Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-03-22
CASH PAID FOR OLD BOTTLES.
Some Facts About a Very Curious and
Extensive Industry

i'm teuduce VI tue aSei uaThtN as ne was
IgV shown show, in a corner e. Of the cellar two
W cIaret bottles.
"Ten cents dozen fer de lot" he said.
On venture IL cents was demanded by
STAR reporter whose property the bottles were
"All right sab" responded the man of color,
after a moments seeming dubitation. "rn
jest put 'em in desc var sacks an kerry 'em off
wild me. My kyart is at de front door"
With this he unloaded himself of half a dozen
ancient meal bags-his own clothing looked as
if it were made from the same material in
patches sewn together-and proceeded to fill
the biggest of the sacks from barrel No. l.
When he had counted into it fourteen bottles
he said:
zone doz'n,"
From this point he kept on up to thirty-two
bottles, when he remarked:
1.-TWO dozn!"
sHREwD RECKONING.
The fifth dozen was 80 DOM" according to
his reckoning, and the eighth dozen was ''six
dozn in like manner. Thus. when all the bag 8
were full and the barrels empty. it was found
that there were only twelve dozen altogether.
However, the purchaser made it up to some
extent by giving some interesting information.
Deere amt much iun in dis business, sah." he
SAID, but 1t pays big. Desc wine bottles
take to de wine men or to de grocer men.
wheel dis load up to de door OBJ de shop in m Y
hand cvart and go in an say:
. Mister. how much is yo' gibbin' pore ole
Niger fer eighteen doz' clar't bottles ter day
twelve dom, dat is mean
DE gem man says he's gibbin' IS cents a
dozen, and, eff can't git him ter pay no mo- ,
de sale is made and l kerry de bottles down
INTO de cellar. Dat makes me SIX cents ahead
on cherry dom. But IS cents am awful low fer
clar bottles De price is all de time agoin'
up and down, and next month it will be rs
cents or mebbe 35 cents a dom. Aprils de
great time for shippin' wine dat is brought heah
In barls and casks and bottled. 1t is sent ali
ODER the country, moth, south an west, and it
uses up lot er glassware. Why, clar't bottles
In Washington sometimes fetch
AS MUCH As SIXTY CENTS DOZEN
De furrin ministers an folks like dem often pay
as much as dat when dey want ter bottle wine.
But dey don't buy 'em off u.s. deg go to a bot
| tie house fer EN-. No end oh bottles is sent
away from dis var city to Philadelphia. Balti-
more, Toledo and udder places all ober. You
see, sab. dat so many bottles are allus bein'
used and smashed dat no one town kin keep
Itself supplied, and SO de bottles of de country
am all de time movin' roun'."
What is this bottle house you speak OFF,
the old man asked.
Its a Establishment where bottles are bong hit
and sold by millions. I sell all de bottles l git
| at de bottle house 'cept de clar't bottles git
a better price fer dem from de grocers an wine
men. But all de rest take to de bottle house
and dispose OBJ fer all sorts OBJ prices De
bottles wot sells de bes am desc great big
ones dat mineral water comes IN from Buffalo
Sixty cents dom day is wuth. but / doan git
berry many OBJ EN-. De mex biggest price |
git fer de patent-stopper beer bottles. Oh
course dey allus bong 20 de beer sellers and
none OBJ my business. and l grab 'em ebery time
when kin. De udder day bought off a serv-
ant gal fer Is cents a beer box anG two doz n
empty bottles dat it held.
IT WAS BIG STRIKE.
sold it fer 50, but de servant ga. dun told
me yistiddy dat her missus had ter pay de beer
company Sc fer it. But dat wasn't my fault;
was offered de box an / tuck it. Champagne
bottles are wuth % cents dom and magnesia
bottles cents apiece. Ornary beer bottles oh
de sort corks is used fer sells fer 10 cents a
dom sometimes an sometimes for u cents
As fer 'poth carries bottles don't handle EN-
kase dere's no money in it. Drug stores won {
often buy old bottles'fe medicine, but Use new
ones, SO der is no sale fer goods like dem. De
bes' kind oh quort whisky bottles Is with )
cents apiece"
I What is done with the bottles after you
have delivered them at the bottle house?'
| ''Well, sab, dey has to be washed fust. De
! man wot runs de bottle house has five people
washln' bottles fer him all de time. Dey takes
| de corks out dat have been punched in by
droppin a loop OBJ string troo de neck, gittin'
| it around de cork, and gibbin it yank. You
couldn't git out cork dat way, but dey kin do
| it like streak. Wine bottles kin be washed
| easy nuff wild cold water kase dey has nothin'
| more in EN- than leetle dust an dregs mebbe
But greasy bottles need hot water, and ef any,
| thing is stuck ill 'em pebbles is put in and
| shaken round. When de bottles is washed
| dey is ready ter be sold or packed in straw an
shipped to udder cities by freight. OATS about
all dere is to de bottle business, sab OBJ course
bottles are comm into Washington by de
| thousand cherry day wild beer in 'em an wine
| an udder things. Its de same way in ebery
city, and de empty bottles must be a-goin out
agin all de time, or wild sumpn in EN-, eff all
de bottles ill de country isn't ter collect in one
| spot"