The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-07-26
ECHOES OF THE CHICAGO STRIKE.
Some Big Stories of the Money Made
by Enterprising NewsbOys.
.etter in Boston Transcript.

Chicago Letter in Boston Transcript
Almost the first thought of the feminine
portion of the community, when informed
that there were to be no newspapers roI
several days, was one of swift and gener-
Gus sympathy for the newsboys. Scores OF
women asked:
VIII those who live absolutely from hand
to mouth suffer actual hunger during the
famine?"
Certainly appearances at the outset
seemed to warrant this conclusion Even
Old-time newspaper editors and reporters
were inclined to believe that those urchins
Of Newspaper alley who had not boarded
the fruits of their phenomenal war pros
perity would be likely to feel the pinch of
poverty very keenly if the dailies did not
doubtedly prevailed for the first day of the
famine with the less forehanded of the lit
tie merchants of the pavement.
But with the first appearance of printed
news these hardy youngsters arose to the
occasion and made the remaining days of
the stereotypers' strike as glorious an epoch
splendid in the annals of the Nation. The
transactions in "one-sheet news dodgers
and out-of-town papers reached a magni-
tude which will be recounted as long as the
alley and it's traditions survive, and the
person who attempts to chronicle the finan-
cial operations of the newsboys who took
a hand in this harvest is likely to be &C
credited with greater imagination than
truthfulnesS.
A young man whose reliability is person
ally known to the writer and who repre-
sents one of the leading Chicago papers in
its relations to the neWsboys, with whom
he is in constant and intimate association,
makes these startling statements:
THE alley never saw such days in all it's
existence The little shavers who have been
satisfied to make So day since the war be-
gan, simply multiplied that profit by one
hundred. 1t doesn't seem possible but
know them myself and can prove what
say Practically everything, from handful
got out on local job press 10 a little
suburban sheet, sold at a dime, and thou
sands of them were snatched from the
hands of the boys at quarter apiece. This
kind of business was done as fast as the
lads could hand out the papers, and it kept
up from early morning until late at night
The newsboys didn't have time to yell their
papers. They were too busy taking in the
coin--and a Chicago newsboy can pocket
hundred dollars in dimes and quarters when
they come in Q. steady stream, before you
imagine he has collected a tenth of that
amount. / can take you to boy after boy
right here in the alley who made $500
that made this possible. The men who
brought papers by the carload from Evans
vile, Milwaukee, Joliet Aurora, Cincinnati
st. Louis and Kansas City can tell you that.
They didn't know what they were dealing
with when they attempted to do business
with the Indians of this alley. Just as soon
as wagon heaped with out-of-town pa
pers would drive into the alley the man in
charge would be surrounded by a noisy,
pushing, yelling pack. BY some ruse or 9TH
er those who were detailed to that work
would contrive to get the man on the
ground While his attention was completely
distracted by the attempt to dicker with
dozen of these bawling little savages, hun
dred of their confederates would swarm
about the wagon. and, by the time he
turned to deal out the papers he would find
it completely skinned-simply licked bare
One young fellow who has been about the
alley for years and knows the nature of It's
denizens paid 500 for a carload of Milwau-
kee papers and thought he was going to
make big strike But the boys were too
many for him, and when he counted his
cash he found he was $45 short.
And what did the lads do with their
money? First they fitted themselves OUT
with clothes. 1t was big sport to see them
astonlSh the storekeepers Not one of them
would buy more than a single article in the
same store. 1t gave him a chance to dazzle
more clerks that way than to buy a whole
outfit at one store. I've seen more than
one newsboy take a roll of bills from his
pocket big enough TO make a Harlem book
one OF them enjoy making the eyes of the
clerk bulge at the sight? Some Of the boys
those who have two or three good corner
stands-have laid away 1000 to 81, 500 each
pride of the alley it's the size of its crap
games The biggest ever played We're put
up the night of July 5. The corners that
were staked under the spluttering are
the alley. tried to make a close calcula-
ton of the amount that changed hands on
dice that night, and figured that IL certain
~ was not less than $500. :"
The evidences of phenomenal prosperity
are still 10 be seen In this famous rendez-
vous Of newsboys and carriers, where they
congregate to get their stocks. The offices
immediately tributary to this alley are those
Times-Herald and Evening Post The jack
pots which are now hedng exhibited there
abound IN dollars, and even gold pieces. in
stead OF coppers, as In ordinary times. The