The Washington times., 1901-07-14
BooTBLACKs OF LONDON.
Earn Good LivinEs and Retire as
Useful Citizens.

Among the established and familiar
| sights of the streets of London is the
| red-jacleted shoeblack with his box and
! brushes. Now, in its jubilee year. the
! Central Red Society numbers between
| forty and fifty members, with a perma-
| nent home in Great Saffronhill, under the
| supervision OF Mr. Bird. and regulated by
a comittee of great influence. Here most
| Of the boys sleep. receive their education
| in classes under the dominance of the edu-
| cation department, and spend their even
/ ings pleasantly and healthy. On admis-
/ sion they are provided with uniforms and
implements free, but any renewal OF eth
er has to be borne TO the extent of one
| half the cost by the boys themselves.
I Roughly, they go on duty at 1880 o'clock
a m and return at p. m. The metropo-
| lis is divided into stations. One of the
| classes consists of regular stations, at
| which the best shOeblacks are stationed
/ The other stations are occupied by the
boys in turn, three days at each being
the maximum stay.
Naturally there is great emulation in
order TO sSach the regular posts. which
are generally the most profitable espe-
/ cially in perquisites. II is an open secret
| that Charingcross Railway station is the
/ best post IN the whole of the metropolis,
I but Ludgate station is close rival and
/ there, we are officially informed, is posted
/ the very best shoeblack in London-a ge-
MUS in his way. who. be the weather wet
/ or dry, turns out boot OF glossy bright
ness with great adrotness. It is opposite
to mention here that the harvest time,for
the shoeblack is a warm, sunny day, after
rain For very shame then the city
man must be brightly shod, and the red
p I'd T.I
/ success.
! The earnings Of these hardy youths are
/ by no means coTcemptible. The standard
! price of a polish is. as everyone knows, a
penny But the bestowal Of such a tri-
/ ling sum, especially when to bootblack-
/ ing is added the superfine attention of
! brushing the trousers. would provoke
look of blank establishment, if not pro-
/ found disgust. Twopence is an ordinary
sum TO pay, but generosity knows no lin
its.
How does the boy dispose of his earn
ings? The first sixpence he earns he
.akes for himself. for outlay upon dinner.
The remainder is then divided into three
parts. one-third going into his own pock-
et as wage, one-third going to the So
ciety, and one-third being placed by the
society in a bank TO his credit Thus if
the days earnings amount to 8 shillings
which is a little over the average sum
always apart from perquisites-he takes
2 shiIlings for himself, has l shilling 6
pence placed to his credit in the bank.
and hands over ! shilling 6 pence TO the
society BY this system he receives six
pence more than two-thirds of his daily
earnings. Against his bank account is
placed the cost Of his polishes, blacking
brushes. etc. handed out to him. Even
with these deductions the lad may find
himself credited with small fortune at
the end Of a year. At the present mo-
ment the ledger shows the case Of a boy
who. after fifteen months employment.
is entitled TO &Z1. l2s Sd. accumulated in
this happy fashion.
II is natural that with such inducements
a spirit Of loyalty and industry should
grow, which bears fruit in after life. No
boy is encouraged 10 stay after he Is sey-
enteen years Of age. and of those who
navy and the army. Some are now in
South Africa others in India. Not long
ago Lord kinnaird, one OF the committee,
when in India. heard OF an old boy six
hundred miles away. made a special trip
to see him. and discovered that ne was
thriving and abundantly grateful for the
early care he had received Another in
ciGeut Indicative Of the progress made by
some Of the old members-of whom there
are many hoUSands-happened the other
DAY when the superintendent received a
visit from a man who from bOOtblacking
had risen 10 electric engineering and was
prepared, should occasion arise, 10 fit up
his old home IN SaffTonhill from top TO
bottom with the latest appliances.
One remarkable fact stands out prOmi-
nently in this interesting history. Since
the society was started, In 1S5l. the total
earnings Of the boys have been el176l2-
London Telegraph.