The Washington times., 1929-12-09
D. {. IS RICH.
FIELD FOR
BEGGARS


When you pay a blind or Grip
pied street vendor more than the
actual price of his wares or give
money without taking his wares
in exchange, you are only help
ing to keep the vendor in his
present state and thereby doing
him harm instead of good, the
police and the Associated Chari-
ties declare.
The charitable organizations
have told The Washington Times
that they are not only willing but
anxious to give support to these
unfortunate individuals Will e
they are receiving course Of
vocational training.
Many of the blind and Grip
pied vendors, however. they say,
receive such high profit from
their street selling that they de
cline offers of help.
They sell pencils, wash clothes,
perfume, | m n cS, papers,
matches, and other small articles
because tips" and gifts of coin
make it an extremely lucrative
business, the survey of the police
and the social workers shows.
Some Even Have Wallets
Busy Washington streets are
filled with these vendors. The
law allows them to sit all day
and offer their wares to SymEa-
thetic paSSersby.
Cases have come to light here
when street vendors have had
Wallets to dress them and then
drive them to their stations" in
their own automobiles.
1t has also been shown that
there is a national organization
of blind and crippled vendors, and
one admitted to a Times reporter
that they have their own news
paper in New York. He refused,
however, to go into details con-
cerning the paper or national
organization, though.
One case cited by the police
Is that of a blind man and his
young sister who came here from
Baltimore after repeated at
tempts had been made there to
place the girl in home.
Make as High as $50 Daily
The two made as high as $50
day on the streets, it was said.
Story of Master Mind"
Miss Louise o. Beall, of the
Associated Charities, tells of an
interesting discovery of a master
mind" who had a large force of
travelling statesmen"
A boy of about IA was brought
to her office by prominent
merchant who said NE had tried
to sell him small articles by say
ing he had a widowed mother
to support. The lad had but
one arm.
He told Miss Beall the same
story, and stuck to it. She got
up, said she had to leave the
room for while, and tolI the
boy to wait.
She stayed out long enough for
him to think it over. When she
re-entered the room. the boy was
crying. He said he had lied to
her, but that he would tell the
truth then.
His parents were fairly Well-to-
, do and respected citizens Of a
small western city, he said. He
had fallen out of tree, recelv-
ing injuries which had necesSl-
tated amputation of his arm
several years before.
After school he had sold
papers in the downtown section.
and made numerous friends. One
neatly dressed man in particular
used to stop and chat with him
and encourage him, he said.
One day the man asked him
how he would like to become a
travelling salesman. The 'ad was
delighted, and agreed to accom-
pany him. He was told it prob,
ably would be best to say nothing
to his parents until he was on
the road, as they might object
Joined Travelling Troupe
When they were ION the road"
the boy discovered that he was
one of a group of crippled, sup
pOsedly crippled, and blind street
vendors. There was COntcr-
zionist who threw his arms and
legs out of place to appear hOr-
ribly crippled, there were real
cripples, blind men and girls, and
deaf muteS. They went from city
to city.
The boy posed as the son of
the master mind" The man fol
lowed his salesman" while they
worked. and from time to time
took all their money. They we're
paid commissions. The boy was
required by the master mind
to write home regularly and to
send money frequently. The fam
lily did not know the real nature
of the work.