The Portland daily press., 1894-03-14
BEGGARS IN NEW YORK.
Their Groupings by Nationality and Modes
of Working"

The comradeship of beggars, to which
all writers on the subject of the neither
side of life in the big metropolis of New
York delight to refer, does not manifest
itself at courts or police stations, for no
individual arrested for mendicancy in
New York for very long time has de-
scribed himself as beggar when ar
raigned or arrested, remarks the Sun of
that city. There are about 1900 profess
sional beggars in New York. Begging
as fine art or fixed science is not an
American institution. Americans do
not make good beggars, if such an ex.
preston may be used to describe ability
in aims getting.
Begging is foreign industry, tenn
porarily transported, SO far as this city
is concerned. There is one peculiar
thing about it which does not find its
way usually into the columns of news
papers. The professional beggars of New
York belong in groups, divided by ques-
tions of nationality. There is the Italian
group, the Spanish group. the Danish
group, the French group. the Russian
group, the Polish group, the Scottish
group, the Swedish group, the Greek
group, and so on. Each of these groups
has certain place of rendezvous, and
the way they operate is about as follows:
If a prominent italian comes to the
United States on a visit and the news
papers chronicle his movements, it is not
long before he is beset by Italian men
dicants who claim to be temporarily en-
barrassed, and to have heard from
abroad of his liberality and benevolence.
A French tourist has the same expert
ence from his compatriots, and SO it is
all through the list.
The professional beggars are close
readers of obituary notices, and when
man of prominence in the foreign colony
dies his family is pestered with impor-
tunities by beggars from that country.
Not very long ago well known New
York merchant died, and his obituary
notice contained the information that
he had been born in certain town of,
Holland. AS soon as the Dutch group
of beggars got hold of this fact they
overran the members OF his family with
claims of charity and assistance. All
professional beggars in New York read
the published newspaper accounts OF
the accidents for an unusual character,
and when some member of family has
met his death in peculiar manner, they
profess to members of the family to have
suffered from similar affection, and
hope to stimulate their generosity.
These mendicants go about their work
of aims getting systematically. One
group does not interfere with another.
Facus learned by one member of group
are, at the earliest opportunity communi-
Gated to the others, and thus, almost au-
tomatically, these beggars descend from
all parts of the city on a common object
of attack. They evade the provisions of
the law regarding mendicancy by prose-
cutting their demands within doors, and
not on the streets. They are careful
about this, for the distinction which
many persons would not observe is
violation in law.
The great majority of New York pro-
fessional beggars are Incorporate, and
the larger amount Of what may be de-
scribed as their earnings is expended in
drink. This fact does not comport very
well with their known system and pre-
cision in securing victims for attack,
but it can be easily explained when il is
stated.that the best organized group of
foreign born mendicants come from coun-
tries where drinking is general, but in
toxication is rare. The United Charities
organization has about driven out from
the field of activity the English speaking
beggars,s as class, in New York, but
the foreign born beggBrs survive in
unimpaired mum bers, and seem to -four
jsh despite the hard times.