The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-11-03
The PACK PEDLER'S TRADE.
ODD CALLS on TIE WHOLESALE
HOUSES IN THIS CITY.

une S0uth Tricks OF the Trade THE
Man VINO Refused Credit to A. r.
Observation-Disclosures on . Cash BASIS.
An interesting trade Is carried on by
the five Wholesale houses which supply
goods TO the vast army Of pack pedlers
who hawk their wares on country roads.
The headquarters Of this peculiar trade
is In Walke street, although the largest
Of the supply stores removed some years
& TO Canal street.
A In all other lines Of business In New
York the conditions that govern the trans
actions OF these peculiarly conservative
houses are steadily changing. For one
thing a line OF credits Is being granted
to a class Of speculative pedlers who come
In person to buy their stocks. Twenty
years ago, when there were still fewer firms
In the business and the pack pedler was
the only customer Of these houses, almost
every dollar received came In the familiar
c. o. D.. envelopes Of the express COM
panies. The money was usually In greasy
and battered bills. which the pedlers
In remote districts paid over the counters
Of the express Offices before they could
open their packages.
The pioneer In this trade was one John
McConville, a North Of Ireland man. who
had a store In Chambers street rs early
a. 1910. He wa sole agent In this country
for English poplins. q cheaper imitation
Of the Irish goods hen 90 popular. His
transactions were mostly with pedlers
and strictly for cash. II 10 related Of him
that one day a clerk from A. 7. Stewards
appeared with a rather large order for
these inferior poplius, McConville. with
characteristic Scotch-Irish obstinacy, re-
fused to deal with his great compatriot
until the cash was produced and passed
over the counter.
McConville afterward removed to IL
Walke street. thus ~localizing the pedler
supply business, where IL still remains
About 80 per cent. Of the customers OF
these supply houses are still the toilers
who carry the packs. II the pedler's
route happens TO lie In some remote dis
trict far from the nearest country store,
his order Ia likely to call for some curious
items and to pause a lively scurrying OF
clerks about town to pick up the novel
articles.
II a wedding Is pending on the pedler's
route there viii be calls for some odd con-
ceits In bridal presents and perhaps the
measure Of the bridegroom will be for
warded with an order for a ready-made
suit and top boots for the ceremony.
Here are some of the odd orders that
have been received and filed by the Canal
street irm, whose customers are entirely
In the South and In the West Indies: A
monkey to go with a hand organ was or
dered by a Florida pedler and was pre-
eImably transferred at a Profit to an Italian
who works the Plant and Flagler hotels.
Another pedler ordered an outfit OF
plumbing and a supply Of linen for a from.
tier hotel In the Southwest. A secondhand
organ was recently forwarded 70 lnagua,
one Of the Bahama Islands, for a colored
Sunday school.
A Hebrew pedler who had laid down
the pack and started a small store at Fer
nandina sent for a dreesmaker whom he
engaged himself TO marry later on II she
proved trustworthy and satisfactory IL
u supposed that he married the goods.
for on the following Rosh-hash- hanna
(Jewish New Year., he sent a liberal order
for black bread, prune wine, smoked goose
breast n goose butter.
died recently at Chesterfield, 8. c. After
the pedler's death a daughter was born
TO the widow who promptly ordered a name
for her baby to be forwarded with the
next lot OF razors and widows wear. The
merchant thus became godfather to the
infant Edith. that being the name he sup
piled without charge:
II ia a curious fact that razors are ordered
by the gross by the pack pedlers who operate
In the Southern States. These are OF an
unusually large size-inch and a quarter
blades Of the beet Sheffield make and are
sold to negroes a. weapons OF offence,
Twenty years ago nearly all the pedlers'
supplies came from Manchester and Biz
mineham. whereas now almost every
article is Of native manufacture
MANY Of the pedlers are constantly SHIFT
inc their field OF operations and the in
Renuity with which they invent new schemes
10 gull their victims IL worthy OF a better
cause. just now the black silk sample
trick il in high favor up the country:
A pedler whose pack Is made up OF cheap
stufs carries a yard of black silk worth
81 so. As every woman IN the country
knows what black silk In worth, he has no
trouble In taking orders for gowns at 30
cents a yard He In all out OF the goods on
account Of the enormous demand, he ex-
plains, but lie will bring II on his next tr1p'
lie collects no money and he has no Intention
OF delivering the dress pattern or probably
OF ever coming that way. again. Inc wo-
man. however, is 30 elated with her bargaln
and 40 pleased with the pedler that she
buys literally Of his cheap goods and the
pedler, like the brook goes ION and on FOR
ever getting his supplies at new express
Offices.
There are a few women In the business
who deal mostly In dress goods Operating
In th. suburbs 81 the city They sell on
the installment plan. some OF them getting
twice what an artlcl. IL worth as a hfrt
Ayment and collecting what they can
Aftsrward
Th,es tricky p-dlers complain loudly
that tho good old tmes have gone, but
the sailors Win snluefifd k"o'S are fih
on the road. A quartermASt"f and a yea
man ~ the sAl'ish kind arr nov touring
eastern New York and the New England
State After hawking thnT wan-s about
A town all dAy they Do "A srng and dance
act Ia pons saloon WHICH pay theI board
and advert sns then busines-
SIN. yeafs ago a >ailYf known as Com.
mntnr- White worked al Ingenious lrich
with tlr hslp pf a opnfrd'fab li~y
purpsuad uo oaiy r~uugFkd N"tll'ns
and otsfatsd iu THE city Ia" Comma
40. would rutrf a salHsn aud ~ uui an
attfaalsr l0i q suifinFr Ntich 10 would
.f.f fuf. say. 90 Mis-n ~ %cuatnusf
lsaamr lnnnstrd tls ouni'dsH a" would
fall be- o o. A gi.ai "iutmuu . N'uli
.t4us AID 10 lnmn4sdsr would "ntutai
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thr ylstlm saTrfit tahihk 10 i~h sad
l.slulns a. Ualm tie suidred shtnsflnfs
all siaHd a TO unlufH % 40 lao
To- lnEllsh FDi~ss haai add 80"
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and sarl .fisf hulasu HssihufNsis ~ nlu
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