Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-05-09
THE REFUSE DUMPS
Places Where Hundreds Gain
a Livelihood.
THE SEASON OPENS
MANY VALUABLE FINDS BY THE
INDUSTRIOUS PICKERs.
Articles of Jewelry and Money Recov-
cred From the Dust Heaps
by the Ashman.

The busy season is here for the hundreds
of colored ''pickers' who exc out a pre-
carious livelihood by delving into the rub
Dish heaps on the city dumps. The house
wives of Washington are busly engaged in
their spring housekeeping overhauling and
moving, and many wagon loads of refuse
from their premises find their way to the
dumping grounds set aside by the city au-
thorities. From this refuse the army of
''pickers" collects all iron and other metals,
rags bones and hundred and one things,
which are In turn sold to the junk dealers.
The .pickers' are of bothsexes and all ages
Black tots scarcely able to waddle about
delve into the heaps side by side with
white-topped old negroes who spent their
earlier days in slavery In the cotton fields
and corn of sunny Dixie. There are sew
eral dumps in and about the city, but the
most interesting one is situated on the
Bennfng road not far from the bridge
which spans the Eastern branch of the Po-
tomac. The approaches to the place are
marked by great litter of old tin cans.
myriad bottles and discarded household ar
ticles generally. vending their way over
the miry roads during the daylight hours
are vehicles of every degree and descrip-
ton loaded with the waste matter of the
city, to be dumped into the shallow shore
waters and marshes of the Eastern branch,
which are gradually being reclaimed
At the Benning road dump all manner of
refuse, except waste paper, may be depos-
tied. AT the other dumps only ashes earth
and solid matter will be received. Conse-
quently many of the loads deposited at the
former are hauled from the extreme north
west section.
Valuable Finds.
Junk is not all that is found in the rub
bish piles by the delivers. Jewelry and
other articles of value are frequently res
directed. and in some instances the valu-
ables are returned to their owners. Super
intendent r. T. Bailey of the Benning road
dump told Of some recent finds which
came under his observation. Several days
ago hauler of ashes brought to the dump
a barrel filed with miscellaneous articles
of refuse. The hauler left the barrel and
its contents, which were turned over by
Mr., Bailey to one of the "pickers." Later
in the day in overhauling the contents of
the barrel the picker found a neat pack
age containing quantity Of black silk
dress goods This the honest fellow carried
to Superintendent Bailey-"de boss" as
they term him-with the remark that the
goods mus be with somethin'.'
The superintendent saw at a glance that
the goods were valuable, and instructed
the finder to carefully preserve the pack
age. On the following day the driver who
had brought the barrel to the dump came
post haste to Mr. Bailey and informed
him that a wealthy society woman In the
northwest section had placed the silk tenn
porarily in a waste paper basket This re-
ceptacle was afterward emptied into the
rubbish barrel by a servant.
The package was returned to it's owner.
1t proved to be a black silk dress pat
tern imported from China, and had been
cut out and prepared for making by a
modiste. The value of the goods alone
was $40. Two dollars each was the reward
received from the society woman by the
driver and the junk picker who found the
package.
Recently another of the habitues of the