The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-12-07
AN ARMY OF PAKIRS AT WORK.
TEN THOUSAND or THEM NOW
SELLING HOLIDAY WARES.
Most Of Them Come From the New York
Fast Side-They Are scattered Al
Over the (ountry-SOme Make a
Years Livelihood at Christ iuas
Nov cities That They CNcr

| novelties OF the holiday teason.
| New York will bc made to listen to the
insiste rt pleadings OF 500 Of tho brass-lungod
and oily-tongued profession until Christ mas
Day dawns. Philadelphia will he worked
by half this number. and Boston. Baltimore.
Washington. st. Louis and Pittsburg will
each receive the attention Of a hundred
bawling street men.
Chicago cannot be covered thoroughly
with a man less than $50 San Franchises
contingent will aggregate $50. and such cities
| az Milwaukee. Buffalo, Cleveland, st. Paul,
and Cincinnati will be solicited to part
with nickcls and dimes by from fifty to one
hundred fakirs, according to the fertility
Of the field
And In many another town-Columbus
New Orleans, Charleston, Los Angeles
Atlanta. Albany, Omaha. for example
the number will vary from two or three to
twenty or thirty.
In every State and territory, except
one, the Christmas fakir will be in the heat
Of commercial strife this week The ex-
ception is New Jersey. and the street man
| will keep without its boundaries for the
very good business reason that he cannot
make money within them
/ 'Hc idhiI viewpoint JeTtPy II inc
Sahara Of America. because it's inhabitants,
having the advantage OF cheap railroad
rates to New York and Philadelphia. scorn
TO buy even a fve-cent Christ mas novelty
elsewhere than in these two cities just be-
yond their States line
But wherever he operates-whether in
Wall Street among the brokers, always good
| customers or at the Golden Gate; whether
IN the blizaard-ewept cities Of the North
west or under Southern skies, with negroes
as the principal purchasers Of his wares
! the Christmas fakir. five times out OF six
will have the stamp Of New York upon him.
He will be from the East Side and OF the
East Side still, no matter how far away he
may be-
IL is thirty-four years since the boss fakir,
then a nowsboy Of thirteen. originated the
street man occupation. Until he began bark.
| ing penknives one morning In front of the old
| New York Post Office in Nassau street, no
one except few elders trled to sell thing.
on the thoroughfares, and they offered only
| Mushrooms and other minor household
| neoessaries.
A month later the boy had the pedlers
| working for him. A year later he had
| big bank account for one Of his age.
BY the time he was old en- ough to vote
| he was past master Of the art he had oriei-
| natod and sole instructor in a school for
| faklrs: and from that day to this he has
recruited his students from the part Of the
town where nc was born.
So II happens that the typical Christmas
fakir is. IN large measure, a chip of the
king Of them all.
Run across him wherever you may,
you will find him az STURDY Of body az of
voice; with wit as incisive as his business
acumen; possessor Of soul utterly in
capable OF being cast down. the ingenuity
| and Imagination Of a clever novelist and
| tho power TO mako word paintings that
| rival the aliterative work Of circus press
| agents,
Ard lastly, az he hands you your pure hasc,
| jerks the piece OF money out Of your hind,
tossos it into q pocket and turns to the
| next customer. all before you begin to
realize. " hat has happened, you can readily
-ce why the hustling Western business
| man, famed In song and story. takes a
! back seat when the fakr comes around
| And like the first Of his race, nearly all the
East Siders. who will be selling Christmas
! ticc days rs newsboys along Park row.
II is estimated that between nov and
Chrs,mas the 10000 fAkirs will take IN
81 900 900 over and above the percentage
that goes TO the man back Of them. The
average New York. Chicago. or Pii!s-
delptia street man clears anywhere from
siO0 TO s7ro for his work on the ten days
priorto Christmas.
In rttshure, San Francisco. St. Paul,
st. Louis and Louisville, his net income
varies from $500 10 $500; while in the larger
Southern cities and In oich Northern ard
Western towns 50 Albany, Omaha, Column
bus. Los Angees.snd Spokane. it doesn't
take more than ordinary ability 10 clear az
much as SIS, frequently 500 and not in
frequently S125 and $50
Once in while ,here. is man in the
cities Of millions who, when he Icckons up
hi. profits before arrayins himself in his
best buds, on Christmas Day. preparatory
TO calling on HE steady company, or taxing
vito and children 20 a vaudeville enter
tsinment nnds that he is y COO or 81 500
| somc novelty. simple as TWO and two in
| cons, ruction and small in price, catches
| the public fancy and has phenomenal
sale
But whether he makes 81. 500 or $50. the
| tvric,l falir taica n long rest aftcr tho
Chyittrs, harvest is ended Barring few
| Of his hrethre1, who bark year in and renr
| out. lie lie likely 20 spend nearly all his ,ino
| until the newt CHRISTMAS Incorporating.
lie Is happv-ro-luckv follow. is the
fskir, and in this trsi, he is in sharp contrast
| with Tho head Of his calling
| Tits holiday aeason the strect men con-
| 1Gcntly eyrect TO make go much money that
| the odd Jobs sometimes necessary 10 IN
| undertaken between CEIistmasses for tho
good Of the body, will 10 ohvatod for once
They base their expectations on the general
| prosperity Of the country
| Even a falir new TO tire business knows
| th.t IL takes n full pocket book 10 mako u
| man give hood 70, laugh over, and purchase
tho insignificant trinkets displayed on trays
and small stands In the doorwavs of yacan.
stores; In plishcar,s and in hucl s'cr wagons
| Tho prosperous maturnd and maturing
| public will I've tempted With not few brand
! new plnytlungs some Of which. the inventors
and the faki's hopc, will prove 10 clusiycly
| puz2ling ma rigs-in-clover and lhcrchv make
| rccord-hre king sales. Indeed, this hopc
has given wav largely to n feeling Of cert ain
| ~, based on tho unusual rapditv 18th which
the few hundreds of samples Of these various
novelties soni out through the country to
| test thcir selling powers were golb'cd Up.
| On tho s'r~ 9Th Il this fo'lrr, when is
| maio with extreme care every yrar, n
| half million copies Of the t"nNcr called
| "Columbus-st and-up-thc will be placed
| on the market. Outwardly II il "A small
| duplicate Of tho glass case once so popular
| for covering artificial flowers, II can BE-
| hold IN the hollow Of the hand
Incloscd by the glass covering is a small
wooden egg, and the object is 70 turn and