Durango semi-weekly herald., 1902-04-17
DEAL IN cIoAa STUBS.
Many Neapolitans Engage in Collect
ing and Selling Discarded Stunnps.

NAPLES. Italy, March 6.-BuyiBg
and selling cigar stubs ia large and
lucrative business In the city OF Ma
pies. Many persons are engaged In
IT. Some OF them have little stalls or
shops. near the docks. the arsenals
and the manufacturing establishments
where the workingmen are in the
habit OF passing to and from their
taskg Others. with less capital. have
little stands at street corners. a board
laid across saw-horse upon which
their stock in trade Is displayed. while
the petty dealers in this line OF busi.
ness exhibit their stock In little piles
upon the sidewalk. sometimes not
even newspaper being put under
them.
The supply comes from the cafes.
the restaurants. hotels and other pub
lie pinces Men and women pick over
the garbage heaps and the dust box
es. and boys nun up and down the
pavcmcnts In front Of hotels early
every morning looking for "snipes. e"
Some of the restaurant and cafe keep
ers sell the privilege of picking up the
cigar stumps in their places to deal
crs. and the proceeds amount to a
considerable sum during the year. In
other places II Is one OF the pcrquis-
tics OF the head waiter The janitors
Of public buildings. the porters of ho-
tells and the men who clean spittoons
at the clubs invariably have business
relations with gentlemen in the sec
ond.hand cigar trade and make lit
tie something out OF II.
Some Of the stubs are taken 10 fac
tories where they are cut up and man.
ufactnrcd into cigarettes and smoking
tobacco, but the greater part OF them
src sold to the lower classes OF work
ngmen sailors and dock wallopers.
Who smoke them in their pipes At
he entrance Of the navy yard, which
is upon one Of the most frequented
streets In Naples. and in very con
spicuous place, half dozen OF these
second hand cigar dealers can be
found when the men nre coming out
ri the gates at the close OF their days
work The cmployes-nre not allowed
to smoke inside and their wages do
not permit them to indulge In the lux
ury Of cigars or even smoking tobacco
ai FIRST hand. so for centlssimo,
which In the smallest coin imaginable
Onn-nfth of one cent--thcy buy n
cigar stub and crumblc II up In their
hands and cram II into their pipes.
At the strnda del MoIo. the big docks.
a thriving business Is done with the
sailors. teamsters and roustabouts.
aud in the market places are always
two or three stands
The shops Of Naples nre filled with
bogus curiOsltlea and antiquities.
which the dealers claim have been ex-
cayatcd at Pompeii and other places.
Several manufacturers in the city pro
ducc articles of nlabaster, terrn-cctta
glass and bronze which II liz difficult
to distinguish from the genuine. and
many are exact replicas OF the choic.
est gems In the museums Ancient
arms and armor, marble and bronze,
Images and statuary. urns. jars lamps
and otnor things, are perfectly repro
duced The bronze lamps. such as
we're used by the Pompelans are very
li'ANFH NHf'l'l 'i'N bl' new VI ulut
and tho modern ores have an advan.
tage Ia that they can be used Genu.
Inc ones are very scarce, 1t is qucs-
tion whether there Is n genuine lamp
or urn from Pompeli in any OF the
shops. but for practical purposes the
copies are much better, The other
night ! saw dinner table Iii with
Pompolan lamps. The effect was
quaint and artistic
You may be pretty sure that almost
everything in Naples has some kind OF
a swlndlc about 1t. They try to hum.
bug you by showing II bogus tomb OF
Virgil The fake was put up many
years ago, and the owner makes
good revenue by charging tourists one
franc ehch to see II. The guides
stand In with him and take everybody
there. Virgil lived near Naples at the
little town of Pozzuloi. and there com
posed some OF his most important
works; but by his expressed wish he
was buried at Brundisium. which we
call Brindisi. In August OF the year 10
one can hardly expect anything dit
terent In Naples, because the people
have for centuries been the victims of
duplicity, persecution and all forms of
oppression. Greeks, Oscans. Romans.
Carthagcnians, Goths, Thraoiaus. by
zantines. Normaus. Germans. French
and Spanish have. In succession. been
masters OF the place, and the people
for successive generations have been
compelled to educate themselves In
the art OF deception
A large proportion OF the population
live AZ public kitchens or cooking
stands which are found on every block
In the donsely settled portions Of the
town. They are generally dingy III
tie rooms, the walls blackened with
the grease and smoke of generations
In the rear is an oldfashioned FIRE
place with number OF pots and ket
ties from which savory steam arises
The largest is always for macaronl
for that is the stan OF life. The 9th
ers contain soup, various kinds OF hsh
aud vegetables, while on the counter
which usually projects into the street,
the cooked food is spread out In large
pans and bowls, The customers come
along with pans aud buckets. look
over the stock and make their seloc.
tion The prices are remarkably low
Fish. vegetables. fruit and macaroni.