The evening times., 1896-12-23
is A STREET OF INDUSTRY
Struggle for Life illustrated in a
City Byway.
Earnings Are Swelled by
Little Sales.

suggestive of the power and strength of
the man who lost his hirsute embeliish-
ments through the first lady barber.
1t is a short street, only a block in
length, that stretches from Fourteenth
to Fifteenth streets. 1t is sort of an
| entryway from the bustiing, noisy, cos
mopolitan business section to the fashion
able. II hardly reaches to the ultra ia shion-
| able quarter.
| When Samson street reaches Fifteenth
street 1t throws away it's name and its
aspect together. 1t becomes Madison place.
Three stores and a church on quartet
OF corners mark the change. There is a
difference in the atmosphere. All along
FROM Fifteenth street the houses have
| been never more than two stories high.
Sometimes they have a dIngy basement.
| When the change comes il is a step up
| ward or downward, according to the
sOcialistic tendencies of the observer.
Wealth immediately asserts itself with
| the beginning OF the place The houses
grow higher and stand alone with their
| own yards. Independence would be
better name for the street when taken into
consideration with Sam son street.
| But the peculiarity of Samson street is
| its signs. They are literal signs of the
| times. They indicate the strife for wealth.
more likely, however, for existence, that
| is made in the cGnerstcd centcrs of urban
districts. II is a Heterogeneous colony,
| such as would pI obably not be found in any
other similar space in the City, with an
| assortment of businesses to match. Samson
streets signs are chic. They are Catchy
They are exclusive. They are, most OF
| all. illustrative.
These signs indicate that there is not
| an icIa soul in Sams on street. When the
report ter went TIN oush the block lie did not
| see a single vacant house. But house
/ to rent card was almost the only one in
the whole category of s'gEs that was alb
| sent.
| Everybody is always busy in Samson
street, either indoors or out. At midday
| men will rush out of the little houses and
jump into waiting delivery wagons or
| hurry along the street, eating a sand
wich az they 90. Ii is their lunch. Maybe
they gulped cup of coffee before they
| grabbed up the sandwich. But at any
| rate they have not time to sit down and
| eat. The custom is distinctly American.
When the pedestrian turns the Fourteenth
street corner the first thing that is likely
to strike his eye between sunrise and sun
stA Is the uU USUAL nuiuDtsT OF dt-OTS III the
ST rect The thoroughfare is not wide,
probably twenty feet from curb to curb,
| and a few vehicles make greater showing
| than the same number on the wide ave
nueS and streets throughout the city. Most
of these vehicles, as intinated, are delivery
| wagons of one class or another. The
drivers live or room in the street and al
some time during the day almost every one
while in that section OF the city.
1t is in the window Of these same homes
and in front OF the little shops that inter-
vene that all the wonderful signs appear.
Probably dozen houses can be found in
the block with placards on the iasid. OF
the window pane or tackled bcside the
door announcing that rooms are for rent
within.
These signs are as diffc rent in design as
they are numerous. They vary from the
| small bit Of pasteboard scarcely larger
than a visiting card. to the weather beaten
Pine board, with crudely pencllc1 letters
where the ms and the SIS" are made
backward.
In at least two OF the cotta ages hat line
the way the wolf is kept from the ,.oor by
dress,uakuG. at least signs on the xtcrior
patton is carried ON within. In d brick
house that is more pretentious i'll appear
ance than its ncighbors the sign conforms
with the rest and indicates thata ''modiste''
resides within.
on the south side of the street many of
the buildings are built of wood. They
are small AT least three stores are to
be found in TINS row The windows are
giasses that adorn q he windows OF country
houses. Through the diury paucs adver-
tisement asserts itself in jars Of candy
that WAS made when the art was new.
catch penny arrangements of every de-
scription, flaming cigarette posters, bars
of sodp. on which the dust has settled
until the lettering is almos illegible.
In more than one place there is sign
to announce that oysters may be found
within. one window is shaded with 4
pyramid of boxes, waiting to convey "a
half fried home in box Beside the
same window Il pine board is converted
into an attractive and misspelled sign
through the use of Il lead pencil.
The nearest ncghbor % the oysterman is
a white washer and a caIcimincr. \ black
sign with letters varying from white 10
makes the announcement FIom the next
doorpost a sign sticks into the street almost
far enough to knock the hat from a pedes-
tran'S head and with crude dra wings and
letters tells that b, OTIS and shoes are Inrnde6
inside.
over the way oysters are sold by the
quart or barrel. 20 numerous signs say. But
the signs leave off at the tops of the win
dows. They are ompellod to do it in cr,ier
to make room for those above, for in the
top of the same building the tenants lat
tie through life by painting signs, tcuses
and fences and by selling lime.
Over a small entryway that tunnels it.
self through the adjoining tirnbers of two
houses is small board that announces
express for hire and leaves the reader
hating between his opinions of where To
apply. Two more signs bob up with
serenity along the same side OF the street
and in letters as crooked as the homeward
path of a Bacchanalian devotee proclaim
to the cold, cold world that wood and
coal are to be had on application within.
Not withou, its professional men is Sam
Son street. and a sign on a conspicuous
house-front tells that doctor can be
had on solicitation at the door In a
nearby window, removed one flight up
ward from the street, is a little white
card, hard to read when one stands near
the curbing below, announcing hat a pro-
fessor Of the violin dwells there and that
he could be induced to take pupils in his