The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-12-23
chicago's Practical Philanthropy
Municipal lodging House Established for
Benett Of Yennless and JWtering

morning. The dodgers were next .ntroa
duced to a shower bath, where they pro-
ceeded to scrub themselves with brush
and soap. One of the doctors had COM
pounded a green soap mixture for sham
pooling the head, which had proved effec-
tual in destroying vermin, and the men
were compelled to- give their heads
good washing with this soap.
The men We're next given clean night
gowns and bath slippers, whereupon they
went up stairs, either oe or two Stories
according to the location of the beds as
signed to them. These dormitories are
lighted by electricity, have windows on
all sides, and are we'll ventilated.
The beds are of iron. Each has COM
Portable woven wire springs, double wool
en- blankets next to the springs, with two
clean unbleached Sheets and another
double blanket above "A pillow case is
also provided for each bed.
In the dormitories are accommodations
for a few more than 800 men.
1t was generally given out among the
dodgers that they would not be receiv-
ed at this house but three times in
month, but this rule will not be SO rig
idly enforced as to work hardship upon
any deserving dependent.
Investigators have been employed who
will look UP daily the references Of the
dodgers of*,the7 previous night If these
references are found to be bad or false,
they will be so reported to the manager.
The men arose today at an early hour
and were furnished with a breakfast of
bread and coffee. Some of them were
placed under arrest, among the charges
preferred against them being: Giving
false references, carrying concealed
weapons or vagrancy. Many of these
ic
because of the bathing requirement, the
rigid examination and the confiscation
of weapons, the number of applicants
will show some falling off in the next
few days it must be remembered, how
ever, that the system was not put in
force with view to holding out an
inducement to Migrants, but to lessen
their number, to weed out the criminal
element from the deserving, to aid the
latter to secure work and become self
supporting and to make the identity and
character OF the former so plain as to
place them under suspicion and lead
to their punishment or expulsion from
the city.
The experience of the New York lodg-
ing house officers has shown that Of
their guests only 40 per cent had been
in that city sixty days, and only 10
per cent had been there one year. Con-
elusive proof is that the majority of appli-
cants at such an institution are of the
floating class, who make large cities their
home during the winter. AS the rigor-
Gus police and health supervision became
known to this class, they avoided New
York and made Chicago their headquar-
tiers. Now that Chicago has become
cold to these knights of the road, some
of her sister cities, possibly st. Paul,
would do we'll to look to the character
of their floating population, and con-
slider seriously the method of handling it.
The one adopted by Chicago has strong
sponsors. The benefits to be derived
from it they summarize briefly as fol-
lows: Streets without beggars, great
ly diminished number of petty thieves
(Which means less work for the police,
clean men, with clean clothing, in the
streets, instead of Migrants spreading
contagion. The saving to the city in the
way OF prevention of crime will, it is
asserted, much exceed the cost of main
tanning the institution 1t is held to be
of the highest Importance to the health
department by facilitating examination
where disease would naturally be found
and in case of epidemic the concentration
will greatly simplify the department. s
work.
Smallpox is rife in many places within
a short distance of Chicago, particularly
toward the north, say the advocates of
the plan, and they call attention to the
possible results from the presence of a
few men infected with this disease.
The number of men who nightly were
housed in the police stations during the
cold season under the old system, was
upward OF 600. Now the doors of the
stations are closed to all these and the
greater part are subject to sanitary regu-
lation
The chief opposition to the plan has
arisen from those who favor a labor
test. The following considerations have
led the promoters of the Municipal Lodg-
ing house and through them the city
authorities to look with disfavor on the
attachments of a woodward or other in
dustrial annex to an institution of this
kind, located, as it is, in the heart of
the city:
First-Any such plan would mean COM
petition with private dealers.
Second-The Chicago Relief and Aid
society has a woodward now in opera
ton.
Third-Lack of space and the great
expenditure necessary to secure an es-
Establishment in which several hundred men
might be required to perform work for
their lodgings
Hoi11Ce II Is proposed TO
each man and boy to three or four days
lodgings he should have this entire time
free to look for work and in this con-
nection the great value of the employ
ment bureau at the lodging house is for
chilly presented.
This bureau is feature that has not
yet been adopted in any other institution
of the kind. Naturally the city authori-
ties are not actively engaged in con-
Quoting this branch of the enterprise, and
it is left largely to members of the City
Homes association as body and the CO.
operation of it's members individually.
These men are large employers of labor
or have business connections with large
employers of labor and from this fact
will be very useful in this department
of the work.
The Municipal lodging house now in
operation is just across the river on the
West side. If the experiment proves sue
cessful similar institutions will be estab-
lished on the North and South sides and
later in any neighborhoods where there
seems to be demand for such work.