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131
1. Coster Stalls.— In all the chief markets in the Borough,
stalls loaded with second-hand clothes are to be seen. In most
cases the articles are put up to auction ; in other instances they
are sold separately.
2. Pawnbrokers.—A large quantity of unclaimed clothes is
occasionally disposed of by these tradespeople. There is of course
no guarantee that these are either clean or free from vermin.
3. Second-hand Dealers.—By these I mean shops dealing
especially in second-hand clothes, and other things.
4. Rag shops.—Many garments find their way to these shops,
especially from the dustmen, who are asked to remove them by
householders in the Borough, on making their usual call for house
refuse. The ragshop dealer usually separates the more promising
from his heap of rags and offers them for sale.
5. Re-make Shops.—There is a large business carried on in
the Borough, and on a larger scale in the East End Boroughs, in
the re-making of old clothes. Old clothes of adults are cut down
and make up again for children. This is particularly the case with
boys' knickerbockers. These articles are then distributed to various
dealers.
It is obvious that the above-named places are found almost
entirely in the poorer parts of the Borough, and are the chief
places to which many of the poorer parts of the Borough,
especially those having large families, resort for the purchase of
their children's clothing.
I am informed that the clothes displayed and sold by the costers
and some other vendors, are mostly obtained from the large market
in Stepney. This draws its supplies from all parts of the country,
and even from the Continent. Enquiries have failed to discover
that these clothes are subjected to any sterilising or purifying
process.