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that he could get his people to. He demanded to sleep in them. It was only one or two days until just like that Percy Grant, who was the rector of the Church of the Ascension, got the point and I don't think he even consulted his vestry or anybody else, but just said, “The Church of the Ascension will open its doors day and night. It will never be closed. Anybody is welcome to come here and sleep.”

Of course they didn't believe it. The very next night Tannenbaum led an enormous march to the church of the Ascension. They found it open. They found nobody there but a janitor who was assigned to night duty. The door was open, the building was warm, and they went right in, laid themselves down on the pews and on the floor. Nobody said anything to them except that that was all right. They went off in the morning and came back the next night.

It raised great questions in New York. “After all, wouldn't there be bed bugs and lice on the church pews?” and “wouldn't they leave a mess behind them?” as indeed they did. Grant raised the money, and people contributed to it, to hire extra janitors to clean up. Pretty soon there was a canteen going over in the parish house so that they could have coffee and sandwiches.

Tannenbaum emerged out of this. I don't remember much except that he was regarded as absolutely wild. We didn't have