Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-01-10
In A LODGING HOUSE.
CHEAP QUARTERS FOR THE WAN
DERERS OF THE METROPOLIS.

DERERS OF THE METROPOLIS.
A Night In q New York Establishment.
Glimpse of an Uninviting Interior.
Down on His Luck-A Big Business.
The Patrons.
There was a sort of triangular trans
parency that announced from the top OF
the front doo- to homeless public that
lodging for the night might be had for the
small sum of half q dollar, and that if
they did not possess that requisite frac-
ton even the smaller denominator OF a
quarter would procure them shelter. At
1870, when presented myself at the en-
trance, the janitor told me that the half
dollar beds were already occupied, but
that if could curb my tendency to lux
ury he could accommodate me on the
third pair back with what he called 3
quarter bed" ! accepted this PROPOSE
ton, went into little Office, where l de-
posted my quarter on small desk and
got dirty yellow ticket in return. There
was an elderly gentleman whose coat was
buttoned quite up to his chin even on that
warm evening, who preceded me and who
was expostulating in meek undertone
with the stony parsonage who sat behind
the desk.
surely you can trust me for tonight, !"
he said ''G am positive to be able to pay
by the end of the week"
The clerk threw open ledger with a
bang, ran his dirgy finger down list,
fixed his boiled eyes upon the expostula-
tor, and read out:
Green: Seven quarter beds-unpald.
Can't do it till you pay up"
'But have no place to Sleep qua
vered the old party.
every sorry We don't keep charita-
BILE lodging house. Good night" And
the melancholy old party wandered dis
mally ont into the street again with the
sneaky, deprecating air and gait of lost
dog A man in & white high nat came in,
threw down the piece of fractional cur
rency necessary, and got ticket emitting
him to bed next to mine. As the night
was hot, all doors We're wide open and we
glanced into the apartments that lay along
our route upward.
INTERIOR ARRANGEMENTS.
On the first floor, where nights lodg-
ing costs so cents, there were six parti-
tons in each room. no larger than an oy-
ster shell. In each of these there was a
single bed of white pine a shelf, with a
hole cut in it to hold basin, and roller
towel and small mirror hung On the par
tition wall that was only six feet high and
allowed the center chandelier to light the
whole apartment The hall bed room,
that in ordinary boarding houses has all
it can 90 to contain one man. is here dl-
vided into three apartments. In the third
pair back, whittier we were bound, there
were no partitions. There We're twelve
cot beds disposed in two rows of six each,
and all Of them were occupied but three.
The windows were wide open as was the
door, and an asthmatical gas jet wheezed
with feeble light. Men in various stages
of diShabille were sprawled over the beds.
Some had only taken off their coats and
shoes. Others were in more or less dilap-
idated underclothes and two more very
little of anything My friend in the white
high hat, who proved to be of the gam
bler's persuasion and down on his luck,
was very laxative, and while he removed
his garments preparatory to retiring i'm
parted considerable information on the
subject of cheap lodging houses, with
which he had had wide experience.
Though do go up to the Buckingham
sometimes when the cards amt against
me like they are now" he explained. He
removed his hat and his coat, which was
not of bad cut and revealed the fact that
his collar and cravat had concealed, that
he wore no shirt, but he took the fact
jauntily and proceeded to dlvest himself
and get into bed. all the while conversing
MI Thn I,aIc tha,,calraC
hardly more than canvas stretchers, with
a thin mattress OF husks and straw; one
sheet, calico Guilt and sort of flexible
failopean tube for bolSter-no pillow,
no privacy, no washing utensils and next
to no ventilation, added to which was
that repulsive sensation of clammy dirti-
ness that pervades such places, and it
will be seen that twenty-five cents was
full pay for the accommodation. Yet my
cheerful friend told me that these places
were always full.
A BIG BUSINESS.
''They do big business fra!n years end
to wears end, you bet. You see there S
thousands and thousands Of people III New
York that haven't got a home and they re
glad enough to get the semblance OF one
for night at this price. No one can real,
ize until they've tried it what the feeling
is to be walking about the streets at night
fall and know that there is no place you
can go TO. Nobodys looking for you and
you haven't money enough TO go TO no.
tel, and then the sight of that little old
shingle out there is very welcome. One
Of these houses holds about sixty people
for the night, and they are, as | say,
mostly full, with a cheap chop EOU12 in
the basement. as rule, where they make
money too; q house of this kind pays
well. Kind of people who come here:
Oh, well, some like me, down on their
luck for time and glad to hide out in
one of these places until they are on their
feet again. Then lot more like that fell
low snoring over thare-drunk and pretty
near dis0rderly. Lots of tramps, shady
characters the police have their eye upon,
thieves, shabby gentlemen like the old
fellow they turned away tonight, dead
beats, buns, all the floating population
out of money. The attendants are rut.
fans mostly. To-night's an off night and
things are pretty quiet. but sometimes the
drunken gentry become entirely disorder
~, the others join in to help out the row
and things get noisy. Then these fellows
come in and knock out right and left till
they get the house on peace basis About
the women No women allowed here.
They have cheap lodgings of their own.
The police forbid any lodging house keeper
VINO runs cheap place to mix the sexes;
ne has to keep strictly to one or the
other''----
Look herer' said an attendant, pokine
his head in the door. will you two shut
up NeNr time you want TO entertain the
public just hire a hall, will yous This
here's no place 10 waste your eloquence. "
And slumber fell upon the household
Cor Brooklyn Eagle.