Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-21
LoNDoN's CURB MERCHANTS.
High Prices Paid for Privilege Of
Selling Goods from Barrow.

FIOm lIOnoO0 It-bitS.
The ESQ. which. it was stated before
Judge Smyly. K. c.. the other day, had
been paid for the goodwill Of business
consisting Of a barrow in the gutter, from
which fruit and non-intoxicant ale were
sold. is by no means an out-of-the-way
sum. the T.-B. man learned during some
inquiries In costerland.
MY weekly turnover is about ELS
week." said one South London gutter
crockery merchant. land if 1 haven't
made s6 or R7 profit by Saturday night
Il think I have done badly. Mark you.
I've got to pay man twenty-five bob
out of that. My load cannot be managed
by one man. What would ! sell the
pitch for? Well. I reckon it's worth f3O
or $40 to any one who knows the bar
row business; but. OF course, whether
should get that amount is another story"
A neighboring plant and flower seller
complained that business was not very
brisk-'People don't fancy gardening
when the sun takes the skin off their
for eight months in the year he made a
profit Of between s3 los and "a per week.
About twice as much as the average
mechanic" the T.-B. man suggested.
"Ah. but he don't work the hours I
do" was the prompt reply. Have ever
heard Of large sums being paid for street
pitches? Well. / paid the bloke who used
to stand here selling fruit eco for this
one. with his barrow thrown in. That
fruiterer's shop across there. which opened
about twelve months ago. queered the
pitch for him: otherwise he could prob
ably have got double the amount, for
he had worked up a big connection in
the fruit line
Street pitches, the writer found. vary
considerable according to the locality. The
poorer the latter the more valuable they
become, for the lower classes are of the
firm belief that they can always get
better value for their money from the
gutter merchant than from the shop
keeper.
We don't. sell at a lower price to
undercut the shopkeeper," q man with a
barrow in the Seven Dials remarked,
"but simply because We go to the mar
kets direct and get our stun SO much
cheaper that we can afford to sell at a
lower price. Would it be possible for
another street-seller to steal a march on
me and get my pitch before I arrived?
Yes. II would be possible. but he would
probably, be in the hospital few hours
later. No. 1t Is not often tricks like that
are played. but when they are you can
bet there'n be fight
The crossing sweeper, the T.-B. man
found. is slowly but surely becoming ex-
tinct. There are. however. several fairly
valuable pitches In the West End. Ono
old veteran Of the broom. who has swept
q crossing in Belgravia for twen4y-three
years. confessed. that from his regulars
he gets about Dos a week. II don't
suppose any crossing sweeper in London
earns more" he continued. proudly, land
doubt IL sold the pitch whether the
newcomer would get half that amount
until he had got friendiy-like with my
regis
Il seems that II the average crossing
sweeper earns between los and IFS q
week he considers himself In luck. At
the same TIME, cases have been known
| OF their. pitches being sold for R5 and
E10. although such instances are rare.