The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-06-26
STUDYING SOCIAL ECONOMY
a Preacher Lives as Tramp in
Order TO Acquire knowledge.

Seeking a Broad and Comprehensive
Plan for the Bettern.ent of Man
kiDd-Refused Seat, Save in the
Galleries, at Certain Churches.
BALTIMORE, tune 26.-The Rev C. l.
BfcNutt, the student of social economies,
spent yesterday in Baltimore, the guest of
D. Allen Wiley Two years ago Mr. Nc
Mutt resigned the pastorate of one of the
largest churches IN Indianapolis to inves-
tigate the under world and literally cut
himself off from his fellows for months
at a time In his investigation he visited
nearly every large city In the United
States, taking his chance of getting en-
ploymert and most of the time going IN
der an assumed name. He has done about
everything in the way of manual labor
from working in street trench to laying
a brick wall While following to a Ger
tain extent the same mode of life as
Walter A Wyckon, whose articles on the
workers of the country have become 50
widely known, Mr. McNutt obtained his
information with the view of devising a
broad and comprehensive plan for the
general betterment of the Iaboring classes
Last winter he spent two weeks in Bal
timore clad as workman and under an
assumed name. Speaking of his expert
ences in this city. he said:
I found it practically impossible to get
work of any kind, although sea med the
newspapers for chances and Travelled
many miles in search of it. My opinion is
that it IS meI difficult to get employ
ment in Baltimore than in any large city
in the country, as so many white and
colored men are constantly coming to
this city from the South.
When I reached Maryland it was jan
uaTy and very cold. 1 was without money
and had to travel like tramp reaching
Frederick by riding on a freight car. That
night all the lodging houses were closed.
and 1 slept in what railroad men call
sand house 1t was warm inside. and
when / woke up there were about four
teen tramps lying around. One of these
was ene-Iegged cOlored man, who had
on pair of trousers made out of an cid
flag.
Wei. I worked my way to Baltimore
and stayed here two weeks While here
l stopped at several of the lodging houses.
among them the Levering House. on Fay
cite Street. They have fairly good sys-
TEN at the FayeJte Street place. but nv
experience with all of the so-calIed model
lodging houses is that the quality of food
is not what it should be. Sometimes 1t is
good, but frequently it is poorly cooked
and is so salty that men are induced TO
drink on account of the thirst which it
creates Badly cooked food is one of the
causes of intemperance in this country
today I spent one night in a lodging
house on Marsh Market Space. 1t was
one of the toughest places / have ever
seen The most practical idea for the
benefit of the working classes in BaIti-
more, to my mind. is the Walters sys-
tenn of baths They are well constructed.
seem to be eXceHeHtly managed, and a
feature which commended itself especial
ly to me is the facilities for laundry work
which IS really boon to the working
woman
While in the city during the winter Mr.
McNutt visited several churches on Sun
day clad. of course, in his working
clothes. At two of the large uptown edi-
fees he was refused a seat except in the
gallery, and left He went to Old St
Paul at one of the morning services and
was promptly ushered into one of the
best seats, where he said he especially
enjoyed the singing Of the boy choir At
the end of the service the gentleman who
occupied the pew shook hands with him
and asked hIm TO come again. This was
one time when Mr. McNutt SAYS he re-
grets ne did not give the gentleman his
real name and did not ascertain the
name CT the pew holder. During the same
visit h said he entered the Young Mems
Christian Association Building one Sun
day afternoon and while looking over
paper was informed by an attendant that
a religious meeting was in progress in the
next room He asked if it was necessary
TO so to the meeting in order to remain
in the building and was told that he
would have to do so or leave. He left.
During the whole time I was here" ne
continued, Il had only three days work.
One advertisement that / answered was
away out in the southwestern suburbs. l
walked out there from the city. starting
at > o'clock in the morning When I got
there I found at least fifty men waiting.
The man wanted only three men. He Sc
lected that number and the rest of US had
to walk hack to town.
''One day l helped the man unload a lot
of freight from his wagon along the
wharves. When | got through ne told me
to wait about an hour and he would have
some more work for ne. ] waited and in
an hour he came back I helped him load
~ again. and when we were through he
asked me to so into a saloon across the
street and have a drink / said | was not
thirsty He said all right and went into
the saloon by himself. \ few minutes
later he came out, bringing one bottle of
beer This he gave TO me and went away
lie paid me not one cent for the work ]
had done That bottle of beer is in the
city yet. I guess, as a little later l made
an acquaintance. to whom 1 told the
story and gave the beer. He said he in
tended TO keep it until I came TO Balti-
more again.
Mr. McNutt is a robust, fine-loolling
man, who looks about forty years Old
lie is musician, a singer and an inter
eSting talker- For the last three months
he, his wife and son having been living
in one of the tenement houses on the East
Side Of New York
He is preparing to investigate labor and
other conditions abroad and expects u
sail for Great Britain in the near future.
He Will spend several months in the min
ing and manufacturing districts as well
as in the Sums of London.