Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1906-05-05
THE CELLAR DIGGER.
what he In aud what lie Used TO Ne
In New York.

In New York.
The mporin lcc of bciIg Il cellar dig
ger In New York city has grown with
the other big things. 1t was not SO
many years ago ,Int man who was
cellar digger was looked upon In the
for To take out the ashes or fix the
back fence. aud IL was common sight
10 see little signs around the town not
so many years ago that read, John
Jones, Cellars Dug" or words in other
juXtaposition that meant the same
thing.
marked an epoch IN the career of the
cellar digger. The old fashioned cellar
digger. with his spades and hand drills
and his old fashioned charges of giant
powder for such and who In himself
was of some consequence, was super
seeded hy the man with "a couple or
steam drills and Il license 10 handle
dynamite.
the cellar digger moved along. II he
didn't have the capital 10 handle the
biz Jobs he had TO 20 TO work for
some one. because the ri~ln who had
the big contracts could always spare
man or two and Il couple OF carts TO
run around the corner and dig cellar
for an apartment house while he was
...g ~
can remember the time when
first went 10 work i,S my father that
man who had to- carts and hfty
men working for lin digging cellars
was big man. Today Il cellar digger
who has les than $4,000 capital TO
work ON and 200 or 300 horses Is only
wasting his time
The men who do nothing but dig cell
lars Ia New York city represent an
active working capital of not less than
S1o.uC0.O00. and don't count the men
who are digging subways and making
those gaping holes for the new stations.
nm digging the cellar for the New
Astor apartment house on Broadway.
and the capital involved on that job
alone is greater than the total amount
Of my operations the first year OF my
career.
think II is the biggest cellar proper
yet scoopcd ont in the city. and the
tons of earth and rock we have taken
out would have made n cellar digger
Of twenty years ago sick nj the base
" his heart To think of II.
In the old days the cellar digger
didn't have any trouble with labor
questions.
He hud work for so many men. and
they could come and take II or leave II.
Today the cellar digger has five diff
fcrent unions 10 deal with. In the old
days II he wanted couple Of horses
he went down TO the old Blue Front"
and bought them cash out OF hand. To-
day he goes TO Chicago. Canada and
northern New York. buys them by the
carload and tells the dealers 10 draw
on him.
In the old days a man with blasting
10 do IN making hole for II cellar
went downtown and got his powder In
Il package lig enough for the days
work Today he orders his dynamite
by the ton six months in advance and
has II special corps Of men 20 attend TO
that alone
In the old days. when first Went to
cellar digging II II couple OF cellar dig
gers lived close enough together they
would occasionally get together on a
Saturday night ana eat Il little chow
der Today the cellar dggers have an
! organization. with several hundred
members. that give II banquet every
year that isn't surpassed by any other
IN the city IN point Of luxury. They
are power In legislation and have
West End avenue homes, and I'm re-
fcrrlng only 20 the fellow that digs cell
lars IN New York David p. Caravan
In New York World.