The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-08-24
NEW YORK TOPICS.
MORE MEN AND LESS WOMEN EN-
PLOYED JUST NOW THAN
EVER BEFORE.

Workingmen Doing So Wen That 1t
Isn't Necessary for Their Wives,
Earn Their Living-More Beer and
Less Whiskey, Also Less Drunken
ness-A Germans Amusement mt
the PIentitude of Cash I'm the
American Commercial Center-The
Town Spends n Small Fortune on
the BlackcnfnG of Its Shoes-Shoe
Shining COrpOratiOns-Tips.
New York, Aug. 23.-It is very gen.
orally understood that New York is
busy just now, but it is not realized by
very many just how busy. The truth
is that it is buster than ever before
in its history; that 1t is simply over
whelmed with busy-ness. Not only is
the commercial and manufacturing &C
tivity of the town at the highest tide
in its entire history, but here is work
a plenty for every man and woman
who wants it. But the number of wo-
men at work is smaller than for years
past, the reason for which this little
story will make perfectly clear.
A certain middle class family has
just returned from it's summer outing.
One day this week the lady of the
house notified the woman who has done
the family wash for the last ten or If
teen years that she might resume her
work on Monday next. The woman
sent word back, with thanks, that she
was sorry, but she wasn't doing wash
ing any more. The lady of the house
thought there must be some mistake
and fastened to call upon the washer
woman.
You see, ma'a'm," said the latter,
its this way. l began going out
washing years ago when Michael, me
husband, was out of work, and he was
out of work SO much of the time, as
you know, that l kept right on bend
ing over the tub. But he's been work
ing steady for more than a year now
we've got a little savings bank ac-
count started and he doesn't want me
to work any more; and to tell you the
truth, I'm quite satisfied to do nothing
more than to mind the house and cook
Michaels meals"
'Wen," said the lady, "can you re-
commend a good woman to me?''
Indeed ma am, and ant" was the
answer. Every woman's man L know
in the neighborhood has a job and is
working steady. None of EN- wants his
wife to do a stroke of work and the
woman are all glad to do as their men
you'll have to send your clothes out
to a laundry sure"
And the woman's guess came true.
Testimony corroborative of the prac-
tically universal employment of the
men who are willing to work was fur
nished by the former washerwon1an
husband. He is a bartender by trade
and for years was able TO get work as
an extra only, hence mis- chronic
semi-idlenesS. Now he is employed con-
tinuously for" as he says, men new
er drink so much beer as when they
are getting steady wages. My boss used
to get along with one bartender four
days and nights in the week. Now-a-
days he has to have two all the time,
and three on heavy days. He hasn't
been able to find a good man for an
extra the last month, and so he has
to get behind the bar himself a good
part of the time. He does not like it d
bit but it goes, see?
More drunkenness because of the
good times? Not a bit of it, even if
the saloonkeepers do share in the gem
eral prosperity. Working men drink
less all told when they're idle than
when they're busy because they have
not the money to buy with. but they
get drunk oftener when idle for two
reasons. When they're idle they're blue
and SO drink more whisky and whisky
makes them drunk much quicker than
beer. And even if they didn't drink
more whisky they'd get drunk sooner
when idle for they aren't very we'll fed
then and it's the hungry man that gets
drunk easy. The man with full stom-
ach who drinks beer gets good nat1red,
but not often drunk. In proportion to
the number of folks in this town the
number of drunken men you can fiTd
on the streets just now is pretty
small"
This statement by the humble but
observing bartender is borne out by
every foreign traveller familiar with
Euopean cities who goes out investi-
eating New York by night. A young
German (from Hamburg) who has
lived in New York for eight months
and has begun to learn the place, says
the contrast in this respect between
New York, Hamburg, Berlin and the
big German towns is startling. 1t is
his opinion that public drunkenness is
three to four times as prevalent
abroad as here and while he may be
a little extreme in his views there is
no doubt that New York to-day is the
sobtreSt metropolis on the race OF the
globe.
The same young German is amazed
by what he terms "the vast circula-
ton of money among the American
working people" His father is a re-
tail merchant on a large scale in Ham
burg and the young man is here to
learn American retail methods. On
looking the ground over he decided
that the best way to study his subject
would be to go TO work in a retail
shop. So he applied for a job and, de-
spite his comparative ignorance of the
English language, he got one without
delay. This surprised him immense
ly, but he was positively astounded at
THE LANDLADY'S SON
SIT Right law N Ronraer