Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 17, 1906)
' , . . y . . : . , THE OnZGOW "DAILY . JOURNAL, PORTLAND. SATURDAY EVENING. ' NOVEMBER 17. 10C3. . - O p "7T i TfH If AIT rKlTO 3TLL3 . K THE lUn of the world, whan 41 the people are the players, tragedy and comedy are so com pletely Intermingled that the eyea are often crying while the mouth ia laughing. Ever since that day when the first man waa driven from the Oar den of Eden 'and bidden to earn hla "11 veil hood by .the aweat of hla brow the difficulties attendant upon earning a living have increased.- Until the pea. pie are driven to all trlnda of curious expedlente to keep tha wolf from the door. Tbeee make an Interesting and fascinating study ai.U present many '. aides that would be funny were' It not for the terrible reality of It all. .The spectacle of a 4 0-year-old woman, for Instance, selling papers on the streets of a western city In competition with 'grimy and profane newsboys, would cause a grin of derision but for the realising eense that she la compelled by circumstances to take this course to . keep a within the ranks of tha ... vast ' army flghUag desperately for Its daily bread. And ..'speaking of dally bread, how . many people aret there who know that JB,,.SP-cTtlnpatt or . thftJtlubaie baiters work the dough with their knees . instead of their- hands? A joker would probably eay that this ia where the term "kneading the dough" originated. Perhaps it is. Thla peculiar -feature of our.-dally toll la found in Ita,ly; and " the traveler who telle the story says that bakera In that sunny- country are ' all knock-kneed aa a result. The bakera kneel on the dough, anil, grasping a high support with their hands, prod and twist and thump the soft mass before them or rather .under themuntil it ha attained the required consistency, This work, it la Bald, enlargea and de- , forma tha knees, causing them to inter fere in walking. The bakers invariably - bathe before kneading. tW.bread, and as tha kneea are never used for many thlns-a that the bands are, it really would appear that the knee-kneaded bread is cleaner 'then the hand-kneaded kind, In many of the remote parts of Italy1, and France, too, a great deal of wine Ja till trodden out with the bare feet, so that those who desire a rather unique ' luncheon can make It of knee-kneaded bread and foot-trodden wine. Either would probably be found cleaner and more palatable than packlng.house sau sage. . HUM talking about eatables, did It 'aver occur to- you that in a city the ' else of Indianapolis, Indiana, f.Ouo pies, valued at f00 net. are made and eaten . every day? If this is bo In Indianapolis, what must the dally consumption of '., pie amount to In New fork or Chicago T And, perhaps, you never thought, either, that the ple-maklng buslneaa haa ita dull aa well aa Ita proaperoua and busy sea sons. An old plemaker told, me the : other day that during tha berry and ' melon seasons the demand for ptes de- creases perceptibly. A number of con firmed pie-eaters switch to fruits, and, curiously enough, this is tha aeason of amall profits, too, because moat-of the . pie demanded ia that made from- amall . berries, ato which are high-priced, mak ing the margin of gain very small. Of the-pies.- apple 1s the -most staple f . tha eld standby-beaten aummer. fall. ".winter and .spring. -The berry pies , come and go, and so do the lemons and the custkrds.'.but the demand for apple never dlmlnlahea, except la the fall, , when tha pumpkin pie la king. Mince, peach and cranberry rank in tha order , of -popularity named, coming .quite a way behind apple, however. And. If you'll not breathe it'to a soul, here's a ' secretsome apple plea never see an apple. . .,- t- Food la on Of tha moat . Important f so tots In -the- life ef any human tllngT It ia the fuel that makes the dally work possible, and It la quite natural, then, that In an article touching on dally -toll, food should be one of the flfst things mentioned and one of the longest dwelt upon. A peculiar occupa tion la that of a corps of professional samplers lf the term may be used), " who ara employed by the department of agriculture at Washington. Their duty Is to llvs for. a length of time on foods doctored and adulterated with .some certain substance. - They are con stantly under expert supervision, and the affect of tha poison on their ays tern Is noted. In this way the harm fulness of adulterations la determined. If the sampler lives, the food Is good; If he dies. It Is dangerous end Its sale , prohibited. For the benefit of the timid and tender-hearted, however. It may be well to remark that none have died yet. and. ai hf lake (he foreign substance .-V-..-, .,:....:.. . 1 iA tlipplep f ifi -yfii ill k-, r-v 5 i v ' 1 1 1 li - i ir . . ,vt i 4 ' r -'j v " i x. 1 r if ill nrtsan .-ie; j-v u bsH.-: '' f it k&'v:; :; thought to be dangerous in very small quantities, none are likely to from this cause, at lease , Two Kinds of Peculiarities. . In gathering material for an article on the peculiarities that enter Into the humdrum task . of ekelng ant an enlat. ence, I aoon found that there were two classes of them the peculiar features In connection with vaat trades where many find employment and the .unique avocations -chosen -tn-dif ferent - part ef the-- world" by- single Individuals.- 1 learned, for Instance, that many thou aanda of people In America today find ateady employment at fair wages curling- hair for tnattreaaea, and I learned, too, of one individual who managea to make a fair living by curling hla own hair and selling the curls at so much per.' He Is a Parisian with silken bru nette hair, Just the color f the hair of one of tha moat celebrated concert-hall singers, who Is besieged nightly by the gay rounders of -the world's merriest city with requests for a lock of her hair. To cut off and diatrlbute her beautiful tresses piecemeal would be to spoil one of her chlf . charms,, and fa the fond admirers are satisfied with -a substi tute a lock from tha hair of our curly friend. She pays him well for his ring lets, and he la, for the present. at leant, living on the fat of. the land. . When the deception la discovered or the singer loses her popularity no will paobably find himself out of 1 food occupation. Criminal Occupatiojaf . ' j Then there are trie' criminal classes. A United States census worker, while going his rounds fn Chirsgo, called at the door of a rather gloomy- house, and waa met by a nicely-dressed, dapper It. tie fellow.' who greeted' him pleasantly. He had a shifty eye, though, and aeemed nneaay all during the (questioning pro cess. Finally the question was reached, "What ia your pecpaonr' - v "Making money,' promptly replied the lad. ' '.-.'. , The census enumerator. If he la like census enumerators that we have met, probably replied: "Quit you kidding now; get' wise to the question and tell me what you wora au mix on tne comedy now: whafa your JobT" ' "On the dead-level, my ocoupatlon'a making money, replied the young man at the door, "t'm a counterfeiter.''. .. "You're too fresh whatever you are." replied the census worller aa he put down in the occupation blank) -"Information refused." , ' " . That afternoon he got thinking things over, however, and went to the police with the atory. Tne nouse waa raiaea and all ths officers found were evi dences of a hasty departure and part of a counterfeiters ouliu. in wmu later when the gang or spurious coln- r ' . J .'. 3 I" T U 1 . U makers were roundecTlip, tne young man who answered the door confessed 'that ha thought that the Jig waa up and that the census man waa merely a de tectlve who was after additional evi dence' before the house waa pinched. - Counterfeiting is a .peculiar employ ment, if a shady one, and It requires nerve, skill and ability to be a good artisan In thia line. AnoU.i- unique oc cupation In the ssme shady category s that of the professional Deggar, wno makes a living by asking people tor things. , There are men, too, who make a living by breaking into nouses, ana there are other men who make a living by getting them out of Jail, after (hey have been caught.. The former are known aa burglars' and the latter as lawyers. Ths professional tramp is, perhaps. the strangest freak amsng. all atrange human .beings. Wandering, wandering, always wandeflnf Uvlnf by begging. M at Mi X J-eF ' fii. o 1 eW .aaW X ,.-''. I JL r I II . . l.'w... I .1 III.-' 1 1 1 I , -V--. aT W -- - 7 I t i ' T" ., .'' ;,"' . I ' TT : ' 1 T 1 I i- 9 1 I- a a m w . . bji - r- . .-ji ,.,-. - . j . . . . i a - i -1 s i i i s - - z-d3& Cl iW h, 04u--u , v ,J i:V'A' .'v;Z, '-' r;' &"?.;' '" ' ;"- 'T ? ... ' i. I ' - f.Jr " ' ' '- ' ' 3 M stealing, robbing and sometimes even murdering he poses as America's only real Idle class, and yet he works harder to be Idle than most men do to hold their Jobs. Ha Is very like the profea sUmal beggar, only worse and dirtier. In many ways a crook, he Is yet In strong contrast to the. general run of real crooks, uch"s forgers, bunko men, bank robbers and defaultera, who have In moat Instances refined tastes - and high ideala, with, the dally bath and personal neatnesses as part of their creed.. Teie varloua callings of the crooks, however, are not properly olaased as occupations and so the great army of the other aide will be dis missed with this slight reference., ' Second-Hand Employments." The cahle dispatches j-ecantly carried IHe story of a young woman who. find Ing other avenues of labor closed to her, went on the streets of London as a bootblack and made a good living. THer occupation, however, waa not quite as unique as mat or a man in tha 'old world who msde a practice of buying old shoes and taking the pegs and nails from the solea and selling them over agatm Thle occupation- le aomewhat akin to that of the old-clothes ma ef our American cities, who goes from door to door gathering up discarded gar ments and buying them for a Bong. Those in fairly good condition are fixed, cleaned tip and put on sale In -cheap clothing . stores. , The others are cut ever into suits for little boys and girls and as such find a ready market. A discarded man'a suit onoe followed on Its course by an Inqulsltlvs seller waa found to yield a tremendous profit. It was purchased at the bark door- for 40 cents and I we , weeks later sold for 15.60. tn practically the same oondltlon It waa in when It left the original own er's home. Old rubbers, too, form "ths basis for a good many prosperous busi nesses, and dealers tn old furniture wax fat on. the proceeds of their antique plecea many of them fresh from the 4 faotory. In all, my. Jeaearctt. JmwevsryJJ failed to find a duplicate of the man who made his living by buying, beg ging or stealing old discarded tobacco ripe, fie never told Just what he did with them, ' though once he admitted that aome of the stems he made ever Into cigarette holders and aold at a good profit. Some "f hla Intimates say that be aells. thebBwllot the pipes to a well-known tobacco concern, which pol Ishea them over, puts- pew atema on tham and Elves them away as premiums Ifoe the return of so many coupons found In soma oertaia klmla of cheap concoc. tlon foisted upon the unsuspecting pub lic ee tobacco. While allpplng on your stocking In the morning did you ever stop to tlnk thst In America alone 16.000 peo!e, drawing annually 125,000.000 In wares, work in 1,000 factories representing an Investment of 8.000.000. In order that you and the other 10.000.000 odd of you tn America might not go. bare-footed to work and play? Yet such Is the case. In some stocking factories as many aa 400,000 palra In one year are'made. The stockings- are knit by machinery, and some ef the finer kinds arv handled 825 times before they are finished. "You wouldn't believe," said one of the girls at the dyeing machine? in a big atock Ing factory, "that a stocking, which goes to seven 'different machines before It Is finished, can be sold at retail on the open market for 10 rents. But it is." It lias been Computed that about 100,000 pounds of cotton yarn-and 10,000,000 pounds of woolen yarn are used annual ly In America for stockings. Down on the Atlantic coast there sre men wha rake the bottom of - the sea. much as you rake off your front lawn after having cut the grass. - They are flop tha nv.Kra anrf immm Wm h,. heard Of the meu'wholelcgrap'R without wires, but we sre not yet prepared to believe that there are Women who cook without fires. Thore are, however, audi. If you will visit Schenectady, New York, in one of the finest homes, there you will see an electric kitchen-- In opera tion, the roaata and broils snd fries being done to a turn by the Juice that now runs our trolleys, prints our news papers and will soon. If the presentJJne of development keeps up,' comb our hair and give us our morning bath.' He Was an Elephant's Lf. An enumerator employed by the firm In New York that geta out the Metropol itan city directory aaked a man who opened tha door In a rooming-house sec tion the usual list of questions. He got In reply a very ordinary name, and an age tht corresponded well with the man'a appearance. "What la your occupation?" asked the enumerator. v am usually 'the left front foot of an elephant." ha replied, "but laat night I waa tha tall." 4 The enumerator was undecided as to whether he had gotten hold of a lunatlo or only a Joker. Further Inquiries elic ited the fact, however, that the man waa telling the truth. . He waa actually one of the men who comprised a gigantic elephant then appearing nightly in a popular comic opera. From New York to the Paclflo coast is a loot step, but t this (ncldent brings to mind a queer employment, round nownere in Amertc-a except In .aeawall cities of California. There are many weird laborers smong ths Chinese of the Pacific coast, among them being the Chinese school teacher, with a hearty contempt for everything desires to master for buslnesa reasons. Far more unique, however, is the posi tion, of the man known aa "the legs of the dragon. The dragon can be brief ly described aa a peculiar object, made of silk, some ZOO or S00 feet long. It has some 100 or 400 legs, each a man. and It can readily be seen that to Im part the proper effect as It twirls down the street In Chinese, festival parade these legs must . have aome training. Indeed, whenever possible the mea are carefully aelected for . the honor and strive to retain the position from year to year. , - Each large city, where there is a con siderable settlement of Chinese, has one of these dragona. . They resemble a huge caterpillar when In motion and are aald to be worth about 25.000 each, aa they are made of expenalve silks. and are heavily trimmed with gold and fine lewela. When tlmea are hard the dragon la brought out to sppease the evil spirits, and It has a prominent place In each Chinese New Year's day procession. When It appears it always creates a sensation. . In Old New York. And now back to New York.. , There la, perhaps, no city in th country that haa so many and varied occupations aa the dear old metropolis. In the strenu ous scramble for wealth and a Hying tha people of - the great-centers are driven to odd occupations for a liveli hood. . There Is, for Instance. In New York a man who geta good wagea Just looking after dogs and cats while their owners are out of town, while another enterprising fellow a good-looking chap by the way hires out as escort to maiden ladles regularly. A young wom an without a beau, we will say, haa a friend visit her; She has more money then male acquaintances, but decides to make a good Impression. She hires the professional escort. For a really reason able sum ha will make a social can or an evening, will take the two young Jldle to sums restaurant they designate, will tske them to ths theatre, etc Hla employer, of course, footing the 11 11 a. He says thst If he could pick his em ployers he would really have a very pleasant Job. When the temperament of aome of his "bosses" is' considered, however. It is quite plain that he earns his money several times over In some Instances. Another man gets US a week Jtor I breaking eggs, lie works In a big pie- baking plant in - the metropolis and 1 breaka HO.doxon. eggs a day Htt. sepa rates the yolks from the whites and beats up some of them. The pay seems rather u.-h for the nature of the work, but it la aald that the man In question more than makes up for the high wages paid blm by the economical way - In which he handles the egg. A cheap, or Inexperienced man might, prove very ex pensive. 'There la another mad in" New Yofk who doa nothing all year long but test watermelona and cantaloupea for the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. The loss In cutting unripe fruit would be eon-.. sldersble and this man, it la estimated, saves his year's salary In three months of work. . "Of course. If he didn't," said tha chef, "we wouldn't keep ,htm. it I proprietor cannot make a profit on the labor of tha man he hires be has .HA incentive to hire anybody." A woman who might Join the profes sional escort In a partnership arrange ment Is the clothes doctor ss she calls herself, tine la a midille-sged, mother- ly woman,- .who goes about to bachelors': " lodgings to do all the neceasary darn- Ing of Bocks, mending of underwear, etc., and loojts after the linen of those) who. sre not fortunate enough to have;, some one to do It for them. Then there Is the man who cuta rS Bells cat meat. He has had a atand at one cer tain apot of one' certain market for 25 years, and in all that time has never sold anything but t and 10-cent pack ages of meat prepared as cat food. In New York City alone (S7.074 men laborers. mechanics, stonemasons, bricklayers, carpenters, machinists, en gineers at the present writing find employment building skyscrapers, while In all large cities there .are at least a dosen men and women who make liv ing looking for lost articles. They may be aeen on the streets as soon aa It is daylight, searching the parka and loung ing places, the streets of the down-, town sections, the sidewalks-snd gut ters before theatres nnd popular restsu-ranta,-Sometimes they find money and . keep It. Sometimes they find Jewelry snd sell It. Many, many tlmea they find an article of value only to the loser, snd return It, getting Aie reward. They scan the advertisements in the lost and found columns of the -daily papers, and sometimes when they hsve s piece of Jewelry too conspicuous or too vsluable to offer for sale, they ad vertise for Ita owner. It Is said to bo quite a lucrative calling. Kqually unique, perhaps. Is the trsde of tickling peoples vsnlty. This latter is a most7 profitable fwriipatlnn, even when used for Itself slone snd not In connection , with some other business. Many ob scure newspapers snd nominal maga- iines of the Town Topics variety llvs by It. The method of 4 he men behind - the scheme is simply to write up a most fulsome article praising the sub ject In a manner that would be nause- atlng If It were not comical. The eiV tide Is then shown to the Intended vio Um by a glib talker, who tickles his vsnlty by reading the story snd supple menting .t with a few additional tneada of taffy. A fnnl and .his maaey are soon parted, eaya sn old adage. A vain man and his money are parted stilt more quickly says the- modern faklrw and the number who thrive by gettinr' out books devoted to praising people mat aont observe it is legion The. -laudatory artlclea, of course, cost so much per laudation, and ths editors andi writers wax rich. ) ' " Jobs Both Unique and Dangerous.' . Properly classed as both danserouap and peculiar ara those occupations of, men who loop-the-loop on bicycles and: In automobiles, who do scrobstle feats.' who jump over elephants' backs in cir cuses, who run automobiles for a llvlna- ahd raoe -with death 14 boura every day. mi men wno navigate airships, the divers who go down Into the depths of inn sea, the municipal fire fighters ana policemen, the salt and fresh water Sallora. the coal miners working under the earth, the' trainers pf wild beasts, the tight rope walkers, the physician who fight death and disease and count less others. But for real sensational- . Ism. real danger and real, oddltv tha Job of George fherma. one of the prin cipals in tne norse tnier set at Pawnee) Bill's show, makes any other strenuous Job Seem like a pleasant nap on a -warm day. For 150. a month end-nts"" board Therma Is -hanged It times a week.-" He la lariated" while riding at full speed, ia dragged from hla bursa and hauled over the ground for a dis tance. They he-ie-wtrtrnr to a tre lnT' full view of the audience. A piece of , stiff coat lining ia fixed about his neck: and the rope doea him little harm. By the action of the piece, a rescue party cornea along after he haa been hanging . . but a abort time end cuts down the , supposed corpse. It Is reported that-- once something went wrong And the rescue party failed tn appear. Therm nearly choked In reality that time. Oa ' oneer two- other occasions the cow boys, who do the hanging, became rar less and he haa been cut down more " I nearly deed -than altva ' In b dragged .over the ground at the end of the lariat after his capture. Therma has had his arms broken, his legs dis located and ' his skull fractured. Jnse Barraro. the Mexican, who leads the band f cowboys Vlch captures tha horeothlef, represented by; -Therma, Is no gw-ntle child, and when-he has tha sportive spirit working In him he looks for sll the rough spots In the ground to) drag Therma over. It Is said that the two men have s N-l, Iiarraro con tending thst he will kill Therma .during the course of the act aed Therma hl tlng that he will not fttrnne so It msy seem. Therma likes his J.-h. t hla one all-haunting f.-ur l ii" -t he may be hurt, but iht '" W ' - get his position a.'ir rmm h in to n," however, nl!y for the Jot). Among otner w . i . .c 1 I 1
