Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-08-17
OUT IN THE COLD WORLD.


 he had lost his leg nearly two years before while coupling cars at Toronto, had been unable 10 find work after long stay in a hospital, and having taken to beggary finally driftCd To New York. He had been four months in the city plying his profcs- sion. mainly down town.
 You sat down and made a bum of your self because you could earn $1.5 n day easier that w;!y than selling newspapers or in some other honest calling:" said the detective severely.
 1t ain't SO easy as you say, earning $1. 50 day" answered the young man dog gCdly. I'm lucky if get enough for food and lodging and have few cents left in my pocket"
 Go and sell newspapers" " said the de- tCctiyc at length, and don't let mo catch you again hgging. or II send you up. - As the poor man hubblcd off rapidly to- ward sixth avenue the dctcctivc's com panion said:
 What will he do:''
 Go to begging again, " was the answer. Hell not take your advice about sell ing newspapers
 | A Profitable Calling.
 He: No. Hes living at a 10 cent 1 lodging house with other professional 1 begE,ars. and the sentiment of the place Is | against work. He thinks I'm police dc tective assigned to this precinct, so he'll move into some other and go on begging. l Then I'll catch him in time and send him | tO the island. He'll stay there six months, 1 come out and go at it again Perhaps he'll | get a license tO sell lead pencils, and then We can't touch him, though he'll be 0 bcg-ar all the same. The pencil sellers are mostly old women and blind men. Their | pencils cost about 90 cents gross and arc | rCtailvd at cents each, but most persons give the nickel and decline the pencil They really get rid of very few pencils, but I've known n blind pencil seller to take in nearly SEQ In n single day.
 A the detective and his companion walked northward along Fifth avenue they saw across the strcct q shabby old man. with n bundle, creeping slowly south ward
 -prOfcssional:'' asked the detcctive's l companion.
 Yes. His days work $ done, and he's crccpinC to his hole. That old fellow has bCCn around from door to door in the fashionable quarter hcgging food and old clothes Men like him don't make much. They can sell the old clothes to dealers for a small sum, hut they get little cash by begging IL iS the young fellows, with the assurance to approach well dressed men on the s;rcct with a well told story, that get the money. You may be perfectly sJlr,. that a well told story is lie. The professionals of various kinds come up in to this quarter in the morning to get breakfast. They go from door to door un- til they arc filled up, and then they loaf around the parks until it time for anoth- CT meal or tackle folks coming homo from business
 The strollers were now opposite the house in which Jay Gould lived and died.
 Do the bcggars visit such houses as that:" asked the detectives companion.
 Ut depends on the reputation of the people, and the bcggars find that out by reading the newspapers. You must re. member that beggary is as much a bust ness as sign painting or factoring. Now, Miss Helen Gould has a reputation for charity She has her servants give the | beggarS meal tickets. Perhaps she docsn ( know that they are received at some sa- looms for drink"
 Long In the Profession.
 As the detective scached Fifty-seventh street he glanced along the thoroughfare as far as he could see and said: This is usually favorite street with them. Some times you Il see q bcSSar woman come ou of one of these areas with whole roas ! chicken in her basket. Such women us' the proceeds of beggary to run cheap board ing houses. We found one woman wh, kept n boarding house for street laborer and entirely supplied her table with bro ken meats from the kitchens of the rich Sometimes the boarding house keepe hires a professional beggar to provide tn foOd.''
 The patrol now led down Lexington av enue, and as the detective passed a com fOrtably clad old woman who limpcd alon n with a bundle of lead pencils in her han he said to his companion: "Shes been professional beggar for 20 years, and sh has money in bank. She's in need of moth ing-better of, in fact, than half those tha help support her. She has one of the foul est tongues in the whole profession, an at the slightest word from me she'd call a crowd about us."
 By this time the amateur began to bt licve that he could tell professional bee gar at sight, and accordingly he directe .he detective's attention to an old woma
 who had paused in a side street to real :. range her bundle on the coping of wal
 Her possessions were strewn along tn stone, and she slowly made ready to ti them up in a newspaper. The detectiy
 watched her a minutsor two from acros the street and then said, s'No; she's prot ably O servant just leaving her place"
 He returned a like answer when hi
 companion pointed out a tall man shu
 fling westward toward Sixth avenu'