The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-07-06
RECEIVE
BEAUX IN ROOMS
Times Makes Investigation Of Court
ing Problem in Boarding Houses
Few Provide Parlors.

Where do young women belonging
TO the great army OF the employed,
and living In boarding houses in De
troit receive their men friends?
Not many city boarding houses pro
vide facilities for counting" Pre-
priety and the conventions are let
severely alone by the majority Of land
ladies' who are interested only In re-
'celving room rent money promptly
and keeping out ''undesirables." Many
OF them refuse TO house women at
all, but those that will open their
doors TO women seldom exact more
than prompt remittance and quiet
habits.
In accepting boarding houses for
our lists we try To take only those
having parlors, which the women
boarders are permitted to use," said
Miss Anna v. Rice. general secretary
OF the Y. w. G. A. In many other
wise good rooming houses no parlor
Is provided. and l suppose the young
women have to receive their mon
friends In their rooms. II our own
Y. W. c. A. boarding house on st.
Aubin-ave., where we have about 80
young women all the time, a cheerful
parlor Is provided, and there the girls
may receive their company. All lights
must go Out In the house at 1880
o'clock. and a girl who Is out after
that hour must make previous ar
rangements with the matron to be ad-
mitted or to have key. Such re-
Quirements are not exscted In public
boarding houses, OF course, and. each
landlady conducts her house accord
ing to her own way OF thinking,
suppose. I think 1t Is to be deplored
that young ladies receive their men
friends In their rooms, but the prob
lem Of providing the ways and means
for young people to meet under proper
conditions Is one far too big for me TO
talk about"
TT has always been a hard ques-
ton to decide and have kept young
women boarders all my life." said the
landlady OF q rooming house on Ed
mundpl. IT have a downstairs sitting
room and most OF the rooms are so
arranged that they look like sitting
rooms am particular as to the class
of girls I take, and can generally tell
whether a girl Is to be trusted or not.
Also. I make it point to look over
her men visitors. II the young wo-
frequently ! make II my business to
do some questioning for their own
sakes and usually a little friendly ad-
vice is given and taken, In the right
spirit"
In several good class rooming
houses visited by The Times, condi-
tons as given by the above woman
were found to be the rule. In several
houses no parlors were provided and
the women boarders made use OF their
rooms for callers.
Since the nice weather came the
girls are out In the evening most OF
the time, riding on the boats, at the
island or walking with their beaux,"
said a Cass-ave. landlady. young
people like to get out Of doors after
being at work all day and I encourage
the girls In my house to go as much
as possible"
"Yes, I let the women In the house
take their men callers TO their rooms
because there is no other place for
them" said another landlady. You
can't send a girl and her beau to walk
the street. During the summer, OF
course, there are outdoor attractions
for them. but when winter comes they
have TO stay indoors, Of course, and
the only thing to do Is to try to make
IL pleasant for them"
81 would rather meet my gentleman
friend on the corner than take him In
to the boarding house parlor where all
the other boarders sit around and
stare and listen with big ears" said
young woman employed In one OF
the big department stores.