Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 June 1885 — A Strange New York Trade. [ARTICLE]

A Strange New York Trade.

A belated New York reporter found himself in front of a handsome house, on Madison avenuel, at 2a. m A dilapidated wagon, drawn by an aged horse, stood before the house. The reporter noticed two men hurrying from the cart, with empty pans and pails, into the basement of the house,—and returning speedily with the same filled to the brim. For a moment it looked like a burglary, but the presence of a policeman on the nearest corner was assurance to the contrary. One of the men paused as if to rest for a moment, and the reporter accosted him: ■ “What’s the racket?” “The same old thing. Free lunches, cheap restaurants, and Eyetaljans.” “I don’t quite catch. What are you doing in the place?” “Why, don’t you seb, they’ve had a party there to-night, and a big supper. They’ve left three times as much as they’ve eaten, and we’re buying it up from the steward. We’ll take it around to our customers, and sell it all before 9 o’clock to-morrow.” “Begular customers? Why is this a regular trade?” “Of course it is,' and has been for over ten years. Yon see, there are over. a hundred parties given every night here in New York. Nearly all of them are supplied by regular caterers. Now, they always put up a lot more than they want; because it would never do to have just as much as needed and no more. It would look just as if they were dead broke. —Old farnilies order generally twice as much as they use, new families three or four times as much, and shoddies five or ten times as much. Why, last week we took in a swell place where they had fifty people and they had enough grub for five hundred,—Now, what happens? The party is over, and there’s all that stuff left untasted. All they can do ii to throw it into the swill barrel. That’s where we come in. We come along and buy it up. Sometimes we buy it from the caterer. Sometimes we make the deal with the cook or butler, and sometimes, but not very often, with the old man of the house. Anyway, we manage to connect and get the stuff.” *"Wh:it do you do with-the stuff ?” “Sell it to our customers. There’s first, the cheap restaurants. They’re alway ready to take anything cheap. Then there’s the free lunch saloons; they don’t' pay much, but they’ll take all you bring. There’s one place down town where they give a fried oyster, a sandwich, ot something, with every drink. . That man is one of my best customers.

“After you’ve worked the restaurants and free lunches, you can always sell' out what’s left to the Eyetalians; they’ll buy anything if it’s cheap enough.” “What do you get mostly from parties ?” “It all depends on the kind of party it is. Literaries are the worst of all; they only have coffee, sandwiches, and salad, and there’s nothing left over. Musicals are almost as bad. Kettledrums and afternoon rackets are not much good either. The best is a wedding. Receptions to public men are the next best; then come birthday, christening, and tin-wedding patties, etc.” “Do you ever get any wine?” -Ph a ahl man of t,ho hmisiA Xltli’V • JLIIV7 UIU IIIUU VI Vllv lIVUOU always comes down and collars what’s left. If he don’t the waiters drink it, and they are always helped out by the servants. I’ve been in the business for ten years, and I never got even a half bottlq. But I’ve got to stop, as I’m off now to Washington Markets for our first customer.”