The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-12-21
RELIEVE THE NEEDY
Poormaster Hewitt Has a
Plan for Alleviating the
Widespread Distress.
PITIABLE CASES OF WANT.
Over Two Hundred Families Have
Applied For Aid Since De-
cember 1.

y
when festivity and happiness are supposed to
reign universal, there are many people who
do not permit their joy to drive from their
minds all thought of the misery and suffer-
ing which prevails throughout the city to a
greater extent than usual this year. Those
persons who desire to alleviate to some
extent the poverty and misery, which they
know exists in the city, but are deferred
therefrom by a fear that their donations
will not reach the deserving poor, can rest
assured that if they send their aims to John
c. Hewitt, the Poormaster, they will be dis
tributed where they will do the most good
Alexander Mckenzie, John j. Vanderbeek
and several other charitably inclined gentle
men have already placed sum of money in
Mr.. Hewitt's hands for distribution among
the deserving poor, and Mr.. Hewitt expects
several other donations.
GIVE MONEY, NOT TOYS.
There is also quite number of persons in
the city who have been in the habit of giving
turkeys, playthings and other articles of a
like nature to the poor at this
season of the year. 1t is the
opinion of Poormaster Hewitt that
these people could use the money which they
usually spend for these things to better adj
IL
families who are at this time actually starry
ing for the plainest kind of food, and suffe
ing from the cold for want of clothing OF
fuel. Mr.. Hewitt will gladly furnish any
one with a list of such deserving
poor, so that any person disposed to aid them
can visit these homes of want and hunger and
judge for themselves of the worthiness of
those seeking relief If anyone, as many do,
objects to visiting these homes of suffering,
Mr.. Hewitt will willingly become his almoner
and see that his money is placed where it
will do the most good
THE DISTRESS WIDESPREAD
1t is fact beyond dispute that the distress
in this city is more widespread than it has
been in some years. The fiscal year of the
city ends on December l and the Poormaster
dates all his reports accordingly. In 1891 he
relieved 432 families, composed of 1,700 in
dividuals. Although the number of families
applying fhr. and receiving relief in
only comprised 1887 persons. During
the year ending December 1, 1898,
5S1 families, composed of 2, 1876 persons, re-
ceived relief from the Poormaster This
was an increase of 12S families over the
number of the year before, and of that in
crease 100 were the families of men who
have been out of work not ordinary laborers,
but clerks, salesmen and skilled mechanics.
PITIFUL CASES OF WANT.
The other morning, when the PoormaSter
was attending to those who applied to his
office on Bridget street for help, he noticed
young girl in the background. She was
much better dressed than the persons who
are usually seen in the old fire engine house,
which now serves the city as an Office for the
Overseer of the Poor, and there were tears in
her eyes She was timid and retiring and
kept in the background until the last one had
gone. Mr. Hewitt then went to her and
said:-
Vail cfCc rlr+ do
many tears and sobs the girl told her story
Though only few months past eighteen
years, she was wife and mother. She had
married when scarcely seventeen years old,
a man but two years her senior. He had
good situation at the time and they lived
happily and well together, when few
months ago her child was borne, and at
about the same time her hus-
baed lost his place. Since
then he has been unable to obtain any work,
and they had turned everything they pos
sessed into money to procure the bare neces-
sites of life. Now everything had gone
they had no money and starvation was so
close upon them that she was forced to ap-
ply to the Postmaster for aid. Mr.. Hewitt
investigated the case, and, finding that all
that the young girl said was true, gave the
family relief
Another distressing case came to light
only this morning. A middle-aged woman
doh6u lu0 IOOIQ1dSUeT IL ne WOutu
not give her some aid She said that she
was the mother of seven children, all of
whom were comparatively young. Her hus-
band was a carver of images and a skilled
workman. About seven weeks ago he lost
his work and since then he has not earned
dollar. They had saved little money, but
that was all gone, and they had pawnad
everything npon which they could obtaiS
cent, until there was nothing in the hoMse
except a table and three chairs. They wsrs
without fuel of any kind, and there was ab-
solutely nothing to eat in the two bare rogtns
of a tumbled down building in one of the
worse sections of the city, which she called
her home Mr.. Hewitt will investigate this
case and afford the family relief
The two cases are mere samples of the
number which come under Mr. Hewitts
observation daily. From December l up
to last Saturday night he had received ap-
plications for aid from POS families, and the
greater part of them were those of men who
were out of work
One faint ray of light penetrates this stu
alton of gloom, and that is, that in proper
ton there is less want in this city than in
any other in this vicinity Still there is
much suffering here and plenty of work for
the charitable
ACTOR WARDES HARD LUCK.