The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-06-07

9, o,,. E"'Gs'eaS s , Sc &"
boStoh eesS IN 0ST
Baltimore. oun S ~,
| Cleveland. observation-disclosures. 400 10000
Cincinnati. .-...........,.........,.i 5n 4H ot
| San Francisco ..,..,...,.......... @oD 4UMW
| Buffalo. ........., .,...,...--.. $500 f""
In Pittsburg and Allegheny, practically
one town, the figures are 5000 men and
half million capital, and in Minneapolis
and st. Paul. also practically one town
from commercial standpoint, $500 street
corner merchants direct a capital of S400, 900
Thus, all told, in Americas ten largest
cities, and in these other two communities
this street industry gives work to l08.351
men and aggregates capital of $4,000. 900
| These statistics are based on the New
I York street business as shown by the
records in the city's license bureau, and on
| information from a majority of the other
cities named.
In New York, for example, 1,449 licenses
| have been issued for express stands. Be-
! fore a man can establish an express bust
ness on a street corner, or rent space Tor a
| sign in front OF some store in wholesale
| district, he must have wagon, horses and
harness.
Express wagons capable Of doing heavy
hauling are costly; therefore an average
| outlay OF $500 is necessary in order to trans
! act business, The sum OF 3434. 100 represents
the money invested In express wagons in
| New York city. and, as each express re-
quires two men, ,ses men are employed.
The number OF public carts which DO
moving and odd jobs in the residential
and retail parts of the city is 10. "a. "A an
| average eQ,i pment costs $780, the capital
invested is 81 LOIS 200, and as here again two
| men are required for each cart, 20,252 are
| employed In fact. nearly every street
corner business dem ands the time of two
persons. and all figures showing the num-
Der of men employed are on this basis,
with one exception.
News and periodical stands number All.
| the average daily stock is s25. the capital
| invested is s2l ,465, and the persons employed
| are 954.
There are ,27i fruit stands, representing
COS 1925. for a stand costs 500 TO build and
| displays $50 worth of stock,
or the 800 flower stands in the metrop-
oils, the average stock amounts to 500
and the stand itself to $50. for it must be
better built than newsstand in order to
protect the flowers. Seventy-f thousand
| wares, which are looked after by 1000
men.
The bootblack stands also represent a
| generous outlay. The customary stand
has three chair, Of the approved type, with
quently. tis2.7 $50 is invested in ,2ss stands.
A a bootblack is necessary for every chair
| 1856 find work.
| Tho outdoor restaurants. usually in
booths built along store walls. number
with 500 worth Of eatables, giving total
capital of $4,000 directed by 100 men,
! Miscellaneous stands-soft drinks. can
dies. &c.-number seventy-fve, with an
average stand cost Of S25 and an average
stock to the same amount. The investment
| In
| All told, the approximate investment in
New iork's street corner business is s2,-
! s5s.l90
The enormous outlay Of SO 10000 in the
cities named-of which New iork's share
Is about one-fourth the entire amount
lis justified by the returns. IL is no I'M
common thing for many stand to do a
daily business running into several hun
dreds Of dollars.
The customer. Of bookst and in New York
city on one OF the suburban ferry streets
keep five men busy the greater part OF the
day. A good fruit stand not infrequently
| clears $40 day 10 its owner flower stand
| Is reckoned on not to show less than q
profit at the close OF business, and the pro-
| prietor OF a bootblack stand, hugging the
wall Of well-located saloon, cannot help
making daily profits averaging all the way
from 8 to SIS according to the number OF
| chairs.
In fact, the street corner businesses are
|
for stand space property owners often
charging as much as SIS month that the
syndicate idea has crept in. This IL es-
pecially true as regards the express wagons
and public carts
carting with a second-class outfit ten year.
ago, now controls 100 stands, and Ia grad.
| ually absorbing his immediate competitors
He has over 500 900 invested In CARTS horses
and harness.
ton. and whenever he could get the money
he bought up cart here and cart there
| His policy has been TO employ the men he
buys out at good wages, and thus keep
them from starting new stands in oppo-
siion.
He will not say what income lie draws
from the business, but It Is enough to pro-
| vide him with an expensive suburban home
for his family, with horses and carriages
and to keep his sons and daughters at COL
While the carriage business is drifting
into the hands Of few 1rishmen, the fruit
stands Of New York are being consolidated
by a company Of Greeks. who are credited
with controlling nearly half Of the i,27i
| stands.
The head Of the syndicate has been in
his New World career by peddling bananas
from p,nhcart. After, that he secured
employment with a fellow coun tryman
He saved his money. and, when he had
enough, started In business al q little stand
on a side street. He proapered and bough,
| . stand on a buster thoroughfare. After
he had been running the two places for q
year or more 1t occurred to him that II
wouldn't be bad idea to own many stores
provided he could get the money.
He got it by forming a partnership
with q banker Of the Greek colony. anc
to-day these men and third, who wa,
alyoE, in n trr1
Portable fortunes. They control the ma
jority Of the stands along the ferry streets
and these are splendid paying propositions
What 10 true IN New York is true. in larg,
measure, of other cities, SO that the boot
black trust, in the hands of Italians, ia M
longer without company among the stree
corner businesses.
II is a peculiar fact that. barring thu
express. carriage and newsstands, all othe
stands are pretty generally controlled b.
the better class of Greeks and Iteli ans
The Greeks have II all their own way will
fruit: they divide the honors with tht