The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-03-12
PANHANDLERS AT HOME.
NIGHTLY HIGH JINKS BY STREET
BEGGARS AT THE REST"

Midnight is the beggars' hour in New
York. IL is then that their entresties are
most strenuous, their tales of woe most pite-
Gus, and, il occasion arises, their threats
most vicious. One reason for this is that
about this time the policemen are ell stand
ing on the corners waiting for the relay to
relieve them, and the beggars find corre-
sDondingly less menace from the law. An
other reason is that the "panhsndlers," as
the beggars are called, are getting ready to
go home. 1t is their last appeal; the
going, going, gone" OF the
auctioneer. Within an hour after
IL O'clock the places that knew them know
them no more until the next night. Some
few there are who beg all night and sleep
all day, but such conduct is regarded as IN
professional. The true religion of the pro-
fesSlonal beggar is TO beg half the nighS and
drink all day with the proceeds, SO at l
o'clock the streets are pretty well deserted
by these picturesque gentry. To find them
later than this We must seek them in their
dens, places where no beings of delicate sus-
capabilities and sensitive nostrils need
apply. The panhaudlers have come down
town on elevated trains, aud uptown
on Broadway cars; they have hobbled
in from Cortland street, and Liberty street,
aud Park place on crutches and canes; they
have limped in from City Hall park and
lower Park row with legs bent and faces
bandaged; and they have all met in "a few
Insignificant looking saloous in upper Park
row, the Bowery aud some few Of the adj
Jacent streets.
There are three such places between the
bridge and Chatham square on Park row.
They are close together on the west side of
the street. One OF them rejoices in the
name of "PrluJers' Retreat" The other
two are known by the names of their
owners. All arc supported chiefly by the
professional beggers. The largest of the
Park row places Is a saloon called by the
beggars The Rest" You enter it by
wall door blazing with signs, which
give startling ideas as to tue reduction in
prices of all mixed drinks, and are replete
with Information regarding the amazing
quality Of beer obtainable by the expendi-
ture OF 5 cents. There are two divisions of
1.-The Rest the bar and the lodging roou
10 the rear. As each conner buys and con-
sumes his drink he drifts toward the rear
room. Occasionally one tries to reach that
haven without expenditure. The bartender
is OH the watch for such.
Hey there, Gully" he shouts. "Yer
drink r yer git. Seef This amt no OAK
street station lodgin' house, On buying
his Scent drink Gully is at liberty to
To the uniuitiated the rear room would
seem to be a true land Of healing. On eu-
tering it the cripples suddenly become
sound. Blind men remove their bandages
and nod to their acquaintance. Crooked
legs straighteu out with rapidity and one
armed men develop the normal quota of
limbs. Bent and broken consumptives
straighten up in to robust manhood. Hope
less-looking psralytics pick the knots oct
of themselves and challenge each other to
wrestle, The only real ailment known to
the place is the occasional development of
case of delirium tremons.
'If it wasn't fer th' blue devils en- tn
coppers,n as Shivers Carlin of THE Rest"
once said In a moment of sobriety, ''this
here world d be purity near too good T. live
i'm
But Shivers is gone, to whatever place the
| blue devils chose to conduct him, and many
of his comrades with him. number OF
| them are still left TO fnregather at The
Rest" OF nights; old-timers, who mees to
| count their gains and talk over old times
| For a consideration one Of them conducted
a Sun reporter on a Saturday night, when
! The Rest" was full, through the barroom
| TO q spot where, concealed. he could see all
and hear what was going on in the rear
| room.
Around big wooden table sat about two
dozen penhandlers, while the rest were
| stretched out on the floor, smoking wretched
| tobacco or cigar stumps picked out Of the
| gutter. All eyes were TUNED toward the
| table on which a man, who had been q hob
bling cripple in the morning, could be dimly
seen through the dense smoke executing a
merry dance and twirling his crutches, one
in either hand, with great dexterity.
"Goit Danny" they shouted approvinglY
| Foot 'er out quicker" "Do us er double
shuttle act wild de crutches." Danny's de
lad; beef to de heel, be IS"
The crutches Of ''Divenny Dan," as he Is
called twirle1 faster and faster. They cir
cled above mis- head. behind his back and
under his legs; they changed hands with
bewilderinE ease and rapidly; they whirled
above and around and in conjunction with
each other and all the time Dan kept up
his lively dance to the whistling and stamp
ing of the spectators. When a. length he
came down from the table in flying leap
over his audiences heads he remarked:
"De crutchies is good fer more things dan
a faked-up gait"
In answer TO loud calls for "Split Char
ley" man With scar that divided his
nose lengthwise through the middle got
upon the table aud sang u ribald song.
"Split Charley is a noLed character In
THE Rest from the fact that one cold
winter night he drove from his uptown
beat to ~ be Rest" in a cab. When the
panha0dlers saw the cab at the door theV
concluded that the police had come to raid
the place and they rushed from the door
just as "Splis Charley" stepped from the
vehicle A great gasp Of amazement came
from the beggsrs. Then the questions fol-
flowed:
Hey, Charley, did some bloke die an
leave yer a millionp
"Din yez marry tn horse-pusher's da'terg'
"Charley's goenloff'n his head"
: var Ind do coll i'm
"Shut yer heads an come inside. It's
rum for tn crowd on me, /" was the only re-
ply.
Howls of amazement answered this prop
osition, and there was mad rush for the
door. When the drinks bad been distrlb-
uted, Charley settling with the bark eeper
in advonce. by special request, the hero Of
the hour explained:
"Why wndn't be blokey wen got tn
rocksl It's just fer day, but wen got it
use it. Seer l turned a sleeper up on
Fifty-ninth street. sifted his covers, an
pulled double green an yeller ticker
with a rope. There yer got it, cold an
straight
BY this the listeners were made to UNDER
stand that Charley, having found a luckless
fellow mortal in that condition d described by
the law as "intoxicated and unable to take
care of himself on Fifty-ninth street, had
searched his pockets, extracting therefrom
$40 bill and gold watch and chain. Char
ley's bill lasted for two days. The proceeds
of the watch endured three days longer.
nurfpy this finno Charlav Uas an animated