The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-14
RAG TIME IN NEW YORK.
HOW THE RAGPICKERs PROFIT ny
THE SCARCITY OF WOOD PULP.

From the New York Evening Post.
Rags, raigs and paper-ol' raigs."
The song of the ragpicker from Italy
as he goes about the streets of New York,
pushing his cart with jangling bells and
securing the town in search of wares. Is
one of rejoicing undnuted. For rag time"
as not on the variety stage alone this Win
ter. Down on Thompson and Crosby streets
1t is rag time, too. Not for many years
has the demand for rags and old paper
been what it is at present Within the last
few months prices have gone up as much
as 90 per cent So the Italian. who mono
polizes the trade on the lower rounds of
the ladder, is working night and day,
thankful for the opportunity which has
come to him. In the pockets of his greasy
trousers good money jngles merrily, while
behind a weeks growth of stubby beard
one catches glimpses of smile of con-
tent upon his face.
For good many years past the i'm
portance of cotton rags for the manufac,
ture of paper has been growing less and
less, wood pulp having largely supplanted
them. In all the regions which supply
wood pulp for the Eastern paper mills.
however the water has been remarkably
low for many months, and 1t has been
impossible to meet the demands of the
market, the pulp-mills In some places hav-
ing smut down altogether. The rag-men
have taken advantage of the open door,
and are prospecting accordingly
Starting at Canal street and going up
Thompson street to Washington square,
one passes directly through the chief COM
muntty of ragpickers In New York This
thoroughfare is inhabited for its entire
length almost exclusively by Italians who
huddle together in quarters where little
is to be seen but poverty and dirt Nearly
all of the junk-shops are located in eel
lars, connected with the street by means
OF a tumble-down flight of steps, men,
women and children sorting and bundling
up their wares inside by the flicker of a
slender jet of gas, which only partially
dissipates the darkness. Rags and old pa
per are scattered over the cellar floor and
piled high along the walls, and as each
new sack is emptied out in the middle of
the room, the contents are picked apart
ana distributed among a score of heaps
every scrap with those of It's kind
or all the establishments on Thompson
street, the junk cellars OF the rag-gather-
ers bear the most important relation to
the world outside Besides the trades
which draw money from without, how
ever the Italians support a variety of in
dustries on scale large enough for the
needs of the community. There are num-
erous small grogshops, few of which
could be dignfed by the title saloon, scat
tered along the street all the way up to
Washington square, although not as many
in proportion to the population as in
many other parts of the city. In addition
TO the grog-shops are queer little eating
places and cafes, with jars of candy i'm the
windows and strings of macaroni hang
ing over the doors, while here and there
along the street are miniature barber
shops, where one gets "hrst-class shave
for three cents, one with bay rum" for
f1ve cents, and a 'moustache dye for ten
cents. Moustache dyeng seems to be a
thing to which the Italians are much Civ
en-, as it is conspicuously advertised at
most of the shops. At one place the pro-
prletor is so generous, also, as to an
nounce that he furnishes a towel for
every customer but whether 1t is the
same or a different one the good man does
not state.
The advance gaurd of the sweat-shop has
planted a few outposts in Thompson street
but they are not yet of great importance.
In room no bigger than a good-sized ele-
vator SITS Josh Verdi, Mani. of Button
q.
while crowded about him are several wo-
men, sewing by hand as fast as their fin
gers can fly. Across the street Is a dilapi-
dated brick dwelling, and over the wooden
gate at the entrance to the alleyway hangs
a sign disclosing the presence of man
ufacturer of wool hats" Nor is the com
munity without the services of dressmak-
ers, although history fails TO note the time
when there dwelt on Thompson street any
of the tall, slender-waisted fairies, deco
rated with fur boas and surmounted by
hats of enormous area, which are repre-
sented on the fashion plates in the win
dows of "Giustna Ambrosio-Dress Maker
--Prezzi Moderate"
1t is with something of a shock that one
encounters the sign Hot and Cold Baths"
on cross street around the corner, but II
is the only advertisement of its kind that
meets the eye in passing through the Ital-
ian quarter, and II is reassuring TO oh
serve that the place seems to be anguish
ing for want of popular appreciation. At
the corner of Prince street is drug store
SO cosmopolitan in its character, and so
comprehensive in It's methods of appealing
for patronage, that it places itself before
the public by signs on its three show-win-
dows, reading. respectively. "F'armacia
Italiana," "Pharmacie Franchise" and
"Deutsche Apotheke."
The rag-gatherers on Crosby street live
of Broadway, although there are fewer of
them there, and they support almost none
Of the community interests in which
Thompson street abounds, with the ex-
ccption of the wee. small grocery-stores
which are always to be found wherever a
few Italian families are grouped together
These stores are stocked with boxes upon
boxes of macaroni, spaghetti, and other
iour-paste products, with strings of queer
looking and wonderful smelling sausagos
hanging from corner TO corner. while in
the stall outside, where the cat Is comfort
ably curled up is to be found plentiful
supply of lettuce. parsley, celery, cabbage.
spinach, leeks. and other green Vegeta-
bcs of which the Italians are very fond
The "Liceet. Junk Shop" of Tony Calan-
drello is one of the important establish
ments on Crosby street. and should not be
overlooked by the conscientious tourist to
this quarter
So far as the cheaper materials go, the
Italians are supreme in the lower stages
of the rag trade. They deal almost ex-
clusively in cotton rags, rope, and old "a
per. leaving the trade I'm woollen rags
which are used for the manufacture ~