The sun., 1898-01-31

At No. 800 CLAYTON street lives William
II. Harris. Harris has a wife and tw
children to support lie is one of tn
men who depend for support on TIN
operation of the Delaware Iron Works
Here is his statement
II have been out of work since Christ
mas, when the works shut down.
have since tried to find work in vii
mingtnn, but have not been able to-. ,
How have you managed to live since
Christmas?" he was asked.
1--WE haven't lived at all. We've beer
eating nothing but bread and coffee. W.
have two or three hens in the back yard
and we trade their eggs off for flour ant
'r"ae. Our grocer shut down on III
vXs" vooks ago and we have not beer
able /, -; ..y food from him since
We haven't been able to get any Goa
and | keep the fire up by getting olc
cross-ties on the railroad. Asked If hi
had appealed to the Charities, he replec
that Trustee of the Poor, Toman, hac
helped them a bit with some flour
IIorris further said that he would not be
able to hold out much longer. He would
move away from the town, he said, if ht
had the necessary money, but, he said
"the minute Il man tries to move out, his
creditors will seize his goods.
james Elliott, another of the idle iron
workers was seen at his home No. 81
Clayton street.
II have been living on the Associated
Charities since Christmas. 1t sent me
two weeks ago, half peck Of meal, two
pounds of sugar. one pound Of coffee, ont
pound of lard, a five cent cake Of soaE
and pint of beans and hominy
| got this order twice since Christmas
but they are all gone and | don't know
where am going to get another meal.
I'll have to go to bed hungry tonight,
Just as and my wife and five children
have done more than once in the last
month.
We have been without food for forty
eight hours at time within the last
month, because we couldn't pet any
more from the charitable societies.
81 am going to try to get work TO-
morrow in Wilmington and if | don't
succeed don't know what will be left
for us to do but to starve.'
Elliott talked frankly and honestly.
He said that the charity societies had
helped him but that he did not believe
they had enough to keep his family and
the other several hundred suffering
families alive.
Christopher Fisher lives at No. SN
Clayton street. He is another of the
unfortunate idle iron mill hands.
81 have a wife and six children he
said 1--WE are all hungry and have
been hungry for several weeks. We
have been able to get little from the
charity organizations but it did not last
long. Our grocer wont give lis any trust
and OF course you can't expect the
charity organizations to give us all we
need. Here are my little children with
out shoes.
My daughters, two of them, work
down in the shirt factory. For five
weeks they have earned 81! cents week
each; of course, we do the ,e'y best We
cou on the seventy five cents, but some
OF us went hungry to bed many a night.
What say is the truth and know a
hundred and more families in town who
are suffering the pangs Of hunger and
privation just as much as mine, but they
are too proud to let it be known.
Like Elliott and Harris, Fisher said
that he managed to keep fire in the
house by going out and picking up wood
on the railroad and cutting it in the
woods Coal he said, has been an un-
known quantity and would be high
luxury in his house. He spoke despair
ingly of the situation, saying that it is
worse than the authorities would like it
to be. The only hope. he said, for the
sufferers, is to get out, but in attempting
to do 50 they run the chance of losing
their all. Ills landlord, he continued,
has been very lcnicnt with him, in view
OF the extreme condition.
Next door to Fishers home, Katherine
Heron, IL widow, resides. She asked
the representatives of TIE Sun to come
into her home. 50 that she might tell
them Of her destitution.
lam very poor woman, she said and
| don't mind telling You 50. ! have
been trying to keep the wolf from my
door but fear can't much longer.
81 have no food in the house now and
| don't kno what to do. | am going
to Mr.. Toman tomorrow to ask him for
aid. know he will help me but it
wont last long, know | am keeping
house for a young couple, but the hus-
band is out of work on account of the
iron mills closing. Although not starving
indeed don't know what we'll do to
get enough to eat
Mrs. Heron said she formerly lived
in Wilmington and that she had never
before had the experience OF suffering
from hungrr. She stated with great
emphasis that she knew positively that
there are two hundred homes in New
Castle in precisely the same distressing
state as her own.
III hope you will be able to do some
thing for us ALL" she concluded, "for We
need assistance badly, and more than
the charitable societies are able to
give"
A woman living at No. S2l Clayton
street told a story similar in detail and
yurport to Mrs. Ilerron's
At half past five the n.emhcrs Of TIE
SUNS special commission entered the
home Of George Ilorner, No.Sll Clayton
street. Mrs. IIorner had learned through
her neighbour James Elliott, the object
Of the representatives visit t. his home.
"TelI them to come to me-" she said,
and directing one Of her little boys, the
latter went to them and ushcred them
through the short, dark, dingy hallway
and up winding stairs to Il front bedroom
where sat Mrs Ilornrr with an infant
child at her bosom and two little tots be-
side her ON the floor.
1t was almost dusk. There was no
light in the 70 nm and as Mrs liorncr
nrocccdcd to tell her story Of suffering
and woe Ilickcrng flame from the
wood in n little stove in the room made
a lurid light which helped to strengthen