New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-09-03
100000 Idle
From Outside
Flood the City
tcostInusd from p.sc ono,

are alien seamen who profess to be
stranded in New York because of slack
shipping business. Scores of these,
who have access to ships bound for
their home countries, assert they
would rathsr be idle in New York
than in the ports from which they
came. To this number are added 90
600 American seamen, not residents Of
New York, who, finding no Jobs In
other Atlantic ports, prefer to wait
here for something to turn up.
AdJutant George Darby. in charge of
the Salvation Army's employment serv-
ice, said that by actual count as of
every 100 who asked for aid on the
plea of unemployment admitted they
were transients. Their admissions
were made reluctantly most of them
at first asserting they were New York
ers to enhance their claims for local
aid. How many refused to admit thew
were other than residents, Adiutant
Darby was unable to calculate, but he
said that at least 10 per cent more than
his records show were transients.
1929 Leave Their Jobs
AT the offices of the State Employ
ment Bureau, it was learned that mora
than SO per cent of the applicants for
jobs were from points outside of the
city. AS indicating the restlessness of
these transients when jobs are offered
them, figures were produced. which
showed that in one month 1854 men
were assigned to jobs and 2,329 of these
same men reported back they had quit
and wanted other jobs.
Inquiry among groups of UNEMPLOYED
gathered beneath the shade of the trees
IN Battery Park, iounglng on the
benches of City Hall and Madison
Square parks, stretched in the grass of
the cooler sections of Central Park
and congregated along the Bowery
showed that even more than 40 per cent
OF the idle are transients. This was
explained in part by the fact that New
Workers out of work do not generally
pass entire days in the parks.
Individual cases investigated bv
reporter threw light on the whole
unemployment situation. Along the
bowery fifteen out of twenty men
who SAID they were "out of work" ad.
united they were travellers" Seven
of the fifteen were foreigners. More
han half of the fifteen displayed. no
interest in the suggestion that Jobs
might be obtained. If the same ratio
held true among all the idle along the
bowery it would indicate that rs per
cent of the idle there were transients.
Work, but Why Look for It?
About 200 men CARRIED in the fashion
of professional idlers were stretched
beneath the trees in Battery Park
when an inspection was made there
at p. M: yesterday. No adequate
figures of the proportion of transients
could be obtained because most of the
clined to engage in conversation when
nudged. One of them, however, Just
aroused from sleep, appeared to be
typical.
Reclining his head on the softest
tuft of grass he could find without
thrusting himself out of the shade or
obstructing his view of the breeze
swept harbor, Timothy Hitchcock, who
said he hailed from Lawrence, Kan,
evinced no aversion to discussing
the unemployment situation Work,
fer it. But why look fer it? Amt
this comfortable enough 2"
1t was only by being bribed with
a pipeful of tobacco, however, that
Hitchcock would consent to divulge his
economic system. He said he slept in
one of the parks, obtained his meals
on the Bowery and got his income by
touching" pedestrians
Working the old Sailor Game
IAN old sailor out of job, that's the
game now, brother" he explained.
Everybody knows shipping's bad and
they always sympathize with an old
sailor. Two hours walking on my way
to and from the park brings me all
want. Work, brother? Wait till it
gets cooler, then l may drift back to
Lawrence and look for job"
City Hall is the rendezvous of the
unemployed" who desire quick touch
es." A pedestrian who strolled around
preached three times within an hour.
Two of the three pleaded that they
we're ex-service men out of jobs. One
said he was a sailor from Savannah.
Cant you get job ?" one of them
Woo "SnS" 0AseA iie "oo obId1Ncu u
quarter.
Expect to get a job tomorrow" he
replied. "YcE see l just blew in town.
I'm cooper by trade
Don't think you'll find much
coopering in New York." was suggested.
"'Taint what I'm lookin' for" he said.
"I'm tired of it. Came from Cummins-
Vile, Ohio. Will take any kind of a
job I can get here"
The stories told by men in Central
and Madison Square parks differed
only in detail. The proportion of
transients was almost uniformly four
out OF five, or about 80 per cent.
Many Residents Deserve Help
"Of course, in pointing out the added
difficulty we have with unemployed
transients, the fact must not be lost
sight of that many deserving New
Workers are without jobs and need
help" said Adjutant Darby of the Sal
walton Army. when we discover
transient unemployed who has no valid
reason for being here we urge him to
go back home. Often it does not work.
The out-oftown unemployed come
here because they know that in times
of general unemployment the chart
table organizations start relief work.
We believe that if all the transients
could be eliminated the problem would
be quite easily handled"
Commissioner Coler said that when
the Mayors committee appointed to
relieve unemployment get to work,
IL Will