New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
CITY SHORT OF BEDS.
HIS 10000 HOMELESS.
Charity Organizations S7oamped-
Drastic 4ction Probable.

rs-,.b every charity bed in the city occupied, lodg-
, bo,,ses overcrowded, Bowery saloons turned into
.srracks and an army of wanderers on the streets
she charity organizations IN New fork are heip-
,ess1v facing situation which Will reach its climax
,,h -he first cold wave and It is feared may spread
s,sezse IN the cheap lodging house districts ~nere
the crowded conditions make sanitation almost I'M
possible.
Although those in charge Of the relief orsaniza-
,ions were long taxed with a problem which had
90 naraIle it was not until after the Informal con
ec-s,oe ar the Office Of the Charity Organization
society On Friday that 1t became generally known
.L, -,ora than fifty thousand strangers were home
&C., ., This CITY and that AT least half that number
r.,+ nights on benches and floors wherever shelter
Is afforded.
While the tide OF the unemployed who are flock
,,r into the city has been stemmed, the Charity
f,-gsnizs-ion members are making vain attempts
o. ,sre for those already here. and the authorizes
4, charge Of the Charity Organization headquarters
ere Manning measures which VIII make the l1e OF
fhe uauderer less tempting In New YORK o r
Lewis superintendent Of the application bureau OF
.he Charity Organization Society, was in hourly
,o,te,e,ca with various heads of departments yes
.e-6av and it IS now urged that immediate action
he taken to provide work for those receiving the
ri+v-s aid as well the wanderers who are taken
care Of by private organizations. In an effort 10
derJde on plan which will bring the organizations
together another meeting will he called next week.
when It is expected that definite system will be
tnaugurated for the homeless.
The situation has not been overestfr1etNd, and
unless persons living away from New York realize
that there is more work to be had in the country.
pe will be forced into Of the gravest questions
~ employment which has ever come within our
soope" said John W FIagan, assistant secretary
Of the Bowery Branch Of the Young Mems Chris
tan Association, he refused a long line Of ap-
rlicants for shelter last night We are helpless.
and as have already exhausted the lodging house
tickets which 1e distribute there is nothing else
FOR US TO but give the applicants something TO
eat and let them go. Under ordinary conditions
END in extreme situations heretofore we have been
able 10 send all of the applicants for charity 20
the lodging houses. but they. too. overcrowded
and IL is impossible for them TO help az this time
More than hundred men. and nearly all Of them
appeared 10 be Of good habits. were turned from
this place to-day: Of these. more than half spent
the last few nights the streets. as they were
turned from every place Of refuge
Several officers and inspectors OF the Charity
Organization Society and the Association for I'M
proving the Condition of the Poor admitted that
they attempted 10 handle the situation as usual
until the last moment, when il became evident that
the only means Of relief would be TO put the wan
derers on hard labor after they had been taken
care Of While the majority OF those seeking char
fly are tramps, there IS alarming number of
mechanics and artisans who formerly had good
1obs but are now among the city's outcasts The
presence of these was said by the charity
workers be due 20 the closing OF factories out
rf town Many OF the homeless have beaten"
their way here from far West as Chicago and
nor few come from the South where they were
attracted by the expositions and railroad work. but
found the work either too hard or were discharged
for some
These men no matter how efficient they are,
not find employment here. it is one Of the rules
OF employment bureaus not 10 place strangers
IN Jobs when residents be had with proper
references II is generally from five TO six weeks
before applicant. living in one Of the semi
charitable institutions can have employment In
that time he is thrown upon the organization.
which feeds him and gives him bed. for which he
is supposed to pay small Zee when he has finally
obtained work. Before the influx Of traInps. wan
derers and unemployed the plan Of finding employ
r7leut for that class regarded as practicable,
but now with every place flooded and no relief in
sight II is beyond the powers OF the officers Of
these bureaus to take care Of many OF the men
who have been sleeping al the places since sum-
rner These are, OF course, given the preference.
and the newcomers are forced to spend the nights
or the streets OF take whatever protection has
been placed at their disposal by the downtown mis-
sions where every inch OF space is used to take
care Of the army of homeless
Under the present system It was learned yester-
day that only ninety a hundred men can COM
pensste the city for charity received. They are
sent to the wood yard at West 18th street Ihls
number leaves thousands idle after food and a
place sleep have been given to them ana II is
said that the traInps who became thoroughly &C
cus;nted with the system spread the news all over
the country These reports resulted in the INVASION
of the wanderers and tramps. The majority OF the
men are young and eblebodied but unused to
work and are glad to take every opportunity 10
accept charity without compensation.
Tho check kept on the homeless in former years.
when ct least three snowstorms AFFORDED ample
work has been impossible this year. and beyond
the plan send the men TO Blackwelfs Island for
work IN the quarry no other measure Of relief has
been seriously considered Robert W. Hebberd.
Commissioner OF Charities. who is chairman Of the
informal council for the Improvement Of the pres
ent condition. said last night:
We have tolerated the unemployed for some
time and IL has been made too tempting for them
There is no reason for such influx at this time
b<vcud the fact that hundreds Of young men who
have been employed in out-of-town factories came
10 this city when their salaries had been reduced
and rather than work for a which is
forced to give them little less money, they hurry
20 New York. where they are generally confident
that something will be done fog them. 1t should
be understood that taking OF all the
men We can ard that New York is already over
crowded without the addition Of those who belong
In ether cities
The Childreu's Aid Society reported to-day that
has hundreds Of applications for work, and at
the same time IL has requests from persons living
IN the country who are in need Of laborers. The
applicants decline these offers because they con-
tend they too far away from the city, and
rather than work in the country they throw them
selves upon the already slender resources here.
We have practically decided a plan which will
give the wanderer opportunity TO stay in the
Municipal Lodging House for few nights Then