Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1888-05-11
LODGINGS In LONDON
Where Many of the City'S Poor Find
Shelter-Cheap and Comfortable
Homes for Workingmen.
Houses for TrampS and Shady Custom
erS, and Houses for Sober, Steady
laborerS-Niew of an Inter
ior-A Valley.

Nhltew&ShlnS OF walls, Snd the SltShIe
case OF Illness must be at once repurted
to the nearest police station. Seeing the
class OF customers the proprietor has to
accommodates, you may ln.aglue that the
floors OF the dormltorles get terrific
amount OF scruhblug, with the result
that they are far cleSusr and more whole
some than the carpeted rooms of many
more pretsnuoyS establishments. where
an cverworked houSemald flckS tie tur-
nlture with duSter, uckles the carpet
wlsh broom and sweeps the huff uEaer
the bed.
There is very keen competition IN the
trade, and some houses are naturally
much better than others. As cuuSe
quenoe the class of dodgers differ also.
One proprietor, by keeping his house as
dirty As he dares, secures the patronage
of one class, while another, by making
his house as comfortable as possible, at
tracts men of superior grade.
But to thoroughly understand what the
common lodging houses are you must see
one. Come down this marrow, unswept
| and under the weather looking street.
You see that house which looks as though
1t were double troated shop with the
shutters suu mp. That l. a common
lodging house. Ibc door IN the center Is
swing door. Outside II q gentleman in
the uapicturesque tGtterS of our national
costume Is sIuuAIng clay pipe, and with
his hands thrust In his trousers pockets
l. looking txeiiy ut nothing. Over the
doorway at which the gentleman stands
Is the inscription IN white letters on
black board, Reg Logging House.
Beds, 5 I'D. and ii. Night"
Let Us push the swing door open and
walk in. 1t Is broad daylight outside.
but directly we have passed the swing
/ door we find ourselves almos' in darkness
/ The ro IN We are III Is the 'kltchvn,' or
common room, in which all the guests sit
and taEo their meals, and amuse them
selves until 1t Is lime to go up stars io
| bed. | cannot say how one of these
| kitchens would look in the glare of day.
| There is nothing TO how suubeams that
they would be Hospitality received, and
50 they remaiD outside. And even there
they are snubbed, for, lest they should be
inQuisitive and try and peep in at the
lodging house windows, the said windows
are kept as grimy IA possible outside
and inside they are covered with a coat
of some dirty looking preparation.
The light in these kitchens, then, Is
! generally of the dim, religious order. 1t
suits the scene. Tho people who are sit
ting on the long forms at the table, or
crouching together before the dull red
/ fire, would, some of them, look hideous i'll
the full light of day. In the red glow
! that the fire throws ON them, ~ they sit
i'll the darkened room, they look almost
| picturesque.
The workmen who live in these lodging
houses are not home yet They will come
81, A. al.
many i'll this house because it is a low
hOuse-thHt is to say, It Is a house fre-
quented by tramps and loafers and shady
customers, and moreover il is II "family
| house" and that means women and child
rem to disturb the harmony of the even
ing in the common kitchen. The fact
/ that these common lodging houses, where
beds are let out at n iourpenco a night,
are largely patronized by workmen in reg
ular EN- pioymeut may astonlsh people
who are not behind the scenes But
know in some of these houses working
men who have lived there for twelve and
sixteen years.
These men are single men and widow
ers, and the houses which are for "men
only" suit them much better than private
| lodgings would. First of all the house is
! open night and day; all day and all night
the red fire glows and Is ready for a man
! to cook his late supper or his enrly
! break fast at. Then there is tho society
! of the other men, pipes and conversation,
and always pal to take n hand at c"ib
bage, which is the fashionable common
lodging house game. Moreover, each
man has bed to himself, which in pri-
vate lodgings for workingmen is not al
! ways oUtainable. And there is always
! some one to call him early ia the morn
! ing, in order that he may get up and go
to his work, without having To pay the
policeman on duty to throw stones at his
windo and yell out that it is "half past
! A.
The common lodging house ia to these
men home and club combined, and the
proprietor who gets this class of men
men in steady emplOyment-tries to
please them, and gradually they fill his
house, and then he excludes chance Gus
toners and "roughs," and his house be
comes a regular workingman's home.
One great advantage that man with
regular wages finds in these places IL that
he is able to keep a valet. Yes, valet.
In all of these common lodging houses
there are men VINO, for copper or so r
week. "valet" for the aristocrats. For
twopence a week paid TO poorer fellow
lOdger the aristocrat has his boots black
ed and his supper cooked. In addition
TO this, the valet runs his masters errands
and keeps his favOrite seat by the fire
| till he wants il, and then when there ~
discussion on any matter the faithful
valet chimes in with his master and is
always ready to back him in any assertion
he may choose TO make.