The Savannah morning news., 1903-07-28
NEW YORK PAWNSHOPS.
Men and Women Who Visit Sign of
the Three Balls.
From the New York Tribune.

FROM the New YORK i flDuD6.
Between the two statements that
1.-The closing of the pawnshops of New
York city would be the greatest ca
lamity tltat could befall the poor" and
that 1.-The city's pawnshops are respon-
sible for more thriftlessness and power
ty than any one other one cause except
the saloons" stand the impartial facts.
Both of the above views the held by
men well informed each in his partic-
uar line, men of affairs whose opin-
ions have weight and influence in the
community in which they move, and
may be considered to a great extent
as representative. 1t is the simple, I'M
Vanished facts in the lives of those
with whom the pawnshop is a house
hold word and a lifelong experience,
a large percentage of whom are wom-
en- that must count in the common
balance.
There amt no back door to the
poor house." an old woman was over
| heard to humble the other day as she
| toiled up the rear stairway of a down.
| town shop, gazing gloomily once and
| again on a tightly clasped trinket the
last of it's ilk.
TITS a square business, man to
| man." was the comment of a wrink-
led old crone huddled together in a
disconsolate heap on the rickety wood
en- frame she called a bed, the last
article of furniture in the room. mo
body else 'ud buy my bits of stuff. 1
can't eat 'em. l get little enough
for en- God knows, but it's as much
or more'n I'll get when they come to
auction. If l couldn't get the money
on 'em from him I'd NV been on the
island this long time, and, anyhow,
they're my own and no charity"
The Bulk of the Business.
In a percentage of the pawnshops, of
which there are something like one
hundred and fifty in this city, the
bulk of the business consists Of fam
i lily" or bundle" trade This means
from pair of stockings to a brass
bedstead. The pawnable horizon in
| cludes practically everything, and the
parcel filled shelves divulge pathetic
secrets. Here the fringe of some cheap
| toweling has burst through it's wrap
per, there the edge of a baby's hood
| or a collection of long Clothes" to be
redeemed perhaps just in time for the
next young hopeful" Again two
tooth brushes. one a trifie discolored,
| may be seen. held on an eight-cent
| pledge. A parcel of partly worn toys
| appeals keenly to the onlooker until
| he is advised that they We're put in"
the day before Christmas, and then he
half contents himself with the hope
that they were an uptown" donation
to a childless family. Groceries,
pound of coffee. a quarter of pound
| of tea, a bag of flour, have come to
| this heterogeneous hostelry of human
possessions in some emergency where
| the need for cash overcame even hun
ger.
The sums that pass over the pawn
leH ,fav.
500 or s.. 000 Numbers of wealthy wom-
EN- Dawn what they term winter jew
cry" articles that will not be of use
to them during their summer migra-
| lions They are as safe in the pawn
shops keeping as in the hands of the
banker. argues mlladi and meanwhile
she will have a few hundreds for sum-
mer frills and furbelows.
An Illuminating sidelight however, is
thrown on popular sentiment in regard
to pawnShop traffic by the fact that
even the humblest '1oan office" is pro-
vided with a rear or side entrance and
booths which entirely screen the Gus
toner and that portion of the counter
on which his goods are displayed. In
a well-known establishment of long
| standing ii was said that playing the
races" brought the majority of it's
wealthy women customers under the
sign of the three balls. They pawn a
jewel for a day, a few hours Their
tip" proves a bona fide one, and their
gems are back again in their satin
| lined cases. Or they lose, and has to
resort to fictitious purchases at the
jewelry department in stores to make
up the shortage. This is usually en-
ployed as a last resource, however, to
prevent inquiring husbands and broth
ers from coming into possession of the
facts. To this end goods are purchased
wherever the pawner has an account
| and then returned for credit checks,
which the firms will cash. Many a
well-to-do woman whose husband al
lows her accounts at all the big
stores, but no ready money, goes
through these financial gymnastics ev-
cry time she needs cash. They do il
| to raise money for charitable objects
when such subscriptions mean a GER
tain PRESTIGE to buy wedding gifts. to
sons, to do one of the countless things
women want cash for, when that cash
is not forthcoming from legitimate
sources, and the pathos of the pawn
shop is not always that of poverty.
Tricks of the Trade.
| Dealers have to be on the alert FOR
a dozen ruses that are daily foisted
upon them-stolen goods, articles
/ bought on the installment plan and
not yet paid for the substitution on
/ the counter Of a bogus article for the
| genuine one which they have just ex-
4 aminedi ana on which they have