New-York tribune., 1905-02-20
THE HUNGRY ONES.
Mr. DeUiRe Discusses Bread Lines
and BreakfdStIeSs Children.

establishing food kitchens for 'breakfastless
children" a" said Edward T. Devne. secretary of
the Charity Organization Society yesterday.
must be based on one OF two causes Either
the army thinks there is a large number of
children permanently in need of such relief.
else it considers that there is unusual amount
of destitution and distress at this time
Now, If it is the first cause. it is probably
a matter for the Board of Public Education to
take up and sift 10 the bottom. If there is any
number OF children either few many who
permanently incapacitated for school because Of
lnsufnclent nourshment. whether supposed to have
breakfast or not if the deporable failure of
large number to win their promotions is due
In part or in whole to this cause. the school
board should ascertain these facts and let the
public know them. decisively. The public pro-
vides free education If any proportion of the
children of school age are unable to take advan-
tage Of this education because of i'll nourish-
should be Gone In case it Is SO? am not not
condltlons circumstances always influence action
Let Us know the facts first.
rooms the second suppositon that there is at this
time an unusual amount of desutution demanding
Flet re- & am am PIep4fe0 @ 10 say LaS T the Sot it i - ~
sent out men to make the rounds Of the 10 and Is
cent lodging houses. and also thoroughly inves-
ugate the bread lines The man assigned 10 the
eral times. talking with the persons in charge and
examined in this manner the FIeischmann line.
the newspaper lines at Union and Madison squares.
man who calls himself Chaplain Rotzler.
CONSIDERABLE REPEATING.
"IIis conclusion was that there was great deal
| of repeating in all the lines. The habitualy
| go through the lines four five times some of
them many six times They repeat the opera
| ton. in short, until they get enough bread and
| coffee or sandwiches and coffee. or whatever Is
| given out, to make square meal There is also
good deal Of repeating between the different lines.
are not hungry or Blaming Rem for their method
at all l am merely estimating the number re-
| heved; Our agent came TO the conclusion that the
actual number in the different bread lines each
| dred. This is outside the Bowery Mission At
| tached to that institution and attending its mid
hundred and eight hundred men.
lodging house population Of between fifteen thou
! sand and sixteen thousand men, This is a floating
individuals are not It is partially composed Of
men from out OF town VINO come mere ] I0ohIg & I1o W
get through the winter. There are some thieves
ally speaking. they men not regularly employed
| and who, If left to themselves, would never do
steady problem Of vagrancy-the unemployed or
ION February 9 and 10 Mr.. Kennedy. secretary
Of the committee for the prevention of tuoercuios
visited twelve OF the cheaper LOGGING houses an. ana
| had talks Of from twenty to thirty minutes aura-
! whether there were more unernpoyeq men [ man
usual at this time Of the year. and whether there
| clerks ran from one end Of the gamut to the other
than usual; others thought there were less: None
| of them had any facts to go upon, and all were
| Salvation Army lodging houses visited those in
| charge stated that there were this year more un-
| employed than usual. The superintendent of the
| Salvation Army hotel was quite positive on this
| usual Lack Of work owing the hard winter
was given as one cause for the situation.
houses at Bieecker-st and West Broadway. at No.
0e4v E C3atha N6 SO f2uaF EHt d N
and No. i5s East 2ad-st., most Of whom had beer been
| tive in their statements that there was no un-
| unusual number of n-residents in the city at
| tracted by hope Of work Mr. Chandler OF the
| that there was possibly work than usual this
from other places.
SMALL AMOUNT OF RELIEF
1--WE have on hand a special test During the
three days of blizzard, beginning January 25, we
notified all the policemen Of the city and all the
! inspectors of the Health and Tenement House de-
/ partments that any emergency relief which they
might give, to the amount Of not more than 81 for
! any one family, would be reimbursed by US. That
! reimbursement IS just finished. and how much do
you think called upon 10 pay to these sew
eral thousand persons given carte oIancAe 70 III III
This proves that all these persons employed either
outside inside the tenement districts Of the city.
who. in their opinion needed immediate relief;
bread lines then think il is easy 10 see that the
| men come from the lodging house population. In
would De easy to ind two three hundred night
10 fiji the lines These men are not men of family.
/ Many of them from a distance. In one lodging
house it was stated that per of the dodgers
were from Of town. All of them either have no
| family separated from them. Therefore
they not responsible for the breakfastess chill
| dren.'
Il do not think the bread lines are either justified
! or wise think the men could be treated in some
way more individual and more effective. They could
/ be handled through the BOwery Mission employment
! bureau through night Office which keeps
open every night till z o'clock don't think there
! is any excuse for Chaplain RotzIer's banker and
broker line. He calls those who give the money
bankers, and those who receive it brokers' because
! they dead broke. He has the lodging house
tickets there with him, but he will not give them
until collects 10 cents for each He keeps
the recipients standing there for hours no matter
what the weather waiting for collections 70 be
| made. It is scarcely a humane method
LAS to the free breakfast kitchens for children
supposedly school lchildren-Superintendent Maxwell
| is largely responsible for them. He indorsed them.
| This is certainly for amaZement Has DR..
Maxwell any facts with which TO justify his in
dorsement2 He has unrivaled facilities with which
to ascertain whether the children in the schools
| are hungry Improperly nourished to extent
which interferes with their school work. Has
| been made of such facilities? If not, why should
the city superintendent not ascertain the facts in
| stead of saying that some one else who does not
| pretend TO have tried to find out anything about
the pupils but who makes guess based on the
number of evctions and similar data, is more likely
to underestimate than overestimate'?'