Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1915-10-02
WRECKED MANKIND
At ELLIS ISLAND
WHERE HUNGRY HUNDREDS
FIND HAVEN OF SHELTER.
Homeless Here Find Better Cheer
Than at the Municipal Lodges,
Which They Crltlelse.

Imam AZ the Mun.-:pat Lodges
Which They crltlelse.
New York.-On wire and canvas
cots, on wooden benches. and not In
frequently on tiled floors, hundreds Of
men sleep each night on Ellis Island
These men are not immigrants, al
though many. but by no means most
OF them are aliens. They are home
loss, hungry men, who have neither
work nor the wherewithal to live, a
the comfortable and happy existence
OF those who live in the small cities
and towns Of our land, but one that
for months has been experienced by
thousands of unfortunates in our met
ropolitan centers.
You do not have to look closely al
these men to SEQ how poorly dressed
they are; but, IL you were to spend a
night with them you would find that
beneath their soiled and wretched
outer covering there is no clothing,
and that the flesh, that is weak, in
many cases is sore and infected and
in need Of care. For with them I'M
derwear long since has become a bit
ter memory Of better days, and their
feet are without socks and their boots
without soles.
Now these men are not lazy men.
Let there be no misunderstanding as
to that. Any one can satisfy himself
on that score by announcing that he
needs a man to work. He will be
surrounded by a hundred men, who
will not merely clamor for the job,
but will actually beg for it.
Here is what the commissioner has
to say of them:
The unemployed men have been
coming to Ellis Island for the past
five months. The numbers for the
last two months have averaged be-
tween 700 and 800 each night. The
men are perfectly orderly, and are
most grateful. for the opportunity Of
fered them for sleeping some place
other than in the parks. under the
bridges, or any other such place az
are open to them. They required no
policing, and have not given us a bl.
OF trouble In that time. A large per-
centage Of them rush eagerly to the
bathroom as soon as they arrive at
the island. They maintain BARRIERS
and clothes-menders to keep In good
condition, and are, so far as can
Judge, making every possible effort to
retain their self-respect under terri
BILE conditions.
1T is almost complete presumption
to my mind in favor Of a man IL he
is willing to sleep night after night
on hardwood floor, without any GOV.
ering over him, and that is what
many Of the men have been doing.
They get what little food they have as
best they can, and the great majority
OF them are in state of chronic hun
ger. 1t seems to me far greater re-
Election upon this rich city that these
men should be left wholly to their
own fate than 1t is upon the men
themselves, for they cannot create
their own employment; many of them
are in rags, and do not present a good
appearance. and some of them are so
weak and enfeebled by long exposure
that they are hardly in position to
help themselves"
1t was to learn something of these
men at first hand that a reporter,
dressed as one Of them, and unshaved
and of sorry appearance, joined their
company for one -be-forgotten
night on the island. But the suffer
ing and discomfort were more than
made up for by the fact that, al.
though these were rough men, in the
privacy Of the room in which we
slept-except for some swearing
there was not spoken one word that
any woman might not have heard.
It is really splendid thing to be able
to say that.
These unfortunate men say they
are much happier within the hospita-
BILE halls of Ellis Island than they
ever could be at the municipal lodg-
ing institutions, which they criticise
very unfavorably and with various
reasons, among their objections being
too many unnecessary questions ask
ed, entirely too much work expected
for the amount of assistance given,
and many times no food at all when
food is due; in other words, they pro-
nounce organized charity, as exem-
plified in New York, proved failure
SO far as 1t benefits those for whom
1t is supposed to be carried on.
TRAPPING ARIZONA MONKEYS.