New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-08-17
THEY WANT BREAD AND WORK.
SPONTANEOUS DEMONSTRATION OF UNEM
PLOfED MEN.
BY A SUDDEN IMPULSE A THOUSAND FORM IN
rIxrANn MARCH To AN EAST SIDE HALL TO
PASS REsOLUTIONS-A DEMAND THAT
NO RENTS BE COLLECTED
FROM THE POOR.

FROM THE POOR
There was a cry for bread and for employ
mcnt by nearly 900 men yesterday afternoon
The cry was uttered by crowd OF those VINO
have been thrown out OF work in the last It"
weeks The most remarkable ana sishlica"'
f.oture of tho story of the cry for bread was
tha fact that the demonstration had not been
rhnrcd IL was Spontaneous; u came aihoS'
ike a fash. when one hungry unemployed man
raised hi. voice of command, and, addressing Ms
l.lows. said simply let us march!
there are several factories in the upper par,
of Greene and Mercer SITS, near Clinton flace anu
Washington square In these factories there nave
bccn cmployed clothing cutters cap makers, fur-
ricrs cloakma kers, etc. In the last two OF three
week, the employers have BEEN compelled by the
hard times to discharge many of these workmen.
Az the best the mon do not earn large wages
They are Away, among the first of the unemployed
TO suffer. Day after day these men have been
in thc habit of lettering about the places where
they formerly worked. They returned every day
m s,A, n there was work for them. But every
fine instead of finding work they found more Of
thcir former fellow workers in the streets so
| f., booamc generally known among the workingmen
IN the neigh borlood that in Mercer and Greene sts
near Washington Square, of an afternoon there
could be- found idle men. These crowds nave
been growing larger daily.
Yesterday afternoon there were IN the crowds
;berc tn-ilcs idle men of the trades namel
,bov. carpenters day-ahorers and clerks-all
,ut of work In this meeting place OF the un-
onnloycd there were many hungry men. They
were talking earnestly about the lnpOSs!pllty oil
,,,tinr work and about empty cupnoarus III
,omc Most Of the men wer" ot foreign pir'h
They spoke to each other in German. ie"
i. In nrtEp of Lat
march," WIS heard. u,
"Yes let rs not wait for big parade" we
must have bread" We must have work
..r some of the answers shouted back.
All were now talking cNcitedy There was
,,,rr,,r of voices in Grcenc-st. II was heard in
Mo. corst and from that thorouehfare came dozens
of idle men There were now fully 400 men
,u.hng toward Washington square The crowd
WAS constantly growing In Washington Square
! about 100 men joined the marching idle men.
rhe men pushed OF rapidly through the streets
b.low and Just east of Washington Square
Every littl. factory they passed had idle men
| leforc it, Some of the men shouted: Let us
get hall"
They hurried across Broadway and the Bowery
| ~ Riyinpton, at No. l2j, where they entered
Golden Rule Hall As the men crossed the
I,owcry they were scarcely less than 1000
When they reached uofich hule Han "''S
| not o~,lh Earond' -. III" leader of the Hebrew
cloakmakers He asked them what they wanted.
They shouted back, We want bread; we want
| work"
! Earondcss led them into the hall and explained
10 the proprietor that they were men ont OF
work They wanted to hold meeting there, but
they had no money.
| They got the hall for nothing. There were
| many spccchcs Some of the men declared that
thcy had been living on half ntions' for more
| than a week All of them were miscrably poor.
| After a while the following resolutions were
adopted;
We the uni PSI -ned wornSmcn in the different trades
| in the city Of NewYtrk. in hungry demonstration as
,,mllcd which is natural consequence OF the present
conditions do adopt the following:
whereas The fact being that the monopolist OF this
city London aud Paris are responsloIc ior '"o P''
| miserable conditions be II
rns,l,od That We ask every hungry man, woman ana
chill, f. assemble in a great meeting and appeal TO the
public for bread
| R..l,cd That Wa call on all hungry workngmen to
nay ~ rent until present conditions are oetteeu
Resolved That we hold meeting every day at the IN
ternatlonal Labor Exchange at No 257 East Tenthst
| After the resolutions were adopted about 2oo
| Of the men went to the Office OF >amncl EomperS,
| president of the American Federation OF LABOR
| at No If Clinton Place. A committee composed
| of a capmaker, carpenter, two cloaknakers u
| iurricr "A farniture worker and day laborei
! called on Mr.. Gompers and asked nm Tor auVic''
| He told them that there would be meeting soon
| at the International Labor Exchange of delegates
| from all the trades now suffering in this city ne
| advsed all to attend the meeting III Is iik"is
| that the men will formulate plans Tor u iarse'
| demonstration at their meeting to-day.