The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-11-27
CHARGE OF THE HUNGRY.
n NOTABLE CONFLICT AT sALTA-
TON ARMY BElDQULR TERS.

Routed Horne, Fsot, and nraRoona Spite
of R--enrorcements OF Potatoes. Crau-
berries. and Bread and Able Marine Aid.
Nov. everybody charged Do your bostl'
shouted Commander Booth-Tucker.
Three hundred knives flashed in the air, three
hundred mouths opened wide, and three hun
dred sets of teeth, moro or less impaired,
charged" rs commanded.
IL was an inspiring collection Of appetites.
The headquarters OF the Salvation Army was
full OF them. Fifteen hundred incarnated np-
pctites ready for action! The commander did
not need 70 repeat his injunction.to" charge"
For weeks the soldiers of the army have been
securing tho town for provisions. First they put
out placards in front OF headquarters an
nouncinR that lone hundred turkeys" were
needed. then "seventy-1vo turkeys" were
needed, and day by day the number dwindled
until Gay before yesterday the announcement
read. thirty turkeys needed"
In the mean time 1900 tickets to the feast
woro distributed. Most of thom went to the
trnemeats. In spite of the 1900 tickets issued,
there were yet not nearly enough to go around.
Hundreds of men applied for tickets which
were not forthcoming.
Yesterday morning the big hail NJ the head
quarters was full before IL o'clock. There was
TO DO n welcome meeting from IL until l2, and
= thousand men sat through 1t. 1t was a no.
ticeabie thing that n large proportion of them
/ were not bad -looking fellows. The old round
4 ers" were in q great minority. Many Of the men
wore clothes which were indeed rusty and
threadbare. but which spoke Of better days.
They were hard up. but they were not toughs.
The platform supplied a steady programme.
The band played. and the soldiers exhorted.
and the drum applauded. boom! boom! and
everybody encored Adjutant Taylor when he
sang a song to the tune of Just Tell Them That
You Saw Me-"
Dust tell my dear old mother that my wandering days
Just tell her that my sins are all forgiven,
Just tell hor that. II we should chance on earth to
Nv sins are parJoned and worl meet in heaven.
That was the chorus. and it seemed to hit the
fancy-or touch the heart-of the audience.
They were in a melting mood when Commander
Booth Tucker got up and made a fifteen minute
talk which helped the hands of the clock to get
over the last quarter OF an hour. Then Major
Winchell, who had charge OF the dining room.
announced that they were ready to seat about
800 people for the first relay, and he asked
all the women in the hall to come forward and
60 down the staircase to which he pointed. For
once in ;heir lives. n thousand and more men
wished that they were women.
Major Winchell introduced Mr.. Dufy to help
him invite. This was quite unnecessary. One
Invitation was enough for the whole crowd.
one. Mr.. Duffy deserved their Distinguished
consideration. He Is n commission merchant.
ssnd Hp hgnsay in mn n miI tG Sp sIV si a oi inneIIpa a5,y
For instance. when the smoke cleared away
after the first attack on the eataoles, Il was
heavy losses. 1t is in such crises as these that
the commission merchant proves his usefulness;
The broken ranks OF the potato column had
scarcely heen lined up when the voice of Duffy
was heard up-speaking.
merchant. and, amid the breathless interest OF
the bystanders. he sent the message ringing ut
went By bicycleJ down toward the Battery:
Send another regiment of potatoes to tho
'front.'"
Major Winchell invited the guests to descend.
The Inviting was a great success. The women
HUNDRED souls all told counting two babies to
q piece" as they count handk erchiefs in family
still trailing down the stairs when the men were
asked to follow. And did they? Well. you
ought to have seen them: The whole thousand
head of the narrow stairway. IL made three
bprly policemen drip with the sweat OF honest
got the men into line and passed them down
] Below stairs the hall presented a sight to
make even a well-fed man hungry. Long
tables. covered with shining white peper which
stretched in rows the length Of the room. II
they didn't groan. they certainly sighed under
was a beautiful stuffed pig, and he was hanked
by dishes of crisp. white celery. then cranberry
then big round pans OF baked pork and beans.
and so on to the end. AT each place was q plate
ntaDeu Win turkey anu sluHlnR u pOtd-
toes. Also there vas a good big cup for coffee
or tea. aud a round red apple.
sat down and began to eat. They were re-
qnested To wait awhile, which they %ruefully
They 1iH; sS9er we're ct in wa" the ~i first he heat Ht Of combat tEf "a when
they, too, were interrupted with n request TO
wait. They contented themselves with dey2ur-
Ing everything in sight with their eyes When
. everybody who could be accommodated was in
his place ComInander Booth Tucker asked them
TO rise and sing Praise God from whom all
blessings flow and they did it with a will
which made w for the lack Of harmony. Then
II was that the Commander shouted:
Now. everybody charge. DO your best"
whoopee! What an onslaught! Tho turkey
and beans were disoriered aid put to flight.
The cranberries were made prisoners in large
numbers. and the bread regiments were cut to
pieces. The marine forces, tho tea and coffee
reenforcementS, were annihilated.
One man. with u blood stained bandage swath-
ing a broken head. had almost missed connec-
tions with the first table. He had run wildly
from chair to chair. only TO be forestalled by
somebody else. Finally he did succeed in worm
ing himself into n place. and then he fell To with
q vim. To his great joy. lie had a"drum stick"
for his portion of turkey. and he could not have
been more appropriateiy, proyidei, Tor he set
pIeece among mon the drummsT heroes Of history -
Meanwhile up stairs there were more speech
es, more songs. and more additions to the crowd
of waiting guests. SO that, to all Appearances,
the dinner party babe fair TO go on and become
a supper party. If only the provisions would
AT last. down stairs. the signal was given to
leave the table. as the English novel OF high so;
i" Ahb Aii0 biiiS b'N hip 'AA
not stay for their cigars. They accompanied the
ladies to the drawing room. which was the
roomy pavement of Fourteenth street. When
they had disappeared and the forty workers
could pause to take a look at the scene OF car
mage and desolatiOn. II almost struck terror to
their hearts. But they remembered the thou
sand pounds of meat, the barrels OF apples and
potatoes. the quarts and quarts of Gran berries.
and the fact that Mr.. DUFFY was behind them.
aud they went 10 work to clear away the wreck.
BY ! o'clock you would never have known that
there had been a hungry man within a block OF
the place.
All ready"
Let 'em comel' to the officer at the head OF
the stairs. And they came. And then they
came again. and yet again and again. until the
afternoon had worn away and the potatoes from
down town had been boiled and gone the way of
their forerunners, and the pig began to look
bored. and the beans to say. We nevah saw
anything like this In Boston ~ and the police
men were carried out exhausted. And still
they came.
THREE CA USES o GEA1ITUDE.