The Huttig news., 1910-02-26
SAD PLIGHT or THf HOMELESS.
Verbatim Copy of Letter Written by one of
 the Bread Line.'

llC lOllOW lCbtCI II Olil o Pi- cal member of the Down and | Out club at the Bowery Mission. recently visited by President Taft. I throws flood of light on the hard | experiences of the homeless in the great metropolis. The letter was addressed to the financial secretery of the mission:
 New York, Dec. 90. 1909
 DEAR SIR: The writer of these lines, a German office clerk, is without employment since about August l, 1909 Last Saturday night, another poor man who slept l beside me in the park. said that Mir. John c. Earl, of the Bowery l Mission, would help me, if l told l him my wife was sending me money from Germany to come back home. had eaten nothing that day. and the police put me off the seat, so lost the other man and l walked about all night by myself l l could get nothing on Sunday to eat, and if you had not given me that food on the Monday l think would have died.
 From about August 10 l have been walking from office to office, from factory to factory without re- suit. My money, saved during the time l had been working, is now al- ready about ten days gone, and only with the greatest economy | could keep me so long. Since l am down and out. only was eating free lunch. At noon time lI would venture into crowded sa- loon, where the lunch man was too busy see if you had glass of beer .-er-not, and would take plate of soup and some bread and in the evening 1 eat cold free lunch"
 The hardest thing for poor man without home is how and where to spend the night. After about $50 p. m., when the offices were closed, went to the reading room in Cooper Union and stood there. usually til about 10 oclock. When there was any service in German Protestant church, l went to church; sometimes 1 have also been in Gospel meeting of the Wesley Rescue Mission or the Bowery Mission. When it was too cold to walk the streets. or raining. l would spend 5 cents for beer, if l had it, in saloon on the Bowery, 7 where you can have free lunch and sit the whole night for that 5 cents. In those saloons you can see all classes and characters of people-poor men of all ages, sit ting sleeping on a chair, or laying on a newspaper on the floor, who 1 do know would prefer bed to drink, and who were anxious to ob- tain work of any kind.
 1 have been in the Bowery Mis- sion Bread Line several times. We would stand about one hour or more outside, till the doors opened. Id pe and the other poor men were all so glad when it was o'cloct; hungry and freezing men, all waiting for a cup of hot coffee and rolls. You can believe me that it is not so agreeable to stand one hour or longer outside on the street in this winter time, without anything in the stomach, freezing and shaking on the whole body. Some in this bread line are well educated and have seen better times, like me. Most of the men praised the Bread Line, and few were making fun about it. 1 can say for my part, that no poor man can be thankful enough for this in- stitution; and how different yeu feel after having had a hot cup of coffee, that makes you feel better and warmerl Out of the conver- sation of some men 1 heard that after having had their cup of coffee and rolls. they would try to get back on the end of the line to se-