The herald., 1893-09-04
THE TENANT OF RENTED ROOMS
Trials He Has to Undergo to
Find What He Wants.
Landlords Who Seem to Regard Him
as Legitimate Prey.
Some Features of Life in the Angel City
Which wiil Admit of Consider
able Reforming-A Re-
cent Experience.

"Dd you ever go the rounds of room
tired-looking gentleman to a HERALD re-
porter yesterday.
II mean," he continued, 'in con-
scientious attempt to ind desirable
rooms at reasonable terms and at the
came time keep your temper"
Upon being pressed to give his expe-
rience, the gentleman remarked: II
never was in a better temper in my life
than l was a short time ago when l
tried to find rooms for my wife and my
eelf. 30
II am not wealthy man. wish l
was, but belong to the army OF the mid
die class. Our income is sufficient for
our wants in modest way, and my
wife is careful and neat housekeeper.
We had q cleaf-cut idea of what we
wanted, and do not think our require
ments were unreasonable, but the way l
was sat upon by lardladies and land
lords was simply something to make a
man long for the DAYS of the inquieition
that torture might be reciprocally ap-
piled to them,
Here is what we wanted when we
started: Two rooms, neatly not ex-
pensively furnished, and clean; with a
privilege OF light housekeeping; also, a
bath room, not perhaps exclusively for
ourselves, but where there were several
OF them in the house and in which the
entire populace did not periodically in
dulge in cleanliness. For this we were
willing to pay SIS month, or on q
pinch $40 month.
Zone whole day 1 spent running up
and down the stairways OF buildings
near the heart of the city, and I can
characterize in one sentence the policy
of Los Angeles rooming house man
ayers, as it struck me. The seeker
after rooms is regarded as prey, and is
charged the very highest prices and
given the least return for his money of
any city of it's size in the country.
almost without exception the idea
OF trying TO make tenants comfortable
has never found lodgment in the brain
OF the lodging house keeper.
II went into place after place whore
the proprietor or proprietress looked at
me in astonishment when l asked il
there was no bathroom except the COM
mon one where the whole house
washed. They seemed to think I had
almost insulted them by limiting at
such thing and in many places there
was not even one bathroom.
while my wife and I are in very
modest circumstances, we did not think
it was crime to suggest such a thing
even to the autocrats OF the lodging
houses.
"But the prices There was hardly
respectfully furnished suite of rooms
that was less than $25 per month.
These rooms were the general run. To
be sure there were very nice suites of
rooms, but they ranged from $50 to $40,
and even $50 month.
II found some rooms at the price we
had set, but as rule they were i'll
smelling, diEgy and not desirable in
any respect.
:" i wish to see some rooms, said to
a lodging house proprietress weighing
about 200 pounds.
I have one on the third foor.' she
said. eyeing me all over as II l were
convict.
Can 1 see it?' 1 replied meekly,
wondering if had not upknowingly
served time in Some penitentiary.
"'Yes,' she said shortly.
"When we reached the top floor, over
which was a sky-light that made the
building look like steamboat, she
showed me into dingy room, and 1
said timidly: Il have wife,
"'Why didn't you tell me before p che
said curtly, Il wouldn't have had to
come up stairs"
building had an elegant carpet, and it
seemed to be really delightful place
until examined the rooms and ran
against the landlady.
"Agreat majority of the buildings built
for rooming houses are dark, badly ar
ranged and have not any of the con-
veniences that people of ordinary means
in the east are accustomed to regard as
their right and not as luxuries.
Just WHY people of ordinary means
should not have these things is some
thing that strikes the stranger in the
city with astonishment. 1t ia no doubt
partly accounted for by the grasping
policy OF the owners of the property.
One landlady to whom / ventured to ex-
press the thought that her terms we're
high for the accommodations she offered,
frankly said che knew it. but could not
help it because the rent che WAS Obliged
to pay for the building was 30 high that
she could not do otherwise.
"There was another thing that struck
me as showing what busy city Los
Angeles is. There were not very many
vacant rooms in the houses l visited,
even during this dull period of the year
and the hard times.
"The result of all my search for rooms
failed to show very few that were rea-
sonabe in price. clean and where the
light of the sun was allowed to enter,
except in homeopathic quantities.
'Just how long your people will put up
with the xorbitant rates charged gener-
ally for poor accommodations is q
problem.
ITO be sure people of larger means,
who do not need to look so closely after
the dollars as the middle class, do not
feel the grasping policy of landlords as
much, but even they are mulcted in a
way that seems outrageous. A reform
is needed in this business of very
marked kind"
Londonderry Wofar Wn11anott