The Washington bee., 1909-06-12
A Thousand Men Are Fed
Every Night.
THE BOWERY MISSION
At this Place and at FIeischmann's
May BE Found the Men in Actual
Need-It is the Aim of These
Places to Send Away No Hungry
Person.

>
standing at the corner of Canal
street and the Bowery as l approach
ca them looked ne over when Udey
saw = was about to interrupt their
CT nVersauUn. 1t Was anything but 4
pleasant night; the coat l had bor-
rowed for the evening was none too
thick, and the old shoes l wore were
Lot waterproof. If my abject pow
eTty was assumed, / felt a semblanca
OF the real thing, for was cold and
tired after trampi1g up and down the
muddy streets for an hour.
Where kin a feller git a cup O.
coffee r handout?" asked.
One of the officers smiled affably.
Two doors up" he said. indicating
one Of the numerous five and ten
cent feeding places, of which thero
ars one or two in every block in tnis
neighbOrhood.
Il didn't mean that kind" / re-
piled. ''I've got to find a place
where there amt a price on the
grub"
mann's or the Bowery Missions
the only place, then, Jack" said tle
officer as he turned his back on me.
So 1 slOuched along to 55 Bowery,
where sign in the window, reading,
'Bowery Mission-Services Every
Evening" indicated that had found
the right place. l looked in the door.
The big room, filled with chairs, was
dimly lighted, and on the platform
ut the far end, man was moving
some chairs around.
'Nothin' doin' yet, bo." said
rough-looking fellow. They don't
give ye no grub until 1 o'clock"
This was disheartening, or would
have been. had I really needed the
food, for it was only a little after
eleven. I'm gOin' up ter the bak-
cry" the tramp continued. "Ye sit
yourG at IL sharp Up there"
S We ambled up the Bowery to
Eighth street, and from there to
benth 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. l dropped into the process
sion which in a few moments reached
up Broadway to Twelfth street I
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 cheeTed 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 600 in number, as l asCeTtained
had had their bread and coffee,
most of them dispersed, though a 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 I went back TO
the Bowery Mission.
A thousand men are fed every
night at the Bowery Mission-some-
times more. It is the aim at both
this place and at FIeischmann's to
send no one away hungry, but just
now the demand is much in excess Of
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 beggaTs are
in nine cases out of ten unworthy Of
notice. But tie man or woman who
doubts the distress-the real need Of
food among the unemployed-shOuld
spend a couple OF hours at the two
! places l have described, and he or
she will be convinced that there Is
no lack of opportunity for the offices
of the Good Samaritan, and no ex-
! cessive crowding IN the ranks Of
] helpers of unfortunate humanity.
RODERIC G. PENFIELD.