Evening star., 1901-03-02

In city OF the shetland Of the depravity
OF New York. Morphine Mike was the
name by which tie queer-looking creature
was known by his clients. morphine
Nike" In nationality,bis perhaps a little bit
Of everything Magyar, Rouma-
nian, Czech, and what not. For a number of
years past he has been prowiing about the
BoWery itself, 4ostensibly peddlng shoe
Strings and collar buttons and cheap gear
OF that sort. 1t was observed, however,
that Morphine Mike never seemed to
make any really serious effort to sell the
STUN suspended on the tray hanging from
MS neck, and so the detectives took to
Malching MIN, more out of curiosity than
anything else. They unearthed the mans
graft several weeks ago, but they want
ca TO watch him for a while before they
plcked MIN up, ia order to get good cline"
oii " nus patrons. When they had satisfied
themselves In this respect they arrested
tne man, and he stands a fair chance of
being rairoaded
morphine Mike" was an itinerant pur-
Veyor OF morphine. The Bowery is strewn
WIN shattered wrecks of men and women
VINO are addicted to the morphine habit
MOST OF these poor castaways often found
theinseiVes without the money in hand to
purchase the drug they craved at the
apothecary shops. where, on account of the
FISK OF the law that must be taken, the drug
slsts VIII only sell dollars worth of the
narcotic as the smallest amount. Here is
where Morphine Mixes business acumen
such fair way to riches that he assuredly
VIII not suffer when he is released from
MS term IN prison. The man worked up
cIentele among the dope f1ends. He
gave the fend "jab' of the stuff for 10
cents, or If the fiend swallowed the mar
cotlc in powder form morphine Mike" sold
the amount of the victims dose at a fair
proht on the number of grains purveyed
Inc walking morphine seller carried his
own hypodermc needles and when he met
up with customer he'd take him or her
INTO a dark doorway and administer the
injection, always. however, taking the pre-
caution to get his dime in advance. "Mor-
phine Mike" had scores of customers whom
he met at certain corners every night and
attended to with his evil little kit
Imitation Jewels.
A noted firm of jewellers and dealers in
precious stones. that has done business on
Maiden lane, in this town, for two genera
tions. failed the other day, and the head
OF the firm told the writer on the day after
the failure that the firm went to the wall
on account Of the tremendous development
OF the imitation gem business. He also
said that many women who are reputed to
own great quantities Of jewels do not own
them at ALL but merely rent them.
"Lapidares,' he said, "are confronted
with two new conditions. The virtual i'm
possibility of identifying stolen gems has
given rise to the practice on the part Of
many women reputed to own fortunes in
jewels Of hiring rather than purchasing
them. The sale of diamonds has fallen off
to an alarming extent owing to this reason. |
Another menace to the lapidary Is the
use of imitation gems by women Of the |
highest standing. At a recent marriage, |
which was referred to, account Of the
great array of gems among the nuptial |
gifts. as the diamond wedding the great |
er part Of the stones given the bride were |
limitations that defied detection. In the |
case of one tiara, supposedly Of pigeon
blood rubieS and diamonds and which was |
said to have cost $50 900, the ornament
really cost only 5000, and that price was
fixed rather for the workmanship than for
the value of the stones themselves, which
were probably worth $50, unset. At an
other great wedding a string of pearls sup
posed to cost $4,000 was purchased from
4 manufacturer of fake gems for $3.50"
T.,