Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1911-02-16
GIRLS LACK HOMES.
London has No Respectable Ref
uge for Women.
Sister Maggie Has strlkIngIy Die
eouraging MISUNDERSTANDING
lodgings Unfit for Hon.
est Poor.

London.-"Sister Maggie" jealous
and original worker connected with
the Bloomsbury Social union, Is en-
gagged In an effort to provide hotels
for respectable girls who find them
selves In London without money or
friends. Sister Maggie claims that
young men are amply provided for In
this respect. but that the contrary is
the case as 70 girls.
I'm order to test the matter for my
SELF" said she, Il disguised myself az
n young country girl out OF situation
In London and. with only nine pence
In my pockets. l walked the streets to
find respectable nights lodging.
This is how | Jared After calling In
many places where | was refused ad-
mittance because had not a shilling
In my pocket | spoke to an old woman
selling matches at a street corner,
who directed me TO a home for young
women conducted by religious body.
The first question that was put to
me there by the matron was, Where
is your reference? | had TO confess
|
not the sort wanted there and was
turned out on the street. | spoke 10
three policemen, but not one of them
could help me. No person who kept
furnished apartments would let me
have a room for the night under the
cost of a shilling. Then went to an
ordinary lodging house for women
where after some bargaining | was
taken In for six pence.
The house was full OF women
young and old, many OF whom had
come to London as young girls from
the country. Now every one was a
moral wreck; their conversation was
indescribable and finally a quarrel
broke out in the room where they
were herded together. q.
Perhaps because | looked respect
able, the landlady blamed meter IT,,
and was turned out once more. After
| this I wandered on through street
after street, always with an awful
dread in my heart and always followed
| by some man, until at last | was di
rected to a house In a respectable
street. found at length what !
| thought was haven of refuge. Here
| the landlady welcomed me most kind.
| ly II was the only place found even
| the suggestion of human sympathy,
but before | was there ten minutes
women, yes and many young girls OF
under sixteen, began TO come and go
| through the open door and, 10 my
horror, | discovered tie nature OF the
place, the only roof TO which | as a
| poor girl had teen welcomed
Sister Maggie holds that rescue
work is often hopeless and that the
thing to do is to fence off the preci-
| pice rather than TO try to save the
pieces below. She recommends that
| the churches of all denominations
| bind themselves together to establish
| properly governed women's lodging
| houses or inns. She says the Catholic
| women OF Belgium have accomplished
| incalculable good In this way.
Her idea Is that notice boards at
the railway stations and In the prin.
| cipal streets should be put up telling
| girls where such places are to be
| found. The police, she thinks, might
be OF assistance to girls whom they
meet wandering In the streets al
night Sister Maggie pronounces alb
solutely against the common lodging
house for women. ut is no place,
says she, ito which any respectable
| woman can be sent"