THEY'RE SLEEPING ON CHAIRS.
Laborers Out of Employment Pack
the Helping Hand.
"There are more people in the North End than ever before at this season," said E. T. Brigham, superintendent of the Helping Hand Institute, last night. Mr. Brigham was racking his ingenuity to find a means of crowding three men into places where there was but room for two, and that crowded. He had just converted three chairs into a temporary bed for a man fresh from the rock pile, and was pausing to explain why the place was so crowded.
"You see, it's the financial situation plus cold weather," he continued. "Most of our guests will not dare the rigors of our system, which requires a man to saw cordwood or break rocks for a bed, as long as the weather will permit sleeping outside, or there are good jobs waiting for them. The financial stringency has thrown many men out of employment. Particularly is this true of railroad laborers. And so they come to us for beds. We are so crowded we have to let many sleep upon chairs or the floor."
"Then, too, demands for men through our employment bureau have fallen off 50 per cent since last month, while demands for positions have increased 100 per cent. Singularly enough, we have men looking for jobs with checks issued by their last employers they cannot get cashed."
