The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-06-24
PROFITS or THE JUNKMAN.
WHY His Business j. Peculiarly Sensitive TO
Financial Changes.

From the Ciepeldnd Leader.
You wouldn't think IT," said a veteran
!unkman. but my trade is really the
best barometer OF business. You see. il is this
way: When new things. especially new ma
terials. are low priced and OF sluggish sale.
nobody Is going 10 the trouble and expense Of
working over old ! found that out first after
the panic of IL. I had been making money
right along ever since | started ten years be-
fore. and had about pretty Well anything that
anne to hand. from n wOrm-eatnn cAlfskin 10
q rusty village cannon. IL was a sort Of no.
madic business, went to biggish towns ly-
ing along the railroads, stayed in their, one
month or six. and bought whatever anybody
would sell me at the rate Of 50 cents a CARLOAD.
Then | hired a shed somewhere. sorted my
stuff. and shipped It. My chance Of profit lay
In l kHSwin e j ,bs whtre to O., SEN. .c1s each iIo1 sort Olo on it
had fourteen different markets. Castings-
pot metal. as We called them-went 10 the fur
mace &C , ,ksv at hand hal, ,n shIreR SyoS sSviP p;, i1SE IIsliy'
Sheet and wrought iron went to the %rooiers,
or rather the galvanlzers, chains, big and
little 70 the makers Of iron rods. ana iron fl;
silver. The smelters, indeed, are, bound 10
have them, for some part OF their chemical re-
ducti9n; Just what ! donJ NOV DO know
and filings something more than $50 a ton.
Now and then ] struck n factory town that
had for years been dumping such filings among
lIN ~ d INbhhN IhlIo ~ " bhi
%gain-say IS. for the whole lot--dug IL out,
cleaned. and sold It, II not at full rates, high
enough to make me feel like | was working
a gold mine.
TT was, something the same way with old
brass, old COPPER zinc, and lead. Zinc,
though, was a rarity. Maybe YOU don't know
nary sense. II volati,es-that is to say,
evaporates, in many. sorts, of use---so when IL
Is done there ia %ncthing left Of It. But the
pound and their average cost to me was less
than a quarter OF a cent; Rags were nearly
as profitable. for wood pulp was then ln its IN
new or partly, worn. | sold 10 the shoddv mills,
which ground them IN, mixed them with. n lit
pots went to the ~feItars, cid books and papers
to the makers Of paper board. Iii DIES and bones
Il lodged them, unless the lodging WIS likely
paid freight on them and paid me whatever he
chose for the lot, | dare say he made a big
profit. but I could well aford TO let him have it.
in the fall OF 70 had about 800 tons OF stun
here and there, and was confident Of doubling
my profits next yesr, Pretty soon | di,cOy ~
host. First my old iron lay dead on my hands
could neither sell nor give away anything but
the filings, and they went down to a quarter Of
the old price. Brass, which had been steady
CONFER declined TO ~ cent; and lead went so
low 1t would not pay carriage, much less freight.
II | had been wise would have made bonilres
| vi NI'ih Phi - INV l3A' Wv ''li'i wi
living, but | had tho faith OF inexperience. For
two years ! paid rent and wages, trying to work
OF that stock. Then | saw ! had to make an
end Of it or Il would soon make an end Of mo
and my bank account. Well. when the books
wer o balanced they showed "A loss Of $40. 900
partly on stock, but more through the expense
Of trying TO carry il over into better times.
"A short boom what call n prosperity
~hurry-hardiy affects the trade. Things have
got TO go NJ and stay M, and seem n though
they meant TO stav Still longer. Take iron,
Tor example. Tn" trade In 1t has been brisk
now for two yoarS. but il l. only within tho last
six months that II has boen worth Will" TO deal
largely in scrap IRON, though -craplrOn IL "a sort
Of staple. In citirs copper and lead, especially
lead pipe. are In u degree exceptions 10 the rule,
Plumbing, you understand. accounts for tho
demand for lead pipe and the wonderful de-
velopment OF electricity keeps copper OF any
sort way NJ, even without taking account Of
the Copper Trust. On tho whole, though. you
may accept II IA a fact--it takes very goOdtimes
for a man to make more than a meagre living
In handling the waste products Of living.
known technically AZ junk"