Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1899-02-17
OUR NEW YORK LETTER,
Fulton and Ann Streets the Fa.
kris Chief Stamping Ground.
A Paradise For Push Cart Men-sOme
of Them Make Mig Money some
thing About King of the FaliFs
and His Trade.


of Them Make Mig Money - some
thing About King of the FakiFs
and His Trade.
NEW YORK, Feb 16.-[S Special. Push
cart men and "fakirs" are to he found in
every street of the borough Of Manhattan,
but their favoritc stamping ground, tho
location which they consider theirs to occu-
by as they see fit, is away down town to
the east of Broadway In Fulton and Ann
streets.
Fulton and Ann streets are as important
in the eyes of the push cart men as Wall
street is in the eyes of the brokers and the
magnatcs of the money market, and, like
it and the adjacent streets, curiously
enough, these two cross town thorough
fares are known colloquially by the fakirs
as "thc street" Fulton street being the
wider of the two, good stands along its
| length are eagerly sought after, and the
carts of the dealers are to be seen drawn
up in line along its southern side every
| fine day for the distance of two or three
full blocks Though chased by the police
| from pillar to post in every other part Of
| the town, they are there rarely disturbed.
| Buyers who delight to patronizc these deal
| ers understand this fully and help crowd
| the sidewalk from morning till night, bar
| gaining for the various sorts of goods with
| which the carts are laden. just how it
! happens that push carts are seldom modest
| cd there is something that no follow can
find out with certainty. The police even
can't tell, but tradition runs that fakirs
rights on "thc street date from the term
of an old time mayor, who, being petit
toned to set aside some place for the use
and behoof of push cart men, designated
way. they are there daily to the number
of 100 or more whenever the weather and
business are good.
Thirty Dollars In One Day.
One of these men said this morning with
regard to his money making powers:
Il don't never expect to make fortune
outer this business, but thcy's been some
times wen I've cleared n high as $50 and
more in one day. They was on special oc-
casions, though, like around Christmas an
lectons an W en- the people gifts bughouso
over some Teller wOt done somcthin great.
Watts bughousc; Wy nutty, ratified
cra2ylikc. Fer instance, we made heap
of coin wen Dewey licked the Spaniards at
Manila Some fellers l know raked in
over 500 in one week that time. an we
never had no better biz than W en- the pco
pie was crazy after flags an pins an pic
lures of warships an HobSon an all them
other fellcrs
But times is pretty good now consid
erin. an "A Teller wot ; got the gift of gat
an knows how to use it can make in q
week IA pile wot no dude clerk around herr
can cover wit his salary. Wot do we dc
wit it? Go blousin an play the cards
Wot's blousin? Wy, crookin yer elbow
gittin drums. See? They's n place not q
hundred miles from here where if you e
any night you IL see the street men gam
bin their coin away.
I'm this biz you We got to know how e
; make Teller buy somcthin he don't need
Now, fer instance, some fellcrs will 90 on
wit, say, load Of shocblackin, like Iv'
got, an they won't sell enough for
night lodgn. That's because they ain
on TO the game Now jist watch me fer
minute.
He turned to the passing crowd, rs
, summed Il professional air and shouted;
I Good people, big an small stop mo
+ ment in your mad rush fer wealth an -
) the funniest trick that ever happened
They's only IA few people wot can perform
this feat. l got on to it W en- l was il
r. India from the famous Ben Eli, whose lif
= l saved AT the peril of me own. | take
= this shoe, which you all see is nothin hu
a common, ordinary east of piece of foo
e covcrin wot : went for n walk in McCart
5 ney's clean streets an come back full q
d mud. Then | takes some black from thi
= box, spread il on-so, rub me hand owe
z IL in this manner, an, presto, the shoe
T. changed into the brightest of patent leatl
er. Five cents, a nickel n box, is all
costs, - and so on.
He sold at least a half dozen boxes in a
many minutes.
A Some Things They Sell.
>. A list of the things sold on 1.-THE street
/ would be a mighty queer string of nalnc'
y There are microscopes for quarter whic
s the salesman guarantees will make n dru
d of water "look like the mighty ocean;
matches that when lighted will explod
s. with loud noise; popular sheet music (;
D paper covered volumes, including sue
n celebrated books as Quo Nadis, - "Cyr,
ID no de Bcrgcrac, The Christian, a" "Th
Little Minister and so on; toys of ever
D. imaginable descriptions; toilet articles
shoe laces; collar buttons; in the season
straw hats-an endless variety.
1t should be clearly understood though
that while shoe laces and collar buttOI
are among the commodities offered for sa
the dealers of "the street. do not afiiliat
with the ordinary peddlers of these art
Giles, but, on the contrary, feel much LITE
aDONG lnclil lTOlll lnO bOClul Nl6W pun
- Nearly all the dealers on 1.-THE street" al
pretty we'll travelled, and thus familii
- with all the larger and many of the small,
a American cities. They do much of the
g travelling on freight trains and much of
( on foot, and so may properly be callC
t. tramps perhaps. But they claim TO
I'd gentlemen tramps" and would scorn
panhandle" or beg for food on the roal
King of the FalGirs.
The famous king of the fakirs has
establishment on Ann street on the tC
floor of little two story building ju
round the corner from Broadway. I
conducts the fakir business on a wholesa
basis, buying up bargains of various sor
from novelty manufacturers, at auctiC
! sales and anywhere he can get them, gi
> ing out the goods to the street men wi
congregate at his shop every morning,
be sold on commission.
Men who know all about this ma
whose name is Sanders say he has MAJ
q good deal of money out of his odd bus
ness, and there seems to be no reason WI
this should not be so. At the same tin
Z his luck is not all good. Push cart trad
l. like all other trade, is capricious, and Il
- king of the faSirs has been known to
stuck with goods that proved dead
drug on the market. On few occasion
too, he has been a comparatively hea'
loser from the dishonesty of his subject