The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1893-01-21
THE ORGAN GRINDER.
THE ITALIAN MUSICIANS LIFE
NOT A HAPPY ONE.
Turning the Crank Soon Grows Monoton-
Gus and the Profession Has Its
Drawbacks What n Good
street Piano Costs.

.mong the Italian population-organ-
.rinding seems to be growing less
md less every year.
There are probably very few peo-
'le who have any conception OF what
considerable number OF these busy
grinders there are and how and whore
hey live o; anything at all about
hem. says the New York Advertiser.
Their interest ends when they have
paid the conventional copper for the
privilege OF hearing one OF Dave
Braham's latest successes or possibly
| nocturne from Chopin.
In little shop In Elizabeth street
ust around the corner from Grand
md In the very heart OF the Italian
quarter may be found the head
quarters in this country for tho
manufacture OF barrel organs. street
,ianos and carousal organs. Ranged
IN either side OF tho room are in
'truments OF all patterns and values
brought in for tuning or repairing.
while their owners stand lazily about
Imoking cigarettes nibbling raw
,nions and jabbering in their fascinat.
ng tongue with each other. Against
The wall at the end OF the room hangs
l card which declares in the Italian
hat Organs are tuned while you
wait" and this is impressed upon the
visitor by the active movements of
The two young men who do the work
and the monotonous sounds thoy
mako in doing it.
What does an instrument like that
,ostp'
That one cost 500 when new and
t is good one. for made it.
We have them though. for $50 and
from that up TO 1890. The latter
price will buy piano organ of the
inest pattern. In weight the range is
from thirty to seventy-iive pounds for
the old-fashioned barrel organ. whilo
the pianos weigh much more"
When tho Italian walks down the
Storage gangplank OF an ocean liner
Just arrived from his sunny home
over the sea- his first idea Is to secure
a position as a street-worker. for he
has learned before he left home that
his countrymen who have proceeded
him here are employed In great num-
bers In that capacity.
When he fails in this and his small
savings are exhausted he will borrow
from an uncle. a brother or a cousin.
and they are all related in some man.
ner his organ and start out with it
to make his fortune in the great new
country. Probably that same organ
was brought over from the native
land score OF years before. and has
served to lay the foundation for the
fortune Of many late arrival With
it he may make 80 cents day. and
he may make a dollar. The amount
depends. on the quality OF the organ.
the age of the music and the liberality
of the audience. That Is one reason
why they prefer to secure employ
ment as a street. cleaner at rs cents
day; the other Is because they fancy
the latter more elevating. and an ltal-
ian has pride and hates to beg.
The first warm day OF spring will
see those who have wintered in the
city pack their ponderous organs on
their backs and make for the pro-
vinces. They scatter all over the
country. going as far west as Denver
and all through the New England
states. They work their way, as
rule. tramping oftentimes from town
to town. Juggling their fifty pound in
struments through the hot dusty
country for a score of miles to mako
probably few dollars and then on to
the next The monkey long since
made his exit from the cities and it is
only rarely that they are now seen in
the small towns A man in Brooklyn
made fortune in raising and train
ing them and he received often as
much as $50 for u we'll trained
monkey.
In the selection OF tunes many OF
the grinders use their own Judgment
and in this they are guided by the
musical taste of the locality which
they propose to work" Those who
play here at home will choose such
melodies as MARY Green" Danny
by My Side" ''Ta-ra-ra boom de- ay !"
''Kelly's Masquerade Ball" and such
selections OF lively. sprightly
nature. Those who 60 to the small
IOWuS III uoiB uporiuB StdteS arc WlSo
enough to know that Marguerite.
The Heart Bowed Down" or the
.Blue Bells OF Scotland" will take
best while the grinders who winter
in the South are alive to the fact that
Dixie" Tho Arkansaw Traveller
and THAT Pretty Yellow Gal' will
appeal better to the taste and pockets
OF the people in that locality.
The hand-organ has figured con-
spicuously many times in high social
life In this city. Not Long since it
was one OF the forms OF entertain
ment at a swell dinner in a fashion
able home in West Fifty-seventh
street while many times are recalled
when 1T has been used at masquerade
parties when played by ono OF tho
smart set got up as an italian. The
weakness OF some we'll known mon for
barrel-orgar music is an established
fact Chauncey Depew has been
cen to stop on the sidewalk and wait