Evening star., 1934-03-09
ALLEN SHOCKED
BY AID FAILURE
Police Tell Commissioner OF
Delay While Hungry
Families Suffer.
Continued From First Page.)

ioAA . A1S o6S'f
have been cruelty hit by unemploy-
ment and the other complications OF
the depression.
The setting for the visit was un-
usual Allen paid his call at the
invitation Of a Star reporter. The
secret was well kept, and Allen and
the reporter walked in unannounced.
The precinct handles much of its un-
official relief work through two men.
William j. Savage and Altus Moore.
Neither of them had ever seen Allen
or the reporter before. Savage was
standing behind the rail. Moore was
out at the time. The reporter asked
for Savage and introduced Allen.
There was a general stir of interest
in the station house, and the handful
of policemen there seemed to strain
to catch the words of the conversa-
ton that followed between Savage
and Allen. Presently Moore walked
in. He joined the group.
A methodical man, Moore has his
cases entered in little notebook, to
which he referred as he spoke. The
two of them appeared astonished
that a Commissioner should take so
much personal interest in their work
Sometimes Furnish Carfare.
"When they come here" said Saw
age, I'VE try to send them to the
Emergency Relief Division. They
have a station up on Ninth street and
1t takes carfare to get there. One of
us here, sometimes the sergeant, usu-
ally gives them quarter for carfare.
I'VE ask the man on the beat to
investigate. and if the family needs
food badly and right away we buy
some and we bum some off the gro
GERS. We have grocers out here that
will always come across in a needy
case.
Sometimes we pick up a chiseler
There was one family in here told US
they couldn't keep their children in
school because they didn't have any
shoes. We looked into it and found
they had an income of $50 week and
WSlc h0cplllB lllC SllllOl Gil Out Va
school because they didn't want them
to go.
But the ones we send for relief
often call over and over again be-
fore anything happens. Sometimes it
takes months. 1t never takes less
than two or three days. We keep
them going with a little food. or
maybe a dollar but we haven't enough
to buy shoes
The money used by the men in
No. II comes from a dance they
staged in order to raise funds for dis
tribution of food baskets last Christ
mas. There was a surplus left after
stocking the baskets, and the police
men contribute out of their own
pockets from time to time.
Moved by Story.
In investigating other cases. The
Star has learned that under the pres
ent relief set-up, it is a mechanical
impossibility to get food to hungry
people the day they ask for it. The
best that the applicant can hope for
is q check the next day, but such
promptneSs even as this seems un-
usual
It was the story about the family
with ice-coated floors that appeared
to move Allen most. Moore told it,
leafing over his notebook as he
spoke.
There was woman came in here
crying" he said. 1T was the coldest
day of the year She said she had
three children and they we're hungry.
We sent the man on the beat out to
see them. He found that their water
pipes had frozen and broken. There
was water over the floor and it had
frozen so click that in every room in
that little house you could skate on it.
''They had little oil stove and they
were all sitting around it, but it didn't
make enough heat to melt the ice on
the floor. Yes, sir, you could skate on
that ice, he said.
Promises Reform.
HE took them down to the relief.
They said they would send a case
worker out the next day.
Our man said that the people we're
starving and there was ice on the
floors, but they said they couldn't
next day. Do you know, sir, that
1t was three days before that social
worker got out there?"
Commissioner Allen appeared to be
listening in a daze. He came to.
Did you say skater" he asked.
Eyes, sir, skate" said Moore.
Allen looked at his watch. 1t was
1925 and he was due at a hearing
before an Appropriations Committee
at 1890.
He climbed into his car.
THAT is really shocking" he said
1--WE have got to fix this thing up
so that emergency cases can be
handled in an emergency fashion. I'm
glad ! came"