Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-03-03
1000 JOBLESS
RUSH CITY HALL.
SEEKING WORK
Men in Pitched Battles for
Place in Front of Long
Line.

A crowd Of men, estimated At 1000,
stormed the City Hall in search of
work today. They wanted Jobs at
helping to romev snow from the
streets. The men fought at times in
their effort to reach the office of
the street department of the Board
Of Works. in the basement of the
building.
Scores of the men punched and
kicked each other in their efforts to
be the first to apply. Half a dozen
fist nights We're in progress at once.
Men were knocked down and tram
pied.
Policemen. hurriedy summoned
from headquarters finally reduced
the crowd to some semblage of order.
The men filed into the office, where
1000 of them were given work.
Men seeking work on the streets
began to arrive at the City Hall as
early as 8 o'clock. BY a. m. at least
1000 We're there, and the crowd in
creased apace thereafter Within the
next half hour 1000 more had ar
rived.
As many as could do so crowded
into the City Hall basement. The
rest stood in the entrance to the base
ment, on the steps, and stretched in
d long line along Broad and Franklin
streets.
Most of the men had difficulty in
| hiding their impatience. They
grumbled and scowled when the of1i-
cials who were to hire them failed to
| arrive, and more and more attempted
to push their way into the City Hall
basement
Wild Scramble Starts.
Finally word came that Superinten-
dent Shipman and his aides had ar
| rived at the hall. Then came a wild
| scramble to get into the building.
In a few seconds the Broad street
entrance to the hall was hopelessly
clogged by lighting, pushing, curs-
ing, perspjring mass of men. Each
one of the jobless was intent on one
thing-beating his neighbor to a
street cleaning job, and not one of
them cared by what means, fall or
foul, he reached his goal.
When those standing in line on
Broad and Franklin streets saw they
were unable to make their way into
the hall by the regular entrance, they
decided to try the windows. Win
were pushed up, and the men scram-
bled through. Those who were all
ready inside tried to stop the rush
through the windows, and dozens of
faces were punched in the fights that
followed.
Fights were in progress on the
| street, on the small terrace that STR
rounds the hall in the passage lead
Ing to the entrance under the main
! stairway, in Broad street and in the
| basement Dozens Of men were cry
| ing out in pain as brawny arms pro-
| PEELED hard fists against their faces,
and curses and cries of triumph rang
out as one man put another to the
ground and stepped into line ahead
of him.
Police Stop Fighting.
The appearance of a half-dozen po-
licemen from headquarters contriVed
to stop the more furious fighting, al
though the men who were still walt
ing to ask for jobs showed and pushed
with ardor in their efforts to make
their way to the Board of Works Of
flee.
AS fast as the men reached the
street department office Superintend-
ent Shipman and the clerks there
handed them checks which permitted
| them to take their place with the
gangs which are laboring today on
| the streets. One thousand men, about
one-half the applicants, were given
| Jobs The rest, many of whom said
they had walked here from Summit
and other faraway places in their
search for work, were dispersed by
the police as they clustered on the
sidewalk in front of the hall.