The sun., 1893-12-30
A BUSY CENTRE OF CHARITY.
OWE HUNDRED MEN HOUSED Nv a. =.
sTEW<Rg's OLD HOME.

to-.sr. vpith siIk usts-Ansteur woo
sswrs-- at the wsyfarsrs' Lodge
Charity IL burning the midnight oil now
edaya Factories and workshops are shin
down, but societies for the relief OF the poo
are running double time aud with enlarge,
capacitieA
One Of the busiest places in town Is at III
Bleecker street, the home OF the industrial
Christian Alliance The workers there keel
worse hours than even the Vaudeville Club
Long after the last sleepy footmsn has banged
the carriage door at the side entrance Of th'
Metropolitan Opera House the scratching o
pens may be heard In the office OF the Alliance
and not until the gray morning light steals ir
st the big corner window do the tired meI
straightsn up their desks and go OF for {
couple Of hours sleep.
The building at 40 Bleecker street IL four
story house with q basement Its plair
brick affiar. painted dull green and no bettol
looking than its neiRhbors Yet not 90 very
many years ago It was the home OF A. T. Stew.
art and WAS the centre Of an aristocratic set.
Iement When the Alliance took the house in
May it was q tenement occupied by about
seventy Italian families. They were routed
out and the work Of making the place
clean aud habitable commenced. After slx
months es1orts there is decided improve
poets TO have q model home.
This may seem somewhat slow. but every
BIT OF work done in the house. with the excep-
Zion Of that performed by two or three sccre-
tariss, is done by the men who are taken In
from the streets. There are at present 100 in
mates in the home; they are not tramps but
educated men and skilled mechanics. who
through m hsfortune have become penniless.
You muRt look out for surprises II you visit
l.. IL -
of the gentlemanly and Intelligent men in the
offico about the inmates" and these men. {"
you viii be somewhat taken aback whom he
quietly informs you that he is an Inmate"
himself
Perhaps heis an expert accountant. or law
ger or doctor. or journalist: all those profess
siona are represented by men who were re-
duced TO absolute want and who are staying
IN the home until they can find work outside.
Nobody is idle IN the old Stewart mansion.
When new men come In they are bathed. and
ahey receive clean clothing. It Is not new. for
the Alliance is dependent for clothing on do
nations which are sent In. but It is clean. Then
the men are put into q room which is kept for
che newcomers. and here they sleep until q
vacancy occurs In another room. whom they
are transferred.
Every man In put to work at something
The principal INDUSTRY is broom making Un-
tn recently tho broom factory occupied the
second floor OF the homo. but In the present
crisis. whom the demands for help are so many
and 90 urgent. this space is needed for beds.
The broom making has therefore been trans
ferred to building across the street. A Sun
reporter visited 1t yesterday. Every man in
the factory has been taken In from the streets.
There were two lawyers. two doctors. chem
ist and men from various trades
Over at the home the men do all tho work.
The ootbk. q fat and Jovihi fellow, was once q
the isun dry work mend the clothing sent In.
oobbls" the shoes, deliver the brooms. can
Collected Sf sSs
which hiIs never lost cent through him. In
the once are stenoRraphers. typewrters. and
The mon in the house have done all tho
painting. papering. cleaning. and carpentry:
piastsring. and i is they. and not outside
Gorkmsn. who will put the home into good
wagss- they receive lodging, three meals a
day: and clothing & Every y effort is made to
sbs them lh wss sS
fulton Market When man fnds situation
or two. till he has . little start; then he gets
out and makos room for somebody else.
What il used to Be. il Is not laTgs enough Into to
accommodate all the men who apply. even
though beds are made on the floor for some
The feature which has given unusual prom
tnence to the Alliance lately is the Peoples
6sssmsnt This Is the ho@o % oi 1Dansq the ye.eens % @
meal; committee of almost 200 men, of
snd George J. Gould the last. has started the
plan as temporary means OF relieving the
at to
eSs e. IN nap lSay as RGssibls others VIII Se
cured from the Alliance to be given out TO the
Yesterday 200 meals were served 70 the Ave-
tables Of their own. The ive.centsrs stand a,
Of soup. two cups Of eotIse. and % as much T bread read
p they wapS They are mostly sorry look
hsye III sicfets but good many I ipag th.r thS@ nisF,
FL Some od the men bring a pail and carry
the meal home to supply the family. One man
had 1t wasn't very well adapted to the trans
portation Of soup and coffee. but he was lifted
Women come. too. ForlOrn. ragged, hope
less looking creatures they are, with, still
Hanging to their skirts. For five cents they
receive enough for family OF moderate size.
Some q then then are toe sgngy tp wal; I'LL they
walk long distances for their food. coming In
not all the men at the cSunter are @ ragged
Some have a decided air Of resDectabllity
about them a faded respeetability. TO be sure
Sometimes" said one Of the secretaries,
We have 5-oent customers with silk hats on"
49,, How is that Ishouidn't think you would
Why thee can't eat their hats. even II they
are silk !" was the indignant reply. They
need every Mastigs OF respeetability they can
preserve. They are on the search for work.
md every pasnny they can save and every in
dlcAtion Of eSood standing they can show is OF
vital Importance to them"
Do you ,Hpeet this demand to continue2"
-ContinueF / expect 1t to increase enor-
Aously. Times are hard. They are sure to
be harder. Door-to-door begging was never
TO my knowledge, so prevalent in New York as
now. The establishment OF these Kitchens
viii relieve that People can. II they wish, se-
who need them; or they can send needy
have supplies Of tickets. We want donations.
The home itself needs gifts OF mems clothing
money. and food. Sometimes people think that
clothes they have TO give are too much worn.
Hen come TO us in rags. and anything we can
clean and patch will be acceptable We are
sometimes at loss for pair OF socks or a
hat. or q pair OF suspenders. We will send for
any donation II people will only send us a
postal to come. We want books, too. We hope
to establish a printing ofiiee. We also send
out men TO do odd Jobs. and We want to know
ef places Tor which We can supply trustworthy
The Wayfarer's Lodge is at 5I6 West Twen-
ty-eighth street IL has been open only few