The Washington herald., 1920-05-02
New York City
By o. o. Mcintyre

tue cpiotCuy BDoW ot tuo tfhes
thoroughfare cut off from sunlight
by the elevated overhead, are some
Of the rarest students to be found in
all of Manhattan. The Bowery
pawnbroker Is one type that runs
true to fiction description. He Is
generally small and lean. with a
leathery complexion and black pierc-
ing eyes. Invariably he wears a
small skull cap.
Some are men of excellent char
acter and there are others who have
TO scruples about receiving the loot
of thieves who pillage the more per-
tuned atmosphere uptown. Nearly
all the pawnshops on the Bowery
are run down at the heel in looks.
The windows are fll-lighted and fIl-
ed win a motley array OF every
thing from bird cages, swords, brass
bowls. shot guns, rugs, rings,
watches to fur pieces, corsets, ball
room slippers and gold crowns for
teeth.
Nearly all of the pawnbrokers are
great readers. This perhaps because
they have a lot of time on their
hands. In the summer time they
may sit out front reading the Tall
mud or the Koran or certain hooks
on the Apocrypha. They speak sew
eral languages and have a great
knowledge of the opera, the best
paintings and the like.
One of the queer characters of the
Rowery pawnshops, now passed TO
whatever reward was his, was Samet
lleak. He had read the Hible cne
hundred times. lie could speak
Hindustani and Chinese and al
though he was believed to be an
Arab no one ever knew his nation
allty. lie was Il friend Of great
CRIMINALS, sometimes protecting
them, and sometimes giving them
away to certain death. lie was only
moved by gold. His value to the
police was incalculable and he came
10 the usual end-that is the fate of
the "snitch'
He was found early one morniL- =
in his shop with Lis head battered in.
Samet was nearly eighty, thin to
boniness. He smoked more than 100
cigarettes per diem. He was school,
ed IN diplomacy and he could enter
any select gathering and lie the con-
ter or attraction by the sheer force
of his intellectually.
He had the bulGing forehead of
the thinker, but the lower part of
MS face was remindful of the rat.
There are other Bowery pawnbrok
ers who come to their work in their
llmousines, have fine homes in the
upper reaches of the Bronx, chill
dren at college. and are models of
domesticity. The most of them be-
lieve that they are benefactors of
the poor, and it is true that many
have done rare deeds of Kindness
not generally attributed to the
Bowery Shylocks.
In one block on the Bowery there
are nine pawnshops. In the older
days bells used to ring over the
doors at night to guide unsteady
feet to havens of plenty. The Bow
cry pawnshop has always been
teeming with romance for me. 1t
seems to me that every pawned arti-
Gle has its big story. But pawn
brokers get pretty calloused to that
sort of thing and they will rarely
talk about their customers-but
they love TO talk of books, paint
ings. sculpture. and anything on a
higher plane than their own sordid
business.
The terms of Wall Street have al
ways been puzzling to my dull pro-
vincial mind. l am indebted to that
Esprightly magazine of finance.
Now" for the following light on
the technical terms of the Street:
.V.-sN Nl.s
more.
A short sale is a sale of stock
which the seller does not possess,
but which he hope to buy in at a
lower price than that for which he
sells.
A bull" is one who buys stock
with the expectation of making a
profit through rise in price. One
who has bought stock on this eX-
pectation is long of stock"
A put" is the privilege of deliv-
ering or not delivering the thing
sold.
A call" is the privilege of CALI
ing or not calling for any stock
bought, or an option to claim stock
st fixed price on a certain day.
Two theatrical firms have an
I
son, Just what the others will do
is problematicai. The Selwyns are
going to boost the price and Dill
ingham is going to put the 50 tax
on the "Fred Stone show. As a
matter of fact, the S. show is here
now. for it is almost impossible to
get good seats without going TO the
speculator and paying tho 50 price.
The Follies, now on tour, mas
been charging 81 for every Good
scat down front. Other prices range
from 81 up. But the Follies has
some excuse for Its high prices
Ziegfeld has always given the nm
terIand his absolute New York pro
duCtion without change. The FOR
lies carries 17O people and the sal
aries for the stars arc enormous
In fact, Zicgfcld has shown oy
figures that even at the ~ price
tho venture is hazardous unl'Ss
every seat is sold for each perform
ancc. Thirty electricians are re-
uuired for the production and the
costumes are in charge of hfteen
wardrobe women.
But what applies to the Follles
and to the Fred Stone show will
not apply to the ordinary dramatic
entertainment with cast OF eight
or ten people and a couple oil
scenes. In fact all the modern
drama seems to need now is tea
room and a garden scene. But New
York will pay. as it usually does
and delight in talking about no"
they were robbed.
I have discovered peculiar
psychology about the high priced
restaurants. The people that pat