The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-04-21

man is allowed to trespass on his broth ers territory. When the new individual is let into the business he Is assigned to some certain corner or territory, and if he once played false the great freemasonry begged again. To such a science has the business been reduced that one of these purveyors can tell, almost to a hapenny, how much any corner will bring at a certain hour Of the day for certain kind of begging Panhandling, for instance. generally yields 20 per cent. more than 'blind' begging, but then, too, 1t is much harder work and requires more skill and activity.
 Instructors in begging, too, are known to exist, though, to my knowledge, the police of no big city have ever knowingly run down and held one of these danger ous citizens. For stated sum they will supply the "panhander' with tale suited to his peculiar physical makeup, and will tell him just where to put the whine to make his plea successful. In justice to the majority of this class, how ever, 1t must be said that the man who has to learn his story never makes a frst-cass beggar. Those who excel are those who originate their own yarns and tell them themselves.
 Everybody. perhaps, is familiar with the great ''boler explosion" swindle that swept the country recently. A degenerate German painter in New York ground out lurid and weird pictures of q bursting boiler with q legend underneath asking aid for the bearer, who had lost his eye sight in the explosion at a chemical works in a place sufficiently distant to make investigation difficult. An Italian sold the pictures to professional beggars for Slo each. and thousands were placed on the market. Not a city In the country but that was visited by two or three of these signbearers, and both the German paint CT and his Italian partner waxed rich, IL is said. Not long ago the police Of Western city unearthed similar scheme, probably a revival of the old one, and killed In the bud what would have proven an equally profitable business based on the San Francisco earthquake.
 Perhaps some renders with a fondness for splitting hairs will take exception to a chasing of professional beggars with paupers. But there is no reason why they should both classes are supported by the public. In the case of the beggar, the in- diyidual contributes direct, while In the case of the pauper he does it Indirectly through the taxes he pays the state. once heard of beggar who did his work methodically and carefully, working the public) from 10 o'clock each morning until midnight In this way he averaged $1o week and kept a wife and two children in comfort, if not in luxury.
 Before the days of the telephone or tele- graph many beggars would carry about a letter that purported to be signed by the mayor or some leading citizen Of near by city, recommending the bearer as worthy of charity. In these days 1t would be an easy matter to verify the claim by wire, and this method has been discarded as dangerous. In its place the fake union card, however, does good business The panhandler is comparatively safe in his calling, too When he is in the Ohio pottery towns, we will say, he begs on a union card issued by an on-molder's union In Pittsburg. How are the potters to know it is a fake card? They don't. and usually subscribe to help a union mate along to Chicago, where he expects to get work.