Newsboys Parade To-Night

Get a Permit from the Mayor—Four Horses for the President’s Carriage

The rain and the order “no violence,” which were more or less obeyed, made the newsboys’ strike less lively yesterday, though there were occasional outbursts of noise. The youngsters declared that the $2-a-day men hired to sell Worlds and Journals had been unable to beat the tie-up. Kid Blink reported that he had secured a permit from Mayor Van Wyck for the parade of the newsboys to-night. Dry Dollar Sullivan took Dave Simons, President of the union, to the Mayor’s office. “Dry Dollar says that de young fellers oughter have a chanst,” the Kid reported. “So the Mayor he laughs and he gives us the permit. We’ll give the biggest parade this town ever saw and after it is all over we are going to have beer and sandwiches at a hotel in Second avenue.”

Charlie Bacigalupo, the Italian undertaker, Mr. Blink said, had given $50 in cash to the fund and had also contributed a four horse open landau and three open coaches fro the parade. President Simons was to ride in the big landau. The parade will start at 8:30 o’clock from Newspaper Row. It will go up Park row, the Bowery and Third avenue to Fifty-ninth street, then over to Fifth avenue, down to Washington Park, and through Eighth street over to Second avenue, where it will disband. The charter does not require a permit from the Mayor, but says that the police must have six hours notice of the route of the parade. President Simons came down Park row last night accompanied by two smaller newsboys. It was raining and each of the smaller boys was trying to hold an umbrella over the President.

The Tenderloin newsboys raised Cain last night. When the boycotted sporting extras got to Greeley Square 200 boys got around the wagons and yelled derisively, and a crowd gathered. A half dozen bluecoats stood by the wagons, but there wasn’t a newsdealer in the crowd who had the nerve to buy any papers. When Broadway and Sixth avenue had become impassable some of the boys set up a cry of “Speech!” “Speech!” A boy who answered to the name of Dope was boosted on to the pedestal of the Greeley statue and ordered to “shoot off his mouth.”

“Ladies and gentlemen,” began Dope gallantly, “use guys are on a strike. Are we goin’ to win out? Well, I guess yes.”

“Bone de mob fer a collection, Dopey,” whispered one of the boys who was holding him on the pedestal.

“As I was sayin’,” continued Dope, “us guys are going to win. But to do it we must have some dough. Now we’re going to take up a collection.”

A dozen boys went through the crowd soliciting contributions to the strike fund. They got $1.51. The boys cheered the contributors to the fund and once more turned their attention to the delivery wagons. The guard of police thought it time to act and they dispersed the strikers, who started up Broadway, leaving pickets on the field.

Several boys were arrested yesterday for assault on the $2 men.

YONKERS, July 25—The striking newsboys of this city formed a union last night with over 200 members. The boys paraded through the city to-night, and to-morrow night they will hold a public meeting in Y. M. C. A. Hall. Boarding trains from New York and grabbing copies of the boycotted papers from passengers was an occupation of theirs to-day.

NORWALK, Conn., July 25—The newsboys here, who sell largely for the newsdealers, waited upon the dealers to-day and asked them to use their efforts to assist the boys in getting the price of the evening editions of the World and Journal reduced from 60 to 50 cents a hundred.

TRENTON, July 25—The newsboys’ boycott began to-day, and few, if any, copies of the boycotted papers were sold here. The usual supplies arrived and the agents opened the bundles, but there were no takers. The newsdealers also refused to take any of the papers.

Source: “Newsboys Parade To-Night.” The Sun [New York], 26 July 1899, p. 2.