Evening star., 1896-01-04
YOUNG TRADE ADVENTURES.
Honest Pennies Turned by Little
Street Waits.

Street Waits.
From the New York Tribune.
To the casual observer the callings Of
bootblack and newsboy seem to absorb all
the energies of the juvenile adventurers of
this great city. There are scores of boy,
however, who make their living outside of
the ranks of either vocation. Thrown on
their own resources, they put their wits to
work and strike out into less frequented
paths.
Almost any morning, snowy, rainy, windy,
promising clear, however the weather hap
pens to be, an enterprising group of these
youngsters may be seen in the City Hall
Park, or any of the conspicr Gus news CEN
ters, eagerly scanning the columns of a
newspaper. The newspaper may be the joint
property of all, or else 1t Is loan from some
friend in the news business. Picturesque
enough these small citizens look, eager. eX-
cited, urged on to keener interest by the
knowledge that bread, and perhaps butter.
certainly place to sleep, depend upon their
eXertions. No man of business scans the
morning daily more thoughtfully, seated at
his luxurious breakfast table. than do these
would-be merchants, turned out of their
lodging places after a hasty meal, in the
cold light of a wintry dawn.
Here's canal boat in," exclaims one.
"And a fruit schooner" says another,
pointing with a childish finger to the adver-
usement.
Il guess that's about all today" says the
boy In possession Of the newspaper, proceed
ing to fold 1t up.
Hold on"' exclaims a third. "I think
there was something about a fire uptown:
that would be chance"'
In less than five minutes the knot of boys
mat stood so long with their heads together
nave vanished. Two of them have gone to
the canal boat, others to the fruit schooner
yet another party has set off uptown to the
scene of the fire. This has been an unusually
good morning when three such promising
chances for business offer
These boys clean out the canal boats
brush out the cabins and scrub I'D the decks
bit. and In return for their services thew
get potatoes or other produce which the
Doat mas happened to bring, and such rem
nants of coal as may chance to be left over
In the coal bin. The potatoes and coal hot h
are readily vended in the tenement house
olstricts. where the people are glad to get
small lots at less than market price.
For helping to unload fruit schooner the
boys get paid in oranges or bananas, and
these they sell on the streets or round a the
different houses
For helping clear ND the rubb;sb uhar, :,
nre has made havoc, odd lots of the dam
aged goods are given them, such as gloves.
suspenders, socks, etc, and these the boys
sell At few cents pair to comrades of
their own, who are glad Of the chance to get
tne articles for nominal price.
Several Of these little Arabs went into
business not long ago, establishing a wood
yard on miminutive scale in a cellar
which they rent for s1.5O a month They
get the frames and discarded boxes from
various large establishments, conspfcuous
chemical factories and type foundries. and
after breaking them up, sell them for
knding wood. Sometimes they break up
boxes and frames for the establishment
working a couple of hours for the privilege
or using what they can carry away. At
first they broke up the frames with q stout
paying stone, but lately they have been
able to procure hatchets and an ak
FOR cents these ventureSome spirits So
cure clean, comfortable bed in the lodo-
ing houses. Breakfast costs 6 cents like
wise dinner; lunch they get or not, accord
ing 10 circumstances; but no inmate 10
allowed In the lodging houses after the
breakfast hour unless he is i'll: even then
the hospital is the more likely place of
refuge The boys are all turned out in the
early morning, and the dormitor:es living
and eating rooms made clean, and receive
nightfal 1''''i
Eighteen cents is good deal for small
Doy TO earn every day in the year. Yet
thls is the lowest rate at which even the
most charitable houses can afford to lodge
them.
From eight to fourteen years of age are
these self-supporting little men. and LIST
OF the employments by which they earn
their precarious livelihood Is Interesting
Many OF them scour the lines of railroad
tracks for pieces of iren bolts. horse shoes.
nails, hoops, &C., and ofttimes, according
to account, they find a dime, a nickel or
even quarter shining in the way. This
old iron is sold to the regular vendors Wh6
make business of collecting it. Many
business men. loath to leave their desks
even for an hour have their lunch brought
to them, and boys are employed for this
purpose by the big lunch companies.
Washing dishes in restaurants on extra
busy days is another source of income.
and boys domestically inclined wait on
sick people in the poorer districts, who are
glad to have nimble hands and feet at
their disposal for an hour during the day.
If a man or woman is confined to bed with
no one to sweep or clear up the room, no
one to hand cup of water, or fetch a
bowl of needed nourishment from some
netghbor's kitchen, they are glad to give
boy dime who is willing and intelligent
Il lent lad $3.50 to set up in the lem
onade business" said the superintendent of
big lodging house. He got two big tin
pals, some glasses, squeezer and mate
rails. In six weeks he had paid me my
money back and had established for him
self tolerably good trade.