New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-08-14
CITY MONEY FOR FREE ICE.
A MEASURE TO RELIEVE THE SUFFER
INGs OF THE POOR.
THE ICE DISTRIBUTED FROM POLICE STATIONS TO
I INDECENT PERSONS WHO APPLY FOR 1T
A RUSH IN VARIOUS PRE-
f.rNfrS Last NIGHT


A RUSH IN VARIOUS PRE-
CINcTs LAST NIGHT.
Mayor Strong yesterday called together the heads
Of tho city departments and took counsel with
them az to the means OF relieving distress among
the very poor of the city during the not weather.
His action prompted by an interview ""ch
he had with President Wilson of the Health BOARD
Mr.. Wilson had become nervous on account OF the
Increase Of mortality I'm the city on account OF the
heat in the last ten days. He said that the neat
and humidity had sent the death rate up hsher
than II was In the epidemic of Asiatic cholera forty
years ago.
Since Monday morning, Mr.. Wilson said. there
had been l. pa deaths in the city and a majority OF
the deaths had been caused by the heat, eitner III
rectly or indirectly. The number Of deaths re-
ported In the twenty hours ending at noon on
Wednesday 1886. and the number TOT the t"en
ty-four hours ending at noon yesterday was on
In the corresponding week OF last year only ooi
deaths were reported for a whole week MI VII
son said he thought that free distribution vi lcc
among the very poor In the tenement-house dis
tricts might have effect to mitigate SUFFERING
and decrease the alarming death rate
At the consultation In the Mayors office II was
decided that In such an emergency sovU might we"
be appropriated for free ice among the poor mat
sum was appropriated few minutes later DIT
meeting Of the Board of Estimate ana Apporuoh
ment which was called lot tne puiHV''' IN" f'-'
outlined by Mr. Wilson to buy ninety-fve tons OF
ice daily during the warm weather and distribute
the ice to the poor from the police stations the
ice will be purchased by the Health Department
and sent to the police stations, where 1t Will be
distributed at certain advertised hours to the poor
people who make application for IT,
The work Of flushing the streets in the tenement
house districts will be continued nightly by men
In the employ OF the Department OF Public WORKS.
Officials I'm the department said Yesterday tnat
there was no danger of a water famine even
If water was used freely in cooling some OF the
night. There have been rains IN tt he
streams and even II there had not been rains tne
supply of water adequate to meet all the ehor-
Mayor strong yesterday distributed six medals
which had been awarded by The Herald to car
drivers who had been careful of their horses dur,
ing the warm weather. The drivers were Bernard
Cunningham Of the Twenty-thrd street ,ross.omil
Ninth Avenue and Bleecker Street line Daniel
F9 pyfns; %r ii" Street S.et crossown linz
In presenting the medals the Mayor euogized tne
spirit of The Herald" for its humane instincts
and he congratulated the men for their consldera-
ton Of the poor animals ,.-.,-.
and distributed from the stations last night lheie
were plenty of demands on me supply ana at some
stations it gave out before half the applicants had
been served President Roosevelt visited some OF
the lower East Side stations and watched the dli
in some cases that Mr. Roosevelt will to-day recon-,
instead or lH, De ulSllIbuNi
until further orders There were so many people IL
front of the stations that t became difficult mat
ter to keep anything like order while the ice wa'
being given out. .
4 half-doZen patrolmen in each station were put
al work chepping and giving out the ice.
The applicants for the ice came WIN loves
aprons bags boxes. bask It's tin and wooden pals.
and in fact any and every sort of receptacle whch
would hold ice In one case a man had the assur-
ance to drive up to the Eldridge-st station III "a
wagon. evidently expecting TO get al the zee ne
wanted He found to his lispeasure. that IL took
him nearly two hours to het Just twenty pounosh
on the West Side of town the police h;id an my
could do to supply the enormous crowds Az inc
West Twentieth Thirty seventh. Forty seventh ana
SXty-eighth-st. stations the supply gave OUT u! ~
to their homes without getting any. AT the
Charles-st. station there were only Two aPp n
lions and about $500 pounds of ice remained there
for time unused This was caused, II appears, D!
the men at thar station when going on post AT D
o'clock not being told to inform the poorer classes
that the ice was at the station for them.
At the Eldridge-st. station. when prtclnct taxes
in the largest portion Of the district in which the
striking tailors live the police round II diiicut
matter 10 make the five tons they had received go
round among the crowd OF people who thronged to
the station Acting Captain Hogan and Rounds
men Kinsler and Murtha and Detective conn We're
aided by the I'm the station ana placed me
crowd i'm line The first line was allowed into the
O'Clock and before half an hour had passed the en-
tire amount was distributed. After this. when the
crowd were told that the supply had been eX-
hausted. they refused to go away. me women
tain Hogan that they had sick children AT nome
hut il was impossible to supply them. At the De-
lancey and Madson-st stations there was almost
as large crowd at Eldridge-st The case was
Fast and West sides The supplies at the Harlem
stations out early.