plan of action for the purpose of aiding these homeless men. To
supply them with sleeping quarters the Young Men's Christian
Association furnished the use of its basement wherein thirty beds with
bedding, loaned by the Associated Charities, were placed. Blankets
were provided by the Salvation Army Industrial Home. Funds to defray
the expenses of a night man and for breakfasts for the men were
pledged by the Urban League and the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People. The Director of the Board of Public
Safety promised the cooperation of the police by requesting the latter
to refer homeless men to the Young Men's Christian Association instead
of arresting them with the view of having them sent to the workhouse.
The Associated Charities agreed to see to it that every man who
actually could be taken care of in another community would be given
the necessary transportation, and the city promised to assist in
meeting this item of expense. In the meantime the State Employment
Bureau and the Urban League gave assurance that they would renew their
efforts to secure jobs for those in need of work.[166]

The extent to which these conditions exist is not yet definitely
known; but owing to unemployment there are many more cases of Negroes
undergoing hardships such as those to which reference has just been
made. Mr. E. K. Jones, the Executive Secretary of the National Urban
League, states that in the city of Detroit a very large number of
Negroes are unemployed and in consequence have had to appeal to the
city for relief. He is of the opinion that proportionally the Negroes
are receiving more aid than any other group, for while they constitute
a small percentage of the population of the city, they receive 37 per
cent of the total relief given. In Chicago and its vicinity, owing to
decreased production, not long ago, 70,000 Negro laborers agreed to
accept a cut in wages rather than lose their jobs. The agreement was
that they would accept a 10 per cent reduction in wages for unskilled
laborers and a 15 per cent reduction for skilled workers. Mr. Parker,
President of the American Unity Labor Union, declared then that there
were 100,000 unemployed men in Chicago and its environs.[167] Thus
here too a large number of Negroes are undoubtedly undergoing some
hardships or are being placed in positions where these will certainly
overtake them.

The fact that so many Negroes are out of work and on this account have
fall