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MATTERS OF SOME IMPORT TO
DWELLERS IN TOWN AND COUNTRY
CURRENT TOPICS OF INTEREST
FOR MEN AND WOMEN READERS
vol. xrx
TWENTY-FOUR PAGES
POKTLAND, OREGON, SUNDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 11, 1900.
PAGES 13 TO 24
no. H
Wm. Ga
THE HOUSEFURN15HER
dsby
Gadsby Block, cor. Washington and First Sts.
THE LARGEST COMPLETE HOUSEFURNISHING ESTABLISHMENT
IN THE STATE .
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Everything in ttock io furnish throughout All .goods new, up-to-date
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Special Sale of Carpets Now On
Iron Bedsteads, each $ 3.50
Bedroom Suits, oak, at 20.00
Bedroom Suits, ash, at 13.00
Sideboards, ash at 10.00
Chiffoniers, oak, at . 7.00
Parlor Suits, 5 pieces, at 25.00
Parlor Suits, 3 pieces, at - 15.00
Couches 5.00
Kitchen Cupboards 4.00
Household Treasures 2.50
Bedsteads, hardwood 4 2.00
We abb Arry the highest jgrade- of .Mahogany and
Birdseye Maple Furniture.
THjHKffif
Thlsls a good thing "push It along"!
This Morris Chair Is the best for the
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made from quarter-sawed oak, has a
rich, dark, golden finish, the back is
adjustable, it has a spring seat below
the cushion. The cushions are stuffed
with hair and covered In beautiful
four-tone velour. It Is a most com
fortable chair and an ornament to any
parlor. "We have others that are cheap
er, but we specially recommend this
one. Notice the high arms. You can
rest the elbows to read.
" rvNis' ll "' xi' ' '"
fin the rods they were clinging;
un the gunnels they -were swinging;
Through the tunnels they were singing,
On the way to Montreal.
There was great rejoicing',
No cursing or quarreling;
'Every yag was loaded to the neclc with, alcohol.
The burlies had bandanas.
Filled up with short Havana
Cigarettes and bananas.
For the punk that mooches all.
Not by Budyard Kipling.
has not been worked too often, the plan
HILE It Is true that succeeds and he produces. The "mooch
Portland was never hon- eI" varie3 tne st01"y from llmo to Ume
ored with a beggars' con
vention, such as was
held In Montreal, Can
ada, half a decade ago,
It Is still a favored spot
for mendicants. Hero
they wax fat and flour-
ish as In few other cit
ies in the United States.
Portland Is scarcely large
enough for many of the
League of American
Mendicants to make It
their headquarters; but
few, if any, of the old
timers are willing to be
paddled over waters Stygian without hav
ing paid at least one visit to the metrop
olis of the Pacific Northwest. They all
come here the aged and the rheumatic
to winter In this genial clime, where the
Arctic blasts are tempered by the gentle
Chinook. The young and able-bodied graft
er seeks these congenial shades because
here is a place where the weary are at
rest and the tired cease from worrying.
Other Reasons.
The climate and other bounties that na
ture has bestowed on the beautiful city of
the Willamette are not the only reasons
why Portland is a Mecca for beggars. Port
land people are easily "worked." The
men, as a rule, are soft-hearted, and can
always find a spare "two-bit" piece in the
northwest corner of their trousers pock
ets for the poor man with a hard-luck
story, and who wants money to enable
him to go home and die. It may be re
marked, parenthetically, that nearly all
the mendicants are anxious to .reach their
native heath, that they may turn up their
toes to the daisies of their youth. It goes
hard with them to croak in a foreign
clime. The cold hand of death feels not
so ley with the familiar scenes of child
hood looming up in the background. So
sas the suppliant; the kind-hearted citi
zen coughs un "four bits"; the beggar
mutters a prayer, drops a scalding tear,
and as a sequel the dally traffic in rum
Lj increased by five drinks.
Indeed, the Portland men are so easy
to give up that some early-visiting beggar
must have made a strawberry mark. In
chalk, on the small of their backs, so
large and plain that the mendicant who
runs may read. The Portland woman,
too, Is prone to cast her bread, pies and
cold "spuds" on the waters, hoping they
may return In many 'dajs, wearing the
gladsome shapes of 1900-model "bikes" and
wlntergreen chewing gum.
"Yogs on Saps."
Here am I, a lonely stranger.
Beat my way from vamp to camp;
When I work my life's In danger,
For I'm the rojal Bengal tramp
Dutch Shorty.
Nature assisted some men and women
to be successful beggars, but, more often,
art and science have been invoked to
perform this mission. Paradoxical as the
expression may appear, an impediment of
any kind Is no Impediment to the beggar.
Big afflictions are great blessings. For ex
ample, the most successful "moocher" is,
perhaps, the "yag on saps." For the In
formation of the unsophisticated, the ex
planation is made that a "yag"
Is a beggar; a "sap" Is a crutch, or a
cane, and "a yag on saps" is therefore
only a cripple who, the more hideous and
repulsive his affliction, the more lovely he
is in the sight of his comrades, and the
more useful is he to the Amalgamated As
sociation of Touchers.
Traellng "with a bug" Is a favorite
scheme with beggars wh oply their nefari
ous -trade on the Pacific slope. It Is not
so much In vogue now as In former days"
but men with large "bugs" often come
here. But perhaps some esthetic maiden
or silver-haired philanthropist may not be
quite Informed as to the meaning of
"bug," In this connection. For their bet
ter information. It may be said that a
"bug" is a sore, made by artificial means,
usually by the use of some acid, on the
arm or leg of the "moocher," and that,
when Intelligently worked, It Is a splendid
"graft."
"Working a Graft."
The modus operandi commonly adopted
In Portland by the "moocher" and the
"yag" Is something like this: The man
alights from a freight train, washes up
and -walks up town. He picks out a busy
thoroughfare like "Washington, Morrison
and Third streets. He approaches the first
well-dTessed man he sees who Is, for the
time being, unoccupied, and then does to
him a tale unfold. If lie has a "bug" he
displays the pufrld sore- with great pride,
and expects to receive much pity. If the
man "touched'r Is an easy mark, and
in order to maintain interest In It him
self, and, In the course of a day, a good
"bug" will bring In considerable revenue.
The man with a "bug" usually has a
partner who Is a specialist In some other
branch of the business, or he may be only
a general practitioner.
Portland's Street Musicians.
If you love me, do not sing.
Old Play.
The most ludicrous and at the same"
time the most persistent and annoying of
all the street beggars that Infest this city
are the members of the curbstone orches
tra. The street musician we have with
us always, like the poor and the Salvation
Army. Oft In the stilly night, his tuneful
lay can be heard, and bars of ragtime
music mingle with the din of the busy
day traffic of the city. Portland has many
of these people who strive to soothe the
savage breast.
One, or rather a pair, of the best-known
of these, Is Thompson, the organ-grinder,
and his -nlfe. Both are blind, or nearly
so, and the tones of then-hand organ are
sometimes terrible. Thompson wears a
G. A. P.., button, with which to appeal to
old soldiera. It Is said that his father,
or his uncle, .w as at tme time In the army.
It may be that people give him money to
go away, but, In any event, he has made
his business pay, as he owns six acres of
valuable land, near the city limits. He
still owes some of the purchase price, but
will probably meet all the pannents If
the credulity of the Portland public holds
out.
Thompson takes trips. It was at the
Spokane fruit fair, last October, that his
wife was knocked down and run over
during a firemen's parade. Like the re
ligion of the Apostle Paul, this woman's
blindness struck her suddenly. In her
younger days she manufactured . bead
work, like that sold by the Indians, but
now clings close to music.
"U. P. Sam."
Nearly everybody In Portland knows
"U. P. Sam," the blind fiddler, poet and
sweet singer An laraek There are few
ears that his harsh falsetto has not grated
upon. He puts in his entire time In giving
street-corner concerts, the notable feature
of which is the frequency of the collections
he makes. He resides In the suburbs of
Portland and Is quite well fixed.
The blind maji, Piper, not the Pled Piper
of Hamelln City, Is a versatile and oer
sistent beggar, who has given the author
ities and the public much annoyance. He
never speaks a word, and has no "fake"
or "graft." He, Is labeled with a huge
placard, bearing this legend:
: I am totally blind. Lost my :
: eyes when I had the ty- :
: phold fever. :
He holds out a cup, but says never a
word. He has often been arrested, and
recently employed a lawyer to defend, him
In the police court. "When fined, he drew
from his pocket a large amount of money,
in gold, and paid his fine like a prince.
To avoid further complications with the
law, he is now a vender of cheap graph
ite pencils.
Another blind beggar, whose sightless
orbs have often made mute appeals to
the hearts and pocketbooks of the Port
land people, Is reputed to have begged
enough money to purchase a $30,000 farm,
near The Dalles, His wife persuadedhlm to
place the property In her name, and then
she eloped with a younger and handsomer
man, and one who could see.
The Lodge Grafter.
Kind and faithful to each other,
Linked to us by friendship's chain.
Old Lodge Song.
The most successful, the most Insidious
and the most vexatious of all the beggars
who work Portland are the lodge and
fellowship men, and they are the most
persistent, too. Nearly all of them are
alike. They are fellows who once were de
cent and really belong to the orders they
say they do. They all tell the same story.
Came out here from the East; found the
"West not what "was expected; had "bad
luck, and must have money enough to get
home to go to San Francisco, or to Se
attle, or elsewhere, a3 the case may be.
Members of the lodge may suspect the men
to be frauds, but it Is difficult to obtain
proof of it, and while investigations are
being made they must be boarded, and it
is usually considered cheaper to give them
a few dollars at the start and get rid of
them.
A popular state organizer In a well
known order, and a prominent member of
several other fraternities, has been made
such a prominent mark for lodge workers
that he has abandoned the plan of wear
ing his badges and other insignia of lodge
room rapk, .except on state occasions. No
order Is exempt. Masons, Odd Fellows,
Pythlans, Elks, and, In fact, all the or-
ders are worked to a finish by the "mooch
er" who can give you the "grip." Some of
them are willing to take the risk to work
two or three'lodges of the same order, at
the same time. Often ?10, or several times
that amount, Is obtained from each lodge,
and the plan proves to be more profitable
than working, and the "yag" considers it
more dignified.
Some of these fraternal order beggars,
who have worked Portland recently, be
long to two or three different orders, and
obtained, money from several at a time,
It Is supposed that they beg money enough
to keep up their dues in their home lodge
and thus retain their good standing.
Napoleon, the Impersonator.
Have no half dealings with thine art.
Shakespeare.
Perhaps bo k&S another name some tiwe,
rim flP T SfiW W&m'
One day he may have been somebody's
darling. Time was whn a fond mother
cherished a bright-eyed, curly-haired boy,
and called him Theodore or Lancelot or
Percy. He Is "Napoleop" now, and In the
North End he 13 regarded as a bum. But
he Is no common beggar. "What is worth
doing at all Is worth doing well, and in his
own particular line Napoleon shines as
a star of the first magnitude. He Is an .Im
personator and a mimic, and most of his
work would do credit to many profession
als. He Is also a singer of no mean ability.
Napoleon is superior In every way. His
headquarters is in a saloon where good
whisky and beer can be obtained. Two
rounds of drinks will start him going. His
first number Is usually Bryan's "Cross of
Gold" speech, and his Impersonation of the
Nebraska apostle of free silver Is very
fine. It Includes tone, gesture, and facial
expression. This Is followed by Lincoln's
speech at Gettysburg and Ingersoll's beau
tiful oration on "Napoleon Bonaparte."
Napoleon is a "dope fiend." He ha3
a history. The story goes that he and
his father were walking over a railroad
trestle at Puyallup, when the elder "Na
poleon" was knocked off and Instantly
killed and the young man barely escaped.
Since then he has been "bughouse," or
"nutty," as partially Insane people are
known in bum parlance. He usually ob-
tains money enough for food and opium,
without asking for It directly. One of
his "grafts" Is grinding knives, razors,
sclssora, etc., at which he is an adept.
He has traveled all over the country, and
has acquaintances In nearly every city
in the. Union but that is another story.
Passed for a Preacher.
Borrowed the livery of heaven
To serve the. devil in.
f Shakespeare.
Portland offers an ample field -for the
working of the religious dodge, and
"moochers" with sanctimonious tend
encies are not slow to take advantage of
it One of the smoothest articles In this
line that ever happened struck Portland
not long since. He worked the dodge for
all there was In it, and also played the
"lodge graft." He was a versatile fellow,
being an Odd Fellow, a. Baptist and a
boozer. A well-known minister on the
East Side, who Is noted for his persuasive
pulpit eloquence, staked the man to a
suit of clothes and a week's board. Other
religious men and organizations wero ap
pealed to, and then he turned his atten
tion to his craft. The Odd Fellows came
down handsomely, and the quasi-clerical
gentleman secured a pass, by some
means, and started out, seeking fresh pas
tures. Clergymen are not considered so easy
to work as formerly. There Is such a
thing as riding a free horse to death,
and the men who preach the gospel now,
Instead of always yielding up coin, as has
been their custom, sometimes Issue "char
ity tickets" that are good for so many
meals at a restaurant, or a certain num
ber of nights' lodging at a lodging-house.
Quite a number of citizens have adopted
this plan, and the professionals tell each
other of them, and they are systematically
"worked."
Grafters, Large and Small.
Some mute Inglorious Hilton here may rest
Some Cromwell, guiltless of hla country's blood.
Gray.
Those who have been mentioned are
only some of the star beggars. There are
others. Selling lead pencils is a legiti
mate business In the eyes of the law,
but everybody knows it is usualjy only
a cloak to shield begging. Even the sale
of dally newspapers Is sometimes pervert
ed to this base use. It has been asserted
that a woman who stands on prominent
street corners, beseeching the passer-by
to purchase papers, has no need to do
this.
Selling "phony" Jewelry Is a plan of
begging that is more frequently adopted
by tramps than others, but the profes
sional mendicant know3 how to work the
racket. Imitation gold-rlmmed spectacles,
that cost 12 cents, are sold to benevolent
old genuemen for a dollar, and gilt finger
rings, with bright-colored glass settings,
are easily palmed off on the credulous.
"Tim" Snlllvan.
To omit the name of "Tim" Sullivan
from any sketch, however incomplete, of
Portland" beggars, would be rank treason.
"Tim" has only one arm and one leg, and
has been persistently practicing his pro
fession In Portland for 17 years. "When
abnormally drunk, he becomes aftmslve to
those who fail to donate to his burning
thirst; and then he usually lands In -Jail.
As soon as his term expires, he takes up
the burden of life again.
Then there Is a short man, with a big
head, who says he has been a lithographer
and engraver. As distinguishing marks,
both of thl3 man's eyes are bum.
The one-legged mas, TTho boWe Qtrt Wa
MflwWvM - jml
imlwfflmw&xmm &
hat as he walks up and down Third street,
and the man with a- guitar who plaintive
ly sings "Just as the Sun "Went Down"
and "Jack the "Whistler," are both fa
miliar figures in Portland. The last-named
individual Is, by no means, a scrub, and
is always well dressed and prosperous, In
" way.
Carried Grandma's FIctnre.
Oh. for the touch of a vanished hand.
And the sound of a. voice that Is still.
Tennysos.
The latest grafter to strike Portland
with a dull, sickening thud is a tall gen
tleman In black, with a lean-and-hungry-Casslus
kind of a look, who sells a com
plexion salve, which- has all the virtues j
of an elixir of life. It Is more potent than
the famed fountain of youth of Ponce de
Leon. It's the real thing, and has a. cata
logued price of $16 per bottle This
"moooher" carries wish him two photo
graphs, one of his mother and one of his
"grandmother-." But these come into
play later on. His own hair is as black
as the plumage of a raven. He begins by
saying:
"Lady, how old do you think I am?"
"Oh, about 40," is the guess. Tho wretch
is really only about 30.
"Oh, you are wrong," he says; "I am
86 years old."
He then explains that he has been using
some of his own "dope," and his wonder
ful preservation Is the result.
Then he exhibits his art gallery. He
shows two photographs of women of about
40 years of age. "These," he explains,
"are the plotures of my mother and my
grandmother. Ma Is 102 years old, and
'granny Is 126. They are hale, hearty, and
can crack English walnuts with their
teeth, without making & wry face. It Is
all due to their use of this wonderful
elixir."
After a while he reduces the price from
$16 to "four bits" a bottle, and, if a pur
chase Is not made, will finally strike the
woman of the house for a "hand-out" and
a dime.
It All Goes.
He lacked refinement, culture, grace;
He had no charm of form or face.
To see him read would) pain your eight.
'Twas misery for him to write.
And yet, like all that's human, he
Had one trait of humanity
And that the best, I might here itate
At making money he was great.
"Wherefore, around him all men flocked,
And women, too, and wero not shocked
At things he'd do or things he'd say.
In hla rough, coarse and brutal way.
They merely smiled Indulgently, and saldt
"How free from guile la he I
He j doesn't have to try to please .
We love his eccentricities."
Philadelphia North American.
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