Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1915-03-10
|D|RI. /. A DITTMER
DEFENDS D |:||: UNEMPLOYED ! T: 4 D
TAKES DEMOCRATS NEWS ITEM
Al TOO SERIOUSLY, AND =
Il NJ MAKES REPLY.
SUGGESTS CITY TO HAVE CLEANUP
Says Some Places Of Business Have
Not Had A Cleaning Since
=, r "The Flood"

aa ~ nc Ftooo.
II appears that DR.. H. A. Dittme
Of this; city has had his finer sensi
|bflities aroused because Of an item
In these columns two weeks ago. IL
which we spoke Of the rock pill
which the city placed on West Mail
street, for the purpose Of testing th'
willingness OF the tramps to earl
their meals, while within the cor
porate limits of Manchester.
The doctor prepared an article il
which he has set forth some inter
esting facts Which he is in posi-
tion to vouch for because Of the
philanthropic work he has been en-
gagged in during the past winter. We
owe an apology to DR.. Dittmer fol
not publishing the article last week
AS is frequently the case when 9
large amount OF type has to be sci
in a short space of time, the nnotyp
machine acted at its worst, hence tn
delay. in publishing the article.
Following is DR.. Dittmer's reply:
ts "Manchester's Stone Pile" ~,
Feb. gath, 1915, there appeared an
article in the Manchester Democrat
under the above heading. This ar
ticle stated that the pile Of ''nigger-
heads did not look inviting to the
Weary rWillies' who had been drift
ing into Manchester for several
months because they had Jared so
we'll at the hands Of the ''Charitabl,
Inclined" Of the city and that the
city and that the tramps passed the
word along to their kind until the
city was known "far and wide" and
because of this damaging notoriety
tramps flocked to Manchester In
and if the council had
Instituted the utopian s'nigger-head"
panacea the city might have had a
train load of crushed rock to use
on its streets. These very niger
heads have been constrained to
cry out in a paraxism Of hysterical
indignation; consistency, thou art q
Jewel" @rs 5S.js% #
From Dec. %, 1914, to Feb. 16,
1915, inclusive the average number
Of tramps flocking into the city were
22 per day and the average number
from Feb. II, 1915, to Feb. 27, 1915,
since the "nigger head ADVERTISE
ment has been scattered broadcast,
has been $23 per day. Before the
."niggar-head episode" 1,215 men
were fed by, the county and private
donations at cost of $125.31., +, 10
men were supplied with various ar
ticles OF clothing donated by the
i;3ttzens:sos Manchester and about SO
men given jobs on farms and else
where, and, since the establishment
Of the rock pile 275 men have WIS.,
tied Manchesterssld OF this number
so were fed kssneN county and 215
begged fooss at the homes of the
people. At least 100 more men
would have accepted farm jobs could
jobs have been found. Fully 80 per
cent of the ,499 men, who came to
were willing to work at
such work that they could do or
Were skilled in. During the exist
ence of the rock pile there has not
been over one, yard of rock broken,
not enough to pay for the interest on
thr money invested for hammers,
broken handles and transportation Of
rock and If our street improvements
depended upon this source for ma
terial and kind of material we would
never have passable thorough fares.
In the first place our rock pile
Is an obstruction Of the high
way, particularly when 1t is the main
Highway as well as the
principal street Of the city. The
kind of rock produced are usually
demolished by the use Of dynamite
Ind not with hammers.
The Manchester rock pile is a
oke and no wonder the tramp takes
% he ''tall uncut The average
aw abiding Manchester citizen
would do likewise.
If the kind of rock and the rock
Ill was put upon the street that
is conspicuousness would add to the
Of the operator, in fact
f the main object was to drive
;hese worthy or unworthy poor away
rom Manchester and forcing them
lpon our neighboring towns, thereby
Sinking our portion of responsible
ty, if these men arc a menace
md should not be fed or sheltered,
| more humane proceeding would
,e to shoot them as soon as they
;ome in sight.
Many of these men come from the
,est of families and in most in
stances these men will not apply to
heir relatives for help because Of
,ride. Untold numbers living in the
arge cities have, for the same rea-
,on, written to country friends-and
lot to relatives-for help and money.
This fact can be varified by people
living in Manchester who have been
lppealed to for help. The Manches-
or Rock Pile has by no means les
;ened the number of needy. men
coming to this city, but very materi-
lily made their burden harder to
year. If every town and city should
establish rock pile it would not
lrive the unemployed out of the
country. ~. 20.
A careful study Of the question OF
he millions of unemployed indicates
hat there will be more unemployed
men come to Manchester and all
,ver the country during the next
hirty days, rock pile or no rock
,ile, than during any of the past
months. 1t is estimated that thirty
thousand are on their way north
rom the south and food and shelter
will necessarily have to be provided
~ those who are able.
There is plenty of work to be
'ound in Manchester by far more
necessary and profitable than. the
.ock pile. A tremendous amount Of
work for these men could be Gre
ated if vigorous campaign of
cleaning up could be instituted.
General house cleaning, say nothing
about the many offices and places Of
business that have not had a real
cleaning since the flood, (. .-,
+ To clean up Manchester, to make
the city, places of business and
homes sanitary would employ 60
men so days. The usual habit of
leSerring such work, which in many
casessis never done, until everybody
wants 1t done at once and no help
ban be- found is what causes house