The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-02-09

O'Clock ne crept In an aileyway near hotel, oppo-
site the City Hall Park, but was ordered away by
the hotel waschman. The rest OF the night he
passed, he said, ''only God knows how. out
standing up and walking about In the snow
all the time" The next morning, however,
not bit discouraged, poor Theodore applied ior
work, ana offered to clean the snow rom the S'oe
walk in front of a residence In clinton place. iae
lady OF the house offered MIN nlty cents II nc ~ouiu
do the job thoroughly; but. alas theodore had no
shovel and the lady had had two shoves sloeh
from her. So che would not lend him the third
shovel .sNo: he must find his own toois,"
she SAID In his despair Theodore TOOK Ms
poor, dirty, thin coat or his shlvering
bacg, and offered TO deposit IL WIN
the lady as security tor the shovel but the iady
would not consent. Theodore therefore Iost that
jop nor could he get am other JoD next day SO,
having begged at last eight cents and having
bought some rolls Theodore Stonlman walked the
streets OF New YORK all night once more.
Now this mans case has been narrated at length
because he presents a complete example OF the
style OF the very class to which we wish to call
public attention in this artlce-those who are
deserving and industrious ana work-seeking and
who in good times obtain fair prices for hon
est labor, but who, by causes utterly beyond their
own control and without any fault vice OF their
own, are yet made the victims Of accidental pow
erty'' IN It's worst form. In TWO cases out OF three,
probably, poverty 10 but another name for inehi-
cheney and misery for vice, but the third casesand
even third of the number Of cases is a fearfully
large number-deserve, as in the instance OF
this Theodore Stoniman, all our aid and sympathy.
LACKING A DOLLAR
About twenty-Iour hours alter the meeting with
Mr. Theodore Stoniman representative OF the
HERALD stood at the corner OF Clinton place and
Filth avenue. The churches were just out and
the second Sunday in February was rapidly ha t..
enlng to it's close. Suddenly hollow checked,
sunKen-eyed, STOPPING figure OF q man stood be-.
fore him. and said these simple but startling Jour
words, "For Gods sake-moneyi"
On further inquiry it was found that these terri
bly, expressly words were uttered by John Reilly,
OF No. "a Cherry street. who has q wife and three
children, who have no 1Ood and no fire and no
money, and are to be turned out OF their room II
they do not pay their rent.
Reilly has sought work around the docks as q
longshoreman, and says that he could get good
deal of such work to do, paying him lOrty cents an
hour day time and eighty cents an hour at night;
but the rest OF the rongsn0remen. he says, claim
that he has right to work as one OF them une So
he joins the society and pays the dues thereof 81
cash down and S. in instruments SO far Reilly
has not been able to obtain the loan Of q 81 bill
family OF Jour human beings have been on the
verge OF starvation for several days.
Reilly says that he has had "nearly 81"
several times; but, then, the physical wants Of
himself his wife and his three children have been
so pressing that the large sum OF "nearly $1'
has gone in supplying his tamilys wants. Mean.
while, though he seeks work and Is unable to find
it, his dear ones starve and freeze and he begs.
A CLASSICAL TRUCK DRIVER.
little further on and little later in the even
ing the HERALD representative met with tall.
bony, angular German, with spectacles and only
one eye-the left eye being glass. This mans
name was Karl Gombert, and ne was native
OF Hamburg. He was OF respectable paren tage
and had been cassically educated, had married
and come to America to better his condition. He
had not been able to obtain employment, and to
keep his wife's and his own soul and BODY to-
gether had by what he considered very lucky
accident, obtained Job as driver of a truck
wagon for downtown house-a position for
which he was almost ludicrously UNIT, as he was
highly educated, and had only one eye and was
very near-sighted, two detects which a good
teamster never should possess. The In.
evitable consequence followed. One day
the classical but near-sighted one-eyed teamster
drove his truck into ady's carriage; the husband
OF the lady complained to his employers the next
day and Gombert was at once discharged. Since
that time the poor educated devil has been In the
utmost Distress his wife has fortunately died OF
disease brought on by lack OF food and clothing,
and the poor, houseess, wifeless, penness Com
bert, who can quote Virgil and Aristophanes,
stood on Sunday night in the streets Of New York
begging the HERALD representative for lew
cents to keep him, for that night at least, out Of
the station house.
But the accidental poor" the poor who, though
deserving and industrious, have yet been reduced
by unavoidable circumstances to poverty often
embrace men OF a higher social and even mercan-
tile grade than the men just described. 1t hap
pens at this time especially that men who in 0rdi
nary seasons are above the reach OF want and
who do a fair business, are now reduced to the
direst extremty-an extremity which seems as
strange TO themselves as it does to others
THE BEGGARED BROKER.
man, whose name, at his own request, Is not
published, met a representative OF the HERALD in
front OF the Hoffman House Sunday, at dusk, and
requested moments conversation it'll him.
The man was .'curbstOne broker" so called,
dealer In Wall street commodities, &C., who. al
though having no "ofice,n yet carried on in ordi-
nary times business amounting from 800 to $3.50
per week This man, in voice husky with emo
ton. requested the loan Of few dollars "for a
week. pleading urgent necessity. On being re-
fused, he asked, for Gods sake, for 81 fright of"
that his wife and himself might have roof over
their heads that night ana not be compelled to
walk the streets or go to the police station. Hear
ing the man talk in this fashion the writer fancied
for a moment that the man must be going mad /;
but, alas, on inquiry it was found that there was
sad method in his madness. He had not made
dollar for several weeks. His transactions ION the
street, had fallen 10 minimum since the panic
He was deeply in debt at his boarding
house-the landlady had turned him and
his vile out that morning He had
sent his wife 20 friends 'to take tea.n but he
actually did not know where that night TO lay his
his head, nor his wifes head. He had but nfteen
cents in his pocket He had pawned ali OF his own
and bis wiie's Jewery and mis- watch. ~ mast
have dollar TO get some cheap room on the Bow
cry somewhere for Mary and me tonight, till
can turn round tomorrow, or" The beggared
broker could not finish his sentence. There we're
tears in his ewes vet he was ALWAYS considered a