The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-12-26
Whose
MERRY CHRISTMAS?
Wo0lw0rth Gifts, "Huyyay for Jesus !"
By A. b, MAGIL.

Og a. d. 1AuIL.
Christmas came limping along the
lower west side of the city yester-
day, miserable and ragged, wheez-
ing and painting along Ninth and
Tenth Aves., 18th, 17th, 18th Sts.,
into the homes of dock workers, into
the dingy dwellings of Spanish
speaking slaves of the National Bis
cult Company that stands at Ninth
Ave. and 14th st.
Walk up dark, trembling stair
cases and knock on the door and a
frightened face will look out at you.
Somewhere a cheap phonograph will
be playing the big hit of three years
ago. Children will be playing on
the floor, their carefully washed
holiday clothes already soiled, their
new ten-cent toys already broken.
The father a0ilL be lying OF. the
bed sunk IN sleep. He is resting
up for an entire gear of exhaust
ing toll. The mother 1oilL be
1Oashing the dishes after the
Christmas meal. For qceeks they
had saved and stinted for this
dag. Noao it 1Vas over, leaving
the same old misery.
Merry Christmas!"
Furnished Room Life.
Workers without families, living
in furnished rooms in decaying
houses, celebrate Christmas by GO
ing to the movies if they aren't
broke, by smoking, reading the pa
pers and sleeping. They eat their
meals in cheap restaurants which
are also celebrating Christmas by
jimmying up prices. A coffee pot
On Eighth Ave. announces a Christ
mas diner for 80 cents. The same
dinner costs so ordinarily.
Walk over to the east side and
you find some more Christmas.
Christmas has come tn the Bow
cry with the usual floral decora-
tions-breadlines. Ragged Bow
cry stiffs, chronic breadliners.
mingle with workers out of jobs
and starving, waiting long hours
outside Of missions, Salvation
! Army headquarters and other hSs-
telries of god, waiting to get few
ounces of so-called food and ton
of religion boloney favored with
Christmas "cheer" fresh from the
tap.
Down-and-O Cutters.
Merry Christmas! The merry
Christmas of the down-and- -outers.
dumped on the garbage-heap of
capitalism. The Bowery swarms
with them, walking the streets, their
| ands in their pockets, walking no.
where, just killing time. Evidently
not such a merry Christmas.
Outside of Zero's Tub at II st.
Marks Pl. stands a Christmas tree.
Mr.. Zero is another one of those
charitable gentlemen who try to
keep the workers minds 100 per-
cent pure. Charity pays, the bosses
find. Inside the hall the down-and-
cutters wait in line. A Charitable"
lady dressed in white lets in a few
at time who are given a bowl of
soup and cup of coffee for nickel.
Lucky stiffs! They actually own
nickel.
Those who don't, wait further
down outside of Holy Name Mission
at 319 Bowery. At $50 the line
reaches around the corner nearly
half way towards Second Ave. At
6 o'clock the men begin to file in
to get their bowl of slop. An hour
later they are lulled into insensibility
with free Christmas sermon.
Jobless Youth in Line.
Number three in line is young
man not more than 21 years old.
He wears fairly new looking
felt hat, presentable suit and his
general appearance is in striking
contrast to the bedraggled stiffs
in line. His eyes are dull. his skin
ashen. What's he doing in the
breadline? Well. it's Merry Christ
mas in the land of Coolidge and
Hoover prosperity"
A block further down is another
line outside the Hadley Rescue Mis-
sion at 293 Bowery. At 227 Bowery
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