New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-03-05
SHOPS IN CHINATOWN
MERCHANT PRINCES WITH Lone A..
SUCCESSFUL CAREERS.
DEPARTMENT STORES IN MOTT. pErI. An,
DOYDRs SITS. WHERE ALL SORTS on
CHINESE WANTS ARE SUPPLIED.

That part of New-YOrk which Is known .
Chinatown which includes Mott, Pei an.
Doyers SITS, with its quaint signs and decor
tions. its strange smells and general air Of M,
ing drfted into the busy part Of the metrou,v,
from another cline, while 1t has many pecul
characteristics, always impresses the visto, =,
wofully poor. But those people who know n.
district, whose business brings them in con,,-
with it's Inhabitants. know that Chinatown IA,
its share Of the worlds goods and that soms q,
the cramped and badly furnished and vo,x
ventilated quarters shelter the rich tenana
There are other foreign districts in that par, =,
the city. but none like Chinatown. There 4,
Baxter-st.. with its Jewish population and \,
pullers-in; the Ttall1 district with It's pushcst
and hand-crgan population, and, beyond thes.
the densely populated tenement-house dlstra
ca n with it's quota Of squalor and poverty; ba
in all these quarters, except Chinatown tie,
are evidences Of family life Here and thsr.
ported plant In a window. a piece Of dragon
hung out 10 air or a group Of children at pa,
show that there are some homes among 0,
novels. But Chinatown is a mans settleme.,
There are few women there. and the VIZ.
home" should not be applied to the habltaubcs
which make up the Chinese settlement
The man who works in the second hand clc,h
ing district and spends years in the caIrf
which he begins as a sidewalk salesman ususrI
sees visions of home in Lexington-ave be..s
him. and the hope that he may some day rad
the goal spurs him on in his labors to sell to8:,
iding sailormen coats which he warrants 4.
like glass on De bottle" The Italian who tsn
his hand -organ-with or without 'da monk
through the streets. or who lodges poicen.
with his pushcart full Of fruit or who goes t.
work with pick and shovel. also has Ambitions
which include better apartments and more ccr
fort for himself and his family. and for uG
reason the population Of these foreign disr.
changes the new arrivals taking the placs !
those who have outgrown the quarters. Thsi
not true Of the Chimes district. The mercha.,
are content T. remain there and TO DO busns
where they began, and the fact that they do,i
expand. that the stores remain u the same -
with never a change in the style or class . |
stock. makes people believe that the merchg1 |
are poor. In most instances the merchants In /
I'm the houses where they DO business, al l
usually neither above nor below the store, g.
back of it, There the clerks also live and a; u Il
meal hour It is not unusual to see the store CO,
verted INTO a dinng-room, with table In a /
middle, around which the men who are -
ployed in the store sit and eat their odd al l
peculiar dishes.
One of the oldest establishments in the dsus /
IS the house known as the Wo Kee COMPANY |
q. ri
there were comparatively few Chinese in NH |
York The basement and the first floor aM |
8 Mott-st were the headquarters Of tbs I'D
Germ. and there the laundrymen from lI~''
came for their groceries and teas fancy g.,
and Chinese dainties The proprietoS n'
grown rich, bu the store is the same as W
in its first stages. 1t is fair sample OF all
rest
The little shops in Hester and Allen sts Hs
on hand all sorts Of goods which the RusSs'
and Austrians who live in that neighoof"S
easily recognize as having come from heA
tant homes, but mixed in with the stocks "
goods which are strictly American ana
use of these and the gradual abandonment
the Old World articles the people take s@
toward AfncrlCanlSfl- III tltesS i-'A~N
one may find chewing gum on the SANE
with gansegruben and Whitewashed vahis"
next to the regulation knoblauch-"ursI
shops where women's ware IS SOLD the! A'F
false hair fronts for the pious eldef! w.
but not to the exclusion OF nyaWa! nAN
fluffy feathers and sparkling spangles W
younger generation.
But in Chinatown there is no suen Vs.
The stocks are kept FOR the accommooa''
the Chinese trade. and that requires VIC
class OF goods, the same articles to-9~
did years ago. This holds good IN al 0'~
OF the trade, from shoes to tea A~'l
canned vegetables and fruits are Kept u
quantities, but the grocery stocks are ~
most part imported Teas. spices nSS =,
various kinds OF roots and herps' W.
essential to every Chinese Kitchen are W -
every store, but with these goods one n'
oI.o ,o-co q dried 1000, WIZ