Evening star., 1897-01-16

year he sent 9l6 men and women on their
way rejoicing, and used up all but twenty
six cents of the appropriation at his COM
mand. The people he accommodates with
transportation are permitted to travel first
class.
The farthest points to which we can
send men and women who land here and
find themselves homeless and in trouble"
said MIR. Frank, ARE Chicago and st. Louis.
and to be helped that distance their
cases must be particularly grievous and
deserving. We rarely send men so far but
quite often women who have gotten the
worst of the game of life, and find them
selves shelteriess in Washington-good wo-
men, be 1t understood. who are really de-
serving of sympathy-are assisted as far
as the Mississippi river. We couldn't send
any one greater distance, on account of
the limited appropriation at our command
and the great number of people in genuine
hard luck who are compelled to apply here
for passage to their homes.
Nearby Places.
Il should say that the average distance
for which we provide transportation for in
dividuals is about $50 miles. A great many
of the people who go broke here through
no fault of their own. and apply to me for
tickets to their homes. are from the near
by counties of Virginia and MARYLAND
workingmen from the towns and farm
hands from the country, who come to
Washington in the hope of getting some
thing to do. fail. and sooner or later find
themselves on the street. 1 have to send a
great many men to Baltimore and Rich
mond. and once in while man Is shipped
to New York Very often give man
a ticket to some place he claims to be his
home when am quite convinced that he is
a diSreputable character and deserving of
no sympathy whatever. on the principle
that 1t Is better to get him out of town
and cheaper, besides, than to have him run
in for vagrancy. 1 make 1t a point to re-
member such men. however. and if they
ever turn up here again they get a pretty
glowing reception.
Good men out of luck frequently come in
here for transportation to Chicago or cities
out in that direction. 1 can rarely push
them on that far Instead, l purchase
them tickets for halfway points, such as
Pittsburg or Wheeling. for instance and
when they get to these places they have
to don their hustling garments to make the
rest of the distance. This is a part of
regular system which municipal authori-
ties thoroughly understand. although down
to the present minute of time 1 am quite
positive that Washington has gotten the
worst of the system.
The police or charitable authorities of all
the big cities make 1t a point to send de-
serving men and women at least a part of
the distance TO their homes, and, for some
reason or other. the authorities in nearly
all of the cities within radius of 800 miles
of Washington ship their derelcts here
This City u HALFWAY Point.
According to my computation. Washing
ton must be the halfway point for the
whole United States. Anyhow we get
bout fve-sixths of the people shipped to a
halfway point from north. east south and
west, and we have to furnish them with
the remainder of the transportation, for
the cases that have been passed upon by
the authorities of other cities to the extent
of being provided with transportation for
a certain distance are always deserving.
and these people can't well be refused the
pursuit of the rest of their journeys
II rough our instrumentality. 1 greatly dis
like to dump an INDECENT upon another
community but, as / have said, when peo-
pie want to go considerable distance this
is really necessary, else the transportation
appropriation would be exhausted In
month. and we get the short end of the
system, anyhow.
THE number of well-dressed and former
ly prosperous men and women who apply
10 for transportation to their homes is
astonishing. These persons for the most
part come to Washington seeking employ
ment clerks in the government depart
ments. When they arrive here they run up
against the civil service law, which none
of them ever seem to have heard of be-
fore, and find that their recommendations
and credentials are valueleSs, so far as
securing government employment Is con-
cerned. They stay on IN Washington, tight
ing despair, until they are penniiess, and.
few of them having friends here, there is
nothing left for them but to ask for tick
cts to their homes.
This they do with great deal of diff
dence and apparent humilia ton, and it is
hard to deny them means to get where
their friends are. Moreover, l have often
been called upon to give transportation to
ex-employes OF the government who have
drawn large salaries, saving nothing, and
who, losing their positions, have stayed
around Washington in the hope of getting
reinstated, until they have been upon the
point of becoming public charges.
"A considerable portion of the transpor-
tation fund is devoted to the sending of
prisoners discharged from the workhouse
and Jail out Of the city to their homes. No
matter how tough and undeserving of sym
sdered good policy to rid the community
of them rs soon their periods Of con-
finenent expire.
Hospital Treatment.
Sanitary Ofhcer Frank sent 1884 men and
women to the hospitals for treatment last
year Over 800 Of these persons were nom
residents of Washington. and among them
were representatives Of every state and
territory in the United States. Mr.. Frank
says that Washington hospitals take care
Of more of the sick from other cities than
those of any other municipality in this
country These INDECENT sick reach Wash
ington In the course Of their aimless trav-
els vergirg on a condition Of collapse and
when they apply at the sanitary Office for
hospital treatment common charity de-
mands that they be taken care of. Nearly
5000 residents Of the District applied to
the sanitary officer for treatment. and
got It,
Unless a man is SO dangerously sick or
so badly injured that his case demands
Immediate treatment when he presents
himself at Washington hospital he can
only gain admittance through the sanitary
officer, and it Is to this official that all ap-
piicants for hospital treatment except
those mentioned, are sent
Mr.. Frank has also charge Of a fund for
the feed,ng OF the deserving hungry, and
many are the demands made upon It. The
uecent hungry man who conv1nces the san
itary officer of his straightforwardnessi Ia
gwen a printed ticket calling for a twenty
nve-cent meal at the restaurant of the Po-
nee Court caterer and upon presentation of