San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-11-25
A BEGGARS SOCIETY.
A SYNDICATE COMPOSED OF THE
MENDlcANTS OF PARIS.

How the Funds Are Kept.
A writer in Chambers Journal gives
some interesting particulars regarding an
extensive and comparatively wealthy asso-
citation known by the high sounding title
of the Paris Syndicate of Professional
Mendicants Every observer in Paris
knows that there is an incalculable num-
Der who daily implore charity in the streets.
Out of the 200, 900 residents it is calculated
that one in eighteen, or 10000 live on
charity with tendency toward crime. In
London the proportion is one in thirty.
The headquarters is large wine shop
known as la Cave" at 80 Rue Monitor
gueil a main street running almost due
north from the middle of the Central mar
kets. When we arrived the place was well
crowded, and presented striking spec
tacle. In this den, with damp, black walls,
upholstered and overgrown with fungus
and clouds of cobwebs, black roof of bare
beams, the many recesses filled with sticks
and boxes and broken furniture, was only
one large famed smoking oil lamp, which
threw dim light on a crowd of evil look
ing men and women.
Here and there was filthy topped rot
ten table, resting obliquely on shaky legs,
surrounded by men, women and children,
all showing the brands and stains of vice
in it's various stages On the ground, the
bare earth, were sitting, lying or huddled
together scores more of women and chill
dren or men.
KEEPING TRACK OF MEMBERS.
With three of their leaders we sat in
partitioned corner and let them become
IL, h,,k
rogantly communicative. 1t was their day
of reunion. Every Wednesday, from Top.
m. till IL, all the members of the syndicate
meet in La Cave for the distribution of the
weeks funds. Daily they hand over to the
appointed president and treasurer their
gatherings. They number several hun.
dreds, and every man and woman's post
has fixed or appropriated value, which
must be realized.
Should there be any falling off or any
suspected discrepancy the post is given to
more capable person. There have been
cases of what our informant called embez-
element on the part of the collector; but
they were always found out and punished
1t would be difficult for any member of the
association with subversive ideas to dis
pose of any sum retained.
If he squandered it on the road home it
would be known at once, and he would
know what fate waited him in La Cave.
If he were suspected of secreting any coins
he would be quickly stripped, searched
and, if found guilty, consigned to a more
difficult station. He might even be ex-
PEELED, and then woe betide him if he went
to any of the syndicate's stations. He would
have the treatment dealt to any other out
slider who intruded ON the reserved hunt
ing grounds.
The syndicate has variety of systems
in dealing with the collections of its mem
bers. In several cases, especially for well
known frequenters of particular site, it
levies contributions of fixed sum per
week, in return for which the syndicate
allows no rival to interfere with the men
dicant. The protege of many regular pa
irons finds this to his advantage.
HOW THE MONEY is CARED FOR.
In general the sums collected are divided
in very equal proportion, few receiving
an extra percentage pro rata on their draw
ings. A certain percentage is retained for
general expenses of the syndicate and
for the reserve fund. There is no sick or
burial fund-the sick being best able to
beg and having the free hospitals at their
service, and funerals of the poor being a
state arrangement. The reserve fund has
in part been applied to the purchase of a
house where any of the members who
choose may lodge at the rate of one franc
a week, and the emainder-amounting
we were led to believe, to considerable
SUMS invested in the purchase of shares
and bonds. IL is safe in the hands of
small committee, but difficulty of the
syndicate has all along been the inability
to secure able financiers.
The more reputable members, who had
gone home Immediately after the distribu-
ton, had many of them very considerable
savings. All of these are lodged in the
syndicate's funds. Any member could
withdraw his money and retire when he
had amassed sufficient for any likely OBJ
iect. The usual desire of the economical
mendicant, like that of all Parisians, is to
get together enough to enable him to buy
a small cottage in the country, and live
thereafter on an annuity; or, preferably,
rank as a RENTER or independent person re-
tired on a competency.
VETERAN BEGGAR.
While we were talking an old man whom
we all knew by sight as habitual seeker
of charity on the Boulevard des Italiens in.
the evenings and on the Place de la Bourse
in the forenoons, came in and stood at the
zinc counter counting out some money to
the proprietor there. He then came over
to where we were sitting and received two
louis and some silver amounting to over
another louis-about 60 los. in all-from
one of our companions. That was his
cI for ba ha NIL az n
He drank one or two glasses of wine and
left us. The man who had paid him told
us the old fellow was always discontinued,
IL l.a..-