The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-05-28

- NfodI mouse. or London to Oban, and
return, and never upon the road by day,
or underneath the tent or the van-roof
ana the stars at night. be outside the
comforting protection Of watchful British
law.
But the British gypsy is something
more than ''vdgrOm" trader His kind
are encrOaching upon. or making for them
selves, many other prOtita BILE pursuits and
vacations. / have always held that in
this would be found the real evolution of
The gypsy; and that in Just the degree he
became IKE other men-not in religion,
because you can no more reach a gypsy
with Christian missionary schemes than
you can secure any expression of belief
from any other form of agnOstic-in vo-
cation and the betterment to himself and
family IN material living. in like degree
would the so-called ''black arts of gym
sydom disappear. l have from time to
Time shown this TO be true among Ameri-
can gypsies. 1t is gratifying to find it
true among British gypsies. [ do not re-
gard them as having chosen the most ele-
CANT OF vocations; nor as a class can they
De SAID TO sustain enviable relations to so
clety. But they are doing something:
making money; finding themselves pos
SesSed OF inherent industrial power; and
their acquisition and possession of means
are making them better race of men.
In one of the large London travelling
goods concerns previously referred to,
the largest shareholder is gypsy who is
reported to be worth fully $4,000 know
of many shooting galleries in London con
Quoted by gypsies. They are not only
successful with these, but, in associative
form, Just as soon as they are beginning
to own most of the money making Punch
and Judy shows of the metropolis, control
many like privileges at noted places of
holiday resort near London, from which
unusual profit is derived One of the most
thriving vegetable bOothmen of Covent
Garden market is a gypsy, who is in great
favor with, and is brought much trade
by, the countless CoSters of the neighbor-
hood
Near the Royal Albert docks is public
house owned and conducted by a gypsy.
and this property is worth more than
1900. Precisely as in some of the lead
ing American cities, where important
horse sales stables are owned by gypsies
who are thought to be of another race,
found in London and it's environs thirty
one similar establishments wholly CON
trOlled by gypsies. They are credited
with an extraordinary amount of trade,
not only in horses but in donkeys, Shet-
land and Cushendal ponies and goats.
Commission dealings are unknown. Every
transaction is made for cash, and in two
of these places the leasehold, fittings and
stock of animals always on hand must re-
quire the possession of a capital of from
$4,000 to 10000.
An old and profitable business in Lon
don is that of purveyor of carts and
donkeys to the coStermongers. There
are thousands upon thousands of these
costers in the metropolis. Many are no.
toriously improvident. To start in bust
ness requires a hand-barrow or cart, and
a coster of recognized standing must pos
sess both cart and donkey There are
many places where from so to 100 carts
are hired out by the day, week or month,
and where costers may purchase barrows,
carts and donkeys on the partial-payment
plan. Those controlling this manner of
business are said to secure a profit of 500
to 1000 per cent. They are usually grad
uSte costers; but three of those engaged
in the traffic l know to be gypsies, who
are becoming very rich. They are sup
posed to be retired costers, with whom
London gypsies have many points of
common resemblance, character and
interest.
The most surprising discovery of this
sort 1 ever made in London was in the &C
quaintance of dramatic agent, near the
corner of York and Waterloo roads, on
the Surrey side, while making inquiries
regarding the haunts and ways of London
music hall performers, among the many
agents Of this vicinity. The man is one
of the richest and most powerful of this
numerous tribe Those who daily deal
with him believe him to be a Hebrew;
but L had indubitable evidence, aside
from his own admission, that this man,
whom hundreds of the profession fawned
upon and feared for his favor and in
fuence in 'booking'' their London and
provincial music hall engagements, was
none other than one of the Outcast Romany
race. He had in former times been ION
the road with ''vagrom' travelling shows.
some of which he still controls, and had
gradually and without attracting at
tention to his early gypsy associations,
become leading dramatic agent in this
famous Poverty Junction region.
know in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liver
pool, Manchester, Bristol, Plymouth and
London of many gypsies who are Chin
ney sweeps and who, by hiring others and
doing contract work, have secured in
dependence and comfort. At Brighton,
Southport, Scarborough and other inn
portant English seaside resorts are hun
dreds of donkeys upon which CUTTERS
and all children are given bone-breaking
rides along the beaches. Nearly all the
owners of these are gypsies, some of whom
not only have respectable bank accounts
but also own town properties. In and
about NuneatOn and Coventry are many
gypsy property owners A few are farmers,
but most own properties at the outskirts
of these cities, such as places for stabling,
sales stables and old inns which still
have attractions for the farmers, and
make dickering in horses and other live
stock possible and profitable. Probably
the richest of all British gypsies, one
Smith. lives at Nuneaton He owns
nearly all the houses and land in one en-
tire street; has money in considerable
sums loaned to speculative travelling
gypsies and is also the owner Of bank
stock and blocks of shares in the London
and North Western railway. Altogether
his holdings are computed to exceed a
quarter of a million dollars.
On one occasion while visiting the old
city of Gloucester, England,
and wandering in St. GATHERINGS street
where the Sunday school was first estab-
lished by Robert Raikes, l came, at the
head of the street, to little old inn much
frequented by farmers. l entered and
sat down to rest. A half dozen country
folk were just closing some sort of com
mercial transaction, and one of the men
had counted out $500 in gold sovereigns.
He took receipt and shortly left. l
asked the barmaid if that was not an odd
place for so much money, and she replied
that it was not, for "Oilcloth Dick" and
such as he frequented the
place; and "gypsies seemed to
have all the ready money
ev in England these days" His van is