San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-01-14
BUSINESS IN RUSSIA.

A certain man in Russia had the
heart of lion, and as the sequel will
prove, was indeed a man of nerve. e. 1t
seems he had some capital, and con-
ceiving the idea of advancing money
to mothers and fathers on their child
rem, he announced his new business
and started in. He placed large
sign over the counter informing the
public of the fact that no money
would be loaned on children over six
months old. This last was hard and
10 doubt retarded his business. At
first his trade was rather slow, and
the poor mothers with hungry eyes
would pass his door with their little
popsey wopsies wrapped in rags, but
clasped to their bosoms, (strange that
poor people have so much feeling for
their poor children) and yet they had
not the heart to 60 in and get the
money they SO badly needed. Finally
one poor woman ventured in. She be-
held long rows of comfOrta bic cradles
on each side of the room. Sew
eral attendants were arranging some
small bottles with rubber tubes
and placing one in each cradle. An
other was dipping some condemned
milk from a rusty can and putting a
homeopathic dose in each bottle at
tached; she tremblingly borrowed
a few rubles, after seeing her baby
Ulcketed and tucked up in cradle,
which then went to rocking automati-
cally. The baby was now safely
connected with the rubber tube and
the yells which the kind Uncle inspir-
al noacaI Tho mpoI xynp,an firmly hnt
rapidly went away to get something
to eat and to forget that she had any
thing in soak. In this particular in
stance the woman who was
only mother for this occasion made
an honsst penny from the
sure enough mother of said
infant and from the unsophis-
ticated pawnbroker as well. But it
seems the generous broker knew W hat
he was about, and as he did not feed
the youngster for a few days, the fact
became known that he had some
lively collateral ON hand, and other
mothers brought their dear little
snoozers and deposited them with
their kind Uncle, but usually took
them out before they had time to
starve to death entirely. Finally the
good man became famous and had
baby in every cradle two in some)
and the shelves were full and the
broker was full (of grief and yet do
ing a good business all the time. No
one ever asked the direction to their
good Uncle's place of business. No
mother ever required search war
rant, as she always knew the particu-
lar yell of her offspring. AS soon as
stranger landed in the town
and the engine stopped whistling,
the direction of this good mans
premises could be at once noted by
a firm, but loud yell, prolonged and
intense. Just follow the yell and
you found the place whence it
emanated. To step into the office
was exciting; fifteen or twenty moth
ers and grandmothers standing
around with their tickets ready and
anXiousIy enquiring is the time on
Konusky out yet? Another was
pOint ting to a red-headed baby, and
wild with rage because the stupid
clerk had hung HIM on a peg, head
downward. This being thirty day
loan, the woman claimed it would
not come under the HEAD
down the goods, the obliging clerk
ran a darning needle few inches in
to the cloth, which proved, beyond
doubt, that the article was still there,
though nearly run out. Another I'M
reasonable depOsitOr was kicking be-
cause the clerk brought her baby out
of the cold cellar, wrapped n an old
newspaper with the tag pinned to
his foot. The poor broker had run
short of cash and sold the traps for
dues.
There is an end to everything,
and although the broker was a good
man and quiet himself, the neighbors
got Jealous of the thousand of rubles,
aud the good times he was having so
much of; they now became unreason-
able because they had to go out of
town with their customers to make
them hear anything, or to write it on
slate very plain. The merchant
who sold fire crackers, kicked
when on exploding a pack, no one
would have known it, but for the
sparks that were seen, and smoke
that rose. So, finally these unreasOn-
able people actually petitiOned the
grand head mogul, who had the
philanthropical baby pawnshop closed
for repairs, after which the stock did
not bring 10 cents on the rouble.
P. S. I forgot to add that an ear
doctor in the neighborhood is still
having a fine practice. We don't loan
on babies, but we loan on most any,
thing else, don't misunderstood US, J
and we have fine stock of forfeited
pledges, mo babies thought on hand,
at your own figures. Mr.. Emerson, the
senior member of the firm is with US
for short time. and has some fine