Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-09-21
SECONDHAND CLOTHING.
The Supply i'm Washington Kept Up by
Shipments From New York.

lawfully stylish pair Of pants that" said the
shop clerk. originally the property Of a
New York dude who made il . rule never "a
wesr his trousers more than three times. So,
you see, these are sill bat hrand-new; must
have cost Sl6 at first hand aud you are getting
them for 81. WHY. it's deplorabls sacrificed
Observe them siripes.-the very latest fashion,
only last spring.
And the counter jumper held up the gaudy
hand-me-dOwns before the fascinated gaze OF
an elderly colored man in a battered stovepipe
hat and linen duster. The latter examined
them inside and outside with the most anxious
delberstion. made grave inquiries as to the
strength and quality OF the cloth and finally
expressed disquietnde regarding the lining.
"herenpon the clerk. with a dexterous jerk.
pulled another pair of unmentionables in loud
checks from shelf overhead and spread them
out seduetively. The customer looked from one
pair to the other in evident bewilderment.
which was acatsly aggravated when a third
pair, IN Ugh. salmon color, was dangled in
'front.' OF has eyes. Quite three-quarters of an
hour was spent in making a choice the light
sainon-coiored trousers being at length de-
clded upon. wrapped up aud paid for Then.
finding himself no longer occupied the clerk
went ont upon the front sidewalk. where coats.
walstcoats and pantaloons hung in PROPULSION
from above, ike ripe fruit ready 20 be
piucke1 and informed q STAR reporter
whom he found there that the latter was in Sc
rious need of a new suit OF clothes Upon as
certainlng, however. that he was addressing
one OF the guild which eschews new SUIT OF
clothes the shop clerk refrained from pressing
the point and politely changed the subject re-
marking that the colored people were always
very hard to please when they bought clothing.
particularly to their trousers. He even
found 1t necessary to have certain patterns in
what he spoke OF as pants TO suit their taste.
cAsT-oFF GARMENTS FROM NEW YORK
"Do you have many of the cast-of garments
Of New York dudos for sale?" asked the news
paper man, playfuly.
I'VE really do get not a few such, /" replied
the youth.
''lou see. we procure all our goods from New
York city, as do other firms that do big bust
ness in secondhand clothing in Washington.
Some firms here gather their stock around the
city, but We do not. because the laws of the Dis
tries make it necessary 10 report in writing
every article OF the sort bought here. in
order to prevent stolen goods from being dis
posed OF, and this Is an endless bother. We pre-
fer to 60 on to New YORK and buy what we want
In big quantities from the Wholesale dealers"
But from what sources do the Wholesale men
obtain their suppliesg'
Il was just about to tell you. great many
secondhand clothes are bought ia New York
by peddiers, who 30 about the city asking
from door to door for cast-off garments. The
women are usually rather over ready than
otherwise to dispose of the men folks things.
such As they suppose may be done without. Tor
a trihe in cash. OF course the pedLler never
gives a cent more than he can help. and it is
his business to get the better of the haggle.
Whom ne gets an armful of goods he takes them
to the Wholesale man and receives what they
ars worth. There is no hssging there. To
an expert garment has a vaiue that IS eyide Mt
az glance TO a cents worth. Ii the fac b.
Ionabls young men do not themselves
sell their clothing to the pedders the latter are
apt to buy them from the Wallets. VINO cannot
very well wear them all. Why. there was a
case brought up the other day in a New York
court Of valet hauled mp for stealing MS mas
ters clothes. The matter was heard of by an
other young swell who had employed the same
valet SIX months before. Ii occurred to MIN
.hen that something of his own might have
been taken. and upon looking he found to his
surprise that thirty-three entire suits were
missing from his wardrobe. lie mad so many
that In six months he had not discovered the
loss"
GOOD THINGS FROM THE PAWN sHoP.
"And do the wholesale men get all their
stock from the peddlers?'
''Oh, no. The chief source Of supply is the
pawn shops and that will account for the ex-
cellent condition in which the better grades OF
secondhand garments are found They are
not hung up by their owners with the inton-
ton OF dispensing with them, but with the in
tenticn OF getting them out when money is not
SO tight And, generally speaking the suit or
overcoat that goes to the pawnbroker is a good
one. for the reason that fair amount in cash
can DE obtained on it, while shabby things
would not fetch what is required TO relieve the
immediate necessity. But tor reasons familiar
enough large percentage of the garments
pawned in this way are never recovered and
are sold at periodical auctions to the wholesale
men, who come and bid for them. The retail
dealers, like ourselves. 60 to the wholesale es-
adjustments and buy in quantities. as anv
other goods are bought. vita an eve to what
we require for our special class OF trade. For
frst-cisss goods our customers pay Us on ar
average, about 40 per cent of the tailor :
original charge for making the clothes"
The garments, suppose. all go through
some sort Of renovation after coming from tbs
pawnbroker's and before being sold!' queriod
the reporter.
Yes; the Wholesale men attend to that; it Is
an important part Of t-sir business. Every
thing mas to so through thorough cleaning
process, and whatever needle, thread and but
tons can do to make each garment look like
new is done. Hats and shoes are gathered Just
as coats and pants are. and are doctored up Tor
sale in the same manner. There is very little
outer clothing IN the world that is not worn BIZ
more than two people successfully before 1t
goes TO the refuse heap. Perhaps you never
thought of thatl'