Los Angeles herald., 1908-01-12
IDLE MEN FLoCKING
TO GOTHAM FOR WORK
GROVES OF UNEMPLOYED CROWD
INTO METROPOLIS
City Charity Agencies Confer--Municl"
pal Lodging House Filled and
Overflow Number Is
Large

NEW YORK, Jan. 11.-Men who have
lost employment in other parts OF the
country are flocking to New York aud
taxing the means of charitable organiza-
tions of the city. It happens therefore
that New York city has a larger army
of unemployed actually and relatively
than other big cities. Representatives of
various charitable societies have been
holding conferences to decide ON meas
ures to meet this influx.
Robert w. Hebberd, commissioner of
charities, presided over conference held
in the building of the Charity Organiza-
ton society, Fourth avenue and twenty
second street, and there were fifteen men
present These men realized that for the
first time within the last few years their
organizations could not take care of all
those who applied for help. 1t is esti-
mated that there are now $4,000 homeless
men in New York city.
Wood Yard Is Overrun
The charity wood yard, where one can
earn a LOGGING and TWO meas by doing
a certain amount a day, is overrun.
Though a GOOD oeal more space has been
obtained for the municipa. logging house
| In First avenue, near Iwenty-third
street, 1t cannot take care of those who
are now applying for aid. A subcommit-
tee was appointed at the conference TO
| take active charge of the homeless. Rob-
ert Gruere of the Society for Improving
/ the Condition of the Foor Is its chair
/ man.
OF course some of the men who are
without homes are professional tramps.
But there are only few of that class.
| The professionals usually go south at
this time of the year, returning by way
| OF the middle west in the spring, and
reaching New York in the summer.
Small Factories Close
The charity workers have found they
say that a large percentage of the army
of unemployed men that is crowding into
the city is made up of young men from
the small towns within a radius of fifty
miles of New York. They come because
the small factories which formerly en-
ployed them have either closed down for
while or have laid off some of their
employees.
|. Being out of work and having nothing
particularly to hold them in their little
towns, they have decided that now is the
time to make trial Jump into the indus
trial life of New York city. They argue
that they have all to gain and little to lose
by such trial now. So they are coming
in day by day. They are finding that many
men who had lived here before them and
who formerly had all the work they could
do are now out of employment.
1t was decided at the conference to pre-
pare statement setting forth the indus
! trial conditions of New York at this time
and advising young men in the little
| towns within striking distance of New
York to stay at home unless thay have
funds to sustain them while they are
| looking for employment here. AS for the
professional tramps, the police will be
asked to care for them.
Will Try to Get Loft
| The committee resolved to make an at
| tempt to get loft that adjoins tn, mu-
nicipal lodging house to be used for more
beds. Some 800 men sleep there by night
now and there are more calls than can be
met. bed on park bench with three
newspapers as covering may not be par
| ticularly unpleasant in early fall, but
when snow fails it Is impossible to stand
| the cold.
| The meeting agreed that in view of the
remarkable increase in the applica tions
| for beds at the municipal lodging house,
some adequate work test should be pro-
vided for the dodgers. 1t was suggested
1 that the quarry on BlacI5well's island
might be used for stone breaking for the
country roads. homeless and unemployed
men being sent from the municipal lodg-
! ing house every morning and brought
| back in the afternoon.
December Overflow 23r3
! The overflow at the lodging house for
| the montl- of December has been 1858
persons. Last year there was no over
| flow to speak of. and throughout the
whole of 1905 the number of persons who
could not get accommodations was Just
half what the overflow has been in the
single month of December The books
show that most Of the applications for
! lodging In December have come from me-