The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1902-03-29
BEHIND The Scene
VIEW OF THE BOWERY, on SUPER
IOR STREET, NOT so BAD.
As the Places Not Seen by the Public.
WOrkingmen's Club House IL
Badly Needed-Organixed Labor
Should Work With the Religious
SOcieties-Bed Houses Visited.
Bethel is Il Business InstitutiOn.

It is reported that the religious 50.
cieties of the city are planning for =
workingmen's club on the Bowerv
The labor organizations of the civ
should take hand in this as we'll. II
is part of their duty. If it is their de.
sire to make the conditions Of men bet
ter, they should first aim to improve
their social surroundings.
An organizer of the American FEEDER
alton walked through the Bowery q
few years ago. It was after an un-
successful attempt to organize a GER
tain union He was in company with
the editor of this paper, and happened
to notice number of men, who fol-
lowed the line Of work that he was try-
ing to unionize. These were surround
ing bar in low Bowery resort. and
he turned and said, "How can we or
ganize this union when the men them
selves have no desire to better their
social, moral or economic conditions ?"
This phase Of the question is presenting
itself to every organizer in the labor
movement.
What the transient workingmen need
is a. temporary home where the influ-
ences are better than they are at pres
ent
Organized labor cannot afford to
look upon this lightly. It is really an
important matter, that aims to prepare
men for better conditions
This week we made some investiga-
tions on the Bowery. The appearance
on Superior street is nothing compared
Wi 1o<
The Bethel itself, started by one of
Gods noblemen, gives the appearances
that it has departed from the way of
it's originator, and has become a mere
mercenary business institution. Its
reading room, dark, dismal and sultry.
is entirely too inadequate. At the time
of our visit, it was crowded to suffo-
cation. Every chair in the little room
was occupied; men were lounging upon
tables and on the floor. The odor in
the room was anything but healthy.
Those who were there had no other
place to go, except possibly the saloon.
from which we imagined they were en-
deavoring to keep away.
The bed rooms, partitioned off from
the reading room; are small, unsani-
5s1Ts1. aats,a,nhea ttlas ,.assxes fqqnHtesr
Feet iii dimension,' each containing no
less than eight hunks. The lumber
camp is palace compared with this.
With these partitions out the reading
room would be more creditable to this
CHRISTIAN institution. The stencil
from the basement in which these
rooms are located, is unbearable at the
Superior street entrance.
In the dining room, from Superior
street, gospel services are held in the
evening. These are very good, but
poorly attended, which show that you
can not very we'll please the lumber
jack with religion, while his surround
ing conditions are bad.
Another place visited was the saloon
known as the "Bucket Of Blood" and
perhaps the filthiest place on the Bow
cry. In the rear of this joint is a room
about rs feet square in which there
are forty hunks. The breathing space
for each bunk averages about one-third
as much as there is in the ordinary
cell in police station.
These instances will convince any
observer that something better is need
ed on the Bowery and that the saloon
is not it's worst feature.