Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1906-05-26
THE CELLAR DIGGER.
What He IL and What He Used to 30
In New York.

In New York.
The importance of being cellar dig
Ger I'm New York city has crown with
the other big things. 1t was not 50
many years ago that man who was
cellar digger was looked upon In the
same light as the man whom you sent
for to take out the ashes or nx tne
back fence, and 1t was common sight
TO see little signs around the town not
so many years ago that read, John
Jones. Cellars Dug" or words In other
iuxtaposition that meant the same
thing.
The steam drill was big thing ana
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 himseif
was OF some consequence, was super
seeded by the man with couple Oh
steam drills and license TO hanuie
dynamite.
Then the big operations began, and
the cellar digger moved along. IL Ne
didn't have the capital TO handle the
big Jobs he had to go to work for
some one. because the man who had
the big contracts could always spare
n man or two and a couple OF carts to
run around the corner and dig cellar
for an apartment house while he was
excavating for big business block.
can remember the time when
first went to work for my father that
q man who had ten carts and nrty
men working for him digging cellars
was a big man. Today cellar digger
who has less than 100000 capitai 10
work on and 200 or 800 horses Is only
wasting his time.
The men who do nothing but dig cell
lars In New York city represent an
active working capital of not less than
100000, and don't count the men
who are digging subways and making
those gaping holes for the new stations
am 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 nv operations the first year OF my
: career.
{ think It is the biggest cellar proper
/, vet scooped out in the city, ana the
[ tons Of earth and rock we have taker
( out would have made cellar digger
= of twenty years ago sick at the Das'
of his heart to think of 1t.
In the old days the cellar digger
I didn't have any trouble with labol
= questions.
9 He had work for so many men, anS
) they could come and take 1t or leave II
. Today the cellar digger has five oil
p ferent unions to deal with. In the ok
n DAYS II he wanted couple OF horse
4 he went down to the old Blue Front
q and bought them cash out Of hand. Tc
, day he goes to Chicago Canada AM
- northern New York, buys them by IN
a carload and tells the dealers to draw
e on him.
=, In the old days man with blastin
10 90 III udhlllS u liOAS Ava -
II went downtown and got his powder
q package big enough for the day
n work. Today he orders bis dynamit
IN by the ton six months In advance an
is has q special corps Of men to attend
10 that alone.
ia In the old days, when I first went
80 cellar digging, If a couple of cellar oil
- gers lived close enough together the
~ would occasionally get together on
Saturday night and eat little CHOW
- der. Today the cellar diggers have
: organization, with several hundre
=. members, that give a banquet ever
=, wear that isn't surpassed by any 9TH
" in the city in point Of luxury. The
are a power in legislation and ha'
- West End avenue homes, and I'm T
- ferring only to the fellow that digs c.
'n' lars In New York.-David P. Canvas
". In New York World.