Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-12-27
NEW YORK CITY OCCUPIED
BY ARMY OF PANHANDLERS
Annual Christmas Invasion
of Metropolis Augmented
by Thousands This Year,
Over 100000 Will Be
Given, Is Estimate
BY EDNA MARSHALL
Copyright, 1924. by the Consolidated Press
ssocation-SpeciaI Leased Wire
To A lnnrnAl

to The Atlanta JournaL)
NEW YORK, Dec. ga veri-
table panhandling army of occupa-
ton stood under the dripping caves
of New York S many buildings Thurs
day reapinG a particularly big
Christmas harvest because Of the
rain and sleet which made their
plight seem more distressing to the
gentle-hearted passersby.
Bringing their wives and children
with them, more than 1900 profess
sional panhandlers descended on
Manhattan a few weeks ago for q
pleasant visit in the big city and
will depart on or about January 2,
taking with them some $500, 600
worth of the big city's benevolent
Christmas spirit.
They have been aided and allotted
in their inroads on the public pocket
book in these last few weeks of pre-
Christmas giving by thousands of
local panhandlers whose tales of woe
may not have been as Oft-told but
were as touching as their own, and
wrung from the city sympathy to
the extent of several hundred thou
sand more dollars.
And off in the city churches the
lately famed Mr.. Zero has been
adopting church benches for beds
and church coal for warmth for an
army of 500 jobless, homeless, hun
CRY followers.
Fake Charity Schemes
However worthy may be the needs
of Mr.. Zeros gang, the aims of the
real army of occupation who begged
under the caves were varied.
Some asked money for charities
which do not exist, according to
Bird S. Coler, welfare commissioner.
Some apparently woebegOne in
dividuals shivering in the chill winds
had hidden beneath their hats or
in pockets whose bulges would not
| show bank rolls larger than those
| of people from who they asked.
others, apparently blind or suffer
ing, asked money or sold pen
| ellis, shoe strings or chewing gum
| for some would-be charity or be-
h cause that was the only way they
| could earn. merry Christmas for
| their families, and counted the
! money gloatingly before tucking it
| into some well-filled pouch to be
used on personal pleasure.
Uniforms of the army, navy and
| marines, or costumes so resembling
| them that they cannot be distin-
guished by the ordinary layman' 5
eye, were popular with a large
percentage of the pan-handlers. PEG
| pie will give to veterans and to
service men. Their hard luck stories
seem the harder because they found
poverty in service" -although but
the smallest number of the uniform
| ed beggars are actually connected
| 1a CyDV i21t
to represent
New York is the mecca of pan
handlers-the city where every one
has money" and where there are
so many people that detection of
boosters of fake charities is diff
cult.
Come Each Year
Each year with the coming of the
| holiday season, an army of pan
! handlers migrates here, authorities
say. They come, prepared to stay
for three or four weeks Og begging.
| Professionals who come here year
| after year and live the whole year
through on what they get those
! weeks. or treat their families to a
riotous vacation on what their hard
| luck tales bring" Others live here
all year long and count on the holi-
| days to furnish their big diggin ."
A tour Of lower Manhattan
resulted in count of more than
$50 panhandlers in a radius of four
| blocks, desperately engaged in look
ing their saddest and making the
most of the last day before Christ
mas when peoples purse strings
would be open. They were young
and old, men and women, strong
and crippled, blind and seeing, boys
and tiny girls, begging or selling or
ringing little inner bells in imita-
ton of the Salvation Army and 9TH
er organizations who legitimately
offer help of holiday dinners for their
| poor.