The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1890-01-17
IN A DIME LODGING HOUSE
THE REPORTER BECOMES A GUEST
AND MAKES OBSERVATIONS.

AND MAKES OBSERVATIONS.
Character Of tho Patrons-They Arc Not
So Bad rs Il Generally supposed-The
Beds, the Furniture and the BIZ Of
Fare-Private Rooms for tho Ahauent.
Much has been said and written about the
cheap hotels of France and England, but
Chicago can discount both those ancient
countries in respect to low priced lodgings
The ten cent lodging house is continually
satirized in the newspapers and in the comic
songs of the day, but very little seems to be
really known about these economical hotels
after all Accordingly reporter set out one
dark and foggy night to ascertain the facts
for himself. He was determined to learn the
truth of the blood curdling tales so often told
of combats with predaceous fellow dodgers
and murderous insects; of dodgers packed
sixty-four to the room and arranged in tiers
like sardines, and all the other horrors of the
dime sleeping place.
Down on Canal street, close to the Union
depot, is dingy building. Above the en-
trance to dark stairway hangs an illumi-
mated sign which announces that beds can be
had for ten and fifteen cents night Up the
dark stairway the explorer stumbled. A fair
sized room, furnished with three chairs. q
long bench and red, little stove, opened off
from the hall. Several brawny fellows in
blue bingham shirts and rusty trousers were
gathered around the fire. From tho center
Of the group advanced a grizzled veteran who
seemed living image of the ancient mari
ner." He surveyed the reporter, who had at
tired himself for the occasion, very critically.
Thereforesthe scrutiny proved satisfactory to
the old Roman.
A FRIENDLY WELCOME.
swami bed2" he asked.
The reporter did.
Had your soup yet9"
The reporter hadn't.
The ancient mariner led the way to a BAN
quet hall wherein was long table and q
cook stove A huge tureen was on the stove.
The visitor was given a quart of the contents
of the tureen and three slices Of bread. The
table equipments were not precisely such as
the Palmer house offers its guests The soup
bowls were heavy and yellow; the spoons
were iron clad ladies. The soup itself was
not bad. Its composition was dark mys-
terry, and is yet. The soup was of a consistency
dUOuU VI A4NOA "dCCAs A)uU ~ Udu III
trace of dirt and did not taste unlike ordinary
restaurant bouillon.
In large, uncarpeted room up stairs were
half a dozen ''shake down" beds The room
was we'll ventilated, and the beds were quite
comfortable in appearance. Another room
across the hall was similarly fitted up. These
were the quarters of the ten cent dodgers.
The landlord informed his latest boarder
that for fifteen cents he could have an entire
room to himself. Accordingly the reporter
selected room so located that its occupant
could hear everything occurring in the
house, and could, by peering through a hole
in the door, see the greater part of the ada
cent rooms.
The room selected, like all the rest, was
uncarpeted; dimensions, 9 feet by 5. The
bed was the same in appearance as those as
signed to the ten cent dodgers, the extra five
cents merely affording greater privacy to
the aff1uent boarder.
The bedding was ample in quantity-a
husk mattress, two sheets, two blankets and
huge red quilt. The sheets were dingy and
ripped in places A curtain hung at the
window, from which good view could be
obtained of the Madison street bridge. The
host handed his guest key and asked at
what time he desired to be called with the
average courtesy of a downtown hotel
clerk
Hardly was the reporter locked into his
room when a number of dodgers arrived.
Seating themselves around the stove in the
adjoining room they listened with rapt at
tention while one of their number-a brawny
coal HEAVIER whose brogue had not long been
absent from the banks of Killarney-read a
romance of the plains aloud. The reading
lasted about two hours, and the reader was
not once disturbed or interrupted by his au-
dience. Finally the story was ended and the
dodgers sought their touches. Then came a
number of thumps on the floor as each man
kicked off his shoes Then dead silence.
A MIDNIGHT MINSTREL.
Presently some one stumbled up stairs, and
in loud voice commenced to detail the woes
Of Mr.. McGinty, the perfume of his breath
in the meantime penetrating the reporters
nostrils. A chorus of "Shut up!" rang out
vigorously. Then was heard bang as some
body hurled shoe at the singer. Silence
again.
Five minutes later the landlord discovered
a ten cent boarder smoking in bed. "Put
out de snipe!" quoth the ancient mariner.
A short scuffie ensued, which terminated
in the expulsion of the devotee of the weed.
For the next hour no sound, except an &C.
casional snore and the putting of a locomo-
tive across the street, disturbed the repose Of
the guests. The reporter had begun to doze,
when something rubbed his ear and he awoke
to conflict with powerful ''cimex lectu-
larius." The unwelcome visitor was soon
and, to the credit of the house be
it said, no more of its kind disturbed the
sleeper's dreams.
About 4:3O the dodgers began to arise and
descend to the sitting room. On bench,
just where none could pass in or out without
arousing him, lay the landlord. "You bet
nobody does any prowling while I sleep
here" he remarked, proudly.
As the dodgers crowded around the red hot
little stove they appeared to be quite de-
cent set Rugged and poorly dressed no