The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-02-04

Last week the newspapers noted tht
 death of famous East-side beggar anG
 miser. a man who for years had made
 a goodly income from the charity o1
 his neighbors. His relatives are now
 searching for his reputed wealth, witt
 very doubtful chances of finding it
 The little paragraph setting forth the
 strange fashion of his life and death
 calls attention to one of the most in
 teresting classes in this city of queer
 types-that of the East side beggar
 A passer-by would find on the streets little evidence of the existence of this
 class, and, indeed, it differs radically from that of the common or garden
 beggar, who seeks to charm money
 from the pockets of the wel-to-do in other districts.
 Flrst of all, to use paradox, the beggars are not always beggars. Ere quently they are men of considerable
 intelligence and dignity, who have found themselves, through ill-health or
 old age, unable to cope with the strange conditions of this new land They do
 not actually beg; they may be selling
 matches or rather questionable fruit, but the hearted East-side sees through the poor devices of pride, and buys, and overpays with the tactful generosity which is one of it's most ad- mirable characteristics. This type is
 common enough to wiring the heart of
 al NNh h e;J .a1r
 and poor, but nothing has yet broken
 his self-respect and anything that he can do to make return for the money
 given to him is most eagerly undertak-
 en. He had accepted some money from
 photographer, and then, looking
 around the studio, said; Cant I do
 something for you? Would my picture
 be of any use to you?" The photo
 grapher seized the idea, and secured a
 negative of a Jeremiah whom an acci-
 dent of birth misplaced by some thirty
 five hundred years.
 A second type, less common and call- ing for laughter rather than tears, is that of the merry fellow, the ne'er-do- well, who has brains a-plenty, and
 makes them serve for all his wants. He is, as a rule, well enough educated, and could earn his living if he tried, and he might say that he does, indeed, earn it, in his own fashion. He is the Jewish Harold Skimpole, "sponger," or in East-side parlance, "schnorrer." The "schnorrer," as Zangwill drew him, is rare enough nowadays. While he amuses his neighbors, they do not ap- y,rp of hi tccJ, presents usually case of artistic tenn perament gone to seed, as it were--the man so visionary and so averse to the practical that he will forfeit the esteem of everybody as long as his nimble tongue can work for his lazy hands. Doubtless he considers, in his self f-sat- isfied soul, that his company deserves, the small tribute he exacts. Sometimes he is not far wrong. The third class is that of the miser who recently died, but it's members must be put down as ex- ceptional. There are professional beg gars on the East side, although more must be unusually clever to outwit their neighbors, who are extremely well in regard to one another's af- fairs
 The happy hunting ground of all these people is tha cafes. They make house visitations also; but their chief places of business are the where they may offer their wares or crack their jokes or make their moan, each according to his kind. Into one cafe at the noon hour a few lays ago there came no less than half | I dozen of these people, for the most part small peddlers, whose stock in trade invited patronage for the very | sake of it's pathetic unattractiveness. | The first man was of a distinctively su- oerior type. His high forehead and | bright eyes, not without a furtive | ;leam of humor in their honest depths, | wholesome and intelligent 1 ,ouI as clearly as his hollow chest and white face told of health broken by ,weat- shop toll, and barely permitting lim to carry his little basket of shoe- trings. There was welcoming smile eady from the proprietor, followed by ! click of the cash drawer; and the man passed out with a, bow which was as ull of dignity as of gratitude. That man," said the proprietor Hives on f1f- cen cents day, at the most, and has a elicate wife to support, but you could rust him with a million dollars for ear and not lose a cent. He has no trength to work, but he will always do 1hat he can in return for anything you i've him. He has been evicted oftener han any man in New York, think. lis rent is four dollars month, or omethng like that, but it Is usually DO much for him, and out he goes. He as credit, however, at several stores, hey know how honest he is, and that e will surely pay if he can. If he cant e can't, and that is all there is to it. me day I purposely gave him two ollar bill instead of a dollar. He put
 in his pocket without looking at it, nd I did not call his attention to it. hat night I went to the theater and id not get home until one o'clock; but lere on the doorstep was the old man. [e said he found he had dollar too luch and couldn't sleep until he re- lrned it''
 Another old man laden with a basket ! f oranges followed the honest shoe ring peddler, and the cashbox clicked gain. The orange left behind stood kind of fruit was well lough known, apparently. But there as no hint of patronage in the treat ent of the unfortunate patriarch is cold hands bumbled helplessly with le latch, and instantly some one rose