Analysing it
with the result given above. This question was
suggested by the extensive collection of de-
jected and lost-chordy looking violins, banios,
zithers, accordeons, flies, flutes and comets
that hung on the cross-beams and were huddled
in the windows o. the shop.
Eyes, they go in the soup with the rest" the
dealer antwered, with a feeling of evident
pride that If his goods were mostly second
hand, his slang was as fresh as the New York
market afforded. "People scrape their new
violins or pick their banjos for q few days. get
tired of them, want little money, and bring
them around here and sell them. OF course,
this is the case with musical instruments all the
year round as well as after the holidays and
explains why you see 80 many of them in pawn
shops and secondhand stores. There are
secondhand dealers who handle an inferior
line OF musical instruments, but don't do it.
Here he evidently struck another philosophy
pocket in his mind and paused to get the mug
gets out. The reporter didn't disturb these
mental mining operations. feeling certain that
the ore would soon be turned out for his in
spection. He was right.
WHY so MANY OF THEM GO THAT Way
$50 many people think how nice it would be
to learn to play the violin or banjo or some
other instrument" the dealer resumed, "and
off they go and buy the particular one that
catches their fancy. Most Of them who take
hnoH sudden an1th,g freaks al tor h music dom.
they start in with great enthusiasm
to master the whole theory and practice in six
weeks. If they keep it up for two weeks they
do well. Then they find that it's hard work, and
that the violin or the banjo, as the case may be,
isn't near as fine an instrument as ttey thought.
The instrument knocks around the house for a
few weeks longer, the people get tired of seeing
1t, and then 1t comes to us. That's the s..c-y Of
good share of the instruments you see here. {"
How is your business generally" the re-
porter asked.
THIS BAD MARKET FOR SECONDHAND GOODS,
bad, very bad" was the answer. ''There
are too many Of US in Washington. US all
buying and little selling. The people we sell
to are nearly altogether negroes of the poorest
class. In New York, now, respectabla white
men who make good money don't feel
where they Know they can buy for go
an overcoat that elsewhere would cost them
York. But here in Washington even the poor
est white workmen seem to have too mach
pride to buy anything secondhand Most Of
the colored people are just as proud, and il is
only with the poorer class Of the latter that We
do any business"
"Then New York is good second hand CLOTH
ing market, Ii ltT the reporter inquired
NEW YORK THE GREATEST IN THE WORLD.
81 believe it is the greatest in the world" the
dealer answered. 81 have done business in
London, but I think New York beats it. In the
west you can't sell secondhand clothing. I
know men who opened stores in Chicago and
did well for while but as it became generally
known that they dealt in secondhand goods
their trade went all to pieces, and they had to
give it up. New York ships great quantities of
secondhand clothing to the south, where the
negroes, unlike those Of Washington, buy it
readily.
II suppose You can sell almost anything to
the poor ignorant blacks in the back country
through the south?" remarked the STAR man.
mo, you can't" the dealer answered. mo
matter how ignorant the negroes may be- thew
do know what good cloth is. You can't sell
them cotton stnf made up showily to
look like wooden SUITS They can find
all wool or not. don't know how they learned
it, but they certainly are good judges Of cloth.
You can fool the average American workman
with cotton or cotton mixed goods quicker
than You can southern darkey. Ike Irish,
too, are usually good judges of cloth.
mo, don't do a pawn-shop business" he
said In answer to question by the reporter
but" he continued with an insinuating smile
in confidential tone of voice, ~ can buy any,
thing you have to sell, and you can get it back
again when you want it. Let me see that over
coat-sleeves worn little threadbare and but
ton-holes frayed-I couldn't give you much on
it. My gracious, the lining is all gone-it
would need lot OF repairing. couldn't give
you much"
"Never mind, said the reporter, 81 don't
want to sell. It's warm tonight, but it may be
cold day tomorrow, and this coat has got to
see me through. Good night"