The Washington weekly post., 1900-05-08
A BUSINESS BAROMETER,
The Junk Man says fiji. Trade Is Pccu.
hariy Sensitive 10 Financial Conditions,

you wouldn't think it," said the yeter-
an junkman, but my trade is really the
/ best barometer of business You see. IL f.
! THIS way. When new things. especially
new materials, are low priced and OF
sluggish sale, nobody is going to the trou-
Die and expense of working over old. /
| found that out first after the panic Of
1873. / had been making money right
along ever since | started ten years be-
fore, and had bought pretty much any
thing that came 10 hand, from a worm
eaten calf skin 10 a rusty village cannon
Ii was sort Of nomadic business I went
TO biggish towns lying along the railroads
stayed in them one month 10 six. and
! bought whatever anybody would sell me
al the rate OF 80 cents a CARLOAD. Then
/ hired "A shed somewhere sorted ms
stun, and shipped ii. Ny chance Of profit
lay In knowing just 'CneFe TO send each
sort Of 1t.
Why in the matter Of scrap iron alone.
/ had Tour different markets. Castings
pot metal, as We called them-went 10 the
furnace closest at hand, thereby saving
freight, since they were not merely heavy
but bulky. Sheet and wrought iron went
10 the roof ma kers. or rather the galvan-
izers; chains, Dlg and little. TO the makers
Of iron rods, and iron flings and turninKs
10 the smeiters Of gold and silver. The
smelters, indeed, are bound 10 have them
tiOn. Just what, don't know. / do know
that they would pay for clean, bright
tuTuings and filings something more than
so a ton. Now and then / struck a fac
tory town that had for years been dump
ing suCh filings among It's waste Then I
usually also struck baTgdin-say s.. for
the whole lOt-dug IL out, cleaned ana
sold It. if not at fun rates. high enough
10 make me feel ike 1 Was working a
gold mine.
1T was something the same way with
old brass, old copper zinc and lead
Zinc, though. was a rarity. Maybe you
don't know II. bur zinc hardly ever wears
out in the ordinary sense. II yOiatt!iZe~-
that is to say. eVapOTatss, II many sorts
OF use 50 when IL Is done, there IS moth
insg left Of IT, But the other metals stood
me iu from I 20 70 cents d pound ard
tnelr average cost 10 Tne was less than
a quarter Of a cent. Rags were nearly ds
profitable. for wood pulp was then In rs
infancy. 30 they were stlll the most con
siderable source " white paper stock.
Wooden rags, new or partly woTa, ] sod
to the snOdGy mills. which ground them
up mixed them with a little new WOOL.
and spun them again. Old carpets went
% the felters. old books and papers 20 The
makers OF paper board. Hides and ones
I lodged them. unless the lodging Was
likely 20 spoil a tTade-I sent 20 . man in
the city, Who paid freight on them ard
gave me whatever he chose FOR the lot
] dare say ~ made Dis pFoht but /
could well afford % let bin have H.
In the fall oI ls5 l rad about tbFes
hundred tons Of stun here and there. &Ld
Was confident Of doubling my profits next
year. Pretty soon / discovered how much
! had reckoEed without my host First
my old lrCR lay dad o. my hArdsI
could neither sell nor give away anything
but the hlings. ana tncT went Gown 10 a
quarter Of the 0.G price Brass. when
had been STEADY - 70 lJ cents pound.
wouldn't fetch three-ql4rteFg o. a cent.
a. Hr-- a ~
lead went 20 low 10 would rot pay cart
axe, much less freight II / had been
WlSe ] would have made bCIareE 0f what
ever would burn, and left the other stLf
lying bat J rad faith Of iuexpsriencs.
For TWO years 1 paid rent and wages ny
Ing 20 work on that stock. Then raw
had 20 make an end o. o. Or f would
soon maze al end % me and nay bank ace
count Wen. when the books were hs.-
anced, they showed a loss Of H5J.81-
partly on stock. bat more through NJ"
expense II trying 10 carry u over into
better timss.
a abort boom-what ! call a prosperity
fUrry-hardly Affects the trade Things
have got % 90 ~ and stay up. ard seem
Is though they meant 10 say Et!l longer.
Take iron Tor example. The trade in ~
has been brisk nov for '~o year., but n
= only xiibio the isst flN months that %
tas been worth while % deal largely in
scrap iron. though scrap iron 10 sort Of
staple. In cities e0pprr and lead eEpr-
c.aliy lead pipe are IN a degree eScgp-
tons 70 the rule. Plumbing you under
stand. accounts for the demand Tor lead
pipe. and the wonderful development Of
electricity keep copper 81 any sort way
up even without taking account ~ the
copper trust. On he whole. though, you
may accept Il as fact-it takes very
good times for a man 10 make more thar
a tneaksF living IA handling the waste
proaucts oI .syinS. II own technically a.
ivnk"