The morning call., 1890-06-17
THE ASHMAN.
An Honorable Calling That Has
Paid Well in Times Past.

There Is a class Of contractors which Is
as Indispensable to the housekeeper with
any pretension 10 neatnesS as the butcher,
the grocer and the vegetable man. That
class comes under the head OF the ashman-by
many called the swiliman. He must be en-
ployed at every residence where cleanliness pre-.
walls, for accumulations of ashes and refuse
from cooking, ETC., are unheard Of things in these
places Whether he comes once week or once
a fortnight, he gets there just the same. After a
fashion the ashman is sort OF aut0crat, because
il you deal unkndy with him you generally have
an amount OF debris on your premises and you
will find II hard TO get sub stitute, for his breth
want 10 know who the last cOnveyOr OF
refuse was, why he was discharged M the why
and wheiefor OF dozen different things They
are very clannisb and protect their own well
as their colleagues interests.
"Well, should say that ought TO know some-
thing OF Inc ashman IN general IN this city, SAID
Thrifty grocer to the writer, for it was in his
line of business that l made The first money
which started me on the road to a comfortable
fortune. l was an ashman in early days aud
Pm not ashamed Of II, because 1t was an honest
way TO lay aside small fortune. But then
money was more plentiful, the followers OF that
line OF business fewer and the facilities for
dumping debris much better. Tell you that in
early days the ting of swll and ashes was not
our only compensation, for many valuable ar
tcle We found III the ash barrel and many a dol
lar we gained from the trnkets. Even to-day
there are many valuable articles found by the
ashman.
l still take great interest III c0nyerslng with my
former associates honestly take delight in rid
ing down 10 the foot OF Seventh street, where the
debris Is now dumped and join In their chat.
Probably sometimes six or eight of these
people meet at once, and generally when
they have got rid OF their load, they sit
down In circle and discuss their business az
fairs over fat demijohn OF claret ana French
bread and cheese. Most Of them are Italians
and hold aloof from other natonallties. OF
course the Conversations OF to-day are not as
large by Tar as what they used TO Do"
How do you account for Ihat?' inquired the
writer
/" There are TWO reasons for that. One is COM
petition, resulting from the increasing number
OF ashmen reducing the amount paid from dol
lar to half and finally 10 twenty-five cents.
Then, too, the cart has 10 be driven much fur
Their distance TO deposit the load. Formerly,
when the dumping place was at North Beach,
the contractor found II very handy. and, OF
course, his business was on larger scale, for
lie always has as much business as he can attend
to-"
speaking about their business honesty, In
what light do you consider it?" asked the scribe.
Very good. indeed" was lie response. They
never Try TO Guido each other. II party moves
from house aud and new one moves In the
Old asnnan sollcits The trade and no other inter-
ieres. The same rue exists with the house
which the parties have moved from. Each
driver seems to have his own district and does
not infringe on tie others. But they nave
formed sort Of union among themselves TO pre-
vent being swindled Many in the past who
have trusted old customers have been dUped by
the latter moving away. Now In their discus
siOuS at tue uulupS tlcl give iulOlIldllOu vi hDO
Is bad pay aud the party thus informed on Is pub
on the iIStf'
"You spoke of valuabIes even being found
nowadays. What are they generality"
Numerous and various. IL you could only
take TIP up TO the Italian quarter you would
think so. Nothing is more convincing OF willlul
extravaganza than that which Is there displayed.
Not long ago l visited the home Of one Of these
ashmen Green street, near Dupont. Ii
surprising TO see the contrast between the
terror and the interior. small apartment used
as 4 sitIng-room was perfectly crowded with the
most expensive articles. Here tine Dresden
ware, there graceful siatuetteS, plush table,
covers, beautiful vases, oil paintings and hand
painted placques adOrnIng tue room. They all
seemed 10 bespeak esthetlc tastes, though
i'll reality they were gatherings from The
dumps. 1t would take a keen eye TO
note any Disagreement on them, for 1t only
consisted OF SILT, chip or faint scratch or
a little tarnish on the frames or SLIGHT blue on
the pictures Vel all these costly things had
been consigned to the ash pile because OF a
slight defect. Cut glass adorned the kitchen OF
this tenement, as did also silver aud gold lined
ware but slightly used, While costly cords and
tassels, scent bags and the most expensive OF
everything could be seen In this place, which
outside resembed howell.
zone other thing | viii tell you. There
have been several propositions MADE 10 aShmen
to sell their routes the idea OF the proposers
being TO form a syndicate controlling the bust
ness; but the ashman is TOO Independent, and
does not want 10 give UP his occupation. Why,
a good man easily clears from $500 month up
IN this business. aud yet 10 look ut them you
would not think that they were worth cent"