THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SUNDAY MORNING. FEBRUARY 15. 1914.
j ONE TIME "HOIK)" "PLANS TP
A MAN who has been a hobo,
not from choice in order to
study sociology at first hand,
but f rom stern .necessity, is
now Commissioner of Charities of
the City of New York. He is John
A. Kingsbury, and if Mayor Mltchel
had searched the country over ha
probably could not have made a
more ideal selection for that par
ticular Job.
For more than 20 years - Com
missioner Kingsbury has studied
the problem of the unemployed,
and now that he is in a position
to put some of his knowledge to
actual UBe he has planned a num
ber of reforms, some of which he
has already started to carry out.
The biggest problem that Com
missioner Kingsbury has set him
self to solve Is the giving of em
ployment to the thousands of men
out of work in New York City who
-crowd the municipal lodging house
every winter. His plan, is to es
tablish a big municipal employ
ment exchange,' a clearing house
of the unemployed, a central ex
change where the man looking for
work can, be accommodated and
where the man looking for the man
to work can find the individual he
want without loss of time.. In
his own words, the plan is to "get;
the Jobless man In touch with
the m aniens Job."
Commissioner Kingsbury is 37
years of age. After being buffeted
about the - west, where he knew
many a night how i felt to sleep L
on the "soft side of a board," as
he puts it, and where he served
his apprenticeship as a Jockey, a
blacksmith's helper, and In a dozen
other makeshift professions, he
came to New York, and in the
course of time became the general
director of the Society for Improv
ing the Condition of the Poor.
During the recent cold spell In
New York, when the municipal
lodging house was crowded beyond
Its capacity, and when the mayor
was on the verge of throwing open
the armories, the police stations,
and Madison Square Garden to. the
homeless. Commissioner Kingsbury
stepped in and cleared up the situ
ation by opening up the big recrea
tion pier at the foot of East Twenty-fourth
street. If another period
of below zero weather comes along,
the city will be prepared not only
to feed and lodge the homeless, but
to give them all employment. How
he accomplished it the commission
er told a reporter last week.
"The first Job I tackled when I
took office," he said, "was. to over
. haul the municipal lodging house.
You see, my connection with the
Society for Improving the Condi
tion of the Poor made me familiar
with what had been going on there.
Our society dealt with the home
less men and women problem and
we kept a social secretary at the
lodging house every winter. He
kept us advised of the congested
condition t that obtains there every
winter, and made recommendations
from time o time and we took
action whenever necessary. It was
natural, then, that I should have
tackled the municipal lodging house
situation right at the start.
Crowded to the Limit
"It was well that I did so, for
one of the 'severest cold spells the
city ever had came along and pub
lic attention was immediately
focused upon what the municipal
lodging house was doing for the
homeless. .Every night for nearly
a week the place was crowded to
Its limit and. provision had to be
made for the overflow. Six city
departments In all immediately co
operated. Commissioner Katherlna
B. Davis of the department of cor
rection, loaned the .necessary boats
to take care of the overflow; Dock
Commissioner Smith placed the re
creation pier at the foot of East .
Twenty-fourth street at our. dis
posal; the police commissioner
gave us all the assistance we need
ed apd offered to throw open the
station houses;: the fire commis
sioner worked out a scheme for
heating the pier, and the1 street
cleaning commissioner evolved a
plan to give employment to those
able to go to work. There prob
ably never was a time in the his
tory of the city when the homeless
were so thoroughly cared for. That
vb8 only a temporary arrange
ment, however, and now I am
working' out a plan whereby the
city will systematically- take care
of the unemployed. -:
"I realized that the congested
My Debts
I
WROTE a Bcreamlns little fare
On "Borneo and Juliet";
It brought $5. That' the aura
For which I'm now In Shakes
peare's debt.
I did a " Jabber wocky" gag;
It went the rounds a month or so.
Then retched S.60. That amount
I unto Lewis Carroll owe. 1 .
From "Danny Deever" I derived
StIU one more something- "on pa-
frade":
.50, aa per check received.
By me to Kipling should be paid.
cheerful essay a la Lamb,
t I wrote on "Pessimistic Snarls";
For this. $10, (more or less),
I should remit to genial Charles.
An Imitation of "The Bells"
X tlntlnnabulated so.
That something like $7.75
Is due from me to E. JL Poe.
Besides these mentioned, other scribes
have on my grateful purse a claim;
But till they need it worse than I
Jl owe It to them Just the, samel
fe Frederick Moxon.
John A. Kin&sbury, Now Commissioner
Knows What It Is to Sleep on
Knowledge Will Help Him
condition of the lodging house waa
due to two things, the great : num
ber of the unemployed who are
with us all the time and who are
more numerous now than ever be
fore, and the fact that people, from ;
all over the country, learning how
New York City gives food and lodg
ing to the dawn and outs, 1 flock
here every winter and ask to be
taken care of.
"I met with some peculiar tncW .
dents regarding this latter , class.
Many who roam -all over the coun
try during the . summer come to
New York to spend the winter. I
know one man .who had his fare
paid by .Buffalo authorities - to
come here and be taken care of at
the lodging house. Other cities are
glad to get rid of their homeless
by sending . them here. Another
man I know spends his summer in
Oklahoma, but he comes to this
city regularly every winter to live
at the free lodging house. He gets
hla board and lodging free, and
why shouldn't he come?
I Sleep and Work
In working out the problem of
how to care for this army of the
unemployed, I decided that two
things were necessary; to provide
better shelter and sleeping accom
modations, and to provide work for
every man who applied. The cold
spell gave an excellent opportunity
to carry out the reform right away.
Under the system, as I found it in
operation, people were taken into
the lodging', house until it was
filled, and the overflow was turned
adrift. When the regular cots
were filled the remainder slept on
the floor. First of all I had the
Twenty-fourth Street recreation pier
put into shape. Deputy Com
missioner Wright took that natter
In hand, and it was all ready for
occupancy three days after the
cold spell started. Every person
who applied was given shelter, at
.least Of course, the boats fur
nished by Commissioner Davis were
also used the very first night.
"The pier alone afforded accom
modation for 500 men, and each
man was furnished with a cot and
a blanket. Formerly they slept on
the floojrwithout blankets. I found,
stored away on Blackwell's Island,
1000 cots that were used during the
street cleaning strike in 1911, and
that hajire been idle ever sincei That
gave u$ plenty of cots for alLj Then
I required every man who applied
for shelter to take a bath. For
purely sanitary reasons, if nothing
else, tiis was necessary, for the
blankets have to be used by others.
Every fman had to take a bath be
fore g4i"g to bed, and some fought
hard against it. One man, who was
given a shower bath, will probably
never ome back. Many of the men
came pn very late, thinking that
therebjr they would escape taking a
' -v
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m7 -Iti-m-Tii i I'fiiir irmi t i iiiirn
ft, v7 ffj '
ii
tkino ca.12e ot- the
Homeless on a ferry
BOAT s V
bath, but every one - had to go
through the process.
I 'Then came the problem of fur
nishing employment. That had
never been done before, or only on
a limited scale, and I worked it out
in cooperation with Street Cleaning
Commissioner Fetherston. One aft
ernoon he showed me where he
could use 400 men cleaning up ashes,
etc. It was arranged that every
man who did the work should re
ceive a ticket entitling him to a meal
and lodging for the night. I was
' surprised to find that fully 90 per
cent of the men we sent to work did
what was asked of them, and came
m0IM- ml
I ft WWw jgfrg kP.'t ?grh?H U - - -'T$ffl
TO UK
back at night For foremen we se
lected men who had been "at the
lodging house several nights in suc
cession. Not one of these men de
serted. Of course, we gave all the
men their streetcar fare, and only 10
per cent betrayed our confidence and
didn't come back. The men were
required to do about four hours'
work.
"In addition to the 400 thus pro-,
vided for we found work for about
200 more at the stone yard on Black
well's Island. The stone yard is a
misnomer, for the men work on the
roads mostly and do fery little stone
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' v ,v.-:
colq .tucsfca;
I k. - it-KVw
Til hj c A&fSji - ?
packed like:
the Soft
Solve Big
breaking. The work, however, was
apparently too hard for the men,
tor on the second dayI92 men were
sent out and onry about 50 per cent
reported for work.! The work will
have to be graduated according to
the strength of the men. Commis
sioner Fetherston believes that a
plan can be worked out whereby the
men can sweep the streets. Of course
we will have to provide for the pos
sibility of the men making 'way with
the brooms. In the course of time
I hope to be able to provide, suit
able employment for all. It doesn't
seem quite right to; ask a barber or
a tailor to lift heavy ashcans. There
ought to be some kind of light em
ployment for those physicafly unfit
to do heavy work.' If all the men
were thus provided for, It would ma
terially lessen the number of appli
cants. I want the public to realize
that we do not Intend to make the
men do labor that they are not able
to do. " j
"I hope by next winter to have
some plan worked out which will
meet this situation In my opinion,
the only thing to do is to give these
homeless men an j opportunity to
give something for value received- It
saves their self-respect and It pro
tects the city. It is a mistake to
throw open the armories and the
police stations to these unfortunates,
when all they need is employment
or a chance to pay with their labor
for their bed and board.".
Commissioner Kingsbury added
that this plan was merely a make
shift to take care of an existing sit
uation. What, was ! urgjently needed
he said, was some complete and last
ing solution of the problem of tht
unemployed, some; such system as
of Charities
Side of a Board and that
Problems for the City. .
3
Is in use in Germany and other-continental
cities.
One of Our Big Failures
"The handling of the unemployed
is one of the big failures of this
country," he went on. "In my judg
ment the city ought to establish a
big clearing house of the unem
ployed, a sort of employment ex
change. I am not sure that it should
be an employment office, or only an
exchange for the unfortunate out-of
employment. At such an exchange
all employment agencies of all kinds
should register daily their lists of
V
civ.. -
" - V
T -V SRovn pipy. ,
in New York,
the unemployed. They should be re
quired to give certain information
also regarding places they know to
be vacant. We should obtain legis
lation, if necessary, compelling these
agencies' private and otherwise,
to register at the central exchange
the names of all those seeking em
ployment. In this way we would be
able to get employment for every
one and help out the employer at
the same time. v
"For instance, in ice-cutting time,
the ice companies need a great-many
men. A central exchange would
know' just hom many men were
wanted, and they would be able to
furnish them or tell where they could,
be found. There is always a big de
mand for waiters at various times,
and many a good man out of em
ployment now could be immediately
placed if the city' knew where the
; job was. In time it might be even
worked out so that all employers
could apply direct to the exchange
for all classes of workers.
"It would be a solution, in a meas
ure at least, of the servant problem.
If all servants were required to reg
ister at the central exchange and re
port whenever they were out of em
ployment they could be brought' into
contact "with other employers. By.
having all names of the unemployed
registered at such a central ex
change, it would be easy to strike off
duplicates, or the names of those
registered at the regular agencies,
and at all times the city would know
to a person just how many were out
of employment and what work each
person was best fitted to perform.
The same plan is carried out, on a
much Smaller scale, of course, at the
Association of Tuberculosis Clinics. -All
patients are registered at a cen
tral clearing house, and it is very
easy to keep track of them all. The
Sqcial . Service Exchange of the
Charity Organization society also
performs similar relief work.
Jobless Man and Manless Job
"There is labor enough for all, or
there ought to be, but the great
problem is to get the jobless man in
touch with the manless job. The
great value of such a co-ordination
Bcheme would be the information it
would be possible to give regarding
the unemployed. It would be like a
big laboratory for the study of this
situation. Then, there is the ques
tion of insurance for the unem
ployed. It is one of the most hope
ful things to look forward to as a
solution of the problem. Every
able-bodied man ought to be able to
work all the time, and when he is
working he should ' be able to put
something aside to help him when
be is sick. It would be a great thing
if we could develop an unemployed
insurance in the city, if not in the
state or nation. Dr. I. M. Rubinow
of the ' Department ' of Labor at
Washington, an . authority on the
subject, has advised me' that some
VGA
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1V r
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A. WEDGE OF WCETCHED
HUMANITY v '-vi
such a plan is feasible. Municipal
unemployed insurance, he told me,
is being successfully worked out in
some European cities." r
Commissioner Kingsbury has also
worked out another reform since he
has been in office. It is a plan to
look after the unidentified in hos
pitals and the morgue. His plan, as
he explained it, is to' publish a sort
of little Who's Who among the uni
dentified. He has already- issued or
ders to the superintendents of all
hospitals under his jurisdiction, and
they embrace alll except Bellevue
and Allied "Hospitals, to delegate
some responsible person to visit
each ward daily ; and find out jwho
the occupant is. A description of
the unidentified is then published. '
and when the police or the family of
a missing person requests informa
tion, the list is submitted tojikem. '
Under this arrangement, the ; Com
missioner said, it will be tjnEfcely
that there will be another case ?sim-"
flar to that of "Big Tim" SulHyatw
who remained unidentified iri a'
morgue for weeks. it
Because he had a rough time of it
when a lad, Commissioner Kings
bury feels that he can bring a ym-
that he is facing. He is of medium
height, well built, and wears a mus
tache and short beard, which cannot
hide the kindliness of his face.! He
was born in Kansas in 1876, theison
of a railroad civil engineer, jHis
father enlisted in the Civil war from
his home near Utica, won a commis
sion, and went west, where h sur
veyed railroad routes at the close ot
the war. When he was barely 1 1 '
years old, young Kingsbury found
himself in the small town of Yalrjma,
Wash., dependent upon his owrg re
sources, and he soon became a news
boy and bootblack. He rode Indian
ponies, and this brought bim in con
tact with Genrtre Needles, the villa ce
blacksmith, who owned several
horses which he was fond of racing
at the country. fairs. .
On one occasion the blacksmith,
who had taken a 'strong fancy i the
boy, had him act as jockey.. When
the race started, the horse, leaped
clear from under the boy, and young
Kingsbury decided then and there
.. . . ... .... .i
in a i ne was cut uui tui
The blacksmith still kept his friend
ship for the lad, and did his best to
give him an education at the village
schools. The boy earned needed
money by running a testing strength
machine and superintending a "hit
the nigger and you get aigar"
booth, only that Kingsbury was wise
enough to substitute for the 'nigger
head" the effigies of Grovers Cleve
land and Benjamin Harrisoft who .
were the presidential candidate that
year. F J
Then, to eke out this hit anf miss .
t J w-
telephone operator and night' clerk
and porter in the Yakima . Hotel.
From there he drifted to Tacoma
and learned the city as a district
messenger boy. From there he; went
to Seattle, and in one way and an
other, between 1894 and 1897 he got
through high school. When be was
graduated he went to work in-ja liv
ery stable. In time he got efcough
money to try for a public 'School
teachership, and his teacher's certifi-
. - Am m m nit.. fC .Alirt 9ffi
much energy. His first school .was
25 miles back in the Cascade Moun
tains, and after remaining tlfere a
year he got a larger country: school.
The third year he was made teacher
and janitor of a large school fit the
cow country of Washington here
his pupils were-cowpuncher$,fwork-ing
on their fathers' ranches,' xcept
in winter. "i
The year xouowing ne was pro
moted to principal in the Frosser
school in Seattle, where he remained
two years, until 1901. In the sum
mer he attended classes in the State
Agricultural school and took-a cor
respondence course in law. Then he
was elected superintendent of. Subur
ban' Schools in Seattle, anfi .Was in
charge of the schools in Georgetown
and Van Asselt. Then carte the
principalship of the Glendale school,
the: largest in Seattle, where ie su
pervised 16 teachers and upward of
2000 pupils for two years. In 1906,
slender and not strong physically,
young Kingsbury decided heieedcd
more education. He was ffcen . 30
years of age, and he came to Colum
bia University and entered classes in
its teachers' college and others.
Hu Start f
Homer Folks, who hid been- Com
missioner of Charities, was organiz
ing the work of the New York State
Charities Aid Association to carry on
the fight against tuberculosis, sand in
Kingsbury he found the man he
needed to assist bim. He appointed
the young Westerner secretary and
pui him in charge of the organization
work at Utica and - nearby.', tamps.
From then on Mr. Kingsbury did
valuable work in carrying j on the
fight against the white plague.
Early in his administration, Gov
ernor Sulzer appointed Mr, Kings
bury, Homer Folkscand Dr, Her
mann M. Biggs a special health com
mission, without pay, to stuy the
health laws of the state and remedy
conditions. In, December, 1910, Mr.
Kingsbury succeeded Henry Bruere
as general director of the New York
Association for Improving the Con
dition of the Poor. He reorganized
the system and methods of thje insti
tution and divided the work into two
great divisions, family welfare and
nrial welfare. He early joinid Col.
Roosevelt as a Progressive,: jbut he
has never taken a prominent part m
politics. In making him Commis
sioner of Charities, Mayorliitchel
feels that he has the right ;pan for
the nlace. . : ;5I
Aspiration
(To tlio Daughter of a Musical jHouss?
hold.) - !; t
I "WOULD not be, 1 frely ipwn.
The trombone by your, father blown;
Nor do I Ion to bs tho drum
On which your brother sroes turn-turn;
Neither would I that banjo be,
And have your mother plris on mi ,
And as for envying that flute
Tour rran'pa toots there's nothing
- tot.
But O to be tho violin a
That snuffles underneath your chin I
n