The record-union., 1898-11-10
EAST SIDE MAGNATES.
Merchant Princes Of the Ghetto
and Their Ambitions.

Merchant Princes Of the Ghetto
and Their Ambitions.
The East Side merchant prince is un-
known to people who live OUTSIDE OF the
crowded district, but he is an important
factor in his district. He is the direct
outgrowth of the influx from Russia,
and he demonstrates the remarkable
adaptability Of his class.
1t does not require as much money
to be counted a merchant prince In
East Broadway as in Broadway, but 1t
is safe to say that the man with the
smaller bank account wields more pow
er where he lives in Bayard, Essex or
Allen streets than his weather. brother
prince who has city and country
house, and possibly yacht, ana
shooting-box in the woods. OF those
who merit the name of East SIDE mer-
chant prince there is none who has not
earned the place through his own en-
deavors They all came to New York
poor, ignorant of the language and GUS
toms of the country, and In many IN
stances they looked upon the crowded
quarters into which they were forced
and the noisome surroundings OF the
Ghetto as a luxurious change from
their Russian homes.
The pushcart, the peddler's basket
and the old clothes bag were the means
by which most of those who are now
living in East Side aff1uence began
their mercantile careers, and as their
business increased they grew in i'm
portance in their part Of the strange
community. The old-clotheS bag gave
IL 1ofI tvraic
fit" shop, where the articles were dis
pensed which, in the first stages, had
to be handed over to the man who
furnished the money which justified the
old-clothes mans cry, 'kee-ka- -kO, "
which is as near as he can get TO
Cash for clothes" Stores also have
taken the places Of the pushcart and
the basket, and as the less ambitious
peddlers and the housekeepers patron
ize these stores they grow and expand,
Presently the .storekeeper is elected a
Trustee in one of the little congrega-
tions-a leader in the synagogue-and
that is the first sign that he has en-
tered on the road which leads to mer-
chant princedom.
The competition is sharp, and men
who are lacking in shrewdness and
business tact and who do not under
stand the methods of East Side busf-
ness never reach the goal; but of those
who conquer opposition and by dint of
hard work, economy and thrift reach
the position for which they labored.
some look d0Wn upon their neighbors
from the elaborately decorated win
dows of their own houses; they dictate
the policy of their synagogue and di-
rect the affairs of their various secret,
social and charitable organizations, and
when the vacation season comes and
East Side houses become uncomfort-
able, they make a spectacular exodus
to- the country or to a watering place
In the first generation the East Side
merchant prince makes no effort to
associate with people on the other side
of the city. He knows that although
he may bestow diamonds by the pint on
his daughter she would not be eligible
In uptown circles, and he bows to the
decree which draws sharp line be-
tween him and other merchant princes.
But he keeps on with his work Of maxi
ing money He acquires real estate,
and freqdently becomes political
leader in his district. His children at
tend the public schools, and later they
go to higher educational institutions,
frequently bringing ideas of refine
ment into the house and making the
parents ambitious to give UP their lead
ership in their district and become less
conspicuous members Of the community
in a better part of the city.
Others are fascinated by the sur
rcundings, and have no aspirations be-
yond being "big people" in the Ghetto,
and they strut through the streets on
holidays or on their Sabbath day with
an air that shows that they fully ap-
preciate their own worth. I'VE merch-
ants" said one of the class, "are proud
of our places here. You can't point out
a store in this whole neighbOrhood
which came to the present owner from
his father Every man who has place
of business here worked for it, and
worked hard; and that is the reason
why they like to stay here. Some who
made their money in little tailor shops
or by taking contracts move away just
as soon as they have made a little
money, but they go among people who
have more money than they, and no.
body ever hears of them again. We
stay here where we know everybody Y
and where everybody knows us, and
in the end we are better off."-New
York Tribune.
Warwick Lane.
On the right hand side of Newgate