On January 26, 1912, an investigator was solicited in the rear room of a notorious saloon on East 14th Street by "Pearl," who said she would have to take him to the hotel in question. Knowing the history of the resort, he accompanied the girl to the sitting-room in order to see if conditions were still the same; while there he talked with two other girls who are attached to the place. Thus he ascertained that the proprietor has two relays of solicitors, one group on the street from early morning until night, the other group on duty all night. To see that they attend strictly to business, a young man is employed to watch them at their work. If the girls enter into a dispute with customers over terms, the assistant endeavors to straighten out the difficulty. If they are arrested, he informs his employer, who, in turn, goes to the court and does what he can to secure their release. Mamie and Mary both stated that the rebate clerk gives them all amounts over $1.00 which their customers pay for rooms. In case customers buy wine at $5.00 per bottle, the girls receive $2.00 per bottle as a commission.[54] (3) FURNISHED ROOM HOUSES In addition to the more elaborate establishments already described, furnished rooms frequently serve their occupants as vice resorts. During the period of this investigation 112 furnished room assignation houses were discovered. The majority of these are within the following boundaries: First Avenue, Houston Street, the Bowery, and Avenue B; Second Avenue, 27th Street, Seventh Avenue, 31st Street; 33rd Street, Seventh Avenue, 42nd Street; Third Avenue, 27th Street, Seventh Avenue, 31st Street; Eighth Avenue, 33rd Street; Seventh Avenue, 42nd Street. The places are particularly dangerous because a stranger, seeking inexpensive board and lodging, has no way to ascertain their character: an innocent girl may thus unwittingly find herself in the most demoralizing surroundings. Prostitutes do not necessarily live in the furnished room house. They may simply have an understanding with the madame, who, in reality, conducts an assignation house run on the same principle as a hotel, but without register or clerk. The price of the room is determined by the "privileges" for which the girl stipulates,--usually to the effect that, though not resident, she may bring "friends" there at any hour of the day or night. In some houses the prostitute pays $2.00 per night; elsewhere the landlady demands as much as $3.00 per night, or half of what the prostitute earns. In this way a large weekly rental is secured for very inferior quarters. Once possessing such a room with "privileges," the prostitute solicits or picks up customers on the street, and in public places of all sorts, such as dance halls, restaurants, and the rear rooms of saloons.