The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1894-05-18
GOTHAM'S MENDICANTS.
How the Beggars of New York
City Ply Their Arts
An Industry That Is Imported by Those
Who Engage in 1t Americans
Not Successful Aims
getters.

The comradeship of beggars. to
which all writers on the subject of the
ncthersidt of life in the big metropo-
i of New York delight To refer. does
not manifest itself at courts or po-
lice stations. for no individual ar
rested for msndicancy in New York
for a very long time has described
himself as beggar when ar
r,iigIisd or arrested. There are about
fifteen hundred professional beggars
in New York Begging as a fine art
or fixed science l. not an American in
stitution- Americans do not make
good beggarS. if such an expression
may be used to describe ability in
alms@ctting-
Begging. says the New York Sun,
is a foreign industry. temporarily
transported 50 far as this city Is con
ccrned- There is one peculiar thing
about it which does not find its way
usually into the columns of news
papers. The professional he%gars OF
New York belong in groups. divided
by questions 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 Oi
these groups has Il certain place of
rendezvous. and the way they operate
i about a follows: If a prominent
Italian comes to the United States on
a visit and the newspaper chronicle
his movements, il is not long before he
i beset by Italian mendicants who
claim to be temporarily embarrassed
and to- have heard from abroad of his
liberaIity and benevolence- \ French
tourist has the same experience from
his compatriots, and 50 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
opportunities by beggars from that
country Not very long ago we'll
l-nowu New York merchant died and
his obituary notice contained the in
formation that he had been born in a
certain town of Holland As soon a.
the Dutch group of beggars got hold of
this fact they overran the members of
his family with claims for charity and
assistance All professional beggars
in New York read the published
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 a similar affiiction. and hope to
stimulate their generosity
These mrndicants go about their
work of almsgetting Systematically.
One group does not interfere with
hAr l.N-
ber of a group are at the earliest OPP
pOrtunity communicated to the 9th
ers. and thus. almost AUTOMATICALLY.
these beggars descend from all parts
of the city on common object of at
tack They evade the provisions OF
the law regarding mendicancy by
prosecuting their demands within
doors, and not on the streets. They
are careful about this, for the distiHc
tion which many persons would not
observe is a vital one 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
precision in securing victims for at
tack. but il can be easily explained
when it is stated that the best organ
lied group of foreign-born mendicants
come from countries where drinking is
general but intoXiration is rare. The
United Charities organiza tion has about
driven out from the field of activity
the English-spealIing beggars, as a
class, in New York, but the foreign
born beggars survive in unimpaired
numbers. and seem to flourish, despite
the hard times