Bismarck weekly tribune., 1889-01-04
OUR NEW / YORK LETTER.
WHAT BECOMES OF THE OLD
CLOTHES OF NEW YORK
An "Old Clo''' Magnate-The Clothes That
Are Turned In by Sneak Thieves Men
Who Sell Their Clothes-what Becs mes
Of the Swells, Clothes.
Especial Correspond

: ! Il
Especial Correspondence
New YORK, Dec "a You who have won
dered ct what becomes Of old clothes or have
puzzled over the business done by the ped
dler, who gives foolish women 10 cent vases
for their husbands $50 overcoats, need but
to go to Bayard street, near Elizabeth, in
the busiest part Of New York city, to find
your questions answered on scale so vast
! as to be astounding. The street is narrow,
dirty, foul smelling and hideous Il is one
of the two outlets from Mulberry Bend and
Baxter Bend to the Bowery All day it is
crowded by the votaries Of trade, and all night
by those of vice. limits most crowded quarter
sasmall, tumble down frame building, which
seems always on the point Of falling apart.
Leading to the basement below the uneven
sidewalk is flight of stone steps, once rough
but now smooth and polished by the count
less feet of ascending and descending visi-
tors The basement, or cellar, runs back ap-
parently as far as the house. In front it re-
ceives listle daylight from the street, but
everywhere else it's illumination comes from
smoking gas jets. Everywhere are clothes
piled up in vast heaps. out Of which come the
sallow men aud pallid women who renovate
the goods and prepare them for market
Down the stone steps marches an army of
clothes peddlers They are Of every race and
type. Most Of them are the itinerants of
glassware and china fame described, but be-
side these are clerks from tailor stores, meg
sengers from slop shops and sweaters, sneak
thieves, low fences" Tor receivers Of stolen
goods, and salesmen from other establish
ments.
Nearly every man carries on his arm the
goods he has bought, bartered, begged or
stolen during the previous twenty four hours.
Some is broadcloth from Fifth avenue. and
some rags from the Five Points Each ar
ranges his load so as to facilitate the work Of
the 'boss" of this cellar. For the buyer,
manager, bouncer and proprietor is one and
the same person. He is large, muscular
and rather fine looking man with profusion
of rich but tawdry jewelry and gems about
his person. He sits in heavy oak arm
chair near the doorway, so as to
have the sunlight fall upon the goods
he buys He wastes no words nor
even courtesy in his trade. As the would be
seller approaches, he quickly seizes and in
spects the goods, offers a price and his work
is over: II the seller accepts. the money Is
ready for him there and then If not he turns
and goes without word. The men who will
bargain and chatter by the hour with their
customers never waste time in that manner
among themselves. Though the buyer sell
dom ceases judging and offering, he never
leaves his chair, unless it be to " fire out" q
tramp or a sneak thief. Hours at a time his
monotonous words flow out to the single file
OF sellers that reaches from him up the steps
/, to the sidewalk. The talk, though monoton-
Gus, is full Of interest-and grammatical er-
rors. Twenty-Five for them pants Ten
lot <Hf 1,n,,o +
no buns around One and quarter for that
coat refused them pants yesterday don't
work this racket second time now or I'll
shut you out of my trade altogether. Two
dollars for that overcoat. Skip away there,
you blank thief; won't take your stuff
at no price, and don't come around here
again; can't afford to have the fly cops
nosing In my store. One dollar for that coat
and vest Three dollars for that overcoat.
Take away that suit; I don't want it. Two
and half for that coat and pants. Fifteen
cents for that vest. Twenty for them pants.
Three dollars for that newmarket One Of
the clerks said: This is really a wholesale
second hand clothing place. Originally it
was q retail store, like hundred others in
this part of the city. It did good business
and the proprietor prospered. When he had
enough money to carry on large operations
he opened a wholesale business, which has
been growing ever since. There are only q
few other places Of the same sort in this
country, but there are a great many in
Europe.
'Where do second hand clothes come from2
From every place where there are men. Very
few come from the great swells They wear
their costumes much longer than is commonly
supposed, and then give them to their SER
!, wants. The best grade comes from middle
aged business men. They are careless. and
spot and soil their wearing apparel in no
time. They are too lazy to do their own
cleaning, too independent to keep valet to
do it for them and too proud to send their
stuff around to a professional scourer. Pawn
brokers receive and dispose Of great many
clothes, but Of second rate stuff and even
lower. The first class stuff is always re-
deemed; in fact, much Of it is left there on
storage, the men in that business taking il
possible more pains and precautions than the
great tailors on Broadway. Thieves bring Q
good deal, but much less than you'd suppose
They almost always 60 through what they
steal and empty the pockets and cut out any
makers name, or owners initials or indelible
ink marks. Sometimes when they are in a
great hurry they won't 60 to this trouble.
It's only then that we run chance of finding
anything in the pockets or concealed in tho
lining Do you know that men leave more
inside the Innings Of their vests, coats and