The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-04-12

lace edgings and insertions, II Il q ques-
ton II any department store In town carries
a larger assortment Of cheap laoes than this
pushoart contained. How did any one Of
the 900 or 80 pushoart merchants Of Orch
ard street, 10 say nothing Of the several
hundreds mOre stationed In nearby streets
acquire capital enough TO launch In busi-
ness on his own account
A man connected with the Provideht Loan
Office in Rivington street partly answered
the question.
"How much capital DO they have at the
start9' he repeated. .
About 81 or perhaps tl.2S. That is all
most OF the foreigners who start a push
4, cart in this part Of the town have In ready
caah when they decide to 60 In business,
and usually II is enough. II they have
$3.50 they start in on a large scale, I'll Is
how IL is done:
aThe man who wants to start a ~pushcartt
and has 9l.25 In his pocket buys a gold
watch. This could not be done in F1tth
avenue. but IL easily may be done down
here, where there are no end OF peddleIs
eager and willing 20 sell a $40 watch on
a cash payment OF 81, the balance in weekly
instruments Of 81, provided the buyer has
one friend to speak for him who is known
to the peddler.
Does the buyer take the word Of the
peddler that the watch 10 first class ana
worth so? No. indeed. Before closing
the bargain he goes 70 the nearest pawn
broker and pays down a quarter TO nave
him test the watch and say how much he
would be willing TO lend on Il. II the reply
is satisfactory, which ii generally is, the
deal Is clinched by paying over VI TO the
peddler and keeping the watch, which an
hour later, or maybe In less time, u brought
TO the Provident Loan office and paWned
for perhaps S25. II the mar is ambitious
10 start other than a small fruit pushcart
and he has an extra dollar TO spare he buys
a heavy gold watch chain 70 go with the
watch for an extra t25, paying ~ down.
and pawning il for SIS. or gets a handsomer
one for SS5, on which we loan $50. Or
after pawninR his watch no may turn
around and buy a ladies' gold watch for
S22-that is the style most used down here
on which we loan $40, and a gold chaln ~
the same price, pawned Tor $40,
@Forty-hve dollars seems to he the high
water mark aimed at by the jew who has
a good business instinct and some ambl-
tion, and when he gets that amount he
starts in to do things
But the pushcart alone. That must
Cost Qulte u Dlls " was vi kbhs
A bearded Russian and a smooth laced
burly looking Greek we're selling fruit from
pushoarts near the front door, n Tor
answer the Provident Loan man called
them in. Neither could speak English,
but n special policeman Interpreted.
Here in substance Is their story. The
pushcart merchant does not buy a cart
he does not try 10 buy ore. He has found
that II Is cheaper to rent than TO buy Every
few blocks in a certain section Of the lower
East Side there will be found a mar who
makes a business of renting pushcarts.
His establishment is nothing but a dingy
cellar empty at this time Of year during
the day, in which anywhere from sixty
TO one hundred pushcarts may be stored
at night.
None but the initiated would dream that
this empty cellar represented any sort Of
business at all. From the proprietor OF
this place a pushcart may be hired for
70 cents a week with the privilege Of
storing il in the basement at Night and
a guarantee that the owner will be liable
for all damages. The sole tax the renter
IS under Is IS cents a week and the
cost Of his license, which Is 81 a year.
Were the cart his own, however, he would
be Obliged TO pay so cents a week 10 store
it at night, besides making his own repairs,
which'might be trifing or a good deal; there
fore he takes'no chances,
How can he be sure his goods will not
he stolen in the night? He looks out for
that by covering the pushcart with a heavy
black oilcloth tackled on 80 securely that
il would take a thief dangerously long to
get at the stock; for there is one man on
watch In the basement all night. The only