The record-union., 1899-04-12
THE PARIS RAGPICKER.
The Profession Threatened by Pro-
posed Regulations.

The Paris ragp;cker, that interesting
character of the French Capital, who
has been the subject of so many plays
and novels, is again on the tapis. 1t
may be remembered that not many
years ago the ancient order of "Bifiins,'
as the ragpickers prefer to call them
selves-why, l cannot say-Was on the
point of disappearing altogether Up 10
that moment the rubbish of the town
was thrown in heaps into the cutters.
1t was from these heaps that the rag
picker got his daily bread before the
dustcart came round. Such was the
situation when one morning the sanl-
tary authorities, having nothing better
to do, decided to change it. 1t was M.
Poubelle, the then Prefect of Police,
who undertook the task which, natur-
ally, made him very unpopular with the
"Biffins." The system which he pro-
posed. and which was adopted, was to
place the rubbish in a metal box inside
the house instead of in the gutter. and
throw it into the dustcart as it passed
by. 1t was argued that the public
health would be a gamer by the change,
but the "Biffins'' could not see this, and
they protested against being deprived
of the means of earning their livelihood.
Ultimately however, it was arranged
that the boxes might be placed on the
curbstone, so that the ragpicker would
be able to explore them.
Another change which has aroused
the "Biffins" to arms is now being dis
cTssed. So far they have not broken
the public peace, and have remained
calm and dignified. Who knows if
Diogeres, whose portrait has been
transmitted to us in the act of search
ing the pavements of Athens with his
lantern, was not a ragpicker before
being a philosopher, or perhaps both of
them at the same time, like our modern
'Biff!ns?" Whether this be the case
or not, there is a stir in the world Of
the hottie and the crochet" and one
of the dlgnitaries of the corporation
has done me the honor of informing me
that from the Butte-aux-C Cailles to the
Grandes-Carrieres, from Grenelle to
Clichy. protests are being drawn up and
meetings organized to discuss the in
terests of the profession, which are in
serious danger. The emotion Of these
honest people is quite natural. NJ. LIE
Breton, a Municipal Councillor, is the
author of a project which, If 1t be
adopted will be the death of the rag
DitkeT- ACcOTui0S To his SyS Lie
rubbish is to be transferred in carts
hermetically closed to the factories.
where it viii be crushed by steam. This
service is to be placed in the hands of
one or several contractors.
Progress in the name of science pre-
tends that the dust of the rubbish is
dangerous to the public health, and ca
pable of propagating the germs of all
kinds of maladies. 1t must also not
be forgotten that in the scheme now
under consideration the intermediate
ragpickers will be replaced by capital
lists, who viii pay a royalty to the
town for the removal of the waste.
The Municipal Council will thus find it.
self between a desire to manage the
mur:cipal finances with economy and
the serious responsibility of throwing
out Of employment forty thousand hon.
est workmen for the profit of a few
contractors. On one side there is the
question of good administration, and
on the other an electoral question, for
forty thousand ragpickers are not be
be neglected; and the voting bulletins
in their hottie will be felt when the
municipal elections take place.
The ragpicker is one of the spoiled