The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1910-02-25
POOR MEMS HAUA1S
Cheap and Free Lodging Houses
OF Various Cities.
Philadelphia Expert Makes Compare
tive Investigation in ,Twenty-Three
Big Towns of United States
His Description.

Philadelphia priced and free
lodging houses are made special fea'
ture Of the report to the director OF
health and charities. DR. Joseph s,
Neff, by the Philadelphia housing
commissions chief, Arthur E, Buch-
holtz. in his comparative investiga-
ton OF % American cities
''In Rochester says Mr. Bucholtz,
Hthe cheap lodging houses are In a
very bad condition as to uncleanliness
and over-crowding. There is no sys.
tenn of licensing or supervising them.
In one place saw the whole floor COW
cred with sleeping human beings who
had not the price of bed, This Ger,
tainly proves a housing problem as
bad, If not worse than in Philadel.
phia considering our population as
seven times as great as Rochester.
Rochester is still building the
dumb bell tenement house.
Buffalo has an ideal lodging house
for Migrants and tramps to get free
lodging and meals No man that has
any money whatever is taken in and
every man that receives its hospitality
must do some work Every person
IS first required to be thoroughly ex-
amined for any disease, is given a
bath and clean clothes, and put to bed
between the cleanest sheets. The
next morning his clothes are handed
to him thoroughly disinfected He in
required to wash dishes, scrub floors,
clean windows. do painting, carpenter.
ing, or other work
This institution was started in a
dilapidated building used as Boys
club The property is now in fine re.
pair
"In Chicago there is a fve-eent lodg.
ing house conducted in unique style.
For five cents the lodger is given the
privilege Of sleeping in his clothes ON
a board six feet long. four feet wide,
without bedding From sanitary
point of view, this house compared
favorably with any | saw there 1t
was originally a warehouse. running
from one street to another. The three
upper floors, being used for sleeping
purposes, had thorough ventilation.
The sleeping boards were all ar
ranged domitory style and held in
place by iron frame work Every
morning the boards are lifted out from
their frame work, placed upon the
foor, scrubbed and set in the sun to
dry. There was nothing to retain
dirt The old warehouse was well
heated and lighted
THE price. five cents, gave Ger.
tain class OF persons, who would 9th,
erwise have had to sleep in the
Streets chance to get under cover
in Minneapolis the cheapest lodg
ing houses are of a particular type
They not only use the upper floors
but the basement is fitted up for sleep
| ing purposes. and ventilation is pro
vided in some cases through a grating
| in the pavement close to the building
line. In one case found the sleeping
apartments extending out under the
payements as far as the curb line.
I'm st. Louis cheap lodging houses
are in q very good condition in spite
Of the fact that there is no special
supervision, and as whole they arc
far superior ito Philadelphia chear
lodging houses. One man is conduct
ing seven large lodging houses,a at ten
cents a night fora good bed In dormi
tory style Then he has rooms. six
feet square, with a wooden partition
six feet high, for IS cents a night
These seven houses were the best