New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-03-25

! rule"
DO you only retail coal these paces?'
That all that could be had" he said until
this year when l added breadf tea and coffee in
Third-st and the trade at that depot has been four
times larger this year than /; was before. 1t has
never been the OF any great astonishment for
us to find that there have been sold at Thlrd-st az
much as $4,000 pounds OF coal in a single day. from
800 to 80 loaves OF bread. about 100 pounds Of tea
and 200 pounds OF coffee | know the class of people
that patronlze all the places which under my
| control, and you will perhaps deem 1t strange as
well unlikely when inform you that the most
self-respectlng customers that | have to the
Third-st place. The amount Of coal that they
| get at this place for five cents would twelve
fifteen cents elsewhere They get twenty-five
pounds for a nickel and the fact that women and
children will early in the morning before the
place is open and wait in the cold It may be for an
| they deserve to be helped"
Has this plan operated benefcially In any other
way?' he asked.
| REDUCING THE PRICE OF COAL
| 1T has answered one Of the purposes I had in
view. Mr.. Straus said namely to redl ce the price
OF coal all the city. When | first opened the
cheap coalyards. It was principally with the object
OF regulating and reducing the price Of coal all
the city in the same manner as the fve-cent res
taurants have helped to reduce the price of bread
When found that these two places were such
marked success. | added another place at Rutgers
st. and the East River where coal could be had
on the same terms. | supply at that place from
During the recent period of warm weather. the
sale Of coal has fallen off about one-third. but the
aemand for everything else has Increased Al the
biz place Nos. 1854 Grandst. not alone IS coai
few od days ago added to- these articles Of house
hold consumption -four, as there has been each day
an ever-increaslng demand for 1t since the place
How many people supplied from this place
daily"
.. y am sure do not over-estimate it when say
5000" he answered. =, -,
And bnr ,ligl
Through the various agencies that are operating
under my direction. relief reaches about 2.VV lam
lilies day" Mr. straus said In the Grand-st
cold weather that the force which had on hand
was Obliged to work all night in filling up the
since the warmer weather has dropped off at least
bread that people have bought has increased
GROCERIES IN LARGE QUANTITIES.
AS to the amount of groceries that would be dis
posed OF in the Grand-st place. for instance. what
do you estimate"
Il estimate" was the reply. "a sale of about
1000 pounds Of tea each day $500 pounds of coffee and
5000 pounds of sugar. The sale OF bread has been
more or loss restricted. because so much of it is
given away by different charitable ORGANIZATIONS
but from 1893 10 500 pounds day are bought
Tn" coal We sell at the rate OF about 81 ton what
1t costs. and for this there Is no limit 10 the amount
OF n ;ndt may be oDfan"f - long, OF course. as
ii away
We'll. | give six ounces of tea for 1--WE cents. SIX
ounces Of conee Tor cents. ami pack
ter for i've cents. The sugar is Of the best
quality while The tea and coffee are good
loaf of bread ana when it becomes what is called
stale. that is one day old.thr KIND OF bread Eye
evns it to be the most healthful-I give 1t away
for cent"
would - cost family 20 live
~ family OF five could get along without being /
Obliged to go hungry by spending twenty-five cents
Are all these articles of food and fuel served out
indscrimnately 10 any one who applies
ITO a certain extent, yes. Poor people are as SEN
than rich people Have not a right To re- /
spcct this feeling: 1t is frequently the case that
societies are sympathctc only to the extent OF |
seeing that they r"cri.e prompt payment for their /
ing the misery which poserty entails. without be-
ins ohS nd TO " Snn a ya ~, md er " tc
girl waiting FOR a half hour in the morning before
ana exposed perhaps the criticism Of her neigh |
bors. all for the sake OF saving few cents that to
descrv. be- relieved and to be relieved generously
\ PLACE FOR PEOPLE To SLEEP
AS began TO understand better the condition by |
which | confronted. could see plainly that |
arre number Of the people who patroniz"d these
places had lodging had no place 10 sleep ! |
started lodgings. found that many people were
walking the streets nights for want of shelter or
rather for want OF money To pay for shelter. The
buildings the Of the old Scotch Presbyterian
church. right across from here. and known now as
Metropolitan Hall. were taken and given by me in
He began suffer from the effects of the overwork.
and had To go 10 California 80 the place Is now In
charge OF the Rev Dr. William Evans ! told him
simply to look out for the people and to treat them
nicely and 10 ;urn no man away. even II he hadn't |
the i've cents. so long as he appeared In any de-
grec worthy of relief
"Th" first night thirty persons were housed there
No distinction is made. Black and whte alike are
'rh rhs Innrmcn ias So Great success
that opened another place IN Eighte"nth-st. near
For five cents each man gets comfortable place to
lie down for the night. and as much bread and cof-
Their down town and took a place at the northwest
corner of Bleccker-st. and South Fifth-aye. where
800 men taken care OF every night. In short
a. Nos Iol and lT W"osorst where 200 people can
NOR" places of this sort In fact. as | said at the
shall | continue to duplicate my work. until there
is not to be found in NewYork any man whose vo
cation Is not criminal who can Justly complain that
he has no place whereon to lay his head.
BREAKFASTS PROVIDED TOO
How many people employed by you alto
gether to take charge of these places?'
About 80. There is another feature to which
some reference might be made | found that the
pa IRONS of these homes out OF work. and had
no place to go during the day after they had be-
come wearied searching In vain for hours for en-
ployment SO | gave orders two weeks ago that the
Ieeckcr-st place be opened all day. and big bowl
OF coffee onc-thirl OF pound of bread and nice
piece OF corned beef be given to each man who APP
PILED o" Of SEn bre f or b nreaGy
day IN ea alone. | intend also to introduce this
meal In the other places. If there should appear a
demand for 1T
From your personal experience can you say
that these elaborate provisions for answering the
call for help have lessened the number OF men who
beg from you wherever they meet your
Most assuredly. and they continue TO grow less.
for they ind out now how little excuse there Is FOR
individual solicitation When come across any
such persons now, | give them tickets for one OF
these cheap lodging houses and when investigate
the matter the next day discover invariably that
the tickets have not been presented. | am having
several hundred thousand tickets printed, which I
shall sell to any who wants them, and they can
then give these away instead OF giving money.
The week before last lodged and fed In these
temporary homes 1910 men, of whom seventy did
not have any money, and 461 women OF whom ten
had money
AS Mr. Straus finished his statement he leaned
back i'm his chair and looked out Of the window.
He had been interrupted frequently during the
interview by girl messengers handing him letters
and kilograms. most Of which had reference to
l.I.al ii..ar |