Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-02-12
Question Against Employing Men
With the Government Money.
OTHER FUNDS MAY Be 50 USED
The Calls for Help Continue in Full
Force.
COLLECTIONS NEARLY DONE


way to put out the money it has on hand.
The first topic up is what is to be done
with the $4,000 appropriated by Congress.
It is not clear that this money can, under
the resolution, be used to employ poor men
to clean the streets. Several OF the COM
mittee believe that they must act strlctly
in compliance with the intention OF Con-
gress, which was to give the money Tor I'M
mediate relief Of the poor of the District
They say they have no right TO use thal
money to employ poor men, but must as
pense it through the established channels
for relief. For this reason the committee
this morning shut down on the apphcatlohs
for work They received over GOO yesterday
and the number was increasing so rapidly
that it would take clerk all the time 10
take down the names There were upward
of $50 men at the committee rooms To-Day
seeking work. The committee Will settle
the question this afternoon, probably by
voting to use $1,000 of the funds collected
from citizens to keep 200 men at work nve
DAVIS 1t is quite a task to do this. Inc
committee must borrow shoveis Tor TINS
force and be responsible for them. Whetnel
1t will be possible to put on announcer reiay
of 200 or more for another five days aIter
the first has worked q week remains to be
seen.
A Time to Break Rules.
President Cleveland Is entitled to the
gratitude of the people of the District for
his promptness in signing the resolution
in spite of his misgivings as TO us con-
stitutionality. The resolution reached MN
Saturday not long after it passed the
House. He read it at once and asked Fri
vate Secretary Thurber to telephone tne
District Commissioners and ask them II
they wanted the resolution sent down 10
Them as Is customary with other Dislrlct
measures. He said he thought 1t was
time to break rules when people were
freezing and starving, and unless they
wished otherwise he would sign the reso-
luton at once. Commissioner ROSS tele-
phoned back that the Commissioners APP
proved the resolution and it was entirely
unnecessary to send it to them In the Tor
NAL manner. Yesterday the commissioners
received from Secretary Gresham a certl-
fled COPY of the bill, signed, and today
the $4,000 was placed to their credit at
the Treasury Department. The money
will remain in the hands Of the Commits
sioners and be paid out only upon the
orders of the ceptral relief committee, prop
erly countersigned. Notwithstanding
very palpable notion among some OF the
poor colored people that the whole $1,000
will be thrown out broadcast to them in
front of the Louisiana avenue committee
room, the appropriation will be used in
small amounts to meet emergencies as
they arise.
The Routine Today.
The work going on today at the various
distributing agencies for the poor is
Stunning the semblance of an old story. The
Central Union Mission rooms are this min
ute full of poor people and have been since
| 10 o'clock this morning. They sit there on
the long benches waiting their slow turn
to tell their story and get the food or fuel
they want. 1t Is a motley gathering,
| mainly of colored people, the proportion of
whites being very small. Up to O'Clock
the seven eight clerks who note down
| each application had received 80 applica-
tons. Each applicant was aided in the
way and to the amount he or she most
needed. AT the central Office of the board
of charities the scene was like that OF
every other day. The stream of applicants
consisted almost entirely of colored people,
and their wants were, as usual, fuel ana
food The substations reported during the
morning that the pressure of appica tons
was full strong as 1t had been for sew
eral days. The stress in consequence Of
the storm has let up somewhat, but the
call for food and clothing is, If anything,
increased.
The central relief committees depot on
Louisiana avenue was busy today,aS usual,
receiving and sending out supplies. The
collection of clothing has brought in large
supply in the last two days, and as fast as
the police, Associated Charities and Cen
trail Union people report what they want
the articles are turned over to them. Sew
eral big loads were turned over to the
police today, and coal to the amount of
twelve tons was also given them. A large
amount of groceries and clothing was given
to the Central Union Mission. Three big
boxes of canned goods came in from the
Market Dealers Association, and a large
supply of flour and groceries came in
through the regular collection.
The Collections Nearly Made.
The work Of gathering up the contribu-
lions from all over the city has been great
ly accelerated. during the past two days.
owing to the gradual clearing Of the
streets. Collections in the whole southeast
and northwest parts of the city have been
completed and the southwest will be en-
tirely gone ever by tonight. 1t will take
two three days to cover the ground in
the northwest, where 1t Is expected the
amount to be gathered up is somewhat
greater than in other parts Of the city. BY
Saturday at the farthest, the entire city
will be gone over and the returns footed
up. Today the committee has three large
double wagons Of the Hygienic Ice Com
parry, three of Woodward & Lothrop's, Mr..
Ryan's and Mr. Boyd's. Mr.. Boyd and his
son both help, and have given their ser
vices for several days.
Denconess Home Remembered.
The Deaconess Home at 1140 North Cap
itol street has been quietly doing a great
deal of good work among the poor in the
northeastern part of the city. The idea
has been to keep from making its benefi-
Charles dependent. and the soup kitchen
connected with the home has charged the
people who came there one cent bowl
in order to give them the feeling of pay
ing their way in part at least. The central
relief committee at its meeting this after
noon will take up the matter Of distributing
through the Deaconess Homo, which has
all along been on it's list Of distributing
organizations, but has received no supplies
because no formal application had been
made for them. The home will be voted
sc5O today and receive q proportion OF
funds and supplies hereafter as 1t may
need them.
More Contributions.
Additional contributions have been re-
ceived at The Star office as follows:
Poor Fund.
Heretofore Acknowledged. s., 1917 %
Ira mn ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 2OOO