The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-07-21
Rx FELIX MORROW.

strip of land spreading through the
middle of the city of Washington, re-
Gently taken over by the Federal gov
eminent for rebuilding purposes, live
the bulk of the Bonus Army. Here,
amidst the debris of the torn-down
buildings (the Government is rush.
ing the work in order to discourage
the Bonus Marchers from settling
here) or in partly dismantled build
ings from which the plumbing has
been removed, are scattered in groups
of twenty to three hundred, some
ten thousand men. Another seven or
eight thousand men lies in Camp An
acostia, three miles or so from the
Capitol. The Federal authorities
would prefer to have all the men in
Anacostia, where Washington would
only see the men when so desiring.
But for weeks, now, new arrivals have
stayed away from Anacostia. 1t is
not only the notorious bulldozing
which goes on in Anacostia under
Waters dictatorship, that keeps the
men from going there Why, they say,
you might as well stay home as stick
in the mud flats of Anacostia where
nobody sees you.
Few Have Tents.
There are a few forunates who have
gotten hold of tents, others sleep in
the half-destroyed buildings while
housewreckers are working next door,
most of the men sleep in makeshift
shelters thrown together from old
wood. Here and there are a more
than usually enterprising group has
built an almost weatherproof shanty.
AS one goes about the city, the sight
of men calmly and slowly building
themselves new and larger quarters
is proof enough that though, with
the closing of Congress, some dis
couraged souls may leave, the back
bone of this outfit is here to stay.
The men take turns at making
meals and keeping quarters clean
In ovens made Of bricks and pieces
of sheet iron, they cook and bake
whatever food they manage to get
hold of. There is a loosely organized
general commissary for the Bonus
Army as a whole, but the distribution
is obviously unequal The commits
sary is under the conrtol OF Glass.
ford's police, due to the supineness
and cap in hand policy of Waters ano
his gang; and they, Of course, bene-
fit most at the hands of police. NOT
the men under Waters as a matter
of fact, the men in Anacostia ear
more poorly than those outside; but
the best that is in the commissary
goes to the special kitchen for Wat
er's Military Police, to the Officers
kitchen, to certain outfits who re-
quire cajoling or bribing. For in
stance, while Robertson of California
was making his bid all last week tc
take away the conmandership from
Waters, the mey loyal to him were
eating much better than usual. ]
learned, quite accidentally but &C
curately, that Robertson was drawing
his food not through the commissary
but directly from General Glassford
Fortunately, most of the groups are
able to supplement the food supplied
them from the commissary, with
fodStuffs sent them by their Local
communities, or donated by sympa-
thizers within two hundred mile
radius of Washington. Their trucks
are always coming and going along
the roads; it is, by the way, these
trucks going to pick up food, Photo
graphs of which appear throughout
the country over the caption: Bonus
Marchers Leaving Washington"
The food, according to the luck OF
a group, may vary anywhere from q
good soup, baked fish, succotash and
potatoes-one meal saw, but I must