At 11.30 P. M., February 16, 1912, the investigator was taken to a very exclusive house[26] by a chauffeur who receives a commission on every customer he secures. There were fifteen young and attractive girls in the receiving parlors, in one of which in the rear of the house an orchestra of young men played through the evening. The patron is ushered into the front parlor by colored maids trim and smart in white aprons; here the youngest of the "stock" is shown. The parlors are equipped with gold-trimmed furniture. Rich rugs and pretentious paintings testify to prosperity. Wine and beer are sold at the usual exorbitant prices. The inmates are dressed in elaborate evening gowns of silk and satin. As the investigator started to leave, the madame said, "Every Saturday night is bargain night, and next Saturday I shall have twelve young girls and guarantee them to be not over sixteen years of age. You must come early and get one of the bargains." To some of these places customers are admitted only if they come in a cab or a taxi. This was the case at a place in West 46th Street[27] at 2.30 A. M., April 1, 1912. At this hour two men were refused admission because they were not known and did not come in a cab. The investigator, however, fared better: he had been brought to the house by Joe,[28] a cabman who recommended him to the madame. It might be suggested that the foregoing data prove at most that parlor houses were in operation on the specific dates mentioned, and then only. As a matter of fact, the establishments in question were observed from week to week and from month to month. Notorious though they were, there was for the most part no interruption of business, except, in the latter part of the period of our investigation, as a consequence of a startling event to be described later.[29] A dollar house in Sixth Avenue[30] was visited March 5, March 6, May 25, July 21, and August 25, 1912; another[31] on West 24th Street, was visited February 2, February 19, March 24, May 24, May 25, 1912; twelve visits were paid to another in West 25th Street[32] between February 1 and July 16; the same number between February 8 and July 15 to a house in West 31st Street.[33] The above instances are taken almost at random; many more are brought together at the close of this volume.[34] They establish beyond a doubt the systematic, notorious, and well-night undisturbed conduct of a large number of brothels in Manhattan during the period with which this record deals. CHAPTER II VICE RESORTS: (b) TENEMENT HOUSES,[35] HOTELS, FURNISHED ROOMS, MASSAGE PARLORS