THE BUSINESS OF BEGGING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8067, 24 March 1906, Page 4

THE BUSINESS OF BEGGING.

Begging to-day ia as much an organised j business as any that can he thought of, and those engaged in it regard themselves as j equally legitimate workmen as those engageti in any ot the trades or professions. Thesa | it'is wno, heing unmasked, curdle the milk | ot human kindness, causing the truly deserving to be placed under the ban of suspicon. Eight at the top of the profession, looked up to with respect and admiration by all habitual mendicants, is one of the greatest curses of the day, and a man for whom the jaw would have no me-cy once he slipped within its grasp. But the ditlieulty is tu catch him, and others of his kind, tripping, This in- I dividual is the maker of beggars or, ns ho | chooses to facetiously stylo himself, the ' beggars' "coach." In the East End of London there is a regular beggars' club, constituting a veritablo " Cour de miracles," as painted by Hugo in " Kotre Dame." Here, in what is termed the " theatre," 1 found qui.to a well-organised rehearsal in lull swing, under the direction of the beggars'. " coach." There was nothing of the beggar about him; on the contrary, he was a well-sot-up man of some forty-five years, neatly dressed in a navy-blue lounge suit, This room "vas large, and bare of furniture ; a couple of mirrori were panelled in two sides of the apartment; on onß of the walli was the sarcastic sentence, in big black type, ' " Work was made for fools I " It was the class I was ssupposed to join that was in pro- ' gress, and I took my stand Reside four other ■ men, the " coach " standing apart, while j another man was going through his part. , We were training to be British workmen out of work, and the rehearsing individual, in special clothing that fitted the part, walked up and down the room declaiming his imaginary woes and misfortuiies. He had been ' out of work for five months. A good work: man, a carpenter by trade, hailing from • Nottingham, he had struck with his mates against a reduction of wages. They had gone back to work on the old terms, but the foreman had refused to take him back. For , rive months he had tramped the country, arriving in London that morning, Nobly his wife and two children had tramped with him, but he had had to leave them, cold and starving, on a seat on the Embankment while s he begged for a copper to buy thorn food. , There was all this and much more. A 1 plain, straightforward story it sounded, told e in a rough, broken voice, loud enough toattraetattention, not only from passers-by, but also from the houses on either side of the street through which be was supposed to be slowly walking. He bad tp stop his walk now and then and cast his imploring eyes to e imaginary doora and windows ; pick up an imaginary copper thrown to him, aud touch s his cap in thanks; take a donation from an I- animaginarygiver.withahearty "Godbless i jour kindness, lady !" or "Thank you ■] thank you, sir f "

But he found it difficult to get the dragging step, the halting speech, to infuse enough sincerity into bis gratitude ; whereupon the " couch *•' would come forward and demonstrate the proper manner of doing thp business, and this creator ot hypocrites was a born actor. Another class I was allowed to see in training were the " Warblers"—a man and woman and three children. The eldest child walked, the next was carried by the father, the baby nestled in its mother's arms- The pair were not married and the children ba<j been hired. Walking up and down, they murdered "There is no place like home " and other doleful songs. Here it was the child's part to collect the imaginary takings, and under the guidance of the "coach" she proved an apt pupil, curtseying her thanks to perfection, and runing to her mother with the cash. It never does for the man to take the money under circumstances such as these. 1 told the " coach " I didn't fancy " spinning the tale" or "warbling," and I thought he might suggest something rather more likely to fit my abilities. He was candid in. his reply. "Look here, my friend," said ho. "I don't think you'd ever make a beggar. I can see it in your face. You'd give yourself away in the first five minutes. Are you an educated man 1" ' ( I told him I couldreadand write, at least. "Well," he went on,;'you've come here at an opportnne moment. There's a lot of clerical work—hunting up facts, dates, names, and so on—in this business. As I've done so much of it I'm a bit sick. I'll give you the job as secretary to me—ten shillings a week and board and lodgings.'' ; It was the chance I had been looking for. I jumped at tho offer, and told him an imaginary past a deviation from the straight narrow pathway of a c.lerk's life, and three months in ! gaol. If he'd only trustme, I aauld "You'll get no chance to pinch much here 1 '■ he assured me. , During the week I was with him ho became quite confidential, and I learned "much. * * * His method of procedure had practicability to reepmend it. In the first place, ho thought out what rolewould best suit a pupil. Very old men were good Crimean veterans : younger men, with military appearance, might have fought in more receut battles. "So I choose a regiment for him,"he said, " then instruct him in all its history. That's where my library comes in. From the reference books I hunt up the engagements in which the regiment fought whilst he was in it, the names of the officers he was supposed to serve under, make him certain of his dates, and teach him a pitiful story of how he had to sell his'medals for bread for his'dying wife. "It takes time, all this, and individual attention. I teach him, then examine him, and only when he is perfect does he start out. When I've finished with him it would take a pretty 'cute man to trip him up. " Sometimes, too, I send a few of my pupils into workhouses, where they meet genuine old soldiers and sailors. From them they learn sufficient to enable them to pass as the real veterans, and they write to their old officers, and frequently receive as much as £lO and £2O. As his commission was only 50 per cent, he did not do so badly. The way he kept a hold over those he evergot into his clutches was ingenious. He impressed upon them the fact that if they play, ed the game straight he was always their friend ; if they didn't, lie declared he would —anonymously, of course—put the Mendicity Society on their track. During my short stay in the club I made the acquaintance of several of its queer members. There was a little girl, with large blue eyes and pinched features. She was a treasure to the " coach." Her speciality was losing her fjre outside railway-stations just as she was going to see her mother, who was very ill! Hers was a bid day when she did not return with fire shillings; and on Saturdays in the summer, she has made as much as ten shillings and fifteen shillings. , *