NEWSVENDORS' EARNINGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20792, 7 February 1931, Page 8 (Supplement)

NEWSVENDORS' EARNINGS.

! ONE SAID TO MAKE £2OOO. DOUBTS CAST ON STATEMENT. Is there a man earning as much as £2OOO a year by selling newspapers in the streets of London ? Mr. Alexander MacLaren, secretary of the National Federation of Retail Newsagents, Booksellers and Stationers, giving evidence recently at the Select Committee inquiry at the Houso of Commons into the hours of shop assistants, stated that ho knew of such a man, adding that he sold newspapers in tho streets near Charing Cross. Street newsvendors are unable to accept Mr. MacLaren's statement. " I actually know of one man who makes £3OOO a year by selling newspapers ?..id periodicals in - tho streets," said Mr. MacLaren, in an interview after he had concluded his evidence. " There are quite a number of men who are making anything from £ISOO to £2500 a year. In certain places in the West End and in the city, and also in big dockyard towns, £IOOO to £2OOO a year is not an uncommon earning for newsvendors. I know one case where a man- pays his wholesaler £IOO a week, which means £25 a week profit for him. And that is clear profit, and he has no rent or rates to pay." Mr. H. Golding, who has .been selling papers outside Charing Cross Station for over 40 years, said:." I should say from my experience that the average earnings of newspaper sellers are round about 10s to 15s a day. I remember my grandfather, with top-hat and a frock coat, selling newspapers in this district. So did my grandmother and my mother. But none of them ever made a fortune." Another seller in the same area said: " I will bet my week's earnings that Mr. MacLaren cannot produce a newspaper seller who earns £2OOO a year. If I Jose I will give the money to a hospital." A third, who has a pitch in. the city, said: " Some of the sellers outside London railway stations do pretty well, but the earnings of the man who has only an ordinary pitch vary between 5s and 10s a day. As soon as a good pitch becomes vacant it is-snapped up, while a poor pitch is not worth having. I'm lucky if 1 get £5 or £4 a \veek."