The herald., 1893-09-22
WHAT WILL Be DONE WITH THEM?
A Sudden Influx of Unemployed
N0rkingmen.
Refugees From the Hard Times in
Colorado and the East.
They Take Possession OF Railroad Trains
and Eating Houses-Some of Them
Arrested aud scolded
for Being Poor.

The HERALD yesterday announced the
arrival OF about so workingmen, mainly
from Colorado, in search OF work.
The,e Q men will be followed by about
100 this morning. This immigration
presents hard problem to solve.
The newcomers are men who have
been thrown out OF employment by the
hard times N the east, and who are in
the position OF starving or helping them
selves to what they want.
So far they have taken what they ab-
solutely need without much protest.
Meals and railroad transportation they
have had to have, and these they have
appropriated.
The town OF Mojave on Wednesday
night was completely looted of all e6i-
bles. and then the wanderers swarmed
in freight trains and half came here, the
other half going north.
The railroad crews are powerless to
resist such crowd of men. and accord
ingly received orders not to attempt to
interfere with the newcomers, but to
take them wherever they wished to 60.
The Southern Pacific officials yesterday
received word from Mojave that 500 OF
the unfortunates had taken possession
of an Atlantic and Pacific railway train
and were on their way to Moiave, which
place they should have reached last
night. 1t was their intention, the dis
patch stated, to divide at that place,
half of the party going north and half
coming to Los Angeles.
The party expected today, with those
already here, will make over 200 penni-
less men arriving here in two days.
time. From information received there
will be more of them day by day.
The question is, what will be done
with them? They are not criminals,
they are not vagrants of choice, they
are eager to work end they have right
to live.
| POVERTY CRIME.
A number of young men who formed
part of the band which arrived in Los
Angeles Wednesday evening in search OF
employment, were in the criminal dock
in Justice Austin's court room yester-
day.
After reaching the city late in the
evening many of them sought nights
lodging in the box cars OF the San Fer
nando street depot.
| Sleeping in box cars being, however,
a crime, and the police department be-
ing on the Look out for them, they were
arrested and taken to the city Jail.
As they sat in the dock yesterday they
were not pleasant looking crowd, rid
ing on brakebeams and freight cars not
being conducive to cleanliness. but in
spite of the disadvantages of dirt and
poverty, they were decidedly honest
looking crowd, and bore the appearance
of men willing to work if they could get
| the chance.
Each man was cross-eXamined as to
his trade and his last working place by
Judge Austin, and most of them were
able to give satisfactory explanation.
They belonged to all places and all
trades.
One was a painter from Boston who
declared he had lived in that city all his
life, but times were getting gradually
worse. and ne had come to California in
the hope of finding better things.
- L.. III
where he worked in coal mine and sup
ported his father and mother and els
ters out of his earnings until the mine
shut down.
A man from St. Louis said that they
were told to come right on to California,
where their informant told them men
were scarce and employment easy to OBJ
tain.
J. B. Lawrence, a Ventura workman,
was among the crowd.
Lawrence lad placed his savings in
the Riverside bank, and when that in
stitution closed its doors, all he had to
remind him of his labor was certified
check for s115. But with the exception
oil the latter all the men were from Bos-
ton, New York, st. Louis, Denver and
other parte of Colorado.
They stated that the railway had in
formed them they could come here free
OF charge, and they came on the chance
OF finding better condition of things in
the west.
Justice Austin, after questioning them,
pushed his chair back and informed
them that he would not punish them.
None of the crowd looked particularly
grateful, strange to say, and not one OF
the travel-stained faces lost it's look OF
weary hopelessness which remained
while Justice Austin continued to point
out to them the necessity of either OBJ
tanning employment or leaving the city,
with the certain alternative OF arrest
and imprisonment.
When the lecture was concluded the
crowd filed out into the street. and stood
for a moment outside the police station
and then loiteled aimlessly away, some
OF them probably TO be renrrested at
night for sleeping in the property of the
railroad who provides them with trans
portation to the city.
THE TUDOR
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