The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1892-01-22
4 BIG CITY'S PAY DIRT'
FORTUNES MADE IN NEW YoRK'S
STREET sWEEPINGS.
A privilege Worth Over 100000 a
Ycar--An Army of Rag PicSers
-(sarbage Pier Dwellers.

A Isrivilege Worth Over 100000
Ycar--An Army of Rag PicSers
-Garbage Pier Dwellers.
The sweepings of the New York
streets support at least five hundred peo-
pie. They are lodged, fed, clothed, ed
ucated and furnished amusements by the
drift from the street. The mud Of the
city is paysdirt to them. They make |
! 7 ess7 esT7so skaSs. average gold.prospector.
You ask ''hoW2"
Years ago Now York used to hire men
to "trim"g the barges of the garbage
aeet, so that they wouldn't capsize or
become waterlogged, or founder when
| they dropped out from Sandy Hook to
| fill up the Atlantic Ocean. 1t costs
the city something to get its little navy
ready to leave port.
BY and by came along some men who
| said there was valuable brass in the city's
| dust pile, aud fiue nuggets of coal, aud
precious bottles, rich rags, priceless old
shoes, aud bones that were not to be
sneezed at. They offered to trim tho
| barges for nothing aud board themselves
| if the city would let them pick out all
the odds-aud-ends which they consd-
cred valuable. The offer was accepted.
1t was thought strange that they should
work without compensation at what had
hitherto been paid for.
| The city's sweepings was gold mine.
Other men grew jealous of the privilege
| of WORKING for nothing, aud offered to
pay the city if it would permit them to
trim the barges, and fish for the valuable
| debris from the ash-carts. New York
| fr ean re- l,rnk
old iron, WORKOUT rubber shoes, battered
tin cans, etc., aud it put this money in
its pocket, aud let the people who paid
for the privilege shovel the sweepings.
Two years ago contractor paid Sll27
week, or SOS, GOA year, for tho right
to fish in the city garbage pile. The next
contractor who bought the privilege paid
$15O2 week, or SIS, 104 year. The
last contractor paid $1737 a week, o,
the enormous sun Of 500, ,224 year.
The city's navy has grown, and it now
comprises forty-ninc mud-scows of the
most modern build and the most recent
improvements. None of them can gt
twenty-five knots an hour, and mono are
armor-plated, but they are not surpassed
in number and style by the navy of an.
other city.
A big fleet OF twenty two Of them pu
to sea every morning and return to port
cvery evening. They excite the admira
tion of everybody, aud arc known as tn
'sblacs squadron" The city own
twenty.one garbage piers, Srom which
they sail.
One hundred and five meu front sunny
Italy earned their living by sorting the
<h, ,vhn
500, 900 for the privilege. As they all
have large families it was estimated that
the hric.a- brac on the mud scows sup
ported 500 men, women and children
besides paying $90,22l year iuto the
city treasury, aud affordiug handsome
profit 10 the contractor. Inasmuch a.
the men trimmed the scows, performing
work which would have cost the cit
$10OG week, or $52, 900 year, tht
garbage heap poured into the lap of New
York S142,224 year. Few silvs
mines in the West pay such dividends
Nineteen piers in New York City hav,
fSEN r:::sssy aurr r-rne people who have
bped their fingers at the tenement
houses aud live rent-free are the Italia,
gentlemen who trim the garbage boats
Their little homes beneath the piers ar
furnished with bright bits OF carpe
taken from the garbage heap, and will
various odds and ends which they hav,
found there. Little pictures adorn th'
walls; there are chairs and tables, an:
each little home has cheerful stove ant
a singing tea-kettle. There are no piano
and portieres as yet, but doubtless they
will come after awhile.
The janitors Of the large Office build.
ings Of the city enjoy a great revcnu;
from the unconsidcred scraps Of papel
which are thrown on the Office floors.
These scraps are gathered up, put into
bags aud sold. Some janitors receive
$500 a year each from the sale of Thu
waste paper. Old newspapers bring
twenty-five cents hundred pounds, OF
$3.50 ston. Ordinary book paper aud
fine book papet- bring one cent a pound
or $50 ton. Scrap paper sells for one
fourth OF cent pound. During tn
Civil War it brought ten cents a pound
or forty times its present price.
II is estimated that at least 10000
mon, women and children in New York
barrels. They start out with bag aud
HOOK at . O'clock in the mcrnin g
whether in the soft, moonlt nights oil
summer, or the bitter, cold nights o.
winter.
Every ash barrel on their route is ex.
plored by them. No rag, bone, ,piece ol
iron or lead escapes them. They gathe
the rag ip the street as it flies. BY hare
toll each earns from fifty to seventy five
cents day. There are hundreds of rag
shops and junk shops in tho city which
buy aud ass>rt the rags.
1t is estimated that not less than 49,
600 reeplo are engaged as rag .pickers,
! junk h"stcrs, ?leshs, bookkcopvrs, gar
.-t~eage -pickers, contractors, etc, in max.
ing living out OF what the people OF
New Yor1throw away. 1t is claimed
that 5O,op people derive their livins ?
from the dust heaps aud ash barrels of th
city.-Res York Journal