The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-04-22
FoaTUNEs MADE IN OLD CLIO.
A Dingy Quarter OF London Where
Trade is on Strict Cash Basis.
From De PaN MaN Gasette.a

n lOlDkJ NluhI I'll ALOUOOo " n6T6
Trade is on a Strict Cash Basis.
From the Pail Mall Gazeite.s
Walk down Houndsditch, leaving Bish-
opsgate street behind, aud on the left you
come to Phirs buildings Go up the steps
and the old clothes mart is in front of you.
There is barrier in front OF the mart,
however, and behind the barrier is pros
perous-looklng young Jew, who says, PAY
here" When the situation has been ex-
planned you find that the young Jew is NJ.
L. Hart, whose mother is the owner Of the
mart, and that the price OF admission Is
pence. The first impres don one gets Of the
market is one of squalor and rags. 1t was
a wet day when l called, and doubtless that
accumulated the depressing appearance Of
the scene. The rain an off the corrugated
iron covers-there is no entire roof-and
dripped into puddles which had formed at
every step. The wet pavement was the
only floor, aud the islands of
dry pavemeuts upon which the
clothes stood were momentarily
threatened by the overlooking puddles. Yet
on more closely inspecting the goods on sale
it became clear that they were not all rags
and tatters. There were some good, sound,
clean garments among the rubbish, and the
heaps Of WORKOUT shoes, as green as ripe
stilton in some instances were leavened with
servlceable boots and stylish slippers. There
are no stalls. in the usual acceptance Of the
term Down the length of the market run
a number of wooden rails These are
marked out into lengths and allocated as
stalls. The good are placed on the flags in
large sacks, and samples in the form, per-
haps. Of nice pair of striped trousers and
a mol9skln waistcoat are displayed on the
sack and hung over the rail. One sack had
exhibited upon it the muslin skirt of a ball
let dancer. 1t was not a large sack aud |
hszarded the suggestion that it was a sack
full Of ballet skirts. The Hebrew dealer,
to whom | spoke, overwhelmed me with
ridIcule. Ivy, the wearing apparel Of all
the ballots in the world Wouldn't fill sack
that size, would they!" be said.
The market is supplied with its heteroge-
neous assortment OF goods In an interesting
manner. The hawkers scour the suburbs
TO buy up lsft-of garments, but they do
not go with money in their pockets when
they go buying. Purchase for cash would
be too direct a method. Just as the money
Lender persuades the borrower to take part
of the loan in wines, cigars or pictures, so
the hawker offers his price for old clothes
10 crockeryware. A couple of vases, worth
pence apiece, look 80 much more generous
an offer titan would be a shilling for the
shiny coat or the ragged trousers. So, be-
fore setting out on his expedition, the
hawker goes to shop in Hounds
ditch and loads his barrow with
the hashy ornaments which be knows
by experience will captivate the taste
of the pert lsdy's maid or the suburban
housewife, and by that simple expedent he
gets his stock so per cent cheaper. Then
he wheels his barrow full of old clothes to
PILLS bnilding, and outside the market he
generally finds a knot Of commission buy
ers ready to bid one against the other for
the whole consignment. The commission
buyer who gets the goods distributes them
among his various stockholders, and then the
public are invited TO enter at penny a
time to buy. The best customers are the
Irish dealers. who buy Wholesale quantities
for Belfast, Dublin, Cork and elsewhere.
Frequently e20 or $40 deal is heard Of,
and the cash passes hands before the clothes
are parted with. There is no credit trade
here