Chicago and its cess-pools of infamyWilson, Samuel Paynter
History
Chicago and its cess-pools of infamy
Wilson, Samuel Paynter
Chicago (Ill.) -- Social conditions; Prostitution -- Illinois -- Chicago
This is no exaggerated description. The acts of these divorce lawyers
are well know in Chicago, and members of the Bar are familiar with
their mode of proceeding. Reputable barristers denounce them as a
disgrace, not only to the profession, but also the judges on the bench
know these men by their ways. Yet, neither the Bench nor the Bar
Association make any effort to stop the evil or disbar the wretches,
who thus prey upon the most sacred relations of life. Lawyers of
standing are afraid to attempt to bring it to justice, lest they should
draw upon themselves the vengeance of the courts and so injure their
own professional prospects. So the evil will continue to grow. It will
flourish as long as there are foolish people to take advantage of it.
Tramps’ Paradise
Chicago is the paradise of tramps, the term is generally applied to
able bodied men and women who are too lazy to work, but prefer to pick
up a precarious living by begging food and clothes from house to house.
In mild weather they sleep in the parks and public squares, and in
winter take refuge in the police stations. During the warm season they
leave the city in large numbers, and wander through the country, going
into many states, but in winter they flock back to Chicago, where they
are sure of food and shelter. Some remain in the city throughout the
year. They are dissipated as a rule, and the majority have been brought
to their present condition because of drink.
They will steal and even commit highway robbery, rape, or murder, if
they get a chance, and are a terror to householders of the city. They
haunt the beer saloons and low class bar-rooms, beg for drinks, and
will even drain the few drops left in the empty beer kegs in the
sidewalk. They will solicit passers-by for money, and in this way often
manage to collect enough to buy whisky or beer. Their food they beg
at the doors of residences, keeping a sharp lookout all the while for
an opportunity to steal something of value when the servant’s back is
turned.
The parks are the favorite lodging places with them in warm weather.
Under cover of darkness they creep into the shrubbery and make their
beds on the grass. Sometimes they sleep on the benches scattered
throughout the grounds, but as they are apt to be disturbed by the
police, they prefer the shrubbery.
The more fortunate tramps patronize the cheap lodging houses, which are
very numerous in some portions of the city. In some of these places a
bed may be obtained for five cents.
Some of the more aristocratic places charge ten cents, and each
occupant is furnished with food in the morning. Nightly scores of men
and boys apply for lodging at the police stations.
Many deserving persons are classed among the tramps. They are
friendless, homeless, and without money or work and must adopt
the tramp’s life in order to maintain existence. Such persons
gladly accept any work offered them, and escape from the wretched
companionship as soon as they are able to do so.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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