The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-07-16

walk through the streets. Some do not
wear coats nor vests, but clean white
shirts and pantaloons, with fancy belt
between them. They are sleek looking,
dapper young dandies, and excellent
statesmen. Their wages, however, would
not keep a New York clerk in cigars
and soda water. The average salary is
10 pesos a month and board. Discount
the pesos at 40 Ter cent and you have
a salary of six American dollars, and
you can cut down the board to about the
sams ratio. 1t consists of a cup of cof-
fee and a piece of dry bread for break
fast, of soup, meat and vegetables and
a dessert for luncheon, and of about the
same for dinner. The clerks live in the
back rooms of the stores on the ground
floor. Each has his cot, which is folded
up in the day time, and he takes turns
for the primping at the common look
ing glass. The merchant usually lives in
the swell quarters over the store, for
all well-to-do people In San Juan live
above stairs.
The Porto Rican clerk puts In from f1f-
teen to seventeen hours per day. He
takes down the shutters at in the morn
ing and by 7:30 trade is in full blast. 1t
keeps on all day, with the exception of an
hour at noon, save from 1870 to 1890,
and continues on unit, 10 or IL at night.
Some of the smaller stores do not close
open from a. m until II p m.
And are there many young men who
want such positions at Sc per month?
Yes, any amount of them. They are
glad to get them and anxious to hold
them. They work a year or so before
they are advanced, and when they rise
TO $40 or $50 a month they begin to put
on airs. About this time they take lodg-
ingS outside the stores and aspire to
partnership in the business. Good clerks
are often taken into partnership by their
employers, but 1t is only after years of
service.
These low wages prevail in all branches
of trade. One Of the best cutters in the
most fashionable tailor shop here re-
ceives less than 81 a day. He has to work
every day and Sunday from Z a. m. until
10 p. m, and his master is always tell
ing him he is paying him too much wages
PEDDLERS OF SAN JUAN
Quite lot of business is done in the
Porto Rican cities by peddlers. The
streets are full of hucksters, candy sell
ers and Ice cream vendors. Each has his
own cry and the walls ring with them
from daylight until dark and after dark.
Here comes man peddling chickens. He
is yelling a cry we do not understand,
holding out as he does so one of the three
dozen fowls he has tied together by their
legs and slung over his shoulder.
The chickens squawk as he carries them
along the street, and their shrill cries are
apparently in opposition to his statement
that he will sell fine chickens for seventy
five centavos-about forty-five cents
apiece OF our money.
But see those queer bundles he has I'M
der his arm. He seems to be feather
peddler as well. The bundles are wrapped
with 1agua palm bark, and out of their
ends stick what look like feather dus-
tiers. Now he has turned about and we
see the other ends of his bundles. Each
contains live turkey, and it is poking
Its head out of the bark The turkeys
are laid fiat with their legs doubled I'D
under them. The legs and wings are
bound around with strings, and the whole
is wrapped up in the thick bark of the
Jugua palm. In this way he can carry
three or four turkeys: and ut the same
time the dozen or so chickens he has
thrown over his shoulder.
L ask as to prices and find that turkeys
are exceedingly cheap, while the chickens
are dear. AS l talk to him man comes
up with a round basket the size of one
of our bushel baskets slung to his Shout
ders. 1t seems to be filed with dry
leaves. thrust in my hand and find that
1t contains eggs, which are packed about
in this way.
HOW THEY SELL ICE.
But there comes the ice cart of San
Juan. 1t takes two such to supply the
city. 1t is hardly bigger than dry goods
box and is hauled about on wheels by a
donkey. The ice here is manufactured. 1t
is shipped in hogsheads to the interior of
the island on an OK cart, and considering
: the slow method Of transport lasts pretty
we'll
Behind the ice wagon is a bread peddler
He stands there near that beer saloon
over which you see the sign of one of our
American beers. See the basket of bread
upon his head. 1t is as big around as a
wash tub and the long loaves stand out
on all sides. Each of these loaVes costs
6 centaVos or cents. They are made of
American flour and are baked by profess
sional bakers. No bread Is made in the
homes Of the Porto Ricans The pOar
can't raise enough capital to buy flour
| and every one relies on the bakers who
furnish fresh bread every day They
make as good bread as you can find any
where in America. 1t is light and crisp.
with a crust as delicious as that which
| you get in Paris or Vienna.
The bread is peddled about from house
| to house, and you find bread peddlers far
off in the country districts selling the
toaVes. l have gone into some of the bake
shops. Bare armed men knead the bread
! just as we do and lay it away in old-fash-
Toned bake ovens which look more like
| furnaces than anything else. This is done
| at night and in the morning it is ready
for sale.
MARKETS OF SAN JUAN.
But let us go to the markets and see
what the Porto Ricans eat We cross the
wide Plaza, walk up the hill between the
| postoff1ce and city hall, and come at last
to a long, low building surrounding a
court. We hear the din of buying and
selling as we approach it. We enter and
| find ourselves in the midst of about an
| acre of Porto Ricans, negroes, mulattoes
and whites. There are men, women, chill.
| dren and babies buying and selling, chat