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January 15, 1910 MORE SHELTER FOR HOMELESS.
Helping Hand Annex, 401 Wyan- dotte, Will Be Opened Today.
The Helping Hand Institute annex, 401 Wyandotte street, will be opened at 3 o'clock this afternoon. Addresses will be made by Mayor T. T. Crittenden, W. T. Bland, Rev. Charles W. Moore and Gus Pearson.Labels: Helping Hand, Mayor Crittenden, ministers, Wyandotte street January 9, 1910 WORK AND WAGES FOR DESERVING UNEMPLOYED.
Mayor Formulates Plan to Provide Living During Present Cold Weather for All Worthy Needy.
"Kansas City intends to be kind to the needy and unfortunate temporarily out of work," observed Gus Pearson, city comptroller, yesterday, "but we first are going to find out who is worthy of our time and kindness.
"This wail about the starving and homeless unemployed has been magnified. Investigation shows that on many of the coldest nights of the winter there were a whole lot of vacant beds in the Helping Hand institute, and I have it from the management that they had twenty-four more calls for work for men than could be filled.
"The trouble is that a great many well meaning people are imposed upon and their sympathies wrought up by classes of individuals who are continually preying on the purse strings of the charitable, but will not work unless the work meets with their particular tastes."
Mr. Pearson had a conference yesterday with William Volker, chairman of the pardons and parole board. They discussed the plan proposed by Mayor Crittenden of making an additional appropriation of funds to temporarily tide over the unemployed by giving them work at the municipal stone quarries in Penn Valley park and the municipal farm at Leeds. This will be done as quickly as possible after Messrs. Pearson and Volker have conferred with the heads of charitable institutions and the police in reference to the character of men considered really deserving.
"Bums and loafers who stray into Kansas City just to spend the winter and live off the charitable must move on or go to the workhouse," said Mr. Pearson. "We feel that we have a citizenship of our own who should receive our little acts of kindness in times of distress, and so far as the present city administration is concerned, there will be no deserving man or boy without a place of shelter or a meal."Labels: charity, employment, Helping Hand, Leeds, Mayor Crittenden, parole board, Penn Valley park, workhouse December 7, 1909 HOMELESS MEN CITY'S WARDS.
Cold Weather Causes Influx -- Will Be Worked in Quarry.
The approach of winter is bringing to the city the usual influx of penniless and homeless, and the charitable institutions are beginning to realize it. Yesterday George W. Fuller, a former member of the park board and representing the municipal labor committee in an official capacity, told the park board that Saturday and Sunday night 150 men out of work and money applied to the institute for food and lodgings. Mr. Fuller suggested that the plan of last year, whereby the city and park board co-operated, be followed this year, of working the unemployed in mining rock and crushing it for road building in Penn Valley park. Single men could be fed and lodged at the institute, and men with families could be given supplies on the basis of a dollar's worth a day.
Last year the experiment cost the city $4,918, and about 90 per cent of the rock is piled up and has not been used.
W. H. Dunn, superintendent of parks, said that the idea was a good and commendable one, but the question that confronted the city was what is to be done with the unused rock quarried last year. He said that some of it could be used, but advised that if the city was going into the quarrying business again some disposition should be made of the rock on hand.
Gus Pearson, city comptroller, urged the board to take up the proposition another year.
"It segregates the man who will work from the fellow who will not," said Mr. Pearson.
"And it means that whatever the city gives the Helping Hand to care for the poor and lowly, it will get back in labor and rock," argued Mr. Fuller.
On motion of D. J. Haff the board set apart $2,000 from the West park district fund with which to pay for the rock that is to be quarried and broken at the rate of 80 cents a cubic yard.Labels: charity, employment, Helping Hand, Park board, Penn Valley park November 26, 1909 WORKHOUSE INMATES NOT SERVED TURKEY.
ROAST PORK THERE, WITH SIDE DISHES PLENTY.
Various Institutions Served Thanks- giving Dinners -- Children Had Their Fill of Chicken -- Pris- oners Not Forgotten.
The unfortunate who are in institutions and the unlucky who happened to be in jail yesterday were not overlooked Thanksgiving day. While a regular turkey and cranberry sauce dinner was not served at all places, on account of the high price of the bird, a good, wholesome, fattening meal was served, where turkey was absent.
In the holdover at police headquarters there were forty prisoners, all but five men. when noontime arrived the following was served to a surprised and hungry bunch: Turkey and cranberry sauce, real biscuits and hot cakes, baked potatoes, hot mince pie and coffee with real cream.
Out at the city workhouse there were 107 men and eighteen women prisoners to be served, too many for turkey at prevailing prices. They were all given their fill, however, of the following menu: Roast pork with dressing, baked Irish potatoes, bakes sweet potatoes, vegetable soup, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, coffee.
A real turkey dinner with cranberry, baked potatoes, celery, vegetables, pie, and coffee with genuine cream was served to the 109 prisoners in the county jail. After appetites had been appeased the men and women put in the rest of the day singing old-time hymns. It has been truthfully said that no old-time hymn can be started in the county jail but that enough voiced immediately join in to make it a success. And they always know the words and the chorus.
CHILDREN MADE HAPPY.
There were but seven children in the Detention home yesterday, but they were not overlooked. The matron saw that they were served with turkey, vegetables, mince pie, coffee, etc.
At the Salvation Army Industrial home, 1709 Walnut street, fifty-five men, and employes of the institution, sat down to Thanksgiving dinner.
"We had turkey, cranberries, potatoes, celery and other vegetables, bread and butter, mince pie, cake, coffee, candy, nuts and apples," said one of the men. "And we got all we wanted, too."
The Salvation Army proper served no Thanksgiving dinner to the poor yesterday, as it makes a specialty of its big Christmas dinner. Baskets are also given out at that time. Wednesday and yesterday baskets were sent out to a few homes where it was known food was needed.
Probably the happiest lot of diners in the entire city were the twenty little children at the Institutional church, Admiral boulevard and Holmes street. While they laughed and played, they partook of these good things: Chicken with dressing, cranberry sauce, sweet and Irish potatoes, celery, olives, salad, oysters, tea, apple pie a la mode, mints, stuffed dates and salted almonds.
DINING ROOM DECORATED.
The dining room was prettily decorated with flowers, and Miss Louise Mayers, a nurse, and Miss Mae Shelton, a deaconess, saw to the wants of the little ones. After the feast all of them took an afternoon nap, which is customary. When they awoke a special musical programme was rendered, and the children were allowed to romp and play games. Those who had space left -- and it is reported all had, as they are healthy children -- were given all the nuts candy and popcorn they could eat.
"I wist Tanksgivin' comed ever day for all th' time there is," said one rosy-cheeked but sleepy little boy when being prepared for bed last night.
Over 200 hungry men at the Helping Hand Institute yesterday were served with soup and tomatoes, escalloped oysters, roast beef, celery, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, cream turnips,cabbage stew, bread, butter, pumpkin pie and coffee.
Out at the General hospital, the convalescent patients were allowed to eat a genuine turkey dinner but those on diet had to stick to poached eggs, toast, milk and the like. A regular Thanksgiving dinner was served to the convalescent at all the hospitals yesterday.Labels: Admiral boulevard, detention home, food, general hospital, Helping Hand, Holmes street, Institutional church, jail, police headquarters, Salvation Army, thanksgiving, workhouse November 5, 1909
CITY'S UNEMPLOYED TO HAVE NEW HOME.
HELPING HAND INSTITUTE AC- QUIRES ADKINS HOTEL.
With Aid of Four Story Building 1,000 Men Can Be Cared For -- Plenty of Light, Baths -- Has Disinfecting Room. 
NEW QUARTERS AT FOURTH AND WYANDOTTE STREETS.
With the acquisition of the old Adkins hotel at the southeast corner of Fourth and Wyandotte streets, the Helping Hand Institute has solved the problem of taking care of the city's unemployed. Carpenters are now at work overhauling the four-story structure and by the beginning of cold weather it is believed that the building will be ready for occupancy.
With the old building at 408 Main street, where the main offices are located, the Helping Hand institute will be prepared to take care of more than 600 men without the least crowding. In extremely cold weather little difficulty will be experienced in caring for 1,000 men.
PRESENT HOME OF THE INSTITUTE.
But the new building will have many features not possessed by the old quarters on Main street. Plenty of light, the best of ventilation, high ceilings, a laundry, shower baths and disinfecting room will make it very little inferior to the municipal lodging house in New York city. On the north side of the building are forty-one windows which makes the light and ventilation problem easy.
INSTALLING SHOWER BATHS.
But the main feature is the shower baths and disinfecting room. On the lower floor the plumbers are at work installing baths that will accommodate twenty-five men at one time. No one will be allowed to go to bed without first taking a bath and allowing his clothes to be placed in the disinfecting room, where they will remain over night. The laundry in the basement will keep the linen clean and eventually save the institution hundreds of dollars. Particular care will be exercised in guarding against tuberculosis. Before the year is over it is hoped that a physician will examine every man who applies for a bed.
Without doubt Kansas City will have as good a system for taking care of her unemployed as any municipality in the country. It is true that many of the large cities in the East, particularly New York and Philadelphia, have larger municipal lodging houses but they suffer disadvantages. In most cities bread lines are formed and the man without employment does not feel obliged to work for a night's lodging. In Kansas City, however, the city and county have made the Helping Hand an official charity institution.
WORK IS PROVIDED.
Men are not allowed to sleep in saloons or in other public places where the conditions are not sanitary. There is no other avenue for the unemployed man but to go to the Helping Hand institute, where he is given a chance to work for his meals and lodging. The mere fact that he must work keeps the professional "moocher" from making his headquarters in Kansas City.
The credit for the acquisition of the Adkins building belongs mainly to William Volker, one of the directors of the institute. Mr. Volker clearly recognized the need of more room for the institute, and believing that the employment system is the best, he used his influence in getting the building. E. T. Brigham, superintendent of the Helping Hand, is directing the work.Labels: charity, employment, Fourth street, Helping Hand, hotels, Main street, real estate, Wyandotte street October 25, 1909 FIFTEEN SLEEP IN CHAIRS.
Helping Hand Institute's 500 Beds Not Enough for Cold Nights.
Every bed in the Helping Hand Institute was occupied at 1 o'clock yesterday morning and fifteen men, for whom the officers could find no accommodations, slept in the chairs of the assembly hall. The drop in temperature Saturday night was responsible for the large number of applicants.
Indications now are that the plan to add 600 more beds will fall through. At present there are accommodations for 500 men. The officers expected to double the number of beds. The officers had gone as far as to order some new equipment.
The building on Fourth street between Walnut and Main, owned by the city, the officers expected to get. The city, however, has refused to donate the use of this building. Consequently the plan of increasing the number of beds has been abandoned.Labels: charity, Fourth street, Helping Hand, weather October 19, 1909 MAIL HANDLERS ON STRIKE.
Places Quickly Filled by Recruits From Helping Hand.
Twenty porters employed at handling the mail bags at the Union depot quit work yesterday morning because of a change in the system of paying the men from a monthly salary, ranging from $52 to $57, to 16 cents per hour. This gives the old men, who have worked twelve hours a day, a little more than they had previously gotten, but it also acts in a measure to shorten the pay of the newer men, who work but ten hours a day. The depot company employs 175 men as porters in the baggage and mail departments.
The places of the score of men who walked out at 9 a. m. yesterday were filled a few hours later by recruits from several places in the city, principally from the Helping Hand headquarters.Labels: employment, Helping Hand, Union depot October 18, 1909 TO ADD 600 MORE BEDS.
Helping Hand Institute to Double Accommodations.
Six hundred beds will be added at the Helping Hand institute this fall to provide for the influx of unfortunates expected to come in search of work on the new Union station.
The officers of the institute are now looking for a new building. New beds and equipments have been ordered. It is expected that the new building will be ready by November 1.
The two dormitories at present will accommodate 600 men. In the winter heretofore some deserving applicants have been turned away. By doubling the number of beds, the officers expect to be able to provide for all.Labels: Helping Hand, union station October 17, 1909 PICKPOCKET SUSPECTS HELD.
Man and Woman Thought to Be No- torious Professionals.
A man and a woman, suspected of being professional pickpockets wanted in many other cities of the country, were arrested yesterday afternoon in the corridor of the First National bank on a charge of attempting to rob B. T. Hawkins, a clerk at the Helping Hand institute, who had just drawn $144 from his savings account.
The two, it is said, have been noticed for several days in the bank building, where they generally loitered without any apparent object in view. Persons who drew their money from the bank, it is charged, were "crowded" by the couple who, if opportunity offered, picked the pockets of their victims. In the opinion of Edward Boyle, inspector of detectives, the two are among the best at their trade in the country. They will be tried in the municipal court on Monday.Labels: banking, crime, Helping Hand September 14, 1909
CURTAIN RUNG DOWN ON MEXICAN ROMANCE.
MISSING HUSBAND APPEARS; SENORA HOBBS IS HAPPY.
American Street Preacher, Who Wedded Heiress, Was Driven From City, But Returns to Claim Wife and Child.
A wife's faith in her husband was vindicated yesterday when John Hobbs, a Seventh Day Baptist street preacher and incidentally a watchmaker, came to Kansas City from Dorchester, Neb., to claim his wife and child, whom he supposed to be in La Crosse, Kas., but who have been at the Helping Hand institute since August 29. Mrs. Hobbs, a pretty Mexican woman, came here in search of her husband practically in a destitute condition. Her 6-months-old babe was ill and the grief-crazed wife refused to eat or sleep during the first few days, believing her missing husband either was ill or dead.
The husband believed his wife and child were in La Crosse, where he left them, when he came to Kansas City in search of work. He traced them from the Kansas town here. Mrs. Hobbs is one of eight heirs to an estate in Mexico, said to be worth $1,000,000. During her search she refused to communicate with her relatives, or ask for financial aid.
WAS A MEXICAN ROMANCE.
"Didn't I tell you that he would find me," excitedly exclaimed the little Spanish senora over and over again to Mrs. Lila Scott, the matron, and Mrs. E. T. Brigham the assistant superintendent at the Helping Hand, when her husband with a package of letters and telegrams he had sent her, appeared at the institute.
About a year and a half ago pretty Amelia Lastra of Magdalena, Sonora, Mexico, met and fell in love with John Hobbs, an American missionary of the Seventh Day Baptist church in Mexico. Their religions differed and her family objected to the marriage but that counted for little. After the ceremony the young couple moved to another part of Mexico. While there Mrs. Hobbs learned that her father, Felippe Lastra, who owned two silver mines, was dead. Under the Mexican law the estate can not be divided until all of the heirs have given consent. Mrs. Hobbs is one of eight heirs.
Hobbs and his bride finally went to La Crosse, Kas., where the husband worked for a few weeks and then came to Kansas City where he expected to make a home for his wife and child. From that time until yesterday all trace of him was lost.
FORGOT FORWARDING ADDRESS.
When Hobbs found his wife he carried a bundle of letters. They had been sent to La Crosse, Kas., where he had gone to find out why his wife did not reply to his letters or to the telegrams he had sent her. He said he had been preaching on the streets in Kansas City and was one of the street preachers arrested the latter part of August. He said he was given hours to leave the city and as he had no money had to walk. He made his way to Dorchester, Neb., where he got work and then sent for his wife.
It developed after he had explained his absence that Mrs. Hobbs had failed to notify the postoffice in La Cross her forwarding address. The couple left for Nebraska last night.Labels: Helping Hand, immigrants, marriage, Mexico, ministers, romance August 6, 1909 LOOKING FOR MISSING MEN.
Anxious Wives of Four Appeal to Police for Assistance.
If the police do nothing else but look for missing persons the entire department would be kept busy during the next few days. Four persons were reported as missing form their homes yesterday.
George Mitchell, 2328 McGee street, left for the harvest fields June 15. His wife, who is in destitute circumstances, with two children to support, became anxious yesterday and gave the man's description to the police. She can't understand his protracted absence.
The disappearance of H. W. Rutherford, 415 West Sixth street, Kansas City, Kas., who left his home ten days ago, has worried his friends. the man is 60 years old, is gray headed and weighs 150 pounds. The police were asked to aid in the search today.
Another woman in trouble is Mrs. Julia Johnson, who is stopping at the Helping Hand. She is convinced that her husband is working at some restaurant in the North end but doesn't know where.
Mrs. W. H. Treymeyer, 3143 Summit street, is also in the same dilemma. Theymeyer is 43 years old, is six-feet two inches in height, weighs 170 pounds, has a black moustache and black hair.Labels: Helping Hand, Kansas City Kas, McGee street, missing, North end, police, Summit street July 3, 1909 HELPING HAND PLANS BATH FOR NORTH END.
Public Showers From Fire Plug Will Be Suspended Over Gutter -- Is Superintendent Brig- ham's Idea. 
The "Brigham Bath" for North End Youngsters.
Large numbers of children living in the North End have been without necessary baths for many moons. With the approach of hot weather the demand for some place where the youngsters of Little Italy and adjoining districts can get enough water to clean and cool their skins has become an imperative, and the Helping Hand institute proposes to come to the rescue with a novel device for free public baths on the street corners.
"The old swimmin' hole is a thing of the past," said E. T. Brigham, superintendent of the institute, last night. "The river is too swift for swimming and free public baths for the North End exist only in the minds of theoretical social workers, as yet, so that some substitute must be found. I have conceived the idea of putting up a half dozen public shower baths where the little ones can get their skins soaked nightly and have a great deal of pleasure besides."
Mr. Brigham has in mind a contrivance which he hopes will answer all the purposes of a miniature Atlantic city for Little Italy. An inch iron pipe will conduct the water from a city fire plug to a point seven feet over the gutter, where a "T" will be formed, the branches containing five horseshoe-shaped showers.
One of the portable baths has already been constructed and will be tried out tonight at Fourth and Locust streets.
Bathers will be expected to wear their ordinary dress, that is, a single garment, which is the mode for children in the North End. Thus the shower will serve the double purpose of a recreation and a laundry.
For years something in the line of this free, open-air public bath has been in operation at Nineteenth and McGee streets in the vicinity of the McClure flats. Nightly during the summer the children collect when the fire plug is to be turned on to flush the gutters, and stand in the stream. The stream is too strong for them to brave it for more than a second at a time, but many of them manage to get a bath which they probably would not get any other way.
"Children are naturally cleanly," said Mr. Brigham. "Although they like to get dirt upon themselves, they also like to get it off. I think the shower bath on the street corner should prove one of the most popular institutions in the North End."Labels: children, Fourth street, Helping Hand, Locust street, McGee street, Nineteenth street, North end June 18, 1909 SYSTEM OF CHARITY WORK IS CRITICIZED.
CLAIMED THERE IS NEED OF REORGANIZATION.
Manner in Which Associated Chari- ties Is Operated Doesn't Meet With Approval of Some of Its Members.
Criticism of the manner in which the Associated Charities of Kansas City is being operated at the present time, and an appeal for reorganization, were voiced at a meeting of the Men's club at St. Paul's Episcopal church last night. The heads of the three charities, J. C. Chafin of the Franklin institute, E. T. Brigham of the Helping Hand and the Rev. Edwin Woodruff, in charge of the institutional work of Grace Hall, spoke.
The demand for an efficient organization among the charities of the city was made. It was pointed out, particularly by Messrs. Chafin and Woodruff, and strongly seconded by Dr. John Punton that the present organization was an associated charity in name only.
"There is in charge of the Associated Charities," said Mr. Woodruff, "a man who has many worthy qualities, but his interests are with the Providence Associated, of which he is secretary."
NEED OF LOCAL CHARITIES.
Mr. Chafin said that the most urgent need among the charitable institutions of Kansas City today is a competent Associated Charities.
"The secretary of the present association does not give the attention that he should to that part of his work," said Mr. Chafin. "We have not dared to say anything about it for fear of complications, and I want you men to understand that we have gone further in this matter tonight than we have dared go before. It has been done with the hope that you as a body will take some action in the matter."
Dr. Punton spoke for a reorganization of the present Associated Charities, though he did not refer to the present secretary.
The Men's Club gave the speakers to understand that it would take action in the matter forthwith.
The meeting was arranged so that the work of the Helping Hand, Franklin Institute and Grace Hall might be put before the churchman.
Referring to recent criticism of the Helping Hand, Mr. Woodruff said:
NOT FOR FASTIDIOUS MEN.
"I have been to the Helping Hand and have eaten there. It seems to me that the institution is very well managed and organized. It is a peculiar fact that this criticism comes in summer time when the bums can sleep in the parks, under the trees. In the winter time they all flock to the institution for shelter. It is true that you and I would not choose to sleep at the Helping Hand. Nor does any millionaire tramp have to live in the North End."
The Rev. Mr. Ritchie of St. Paul's church further defended the Helping Hand:
"I have stood in front of the Helping Hand and watched the men come in. They carry an odor about their persons which would not please fastidious men, that is true. But fastidious men need not go there. The work of the Helping Hand is an admirable one, deserving of much credit."Labels: Associated Charities, charity, Franklin institute, Helping Hand, ministers, organizations June 13, 1909 CAN'T USE NELSON BUILDING.
Helping Hand Committee, Looking for Location, find it Unavailable.
After a thorough inspection of the Nelson building, Missouri avenue and Main street, the committee from the Helping Hand institute passed unfavorably upon it for the institute's use.
George W. Fuller, one of the committee, said last night:
"We found the Nelson building of such a style of construction as to render it unavailable for our use. The executive board of the Helping Hand institute muss pass upon the matter as yet, but our report will be an unfavorable one.
"There are two or three other places which we have in view for a new location, but there is nothing definite about them as yet. We are very anxious to get the Pacific house, Fourth and Delaware streets, but we have been unable to do so."Labels: Delaware street, Fourth street, Helping Hand, Main street, Missouri avenue June 11, 1909 WILL SEEK A NEW HOME.
Helping Hand Institute Finds Head- quarters Inadequate.
Believing that its present home is inadequate, the Helping Hand institute h as decided to move from the location at 408-10 Main street. This afternoon a committee will visit the new Nelson building at Missouri avenue and Main street with a view to finding accommodations there.
The property now occupied by the institute is owned by it through the building numbered 410 Main street carries an indebtedness of $4,000.
The conditions which make a change advisable were pointed out by Edward A. Brown of Denver, who slept at Kansas City's municipal lodging house one night not long since. His criticisms caused a thorough investigation, which resulted in a desire to change to a more advantageous building, and still remain within the financial resources of the institution.
The committee which will visit the Nelson building is composed of G. W. Fuller, Dr. John Punton, C. D. Mill and E. T. Brigham.Labels: Denver, Helping Hand, Main street, Missouri avenue June 8, 1909 SAYS "HELPING HAND" DOESN'T HELP POOR.
WEALTHY CITIZEN OF DENVER MAKES INSPECTION.
Edwin A. Brown Tells of Treatment He Received at Charitable Ini- stitution -- Claims Place is Dirty.
As a consequence of one night spent at the Helping Hand, not as a matter of necessity, but because the housing of the unemployed is his fad, Edwin A. Brown, a wealthy citizen of Denver, called upon Mayor Crittenden yesterday, to urge the necessity of establishing a municipal lodging house along the lines of those in New York, Chicago, Buffalo and one or two other large cities.
Mr. Brown is a cousin of W. C. Brown, president of the New York Central railroad. He characterizes the Helping Hand as a monument of "what ought not to be."
One night he gave a boy in Denver a quarter, and then set set after with the mendicant to see what he did with it. The boy did pretty well, but Mr. Brown thought that two things went wrong: the boy should not have been compelled to beg, and he ought to have been provided at public expense with a good bed and a breakfast to fit him for a day's work. That was the beginning.
Then he set about seeing how other cities cared for their indigent. Mr. Brown went to Chicago. First he registered at the Auditorium Annex, got into overalls and jumper, put on a soft ulster, walked out of the hotel, checked the coat at a stand, and went to the Chicago municipal lodging house and applied for a free bed. He got it, and a god one.
From there he went to New York, asked the police to give him a free bed, and got a better one than in Chicago.
From there he went to Washington, where there is a national lodging house, once more in the jumper and the overalls, and the overalls, and foregathered in the dirtiest place he had been. He came to Kansas City, and says that here "is the monument for what ought not to be, the private lodging house that Kansas City offers as its haven for the 90 per cent of honest but unemployed men, and as many of the 10 per cent of rogues as want to get in.
Relating his experience here, Mr. Brown said:
CLEANLINESS IN NEW YORK.
"New York paid $500,000 for a lodging house for the 1,000 men and fifty women it cares for nightly. Cleanliness marks every inch of space in it. I was shown the place by the police, checked in, ushered before a doctor, examined, given a night gown that I learned was one reserved for those physically and bodily well, and then repaired to bathe. I learned afterwards that my own clothing was taken to a fumigating room and there treated.
"Others got different night gowns, and went to different wards, but before they were admitted to those wards they went to a dispensary and got medicines which they needed.
"Next morning, refreshed by wholesome sleep in a clean place, and given a good breakfast, I set out with the other 999, ready to look for and do a day's work.
"On coming to Kansas City I applied at the police headquarters for free lodging, and was told to go to the Helping Hand. There I went, and was told I would have to work for my bed and board.
" 'That I am most willing to do,' I replied, and then they took my hat as a ransom, and told me to go to a dormitory. It was dark, for somebody told me they had forty cots in the place. It smelled.
"It was not directed to be washed, nor had any of the others who were huddled in there to spread or catch disease. I could not sleep, so noisome was the atmosphere.
"I heard a boy moaning and went to see the poor chap. He was only 20, but was wracked with rheumatism and begging for relief. he had a few strips of cotton rags, which, from time to time, he took to a faucet to saturate, so he might bind his wrists.
"An attendant came through. The boy called to ask if he could get into the dispensary in the city hall, saying his pain was almost unendurable. The attendant told him that 9 o'clock next morning would be the earliest hour at which he might expect any relief.
BREAKFAST ABOMINABLE.
"I was the first to get up, anxious to get out. In the dining room was a great throng. The meat was abominable. The coffee was not worth the name, and it was without sugar or milk. The bread was indifferent, the beans, barely palatable and the potatoes a disgrace.
"After that shocking pretense at a breakfast I was told I must work two hours at the rate of 20 cents an hour, which was not teaching a poor man to be honest and fair with his fellows. I went with three others into the filthiest dormitory, not the ones I had slept in, to make up 116 beds. That number of men had slept in the place.
"In New York no bed linen is used twice without being washed. I do not go far from truth when I say that the sheets in the Kansas City Helping Hand institute have not been washed for weeks, and the blankets not since they were first put on the beds. The blankets were stiff. In the dormitory I worked my two hours and got out of that place into a bath, where I kept an attendant going for the busiest hour he ever put in. I lost my overalls and jumper, as after that trip to the Helping Hand they are not fit for even another experiment."
DEFENDS LOCAL INSTITUTION.
E. T. Brigham, superintendent of the Helping Hand, who has visited all the charitable institutions in the large Eastern cities, said last night:
"We don't claim that conditions are ideal, but we do know that we have the best system in the country. We have not the money to erect magnificent lodging houses as they have in New York, but with the help of the city we have solved the problem of ridding Kansas City of the undesirable poor.
"Men who want work are not out of employment for any length of time. Those who don't want work will leave the city when they find they have to go to work for all that they eat. The saloons and cheap lodging houses do not house men in any kind of quarters as formerly, thanks to the tenement commission. Every one is sent to the Helping Hand where they must work for the shelter and food they get.
"In New York the municipal lodging house is the finest in the country, but they have no system to make a man go to the institution. If he detests work he can go to a bread line or a cheap saloon. He lives all winter without work and others are attracted to the city.Labels: charity, Chicago, Denver, food, Helping Hand, New York, visitors April 19, 1909 LOCKED IN CAR 48 HOURS.
Boy Suffers From Hunger and Thirst on Way From New Orleans.
Stowed away in a car filled with green bananas, Martin Berger, 17 years old, was held a prisoner for forty-eight hours without food or water. Berger entered the car in New Orleans and found a place just large enough to allow him to stand in. Then the doors were locked and the train started for Kansas City.
The enforced standing exhausted Berger and he suffered from thirst. When he became hungry he searched the bunches of bananas but was unable to find fruit sufficiently ripe to eat. When the train reached Kansas City, Berger fainted as the door was opened.
The police were notified and took the young man to headquarters, where he said he was endeavoring to reach his home in New Albany, Ind. An officer took the boy to a restaurant, where he devoured four separate meals before he offered to quit. The policeman refused to buy the fifth one for him. After a rest at the Helping Hand, the young man again started out on his way home.Labels: food, Helping Hand, police, railroad, visitors February 13, 1909 ROCK QUARRY SOLVES "UNEMPLOYED" PROBLEM.
More Than 100 Men, Out of Work, Have Benefited by Scheme of Park Board.
The Helping Hand institute, assisted by the park board, has solved the "unemployed" problem of Kansas City. Since Monday more than 100 men have been busy at the rock quarry at Penn Valley park, and it is now the belief of E. T. Brigham, superintendent of the institute, that the situation is well in hand. Though the quarry is operated at a slight loss each day, he believes that in time there will be no public begging in Kansas City.
Several weeks ago, the park board agreed to take all the broken rock that the Helping Hand institute could furnish at $1 per cubic foot. A deserted quarry at the northeast corner of the park was turned over to Mr. Brigham and work began Monday.
Under ordinary circumstances the average man breaks two cubic feet of rock each day. For this he is allowed $1.60, but not in currency, which he might be tempted to spend in the North End saloons. For each box of rock he is allowed a 5-cent ticket. If he fills twenty-four boxes he is given twenty-four tickets, and these he exchanges for meal tickets which are good at three different restaurants or at the Helping Hand institute.
If he is unmarried and has no family to support he is not allowed to work until three days have elapsed, and in the meantime is allowed to look out for permanent employment. The tickets which he accumulates will afford him board and lodging for three days under ordinary circumstances.
At the quarry yesterday eighty-eight men were employed. A dozen of the more experienced were blasting rock; others were carrying the larger stones in wheel barrows to smaller piles. In the long shed which the park board constructed for use in cold weather the time keeper was busy keeping the individual accounts. Every man is furnished a pair of mittens free of charge and is entitled to go in the shed and warm his hands at the coal stove.
The extra expense is due to the number of experienced men who must be employed, Superintendent Brigham explained. One carpenter must be employed to do nothing but repair the boxes and fix hammer handles. An experienced man who understands blasting is also employed and adds to the expense bill.
"We are well pleased," Mr. Brigham said yesterday. "Thanks to the co-operation of the city, we can soon see that no one suffers in Kansas City for the lack of shelter and something to eat."Labels: employment, Helping Hand, North end, Penn Valley park January 10, 1909 THIS 'VAGRANT' HAD A JOB.
But He Lost It Because He Was Ar- rested for Loafing.
In spite of the fact that he had a job as a cook, Harry Moore appeared yesterday morning, charged with vagrancy. He was arrested Friday night by Patrolman Bryan Underwood at the Union depot. Underwood accused Moore of loafing around the depot, and testified that Moore had his hand in another man's coat pocket when arrested.
The defendant testified that he came here from Sedalia four days ago, and had been staying at the Helping Hand institute. He denied that he was a vagrant, and said that he had secured a job as cook in a hotel on Union avenue. Moore said he did not have his hand in the man's pocket, and there was no witness but the officer. The prisoner told Judge Harry G. Kyle that he had importuned the patrolman to go across the street from the depot and verify his story as to the place of the cook, but that the patrolman refused.
Judge Kyle fined Moore $50 and then gave him a stay of execution, and turned him over to the Helping Hand authorities. F. H. Ream, spiritual adviser of the institute, went to the hotel named by Moore, and the proprietor confirmed his story, and said he was compelled to engage another man yesterday in his place.Labels: Helping Hand, Judge Kyle, police, police court, Sedalia, Union depot, vagrancy January 2, 1909 TEAMSTER CRUSHED BY WAGON.
Denver Speery Is Killed at the Help- ing Hand Quarry.
While driving a wagon loaded with rock from the rock quarry of the Helping Hand institute, Highland and Lexington avenue, at 5 o'clock yesterday afternoon, Denver Speery, 19 years old, 711 Locust street, fell from the wagon and was killed by the wheels running over him. He dropped the reins and leaned forward to pick them up, and lost his balance. He was killed instantly.Labels: accident, death, Helping Hand, Highland avenue, Lexington avenue, Locust street, teamsters December 27, 1908 KIDS TRY TO REPEAT AT THE GIFT GIVING.
More Presents From Mayor's Christmas Tree.
It was announced in yesterday's Journal that about 700 children had failed to get a present at the mayor's Christmas tree in Convention hall on Christmas, and that tickets had been given them to return Saturday at 2 p. m., when sacks would be given them. About noon a telephone message was sent to police headquarters that over 2,500 boys were massed at the hall and police were asked for to keep order.
A great many of the policemen who were sent had been on duty there the day before and they recognized scores of boys whom they had seen get a package on Christmas day. When the kids were asked what they were doing there they answered, "We are after what we kin git that's what we're here fer." That class of repeaters were put out of line and only those who had tickets were admitted. With all of that care the little sharpers managed to get in on the second day's festivities.
After the packages fell short Christmas day -- on account of so many children from the outside which were not counted on -- Captain J. F. Pelletier, head of the purchasing committee,, went that evening and bought 1,000 more substantial toys and candy, nuts and fruit to go in the bags. Early yesterday morning, in response to a notice in The Journal, about twenty of the tired women who had worked so hard all week, reported at the hall and when the gifts arrived began work. All was in readiness at 3 p. m., but there was no crowding or jamming in the hall, as only those with tickets were admitted.
J. C. Chafin of the Franklin institute arrived at the hall soon after the long line of boys had been formed. As he walked up the line many of them ducked out, hid their faces and ran to the end of the line and got in again.
"Every child from my district was here yesterday," he said as he came in the hall. "They all got something, for I saw them. They are all outside again."
E. T. Bringham, superintendent of the Helping Hand institute, recognized many familiar faces from the North End which he had seen in the lines with sacks on Christmas day.
Many women came yesterday with one ticket and from two and a half dozen children. They wanted one ticket to admit them all. They swore that they had been overlooked, but when the little fellows were taken aside -- those little ones who know only the truth -- they would tell just what they had got when they were there the day before.
One woman with one little girl and one ticket was admitted. "I have four at home with the whooping cough. I want a bundle for them." She was given four extra bundles, appropriate for the sick ones and asked where she lived. "Over in Armourdale," she said, "and I want one of them whips for each one of them, and one of them tops that dance, and one of anything else you've got." She was given a street car ticket for her little girl and told to try and be satisfied with her five packages. She was mad and showed it by what she said in the most spiteful manner.
Two small boys who had succeeded in washing the stamp from their hands Christmas day in time to get back to the hall and get tickets of admission to yesterday's event, were heard to say after they examined their sacks, "Huh, dis is better'n we got yesterday, ain't it?"
Most of those who were admitted on tickets yesterday and who got sacks were of the very deserving kind. The were of the more timid ones who had been crowded out Christmas day and their joy was depicted in their faces as they marched happily away, bundles in arms. Between 500 and 700 packages were given out yesterday on tickets. The rest were put aside and will be sent out to the homes where there are sick children who could not get to the hall.Labels: Argentine, charity, children, Convention Hall, Franklin institute, Helping Hand, holidays, North end, police, police headquarters, toys December 22, 1908
POLICE BREAK INTO AN INDIAN ROMANCE.
ELOPING COUPLE FROM PRYOR CREEK ARRESTED HERE.
The Girl Declares She Is 18, and That Her Father Wants Her Single So He Can Use Her Land.
Young hopes were blighted and an elopement nipped in the bud late yesterday afternoon, when a telegram was received at Central police station from Sheriff L. S. Dallas of Mayes county, Okla., asking that Dora Fair, a quarter-blood Cherokee Indian lass, and Louis Rodgers, said to be part negro and part Indian, be held until further notice.
The couple were arrested by detectives in the Union depot the moment they alighted from the northbound train. The girl was dressed in a blue serge dress. Because of an extraordinary shortness of her skirt she appeared much younger than 18, which she gave as her age. She was pretty, too, and an abundance of dark hair hung below her waist. Rodgers also looked the typical half-breed Indian.
Miss Fair and her lover were taken to police headquarters, the girl being placed in the detention room, Rodgers getting an iron-bound den in the basement.
"It's all a mistake and it's cruel to keep us from getting married when we have gone to such trouble to get here where we supposed no one would look for us," sobbed Dora to Police Matron Joanna Moran last night. "I am sure it was my father who sent the telegram. He never wanted me to get married at all, he never did. My mother, who was a pure-blooded Cherokee, ran away from us when I was a baby and father married again. He always liked me. I own the land he farms, or tries to farm, near Pryor Creek.
PACKED UP AND SKIPPED.
"I have known Louis since I was a little girl and we had grown very fond of each other before he came back from the West this last time. He used to work for father, but they had a disagreement several months ago so Louis skipped out for Montana.
"Several times I told father I loved Louis and wanted to marry, but all I got for my pains was advice not to marry. He always tried to joke me out of the notion. When I saw he never would be serious about my relations to Louis, we packed up our duds and skipped.
"The plan was to come to Kansas City first, get married and then go to Montana to the beet fields where working men like Louis can get good wages, or about $75 a month. That would have been enough to support us with the rent off my farm and the $600 Louis had saved.
"But my father was very angry, as we knew he would be, when he heard about our running away. When he is out of patience he will say and do anything, so in order to stop us I guess he sent word to the officers here that Louis was a negro with kinky hair and I was only 16 years old, which is wrong. Louis is brother to my father's wife, or my step-mother, and there is no negro blood in him. I was 18 last January 15."
HE'S AN HONEST LAD.
Before the Fair girl was taken to the detention room at the station she was kept for several hours at the Helping Hand institute. She cried continually and would not be pacified.
"I want to find Louis!" she kept crying. "We were to be married today and it is getting late. He must be waiting for me somewhere. What will he think!"
Rodgers was called from his cell to be examined by Police Captain Walter Whitsett last night. He told a straight story. corresponding in every particular to that of his sweetheart. When he was returned to the cell the captain said he thought the boy was a good worker and honest and intended to marry the girl all right and would have done so if left alone yesterday.
According to Rodgers his father and mother were both fullblooded Cherokee Indians.
Sheriff Dallas is expected to appear at Central police station sometime this afternoon. It is thought extradition papers will not be necessary.Labels: Captain Whitsett, Central station, Helping Hand, Native Americans, oklahoma, police matron, romance, telegram December 22, 1908 FREE TICKETS FOR ALL TO THE GRAND TOMORROW.
A. Judah's Gift to the Children Will Be Distrubted From Different Charities Today.
Manager A. Judah of the Grand has invited the poor children of the city to a matinee performance by Corinne and her company tomorrow afternoon. The entertainment is being given in connection with the Christmas tree, and Manager Judah promises a surprise for the little ones who will be his guests for the afternoon. Admission will be by ticket, and the distribution of tickets will begin today, in charge of the following charitable organizations:
Associated Charities, 1115 Charlotte street (will also distribute tickets among colored population); Institutional church, Admiral boulevard and Holmes street; Helping Hand, 408 Main street; Franklin institute, Nineteenth and McGee streets; Grace hall, 415 West Thirteenth street; Humane Society, city hall, second floor; United Jewish Charities, 1702 Locust street; Italian Charities, offices with Associated Charities; juvenile court, county court house; Bethel mission, 43 North First street, Kansas City, Kas; Catholic Ladies' Aid Society, Eighth and Cherry, St. Patrick's hall.Labels: A Judah, Associated Charities, charity, Cherry street, children, city hall, Eighth street, Franklin institute, Helping Hand, Humane Society, Institutional church, Jews, juvenile court, Main street, theater October 24, 1908 WERE WRAPPED IN BEDDING.
East Bottoms People Appeared in Court Without Clothing.
More destitute than any family which has been in the juvenile court for months, the Akes family from the East Bottoms appeared there yesterday. So scant was the clothing for the family that some of the members of it were wrapped up in quilts and old sweaters. They told the judge that there was four feet of water in their home at Michigan and Guinotte avenues. The case was one for the Helping Hand, where the Akes were taken so that they could be fitted out with clothing.Labels: clothing, East bottoms, Guinotte avenue, Helping Hand, juvenile court, Michigan avenue October 17, 1908 CARES FOR AN AGED WANDERER.
Joseph Belile, 98 Years Old, Is Lodged at Helping Hand.
A man who lacks but two years of crossing the century age mark was housed at the Helping Hand Institute last night. The officials at the Union depot found the old man wandering about the station and took charge of him. He is nearly blind.
To F. H. Ream at the Helping Hand the wanderer gave the name of Joseph Belile. He is French-Canadian and hard to understand. When questioned he puts his hand to his head and says: "Stop, you make my head hurt."
No one appeared to know how the centenarian came to be here until he was searched late last night and papers of explanation were found. On the back of a Wabash envelope was written: "Ticket to Kansas City enclosed." On a slip of paper with a Danville, Ill., heading was written: "Destination Liberal, Kas. -- J. Belile."
It is now believed that the aged man is the subject of charity and that some organization in Danville swent him here. The matter of sending him on further will be taken up as soon as it can be learned if Mr. Belile has any one in Liberal, Kas., who will care for him.Labels: Helping Hand, Seniors, Union depot, visual impairment August 31, 1908 MOTHER IS WON BY BABY'S SMILE
YOUNG WOMAN WAS ABOUT TO DESERT UNWELCOME CHILD.
ONCE SHE RAN AWAY FROM IT
BUT EMERGENCY HOSPITAL DOC- TORS BROUGHT HER BACK.
She Concluded to Face the World and Strive for the Mite, When It Looked Up at Her and Laughed.
Late yesterday afternoon two women applied to Mrs. Lizzie Burns, police matron, for aid in disposing of a baby boy, which the mother said was just 11 days old. She said the child was hers and that she wished to give it away, as she could not take the tiny fellow to her Southern Missouri home. The woman with her said she was a sister-in-law.
Mrs. Burns told the women to go to the emergency hospital and ask for the nurse, Mrs. Ralph A. Shiras, who would direct them to the Helping Hand institute, where they were to remain until this morning, when arrangements for the final disposition of the youngster were to be made. The women obeyed her instructions as to the first part. They found Mrs. Shiras and told her their mission.
Now, Mrs. Shiras is a woman possessed of strong motherly instinct. Her first move was to grab the baby and begin to fondle it. She did not notice the sister-in-law as she walked into the hallway, and, beckoning to the young mother, said: "Mabel, come here a minute."
Nor did she see the two women walk hurriedly out of the hospital and begin to make tracks toward Fifth and Walnut streets. She was engrossed in trying to make the baby laugh by "dimpling" its chin. When she turned and said, "Come on now, I'll show you the way," she found herself with a baby on her hands.
THEY PURSUED HER.
An alarm was sounded and a "posse" was immediately formed form a squad of doctors and board of health inspectors. The chase was soon over, as the two women were captured at Fifth and Walnut streets just as they were about to board a car. They were returned and Mrs. Shiras headed the procession to the Helping Hand.
There the women refused to give their names. The young mother told of her shame and said that was the reason she wanted to desert her helpless infant. All the time she was talking she held the tiny bundle in her arms. The matron at the institute and Mrs. Shiras were trying to persuade her to keep her baby, work for it and rear it herself.
The young mother demurred. When it seemed she was about determined to give the offspring away, the little fellow looked up into her face and actually crooned, as a broad smile overspread his face. The mother looked down at her smiling child. A light not seen before came into her eyes, still suffused with tears, and she burst forth afresh.
"I'LL KEEP HIM."
"I'll keep him and bear my burden," she said.
"I know I'd never desert a baby smart enough to laugh like that when only 11 days old," said the white-haired matron. "That child knows its mother right now. Yes he does."
Then there was a season of billing and cooing as the baby was passed from one woman to another, while the admiring mother looked on through her glistening eyes. The sister-in-law was then taken in tow and shown her duty. The outcome of it was that a slender arm slipped about the young mother's waist as "Mabel, you can go home with me. You'll not have to bear your burden alone," was whispered in her ear.
Probably a Missouri Pacific train never carried two happier women than did the one bound for Joplin last night. They took turns about fondling a little baby, who occasionally looked at the smiling face of one of them and smiled back as if he knew his unfortunate young mother, but was by no means ashamed of her.
"She seen her duty and she done it," said a policeman after the curtain had rung down.Labels: children, custody, emergency hospital, Fifth street, Helping Hand, nurses, police matron, railroad, visitors, Walnut Street July 10, 1908 HE WAS HUNGRY FOR THE COTTON FIELDS.
So Dennis Kane, 93 Years Old, Started to Walk From Chicago to Louisiana.
Dennis Kane, aged 93, who in six weeks had walked the entire distance from Chicago, arrived at the Helping Hand yesterday. Bound for Veanvior, La., where he will re-enter the Confederate Soldiers' home, he will again take the road this morning, and expects to have arrived at his destination within five weeks.
During the war Dennis Kane, then in his prime, served with a Confederate company and participated in several leading battles. While the war was in progress he became acquainted with and married one of the prominent women of New Orleans, who died within a year. At the close of the war he entered into the plantation business and for a time prospered Finally ill fortune overtook him and the business was lost.
Without funds the former plantation owner was compelled to seek employment in the capacity of an ordinary laborer of a man whom he had previously employed and trained. Finally this plantation was sold, its owner going North, Dennis Kane went to look for a job elsewhere. Years passed, and finally Kane made application and was admitted to the Confederate home at Veanvoir.
While in this home he heard from his former employe, former employer and friend. He was in Chicago and invited Dennis to come and spend the balance of his days with him. This invitation was accepted, and last February the two old friends were reunited.
Al went well until the death of the friend two months ago, and, although his family endeavored to persuade Dennis to stay with them always, he refused, saying he intended returning to the South. Without funds, therefore, he left them and started afoot across the breadth of the country for the scenes of his boyhood.
"I attribute my health to three things," said Dennis, speaking of himself yesterday. "First, I have never drunk liquor; second, I have never used tobacco, and third, because I believe in Christ and trust Him. There is nothing else to tell," said he. "I am going home and am sure to get there. I am well and strong. I can walk well and will be glad when I arrive once more where I can get a whiff of the cotton fields."Labels: Chicago, Civil War, Helping Hand, New Orleans, Seniors, veterans, visitors July 7, 1908 DOCTOR OUT OF FUNDS APPLIES TO HELPING HAND.
Works for Food and Lodging for Him- self and Dog Until Money From Home Comes.
When he walked into the Helping Hand institute Saturday afternoon he was leading a bull dog. He was dressed in the latest fashion and his shoes were of patent leather. The clerk thought the visitor was there merely as a spectator and was somewhat astonished when he walked up to the desk, paid his 10 cents for a bed and asked: "Is there any place here that I may keep my dog?"
There was a place in the cellar and the dog was fed and put to bed at regulation time, 9 p. m. Sunday the well dressed man announced that he was "broke" and said he would have to work for what he got thereafter There was no work allowed there on Sunday, of course, but yesterday morning the man was up bright and early ready for manual labor. He was given a job washing windows on the second floor and he did his work well, they say. Twice he left his ladder suddenly and went down stairs. On his third trip interest caused E. T. Brigham, superintendent, to follow him. The man was at the telephone and Mr Brigham heard this:
"Hello, Baltimore hotel, well, has that telegram for Dr. Blank come yet?" Seven times the well dressed man visited the telephone and just at 3:15 p. m. he was rewarded. His telegram was there, he was informed. With a broad smile the man called up the New England National bank. When he finished talking he turned and said:
"Well, I guess I'll go back to the Baltimore now. I am on my way from Billings, Mont., to Galveston, Tex., and got broke here. Knowing no one here I could not ask for credit. I was glad to find a place where I could get my board and room. I'll be glad to pay you now for your trouble."
"You worked, and worked well, for what you got," he was told.
Leading the bull dog the man left the institution yesterday afternoon. The bank informed him that it was too late for him to get his money, but that he could have it this morning. The telegram gave him entree into the Baltimore again, however, and he remained there last night This morning the man, who is a Billings, Mon., dentist, will leave for Galveston.Labels: animals, banking, dentists, Helping Hand, Hotel Baltimore, hotels, telegram, visitors June 30, 1908 TWO MEN TAKE CARBOLIC ACID.
One Because He's Asked to Pay a Debt; Other's Reason Unknown.
Roy Kirk, 31 years old, a contracting plasterer, who gave his residence as 407 West Fourteenth street, was taken to the emergency hospital about 5 o'clock last evening to be treated for carbolic acid poisoning. When Dr. J. P. Neal examined Kirk he found that there was more of the acid on his face than inside the mouth. Joseph Blake and Kirk, who had been friends for a long time, had quarreled because Blake had asked Kirk to pay a debt. They entered a saloon at 903 Wyandotte street and drank together. Then Kirk is said to have left suddenly and returned with an ounce of carbolic acid.
"If you don't forgive me for what I've done I'll call it all off and take this," he said.
Then Kirk attempted to drink the acid. Blake struck the bottle from his hand, spilling the acid over Kirk's face.
About 9 o'clock last night an old man was found breathing heavily in a bunk at the Helping Hand Institute, 406 Main street. Dr. J. P. Neal was called from the emergency hospital across the street. Strong antidotes were at once administered and after an hour's hard work the old man was declared out of danger. By his bunk was found a bottle that had contained carbolic acid. On the books of the institution the old man was registered as Jeff Smith but that is not thought to be correct. The man's throat was so badly corroded that last night he was not able to talk.Labels: doctors, emergency hospital, Fourteenth street, Helping Hand, Main street, poison, saloon, Suicide, Wyandotte street May 31, 1908 RIVAL PREACHERS IN A ROW.
"Pope of the North End" Arrested on Woman's Complaint.
Two Christian factions got into a row on the corner of Fourth and Main streets last night. Enon Daley, known as the "Pope of the North End," and Mary A. Quick, an individual evangelist, represented the two factions. Daley is a Catholic and Mary Quick is non-sectarian. Consequently the two were preaching contrary doctrines withing twenty feet of each other and something had to happen. Daley is blessed with a loud bass voice and his preaching and arguments sufficed to drown the weaker voice of his opponent.
The woman, outdone completely, complained of Daley and asked him to stop, according to her statement At which request Daley became indignant, and the woman called a passing officer and had Daley arrested.
The police have known Daley two or three years and this is the first offense with which the old man has been charged. Consequently they were lenient with him and let him out with only his signature for appearance in police court Monday morning.
Daley lives at the Helping Hand institute and Mary Quick lives at 131 West Sixth street. She promised to be on hand Monday morning to prosecute her rival.Labels: Fourth street, Helping Hand, Main street, ministers, North end, Sixth street May 15, 1908 HE SAYS POLICE BEAT HIM WITHOUT CAUSE.
Another Charge of Brutality Against Central Station Officers -- Case May Be Investigated.
Geoge Horter, a laborer living at 408 Main street, was fined $500 in police court yesterday after Charles Winters, another laborer, had identified him as being one of two men who "strong armed" him at Third and Grand avenue about midnight and took $14 away from him.
Horter said he knew F. H. Ream of the Helping Hand who would testify to his good character. He also said that he could prove an alibi. Mr. Ream, who was in court, got the case continued until today when he expects to produce evidence that will clear Horter. Horter says he was knocked down by the police when arrested and was again slugged at the sergent's desk. Sensational testimony is expected to develop in the case. Horter had but $1.37 when arrested.
"I will prove that Horter was with W. F. Chappell, George Schaeffer and John Ward from 6 p. m. until seven minutes of 1 o'clock," said Mr. Ream. "Walter Corner, the day clerk at 408 Main, was with all of them from 11 p. m. until the latter time. The man who was robbed, while he positively identified Horter in court, I will prove was drunk when he had Horter arrested and and was unable to identify anybody. I will also prove that he said he was robbed by two negroes, not white men. He told the police that he lost $11, and in court said it was $14.
"I have known Horter since February 22. He is a quiet, inoffensive boy and has worked for several responsible families here, all of whom made good reports about him. Horter tells me that he was slugged twice by the police -- for what I don't know. He said he was knocked down by a patrolman when arrested. He knows that policeman's name. He also says he was knocked nearly unconscious at the sergeant's desk. He does not know the officer's name, but will point him out if he is in court. If the officer is not I intend to find out who slugged this boy and for what. That will not be an end to the matter, either."Labels: Central station, Helping Hand, laborer, police, violence April 27, 1908 ARE FEW UNEMPLOYED NOW.
Helping Hand Institute Reports Hard Times Nearly Over.
"Our daily statistics show that the army of the unemployed is constantly growing fewer in numbers," said E. T. Brigham of the Helping Hand institute last night. "While since last November we have helped more able bodied men than we have in any other six months of our history, the number is fast getting back to normal. Spring work is opening up and men who are able to labor are having no trouble in finding something to do.
"Until the last winter, we have been handling fewer able bodied men each year, during a period covering six years. All our other classes increased, but this class constantly decreased.
"In the last six months, out of 3,000 cases, approximately a third have been men who were able and anxious to work if they could have found jobs. They were the first to be thrown out of work at the mention of the word 'panic,' and now the fact that they area ll going back to their old places, or others just as good, is almost a sure indication of the brightness of the business outlook.
"From what we can tell from here, and the Helping Hand is one of the busiest employment agencies in town, there is going to be no lack of spring work. We are getting almost as many calls for men as we can fill."Labels: employment, Helping Hand April 24, 1908 VISITED BY HIS COUNTRYMEN.
Ekim Milcheff of Razgad, Villaye Dikilitash, Finds Friends.
Ekim Milcheff, Razgad, Villaye Dikilitash, Bulgaria. That is the full name and home address of the unfortunate Bulgarian who has been in the general hospital since April 12, unable to tell anything of himself. His English vocabulary consisted of "Arkansas, sawmill" and "me much sick." His left hand had been badly injured, evidently in a sawmill, and the index and second fingers had to be amputated.
F. H. Ream, spiritual director of the Helping Hand, interested himself in the man and endeavored to talk to him. Mr. Ream speaks several languages, but was unable to make himself understood with any of them. Yesterday morning the unfortunate man's story was published, and Mr. Ream requested that some Bulgarian go and see him. Several called upon the injured man at the general hospital yesterday, and the delight of the lonely man at being able to talk with a countryman was unbounded.
They learned that Milcheff has a wife Nidela Milcheff, at home in the little Bulgarian village. His next best friend in this country -- he has no relatives here -- is Netko Ruseff of Leslie, Ark. It was learned that Milcheff had been working at a sawmill forty-six miles from Leslie, Ark., called Camp No. 7. He did not know the name of the firm. The hospital authorities will correspond with Ruseff and his Bulgarian friends said they would notify his wife. His unfortunate condition may also be taken up with the nearest Bulgarian consul.
Milcheff, after his injury, was subjected to some rude surgery. He must have been shipped here, for he was found at Union depot. The circular saw had torn its way through his left hand, between the second and third fingers, almost into the wrist. The surgeon had tied the blood vessels with silk. He must have run out of that, as part of the man's hand had been sewed together with ordinary twine string. The hand had become badly infected and Dr. J. P. Neal, who treated him here, said that his suffering could not have been told in mere words.Labels: accident, Arkansas, doctors, general hospital, Helping Hand, immigrants, Union depot April 23, 1908 ONLY FLOWERS CAN SPEAK TO STRANGER.
MAN THOUGHT TO BE BUL- GARIAN LIES IN HOSPITAL.
No One Has Been Found Who Can Talk With Him and Learn His Home -- Bouquet Brings Tears.
If any one in Kansas City can talk the Bulgarian language, he will do an act of charity if he will call upon F. H. Ream, religious director of the Helping Hand institute, and assist him in learning the identity of a Bulgarian now at the general hospital.
The unfortunate man has been tried with Polish, Slav, Russian, German and many other European tongues, but to all he is dumb. He has indicated that he can speak Bulgarian. On April 12 the man was found at the Union depot, suffering from a badly injured left hand. He was taken to the general hospital, where it was discovered that a circular saw had ploughed its way into his left hand between the second and ring fingers. It became necessary to amputate both the index and second fingers. The saw tore through almost to the man's wrist.
All day long the poor fellow sits in his ward, unable to say a thing but "Arkansas," "sawmill" and "me much sick," when spoken to.
While in the flower store of Miss J. E. Murray yesterday, Ream told the story of the melancholy Bulgarian with the injured hand.
"So far from home," he said, "badly injured, and can't speak a word of English, but the few he says all the time."
"I wonder if flowers could talk to him," Miss Murray said.
"They speak to all nations alike," said Ream, "especially to the unfortunate."
Miss Murray fixed up a bouquet f roses, bright red American Beauties, carnations of all shades and interspersed them with violets. She told Ream to take them to the injured man. He did, returning to the hospital to do so.
"It was the most pathetic scene I ever witnessed," said Ream last night. "When I went in I walked up and laid the bouquet in the man's good hand. Without looking up he said, 'Me much sick,' but when he felt the damp flowers he grasped the stems and looked up as if to say some mistake has been made. I indicated that the flower were for him and said so in Polish. His face flushed, bowed among the flowers. 'Me? Me?' he asked, excitedly, still clinging to the blossoms. I had to indicate again that they were all for him.
"Once more the poor fellow buried his face among the flowers," concluded Ream, "but when he lifted his head, big tears were streaming down his cheeks. The flowers had spoken to him."
The unfortunate is between 39 and 45 years old. From signs made by him, the nurse, who has been attending him, believes that he has two daughters somewhere. He will point to her, hold up two fingers and then pat his own breast.
It is believed that the man was injured at a sawmill somewhere in Arkansas and was sent into Kansas City to be cared for by the city.
"If I can find someone who can talk to him," said Ream, "I think we will learn where his people are."Labels: accident, Arkansas, flowers, general hospital, Helping Hand, immigrants, nurses, retailers, Union depot April 2, 1908 SUDDEN DEATH OF TWO MEN.
One Is an Unknown Laborer, the Other a Negro.
An unknown man, apparently about 65 years old, died yesterday afternoon shortly after 4 o'clock while cleaning a yard at Ninth street and Ann avenue, Kansas City, Kas. He had been employed to clean up the lawn and was busily engaged at his work when he suddnely staggered and fell. The police authorities were immediately notified, but before a physician could reach him he was dead. His death is attributed to heart disease. His identity is not known by the local authorities. It was ascertained alst night that he had been stopping at the Helping Hand institute in Kansas City, Mo., for some time past and had been doing odd jobs of yard cleaning for residents of this city.
Henry Smith, a negro, living at Indian Springs, just west of Kansas City, Kas., dropped dead yesterday while walking along the Reidy road. He had been suffering from tuberculosis for several years and his sudden death is attributed to hemmorrage of the lungs. When he left hsi home a few hours prior to his death he was feeling as well as usual, but was stricken suddenly and died before any of the people residing in the neighborhood could reach him.Labels: death, Helping Hand, Kansas City Kas, laborer, Reidy road March 5, 1908 AS THE BARKEEP TOLD IT.
Did Not Clearly Impress the Court With His Innocence.
C. H. Foley, bartender, and D. O. Elmers, porter at the saloon of John M. Lynch, 426 Main street, were fined $50 each in police court yesterday or disturbing the peace of George W. Ellingwood. Ellingwood testified that on last Saturday night he was roughly handled in the saloon and relieved of nearly $5, a ticket to Boston, Mass., and his trunk check.
"I ordered drinks for myself and a couple of friends," the complainant testified. "Foley insisted that I ordered drinks for the ho use, which came to $2.80. He took a $5 bill from me, took out the $2.80 and laid the change on the bar. Just then I was pounced upon by a dozen or more men, including the porter. I was thrown to the floor and my clothes torn in a search for more money, they having got all that was on the bar. My ticket to Boston and trunk check were also stolen."
"De moke orders drinks fer de house," said the barkeep. "When I says, '$2.80, please, he refuses to cough up. He has his leather in his mit. I cops dat, gloms de finif an' lays $2.20 on de bar. I don't allow no cheap screw to come in me place and make a lobster out en me -- see!"
It was after this exhibition that Judge Kyle assessed a fine of $50 each against the defendants. Elmers is a Mexican. The cases were appealed to the criminal court, bonds being furnished almost immediately.
F. H. Ream spiritual director at the Helping Hand, which is near Lynch's saloon, took a deep interest in the case and furnished two eye witnesses to the attack on Ellingwood. Mr. Ream said later that he intended taking the matter before the police board. Ellingwood was a janitor at the Franklin Institute. He longed to go home to Boston. He saved his money and his brother furnished the balance to buy a ticket home. The ticket has never been recovered.Labels: Boston, Helping Hand, immigrants, Judge Kyle, Main street, police court, saloon |
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