The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-06-18
THE BEGGING BUSINESS.
A POLICEMAN COMMENTS UPON
THAT AND OTTER SUBJECTS.

What a policeman doesn't know is
oftentimes past finding out. He is a
travelling junk shop of scrap informa-
ton; peripatetic encyclopedia of mis-
cellaneous bits Of knowledge. As a rule
he isn't much up on theology or science,
"'cause he never had no show" in that
| line, but on the hows and whens and
on about him he has pretty tight
grip" If you know how to go to him,
you can learn great deal more than the
way to the pavilion or what time the last
car leaves the ferry. Of course, there
are few policemen and regiment of
other policemen.
"This is pretty hard kind O life" said
one who belongs to the first class, last
night. Its killing. After man has
been an officer for while he's good for
nothing else. Hobbling about from one
corner to another, and keeping within
sound of the sergeant's whistle, is bad
for ambition. You never heard of
policeman getting any high Office. Tail
ors, plowboys, rail splitters, canal boys
and printers devils have climbed to the
presidents chair, but nary policeman.
/ once heard of an officer who became
president of a literary society in Kansas,
but the meetings were held in his house:
his daughter was the secretary, mis- son
was the treasurer, his other sen was the
sergeant-at-arms an his wife an baby
made the audience. He was the first
officer ever heard of who got high
position, and perhaps he didn't count.
Some officers graduated to the dash board
of street cars, but they never appear to
go any higher. Although we are con-
stantly telling people to move on, we
always stand still ourselves. We pick
up a good deal of information on differ
ent subjects, but the only people that
seem to want it are the reporters. You
see that girl there with the bundle?'
The reporter took off his glasses and
saw her at once. She was very dirty
slovenly dressed child, and had bag in
her arms.
She's beggar, and is loaded up with
bread, cake, meat, slices of pie and about
everything that's eatable."
"Why, she has enough to last family
for month";" said the reporter. 81 sup
pose she can lay off, now, like the ant"
''Oh, no she can't or won't" returned
the officer. She'll be out again to-mor-
row morning and will work another part
of town. Do you know what the beg
CARS do with the bread and other stuff
the charitable people give them? No?
Well, they sell it to the saloons on the
Barbary coast and in other tough quar-
tiers. The meat an leaves that are put
into the dirty hands of mendicant pow
erty today furnish the free lunch coun-
tiers of the saloons tomorrow. That girl
will make from 81 to So day begging.
She sells what eatables she gets and cleans
up quite penny from the sales Then
some people give the beggars money, and
in week the earnings amount to a good
deal"
THE WAYS OF PROFESSIONALS.
"Do all the beggars sell what is given
them?"
"What would they do with it? At
some houses they get enough to keep
family for week. They all have dozen
or more pockets in their clothes, and be-
fore they make their appearance at a
second house they have slowed away
what they got at the first"
"Do they eat of the contributions"
"Oh, yes, indeed. People throw out
their back door better food than many
an honest man has ever a chance of see
ing. The beggars keep the choicest and
sell the rest"
"What do they do with the clothing
they get?''
1.-THE boys and girls don't go for cloth
ing. The fathers and mothers work the
wardrobe racket. The old man is will
ing to do any kind O work for a coat or
pair o pants, and the woman has three
ragged boys at home who can't go to
school because they have no clothes.
The beggar is as sagacious in working his
trade as the cleverest business man in
the city. He picks out the houses with
the well trimmed gardens and the clean
sidewalks and steps. The woman at
tends the places where well dressed boys
play about the door, All the clothing
they get is sold; some for rags, some to
the second hand dealers, and the pro-
ceeds go for drink. have been travel
ing a beat for seven years, and 1 never
knew or heard of an honest man making
a door to door canvass for assistance.
No matter how near he was to starva-
ton, the decent man won't do that"
DO beggars get any food from restau-
rants?"
Very little. 4 bit OF meat is in bad
way when it can't be used by restau-
rant And then the refuse in all the eat
ing houses is sold to the diaries or pig
raisers. Men so around every day with
wagons collecting the refuse, and the
worth of the stuff is knocked eff the milk
bill"
Hero the sergeant's whistle sounded,
and when the officer responded he had
not breath enough TO continue his re-
marks.-San Francisco Chronicle.