New-York tribune., 1922-08-11
BY M. Jay Racusin

The pushcart next to mine bore a
little tin boiler with circular open
ing in the top through which issued
the strong Aodor of steaming sauer-
kraut. Every now and then the bearded
owner Of the cart would plunge q
wooden fork into the opening and fetch
up mouthful of the smoking stuff.
"Keekt, frum hant zu male, frum
hant zu male, ane pennyi Look, from
hand to mouth, from hand to mouth,
one cent?" he cries in Yiddish, flourish
ing the forkful Of sauerkraut at the
streams Of disheveled housewives and
unkempt children passing by. A
stopped and sunken-cheeked man steps
out of the stream followed by stunt
edly fat woman. Handing over their
pennies taken gingerly from clasped
pocketbooks, they suck in the hot
kraut with much smacking Of lips and
other signs of relish.
From hand to mouth! From hand
to mouth! These are the four words
that sum up the stress Of the East
Side peddler's toiling effort to keen his
feet above the inevitable hole in the
ground. 1t pictures powerfully and
completely the measure Of his toy-like
trade and the pocketbooks Of the
swarms that seek to drive hard bar
gains with him for his tiny stock Of
wares.
1t All Begins With Tax
spent week among these peddlers
as a pushcart huckster, buying and
selling their goods and living their
lie in every respect, in so far as it was
physically possible to do so, to obtain
| first-hand information on the trials OF
these people and discover what burdens
are added to their troubles through
the ways Of officialdom. I found many
trials and many burdens, as will be set
forth.
1t should be known that there are
from 10000 to $4,000 of these push
cart peddlers scattered throughout the
East Side, the Bronx and Brooklyn, and
that permits to trundle cart must be
obtained from the Department Of Mar
kets. A fixed sum of ST. a week is ex-
acted from those permitted to main
tain pushcart stands, while transients
vehicles must pay So week.
1t was about 8 o'clock last Thursday
morning when approached an old
pushcart patriarch at Rivington and
Orchard streets and asked to be d.
| rected to the supervisor of Suffolk
Street Market The supervisor is the
man appointed by the Commissioner of
Markets to overlook certain street mar
kets, receive applications for permits
and make the weekly collections of 81
from the peddlers. He is virtually the
czar of his domain.
"His name? Who knows?" replied
Qy wit a cb %n
tion. "Go and pay your dollar and
that's all. / think it's Israel"
More questioning brought forth that
1t was Simon Israel, of 144 Rivington
Street, just around the corner from
Suffolk Street. A young girl in Mr..
Israel's Office told me "he was in City
Hall or In court" and would be back
later. He returned at and told him
I wanted a permit for stand.
First Comes His Picture
"Yoa have to get your picture taken,"
he almost shouted to me before I had
finished my plea. "Joey, show the man
the place"
But why must get pictures taken ?"
inquired before joey took me in tow.
Listen. If you want a stand you
have to have your pictures, that's all.
Joey, take him over"
"How much will it COST"
ut won't cost you nothing" replied
Israel without looking up from his
desk.
2 I saw it was final and SO I let Joey,
ten or twelve year old office boy, lead
me across to 151 Rivington Street,
where David Kerr runs a photo gallery,
and over which Joey's father, DR.. l. E..
Kaplans dentist, has his office.
/ did a little interrogating, however.
before we reached the shop.
'Joey, what does all this cost 2"
"Well, it's a dollar week to keep
the stanc'
"Who collects the money I"
Don't worry; Mr.. Israel will collect
every Monday, or one of his men"
Mr.. Israel told me it wouldn't cost
Continued on next paes)