The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-02-06
LOOKING FOR BOARD.
An Amateur Working Girl Spends
Couple of Days Tramping the Town.


Copyrighted 1881
NEW YORK, Feb. Al have spent the
greater part of two days looking for a
boarding place Motives of curiosity, pure
and simple, prompted me to the quest, but
my inquisitiveness had perhaps legitimate
cause.
1t is a conservative estimate to place
the number of working women employed
in New York city at lbs, 900, counting under
that head factory girls shop girls, domestic
servants, needlewomen, cashiers, clerks,
bookkeepers, secretaries, stenographers, tele-
graph operators, type-setters and all that
horde Of women who are changing the bust
ness complexion of the city. To those &C
customed to diatribes against the luxury of
New York women it presents a different
aspect of the city to be confronted with the
fact that a number of women equal to one
in every three of its adult feminine pOpula-
ton work at money making pursuits. Al
lowing for the country quota which goes
back and forth morning and evening on the
cars, and for the large contingent who have
homes with parents or husbands or mako
homes of some sort for themselves, there yet
remains an enormous floating population of
women and girls swollen by teachers, by
musical and arc students, by budding nurses
and physicians, and not to be equaled else
where in America, mostly with small means
and dependent on the boarding house for an
abiding place.
The boarding house, common report says,
is not hospitable to the friendleSS girl. 1t
occurred to me to try.
Providing myself with morning paper,
I struck out from its two columns of
"boarders wanted, goodly number of adj
vertisements in which it was distinctly
specified that the ''sunny front room" was
waiting for gentlemen or two gentle
MEM or gentleman and wife," or "single
gent of refined character" for its tenants,
and set out on tour of inspection of the
hundred odd houses which made no express
discrimination against single women.
Beginning at the top of the ladder, l
mentally fixed my social status as that of
teacher receiving good wages in an arlsto-
cratic private school and turned my steps
with what Occurrences l could muster to
lower Fifth avenue, where boarding houses
and aesthetic trade are driving out private
residents. These boarding houses do not
advertise. Dear me, no. 1t is a part of
| their theory that vacancies will fill them
selves. Nevertheless, most city people
| know where they are, and derived what
satisfaction is to be found in sitting in one
large. high-ceiled stately, old fashioned
and, withal, well-worn parlor after another
| until three landladies in black silk with real
| lace-what though it were triie frayed-
at the throat, and gold watch and chain,
had assured me that they seldom took I'M
married ladies, under a certain age, at least,
never without the highest references, or
personal acquaintance OF some standing.
| Here was not any field at all; for, granting
that | might with some persistence have
| found house to shelter me, the board
rates never dropping below $l5, and run
ming from that well up, did not seem to
me to correspond with the pocketbooks
of many private teachers whom had
| known.
The great boarding region for business
neople is between Union and Madison
solares. east of Broadway; and imposing
upop my character as rapidly as could the
vivncity which seemed to me proper TO a
giddv typewriter girl newly domiciled in
| tine city, made acquaintance win most Oh
the pavement in the Fifteens. Slxteens.
| Seventeens, etc.
Most of the rooms which had come to
Investigate turned out to be double-bedded
| and were not to be let to stranger Ike my
self who had no roommate. The first land
| lady who had a hall room for a single occu-
| na,it locked at me obviously.
~ don't have any boarders but single
gents. M a rule, - she said, "but its late IN
| the season and boarders arc hard 10 GET
\ Folks llvingP ... -.
"ghy amt you home with 'emP