The Washington bee., 1909-04-24
A Thousand Men Are Fed
Every Night.
THE BOWERY MISSION
At this Place and at Fleischmann's 3
May BE Found the Men In Actual
Need-lt is the Aim OF The Sc
Places to Send Away 80 Hungry
Person.

LIE Two POitseuieU VEU WSTS
standing al the corner of Canal
street and the Boxery as / approach
e. them looSed ne over when C1ey
saw was about to interrupt their
c, nyeTsaucn. 1t wa9 anything but =
pleasant nl-ht; the coat 1 had bOr-
Towed fOI tIe evening was none too
tuck. and tle old shoes / wore were
Let waterproof. Ii my abject pow
eIty was assumed. | felt a semblaace
or the real thing, .or | was cold and
tired after trampi1g up and down the
muddy streets for an hour.
Where kin a felIer git a cup o
coffee r = handout?" asked.
One of the officers smiled afrably.
Two doors up, he said, indicating
one OF the numerous FIVE and ten
cent fe~ding places, Of which thero
are one or two In every block In bhIs
neighborhOod.
i didn't mean that kind" I re-
piled. I've got to hnJ place
where there amt a price on the
grub"
81 guess the bread line at Fletsch-
mann's or the Bowery Missions Q
the only place, then. Jack" said tds
oficer as he turned his back on me.
So / Slouched along to SO Bowery,
where a sign in the window. reading,
'BoweTy Mission-Services Every
Evening" indicated that | had found
the right place. looked in the door.
The big room, flied with chairs. was
dimly lighted, and on the platform
at the far end, z man was moving
some chairs around.
''Nothin' doIn' yet, bo." said q
roBgh-looking fellow. They don't
give ye no grub until l o'clock"
This was 1isheartening. or would
have been, had I really needed the
food, for it was only a little after
eleven. 'Im goin' up ter the bak-
cry" the tramp continued. ''Ys sit
your. at II sharp Ip there"
s we smbled up the Bowery to
Eighth street, and from there to
Tenth street and Fourth avenue. Al
ready the waiting line extended FROM
tn rear door OF the bakery around
the corner to the entrance OF Grace
church. / dropped into the process
sion which in a few moments reached
up Broadway to Twelfth street.
had been in the line but a short time
when a clock nearby sounded for
midnight. The line began to move
along and the waiting men on either
side of me cheered up a bit. There
was very little conversation, however
Now and then some of them muttered
curses, and once when a sightseeing
automobile stopped at the corner the
curses Jecame quite audible.
After the line OF waiting men -
over 900 in number, as | asCertained
had had their bread and coffee
most OF them dispersed, though few
repeated" in order to get a second
helping. A number of them hung
around until they could get a chance
to ask the manager of the restaurant
for work But there was no chance
for any one, though the refusal was
not made unpleasantly,
From the bakery l went back tC
/ the Bowery Mission.
A thousand men are fed every
night at the Bowery Mission-some,
times more. 1t is the aim at both
this place and at Fleischmann's tC
send no one away hungry, but just
now the demand Is much In excess Oi
that usual at this time OF year.
One sees at these two places the
men who are In actual need Of food
and drink. The street beggars are
in nine cases out OF ten unworthy OI
notice. But tle man or woman who
doubts the distress-the real need oI
food among the unemployed-shoult
spend a couple ot hours at the two
places / have described, and he OF
she Will be convinced that there Il
no lack OF opportunity for the Offices
of the Good Samaritan, and no ex
cessivs crowding IN the ranks ot
helpers OF unfortunate humanity.
RODERIC c.. PENFIELD.