The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1890-06-26
HOUSING THE HOMELESS
HOW NEW YoRK's CHEAP LODGING
HOUSES ARE RUN.
Who tho Patrons of the Houses Are
Prices and Accommodations
The Regulations.

Who tho Patrons of the Houses Are
Prices and Accommodations
The Regulations,
In the great population Of the metro
polls there is an army OF homeless men.
They are brought TO extremes by bad
fortune, disaster, drink, crime and some.
times by age, but nearly all Of them are
able to get from day to day little money
it may be by honest work, or by thiev.
ing or beggary-and for such men there
are some 300 lodging houses in the city.
They are really hotels of the plainest and
poorest type, and furnish little more than
bare shelter to transient guests, though
many of the "transients" are regular Gus.
toners, aud even hire their rooms by the
week. These houses have a capacity Of
from fifty to 500 guests, and when full,
as they often are in the Winter, probably
accommodate $4,000 persons.
A rough estimate-probablya fairly
accurate one--has been made that one.
third of these persons are criminals and
beggars. One-eighth or raore are con-
slant drunkards. Probably one-quarter,
equally divided, are men wt.o are out of
work and honestly in search Of it, aud
those who have work, but earn only
starvation wages. There is a proportion
of small peddlers, of tramps, of hopeless
ly broken-downmen, and there are a few
who live in these houses on account Of
parsimony. There are very few, for one
who can afford better will seldom endure
the life Of ledger for any time.
In the winter, for obvious reasons,
trade is at its best in the lodging-houses.
1t is not seldom difficult to get shelter in
one of them; but in summer the profess
sional tramp goes to the country, and the
arunkard or the poverty-stricken man
sleeps out-of-doors-- may be ON bench
in the park, or it may be in an areaway.
The patrons of the houses have learned
how to support life on the minimum.
They can get shelter for five cents night,
and enough to eat-barely enough, that
is-for seven or eight cents day. With
less than this one must 60 hungry or
shelterless. Not all the lodging houses,
however, are so cheap as this. Prices
vary from five cents to thirty cents a
night, according to the accommodations.
The cheapest consist of large rooms-al-
most halls-filled with cots or "shake-
DOWNS" these latter being thin mattresses
| thrown on the bare floors. The better
class, where twenty or thirty cents is the
price, offers to each customer a separate
/ TIL, ., e,,l,l,,,,a,a, -
large room, and is made by board par
titions about seven feet high. The
''rooms" are about ten feet long by five
in width, and each contains cot, a
chair, and half dozen hooks on which
clothing may be hung. There is also,
in case of greatest excellence, little
closet, perhaps one foot by two in di-
mansions, in which the lodger may lock
up his clothing for extra safety. In such
a case he will probably put the key into
his stocking, and keep his stocking on
when he goes to sleep.
The bedding in these rooms is of the
cheapest, consisting of mattress and
pillow stuffed with excelsior" two
sheets, and cotton coverlid, cheaper
and cleaner than blanket There is no
covering to the bare floor; but this is far
from being drawback, as it greatly facil-
itates the cleanliness which is insisted on
by the proprietors of the place no less
strenuously than by the Board of Health.
The most relentless warfare is waged
against the dirt, vermin, and disease
germs that naturally accumulate in such
places, and soap, water, and powerful
dislnfectants are used prodigally. Walls
and floors are flooded by the use of hose,
bed linen is washed twice or thrice a week
at the least, oftener daily, and in many
of the rooms the crystals of disinfectants
that have dried on the walls sparkle like
the side of a shaft in a salt-mine.
| Few of the lodging houses have bath
rooms, but each has lavatory, in which
are from two to a dozen wash hand
basins, where the dodgers may perform
their toilets. Strong laundry soap and
rough roller towels are provided, and the
customer is easily able, if he so desires, to
maintain at least the appearance of clean
illness. In one of these cheap lodging
houses, which is maintained by chart.
table society, the price of nights
lodging includes the privilege of bath
at night, and coffee and roll in the
morning. 1t may be remarked that this
is not a popular house.
The regulations are few and simple.
Guests are usually admitted at any hour,
but the lights in the halls and dormitories
| none is allowed in the individual rooms)
are lowered or extinguished at 9 P. NJ,
and at 10 P. NJ, in most cases, the read
ing-room, which is feature of the
better houses, is darkened. At fixed
hour in the morning, varying, according
to the season and the house, from 3 to
10 A. NJ. the guests are aroused. If they
do not arise at the summons, they are,
in the poorer houses, either rolled out of
bed on to the floor, or stream Of water
from the hose is directed at them. In
some places guest is allowed to remain
in bed as long as he chooses, but if he
so remain after the rising hour, he is
charged for another nights lodging.
Exceptions are made in favor of print
1
ers and other night workmen, who come
in at 4 or A. NJ, and are allowed to
sleep till 5 p. NJ.
The business of keeping these houses,
small as the prices are, is lucrative one.
One man, pioneer in the business, is
said to have accumulated half million
dollars in it. The proprietors are
usually responsible men of fair character,
from police standpoint at least, and
though they are watched by the police,
generally keep on good terms with the
Captain Of the precinct. They never
shelter thieves from pursuit, at least
when they believe the police to have def
mite information, and they strive to
stand well in the records of the Board
of Health. -Harper's Weekly.