Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-04-14
l0NDoN'S ''WHITE HOUSE"
SHELTERS ONLY TRAMPS
pecial Correspondence OF The Star.

Special Correspondence OF The Star
LONDON. April 8. 1912.
THERE is white House" in London
as well as in Washington. but the
one in the metropolis is not the abode OF
Presidents. or even Of their equivalents In
this country. Instead. London's white
House" Is the heart Of whitechapel, and
forms the headquarters OF q "tramps'
ciub"-the only one in existence. so far
as IL known-where Weary Willies" and
Tired Tins" can beguile themselves OF
an evening with cards. music and light
literature and. incidentally. get a chance
to be somebody again. IL they want to.
No affront to the United States, 1t may
be explained. was intended when this his
tortc name was given to q ramshackle
building in Settle street. Stepney. that
was remodeled. some months back. to be
the resort OF ''hoboes." The 'Tramps
Club" merely happened to be the third OF
three gathering places for poor folk
started In the depths of Whitechapel by
q big-hearted Roman Catholic priest.
Father Richard Wilson, who. by the way.
is known throughout the whole East End
sort Of cheap restaurant for working
men. had been named the "Red House."
and the second. . lunchroom for factory
girls. the blue House." patriotism nat
''Tramps' Club" should be the White
House."
80
One cannot do q doss' at the "Hoboes'
Club" nor obtain q cant there, In
fact. most Of the club members are forced
to embark upon an ''O'Leary' after the
clubhouse closes 1T IL pm. which is
to say, in the slang Of the English sons
OF rest. that there is no sleeping accom-
mediation at the white House." nor any
food given away. and that most Of the
human derelicts who spend their evenings
there have to walk the streets all the rest
OF the night for want Of the fourpence re-
Quired for q bed In q 'doss," or lodging
house.
The Club in fact is just q big. well
heated room, with q piano. tables for
shey cali na tSem eVer g here snd fs~
books and papers. including the club
magazine" q room which opens at 8 at
night and closes at IL. and exists a. q
foregathering place for men who are too
heel to be tolerated even In the free
clubrooms that have been opened In this
bitterly poor district for ordinary work
people In fact. 1t was what one might
white House" into being. for when the
nearby RED House" was opened, and II
became noised about in the underworld
that free music and games were to be en-
1oyed there Of an evening. the Weary
Willie" element turned up in such num-
bers and proved so unsavory that the
working men Of the district, to luro whom
from the saloons the Red House" had
been opened. declined to patronize ii. So.
as Father Richard" was too soft hearted
to turn the 'unwashed'' away altogether,
the ''Tramps' Club was started and
every one made happy.
Father Richard (most folk in 6tepney
have forgotten that he has q last name)
doesn't believe in the charity that pau
perizes-that is why there Is no free food
and lodging to be had at the club for
hoboes. He does believe. however. in
holding out helping hand to the man.
even a tramp. who will try to help him.
self, and 80 any hobo who would rather
spruce himself up q bit to look Tor a lob,
can come around to the white House
Of morning and get q free shave, q
wash and brush up" as they call 1t
here. and q shine" Two evenings of the
week, moreover. q tramp who would
rather wear q clean shirt than q dirty
one can wash that garment. and have IL
dried quickly, In special room in the
basement Of the white House." These
Father Richard and his lieutenant re-
gard as "try-outs." Hard cases are not
made welcome at the ''Tramps Club"
and OF the regular members 1t Is the ones
who don't shrink from washing who
are looked upon as not hopeless wastrels
and who are helped, by finding them
work. to emerge from the down and OUT
Glass.
On an average. from 100 to l26 tattered
specimens Of humanity drift into the
Settle street club every evening to play
cards, read and Join In the choruses OF
songs. and practically all OF these actu-
ally are. or recently have been, ION the
road" One wastrel hears Of the place
from another.
One rather expects to find among the
'ciubites' ut the white House" q few
who have fallen from comparatively high
estate-such as the university men who
are said to be carrying sandwich boards
In this city-but the "club secretary" says
that there seem to be few. IL any, Of
these among the hobo fraternity In this
country. In fact. Of all the hundreds Of
tramps that have visited the club since
its opening few months back, the high.
est In social rank have been an ex-sea
captain and . former stock exchange
clerk.
After the Mother.