Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1894-11-19

i course everybody in New
York knows of the Stock Ex-
Y i change, the Produce Ex-
change, the Cotton, Real Es-
tate, Petroleum and dozen other ex-
changes, where merchants and brokers
meet to diclier and trade, grow rich
and become impoverished. Bat there
is one exchange IN town that few peo-
pie know anything about. 1t is a
populous and busy one, too. There is
scramEling and yelling, hot and high
words, and sometimes fights, Just as
there are now and then down on Broad
street
How many of you ever heard of the
Old Clio Exchange? 1t may seem n
trifle absurd to say that there is such
u thing, but five minutes leisurely
walk from the News Office will convince
the skeptical of tR existence of the
Old Clio Exchange
1t is located on Bayard and Eliza.
beth streets. Within few wards OF
the junction of Elizabeth street with
BaYard street there are seven saloons.
The green lamps in front of the Eliza
beth street police station are in full
view. Here, in these saloons, is the
Old Clio Exchange of New York and
the nearby towns. Here, every day
in the week, from early till late, hun
dreds of men congregate to trade cast
off clothing. The bargains are sharp,
the margins are small, and the aggre-
gate of a days business may not foot
up over II hundred dollars. Yet the
trading is attended with MS much ex-
element ordinarily as panicky day
III the precincts of Wall street.
The traders are queer looking men.
seldom, if ever, is there seen n starched
shirt or clean, stiff collar, not pair
of trousers worn is fashionably creased
all bag at the knees, and the bot
toms are frayed with long usage.
Shaggy boards predominate. Shabbi-
ness i'll this place seems to have at
tanned its perfection, Manifestly, the
incongruity of decently dressed man
among the Old Clio dealers would be
50 marked SIS to precipitate trouble.
The saloons are turned into the
trading-rooms. The exchange, there
fore, has no rent to pay. There are
| no membership dues, no assessments
and no license. The sidewalks and the
entire street would doubtless be used
if the police did not interfere. But as
the sales are not permitted in the
street tie brokers are compelled to re-
sort to the saloons. These are so
crowded during business hours that
from the sidewalk it would seem i'm
possible for another person to force
an entrance. Every man has some
sort Of garment in his hands. And
every man there is an expert. He
turns the old coats inside ont, exam
ines the Innings, scrutiniZes the seams
and the binding, fingers the buttons,
weighs it in his hands and makes an
offer. Ola hats and old shoes, too in
fact, every article of wearing apparel
for men is in evidence here for sale or
exchange,
Nothing seems 10 be too aged or
faded for bartering in the Old Clio Ex-
change. How in the world these deal
ers manage 10 rejuvenato some OF the
garments they expose FOR sale or trade
IS beyond tho comprehension of ordin.
ary mortaIs, but rhey evidently do it.
They are not in tine business Tor fun.
or the love OF the antique. Money
and u good sized profit is the only
aim.
Clothes bought and sold here find
the way to many OF the dealers in old
clothes who maintain regular stores.
A coat sold here one day may the next
month decorate the back of hardy
sailor on board ship bound for the An
tipodes
1t is the man VINO has store and
can afford to wait for the right Gus
toner who makes the big profit. The
first middleman or purchaser from the
producer, as it were, must be content
with only D reasonable margin of
profit, He makes tip-top bargain
with the original owner of the goods,
but in the exchange he has TO sell to II
man just rs sharp and wide-awahe as
he is. Every man there has the price
and value OF cast-oH apparel down to
the finest point, ana no such thing as
swindle by doctored goods, or lack
of business acuteness, is possible. -
New York News.