Evening star., 1930-12-14


asgeIoYsG into 9 fr.t-cia'. IigsIihoOd ior
TRs, Stas made an inpesfiOation Of lie
apple selling scheme and found many Of
employed at regular Jobs. so The T story s BE-
Iom 10y, Useless Us , ths details Of the plan and
experiences as an apple seller.
The apple-selling idea for unem-
ployed. q scheme that had its birth on
the sidewalks of New York early this
Fall and has since swept the Northern
States and practically the entire At
lanttc Seaboard, has hit the National
Capital with all the fury Of q new-found
lad and the big, red apples are being
brought into Washington in box-car
loads by local wholesale merchants
here to be retailed by "jobless" at
profit Of IA cents per apple by the
vender.
This phase Of furnishing employment
TO the idle, because it realizes in net
profit and gratuities an average daily
income in the vicinity OF IS, has at
tracted not only those already unem-
ployed. but also has proved q beckon
ing llvl1hood for others in occupations
not sumciently remunerative TO them
survey Of local conditions shows. The
apples are procurable from the dealers
IN the markets at cost of $3.50 up
per case of 80 apples. Retailed at S
cents apiece, the vender realizes A a ON y
the case, or profit Of about S1.5O. On
normal days 1t is possible to sell two
cases Of apples or more.
Often Dime sr Quarter.
The hue and cry of Unemployment"
that rings the length and breadth of
the land doubtless is instrumental in
stirring the sympathies Of those of the
down trodden shopping throngs who
Stop 70 procure q nice, ripe Winesap
here" for oftentimes 1t is q dime and
perhaps Q quarter that Is paid for q
single apple. And there are others who
pay Tor apples they do not take. Some
OF the vendors report that gratuities
often exceed profit from the sale of the
apples.
BY conservative estimate, there are
upward Of 800 men and youths en-
gagged in the sale Of "unemployed ap-
pies" on the streets Of Washington.
Few, II any Of them, have vending
licenses, and large percentage of them
are not chartered from the ranks of
the 1oblesS District residents. This lat
ter portion they call "floaters"-knights
Of the road who drift from city to city,
hitch-hiking and rod-riding; Vagabond
idlers who seize upon the apple selling
idea as q means Of making expenses"
on their tours, and othDr jobless who
have been virtually forced out of other
cities by sheer competition in the "un-
employed apple" profession.
Traced TO Depression
In the main. however, the vender
and, cohcidentally enough, certainly
his commodity, can be traced directly
back to the depression" that has un-
dermined business confidence the coun-
try over and left its telling mark on
industry and trade.
A slack season, damming the mar
keting channels Of the fruit growers,
caused an abundance Of produce to
mount high behind the flood gates Of
subnormalcy, and the unemployment
from this same source-depreSsion
proved to be the key with which to re-
lease the locks. The orchard, unlike
the factory, had continued full-tiYne
production throughout the slack season
and the crop accumulation was the
greatest in years.
Whoever it was that initiated the
apple e-selling scheme for the unem-
ployed hit upon q plan which quickly
started the fruit on its way from grow
er to packer, from packer to shipper,
from shipper to broker, from broker to
dealer and from dealer to vender. The
cost Of the apples per case to the dealer
runs from $1.15 to 81 so or more in the
Stayman Winesap variety. The price
differs according to the grade of fruit |
1t costs 10 to 80 cents per case to ship |
the apples from the West Coast In |
cidental storage and trucking charges |
may add Is cents or so, with the result |
that the total cost to the dealers runs |
upward Of $2.10 per case. Brought |
here in carload lots Of 750 or more |
cases, the dealer relies largely on the |
volume for his profit. The contact for |
the purchase Is made by local brokers |
with the Western fruit exchanges. The
popular varieties brought from wash
ington and other Western States are
Stayman Winesap, Delicious and Spit
zenberg.
Can't Keep Help.
A dealer in Center Market, ap-
preached on the subject yesterday, COM
planned that "Since this apple-selling
thing started, I haven't been able to
keep any help around here" He went
on TO explain that he could only afford
to pay an assistant SIS or $18 a week,
but that as soon as he hired one he
would Immediately learn about the
Street-selling possibilities and quit his
lob.
"A few weeks ago feller came up to
me an almost begged me to give him
. job" the merchant said. "I told him
could only afford to pay him SIS a
week, and he said he was mighty glad
70 get that much. He quit, and now he
comes by here every 30 often and says,
Well, I made $475 today or made
more than six bucks today Sorta
throwin' it up to me, he was"
A young man In disheVeled clothinO
displaying on the sidewalk before him 4
basket Of apples, was approached at
and r streets.
Where did you buy those apples2"
he was asked.
Didn't. They were given to me-"
Well, who gave them to you?"
A guy up near Eighth and streets"
FURTHER inquiry developed that Q
dealer in the 900 block of Eighth street
starts his vender customers of with q
box OF 30 apples Ito get him on his