Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-01-03
THE CHIMNEY SWEEP
HE WILL CLEAN ANY CHIMNEY,
NO MATTER HOW HIGH IT is.

but He Is Still with Us-Iis Scale o
Prices-How to Clean n Modern Fifteer
Story Chimney.
| There is deep rooted impression amons
the people Of this city that the noble ar
| of chimney sweeping has almost if MOI
| quite disappeared. The towering chin
neys now in vogue give some color to thir
belief. cit would be impossible to clint
them; therefore they are not cleaned
therefore the chimney sweep is thing o.
the past" The hearty though husky cry
OF the sweep is no longer heard in the
streets II is quarter of a century nearly
since the deep voice of old Peter Bowling
has been heard in Greenwich village, and
old Peter was one Of the last Of his tribc
to advertise himself with his lungs. Hi,
cry, still well remembered by many old
residents Of that neighborhood, always
contained an implied threat. He was for
ever telling mis- customers that he was
| about to change the scene of his labors t.
baltimore, perhaps on account of the
| greater number Of sooty chimneys in the
| metropolis Of Maryland, and he predicted
doleful things to happen in New York
after he deserted its fiues. His invariable
cry as he went through the streets with
| his brooms and two sooty boys was:
| Who'll sweep the CHIM-neys when
| go to BAI-ti-m-o-r-ef"
The disposition, however, to class chin
ney sweeping among the lost arts is
| founded upon a misapprehension of the
facts. Instead Of declining, the art has
steadily advanced keeping pace in all re.
| spects with the progress of the times.
broadening and enlarging its sphere in cor,
| rect proportion with the increasing size of
| buildings and chimneys, and with the in.
tellectual development of the artists who
make it their life work. If we no longer
hear the sweeps cry in the street it is only
| because the art has reached a status III
which street crying is considered undigni-
| fled and unprofessional, and instead of
reckoning in the sooty workman as we
once did, we now apply to the gentleman
| in the office and seek an appointment with
| the artist who cleans our chimneys
The chimney sweeps have found better
way to advertise their business than by
| bawling in the streets They advertise in
the newspapers, like other professional and
business men, and it was this advertise
| ment, published few days ago, that led
to reporters gaining valuable insight
into the present condition of the art:
Chimney Sweep-Chimneys cleaned with
neatness and dispatch. Apply at 2294 Seventh
avenue.
The professional instinct makes itself
evident in the brevity of the advertisement
and the absence of any name attached to
it. Neither n physician nor lawyer cares
to publish more than a card giving his
name and address, and the same profess
sional modesty obtains in the other arts
and sciences. AS the information con
tanned in this article, however, was OBJ
tanned from the unobtrusive author of the
card, 1t will be no breach of professional
etiquette to say that the name that should
be attached to it is the Rev. William
Henry Couts," and that the place men
toned is an apartment house, of which the
artist acts as janitor during the lull in
chimney sweeping and ministerial work.
What do you charge for sweeping a
chimney" was asked bluntly of this artist
in black.
Anywhere from $40 to $3.50, according
to size" was the surprising reply.
The high grade of the art was immedi-
ately settled by this answer. 1t is not ev-
cry artist who can get $3.50 for single job.
A job of the greatest magnitude was evil
IDENTIFY expected on this occasion, and look
OF sadness crept over the artists face when
he learned that his questioner had no chin
neys to be swept, but was merely in search
of information.
you would not undertake to go into a
chimney in one of the fifteen story Office
buildings?" he was asked.
But Mr.. Couts decidedly would. He
would undertake, he says, to clean any
chimney in this city, and would climb up
and down any chimney with flues large
enough to admit him
How do you clean high chimney that
haS low
into?" he was asked.
THE professional eye began to sparkle
as he saw in imagination some difficult
chimney for him to grapple with
"Oh, there are several ways he replied
For some chimneys we go up to the roof
with long rope and heavy weight. The
weight is tied to the rope and Slowly low
cred down the chimney, one fue at time
Then one man takes the rope at the bot
tom and another ut the top, and with the
rope we scrape all the SCOT out of the chin
ney.
Where there is a straight flue from tor
to BOTTOM" Mr.. Couts continued, I'VE gen
orally use rods. You've seen an artesian
well bored? Well, our rods go together in
the same way. They need only reach half
way, as we can work from top and bottom.
The chimney is cleaned as far as the rod
iCdShCS, anu GUSIl announcer length last
ened on. With ropes and rod we can clean
any chimney that ever was built, no mat
ter if it is hundred stories high"
Are not the prices you name rather
high?"
Not at ALL" he replied. For an ordi-
nary dwelling house of three stories we
charge ten dollars for each chimney. Such
chimney is fully days work, and some
times much longer for two men; and we
furnish all the apparatus. There are sep
arate fiues, you understand, for each story,
and every fue has a furnace, a range, a
stove or CRATE at the end of it. We clean
them, too, all included in the price, and
the proper cleaning of a range alone takes
three or four hours. Then we have all the
SCOT to carry away"
How about the $3.50 jobsf"
We'll, we have a good many of them,
too" he replied, land they're not as profit
able jobs as you might think. They are
generally the chimneys of sugar refineries
and big factories. cleaned the Have