The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1908-05-26
QUEER TRADES IN RUSSIA.
Marriage Brokerage and Renting Of
Fine Linen Products Of Hard Times.

The money stringency in Russia
following the war and the revolution
airy difficulties has reduced many good
workmen to living by their wits. Very
old devices have been employed by
men and women who are hard pressed
in the struggle for life. An amusing
incident has come to light in the
Nikolsk- Ussuri district, where the
population consists almost entirely of
males.
number of impoverished peasants
put their heads together one day and
resolved to set up as firm of bride
importers. A certain amount of cap
ital was of course required for the
start, but as success was assured
there was no difficulty about raising
! it. The partners them set out each
one separately on his journey to places
in Russia where the females out
numbered the males by four or five
to one. There are many such cantons
in central Russia, indeed there are
some where the proportion is ten to
| one.
The searcher for brides once To-
Gated in some such district picked out
the most desirable girls for wives and
persuaded them to accompany him to
his home, where he would promise
them they should find most desirable
| husbands. After he had secured a
bevy of fair candidates fer matrimony
he bought cheap railway tickets for
them and brought them all safely to
their destination.
From the very first the venture has
been great success. Competition is
keen among the men and the offers
| for brides rise so quickly that the
affair is virtually an auction. The
| terms settled, the .riest is informed,
and then it is his turn to play part
in publishing the banns and perform
| ing the marriage service. The pres
ent to the brides father" as the
trader in wives is called, is where the
| profit of the firm comes in. No offer
of less than $50 is considered, and the
price often mounts up to 500. The
girls railway ticket, board and sum
dries on the journey cost about $25,
! SO the profit is anywhere from $25 to
| SIS, besides a gallon or so of vodka
thrown in. 1t will be time of
mourning for the firm when all the
men in the district are provided for
and the bride trade is finished.
The credit of hitting upon another
simple way of turning an honest
penny belongs to the respectable guild
! of washerwomen in the Russian cap
ital. They noticed that numerous
class of people need starched spotless
linen for their daily avocations who
cannot afford to pay for it. Promi-
nent among these i'll starred members
of society are the walters in res
taurants and hotels and mutes who
have to wear top hats and evening
dress clothes and carry torches at
| funerals.
In order to solve this problem and
supply long felt want a moderate
cost the ladies of the washtubs lend
out we'll sSarched linen for funeral
or banquet and inform the lawful
owners of the property that it is not
| yet quite ready. The press declares
that the easy going inhabitant of st.
| Petersburg does not mind much when
! he discovers, if he does discover, the
double trade his laundry woman is
! carrying on with his clothes as cap
ital.-St Petersburg Correspondence
| Of the New York Sun.