The morning times., 1896-06-21

this is one OF the reasons why landladies
charge so high for front rooms, in which,
according to De Wolf Hopper. the sun
shines night and day, and which catch as
in conch shell or the ear OF Dionysius
all the variegated yelis, shrieks, expostu-
latiuns, objurgations and rattle OF street
cars, street pianos, horses, wagons, carts
and all the innumerable horrors of city
in which daybreak hustle is the epitone OF
all the commandments.
Yet there are thousands upon thousands
OF people who love to hear the devilish
din as it begins at daybreak and ends just
in time to load up the wagons for another
: raid on the sleeping city.
Yes, the costermongers, hucksters, street
pianists. devil-crab men and other sunrise
lneffables have friends in Washington. They
are one of the oldest industries in the
world. For instance, away back yonder in
Ben Jonson's time, he wrote:
If lie who turnips cries
Cries not when his father dies,
'Ts a. sign that he would rather
Have turnips than his father
INDUSTRY OF TURNIPs.
Ttis, at least, shows that crying turnips
were not an unknow wn fruit in London in
the time OF Shakespeare. Since then the
industry has increased from crying turnips
to all the fruits of the field. the fowls of
the air and the fishes of the water. They
all Cry to heaven, AMI yet they have thou
sands of friends.
First among these friends are the police,
and especially those who COON duty at day
light. They don't have to listen in bed to
the song OF the ripe, the red ripe, tomato.
Or the green. cholera-morbus cucumber.
Second, is that large class of lazy house
keepers. who love to lie abed while the
lately married matron gets up and goes to
market. and while the morning stars slug
together, and the English sparro ws assist IN
the chorus.
And, third. is the class of conservatives
who do not believe in destro wing traditions.
sort of an anti-iconoc!ast society. They
are against anything new. IL it will sup.
plant any old thing; and 1t is well known
that the street vender OF vegetables is a
relic of the ante-bellum days. George
Washington himself kept a pay ferryboat
and quarreIed with the boatmen about their
financial returns, and no doubt he was a
contributor of Mount Vernon watermelons
and squashes. or cymlings. to the streets
and market OF Alexandria.
These vendors are net so picturesque
nowadays as the used to be. when they
came In from the country with bare legs.
check cotton frocks, and a bandana turban
on the top OF which was a soft pad on.
which rested the light tray holding the
strayberry or the raspberry. They. CT
course, also ca rried the more prosaic cab
bage, turnip, sweet and Irish potato.
This was before the day of the ancient
wheeling steam ferry between Washing
ton and Alexandria
1t will be conceded. however, that these
modern morning mnstrels have better
voices than the old regime. 1t takes a
good voice even early in the morning to
make itself heard over the din of the other
noises and sounds of this metropolis. Sue
cess In the business is in fact very largely
aquestion Of upper register. This the whole
city knows from the al fresco opera which
is sung every morning. Sunday excepted.
Are they lawbreakers? OF course they
are. There is a police regulation which
for bids the hawking Of vegetables and other
truck, but It is so many years and years
since there has been complaint against
any offender. that the ccstermongers are
now practically branch Of the local in
dustries. .legalzed by custom and sufferance.
If any one doubts that the merchants in
this trade are industrious let him take
walk after a sugar corn man any morning.
Sometimes he goes ,oDg in the primitive
fashion. with q tray or wicker-basket
oD his head. or again you find him as engineer
of an ancient wagon or cart. He bawls out
something as he goes along, which, as