Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1910-02-15
SAD PLIGHT OF
 THE HOMELESS
Verbatim Copy of d Letter Written by One of the ''Bread
 Line."

The following letter from a typical member of the Down and Out" Club at the Bowery Mission, recently visit ed by President Taft, throws a flood of light on the hard experience of the homeless in the great metropolis. The letters was addressed to the Financial Secretary of the Mission.
 New York, December 20, 1910.
 Dear Sir: The writer of these lines. German office clerk, is without em- ployment since about August 1, 1909 Last Saturday night another poo1 man, who slept beside me in the park. said that MT. John c. Earl, of the BoWery Mission, would help me, if I told him my wife was sending me money from Germany to come back home. I had eaten nothing that day, and the police put me off the seat, so lost the other man and walked about all night by myself. I could get noth- ing on Sunday to eat, and if you had not given me that food on the Monday l think I would have died.
 From about August 10 I have been walking from office to office, from factory to factory, without result My money, saved during the time I had been working, is now already about ten days gone, and only with the greatest economy, I could keep me so long. Since I am down and out.' l only was eating free lunch" At noon time l would venture into crowded saloon, where the lunchman was too busy to see if you had a glass of beer or not, and I would take plate of soup and some bread. and in the evening I eat cold free lunch"
 The hardest thing for a poor man without home is how and where to spend the night After about 5:30 D. m. when the offices were closed, T. went to the reading room in Cooper Union and stood there, usually till 10 o'clock. When there was any service in German Protestant Church, I went to church. sometimes I have al- so been in Gospel meeting of the Wesley Rescue Mission or the Bowerv Mission. When it was too cold to walk on the streets. or raining. Il would spend , cents for beer, if I had it, in saloon on the Bowery, where you can have free lunch and sit the whole night for that cents. In these saloons you can see all classes and characters of people-poor men of all ages, sitting sleeping on a chair, or laying on a newspaper on the floor who l do know would prefer a bed to drink, and who were anxious to ob- tain work of any kind. ~
 l have been in the Bowery Mission Bread Line several times. We would stand about one hour or more out side, till the doors opened, and me and the other poor men were all so glad when it was one o'clock; hungry and freezing men, all waiting for 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. l can say, for my part, that no poor man can be thankful enough for this institution: and how different you feel after having had hot cup of coffee. that makes you feel better and warmer! Out of the conversation of some men I heard that, after having had their cup of coffee and rolls. they would try to get back on the end Of the line to secure another portion l cannot say if they have been lucky in their trial; I never was. I went, af- ter having had my portion, downtown l for to get me the first morning paper and look for a position the same as the other men did
 1 I repeat once more that I praise ttse Lord for the night that I heard of yon
 Tn my country, German ', a:a rot ~o many poor men as there are Eerc in i this city Every poor man has q nome
 or bed also there is more work
 have been employed in the greatest cities of Germany-in Berlin, sHam-
 burg. Cologne. Bremen, etc.-but have
 never seen so many men without work as in New York: also. I imagine
 that it is easier to secure a position tin the old country. therefore I wrote
 home to my wife for a ticket to go