The Hobo: The Sociology of the Homeless ManAnderson, Nels
General
The Hobo: The Sociology of the Homeless Man
Anderson, Nels
Chicago (Ill.) -- Social conditions; Tramps
7. Chicago as the great clearing house of employment
for the states of the Mississippi Valley naturally and
inevitably becomes the temporary home of men out of work
for the entire region. The following appear to be the facts
in regard to the workers and the conditions of employment:
_a_) Fluctuations of industry, such as seasonal changes,
and of unemployment, force large numbers of men into the
group of homeless migratory and casual workers.
_b_) At the same time, the homeless migratory and
casual worker develops irregular habits of work and a
life-policy of “living from hand to mouth.”
_c_) Employment records indicate that the lower grade of
casual workers prefer work by the day, or employment by
the week or two, to “permanent” positions of three months
or longer.
_d_) The Illinois Free Employment offices, efficiently
administered with simple but well-kept records and
with courteous treatment of applicants, placed 50,482
persons in the year ending September 30, 1922, mainly in
positions in and near Chicago.
_e_) The private employment agencies dealing with the
homeless man, about fifty in number, which are, in
general, poorly equipped, with the minimum of record
keeping required by law and with inconsiderate treatment
of applicants, place about 200,000 men a year in
positions, for the most part, outside of Chicago.
_f_) The law relating to private employment agencies as
approved June 15, 1909, in force July 1, 1909, and as
amended and approved June 7, 1911, in force July 1, 1911,
appears not to be enforced in two points:
i) the requirement that sections three (3), four (4),
and five (5) of the law be posted in a conspicuous
place in each room of the agency; and
ii) the return to the applicant of three-fifths of the
registration and other fees upon failure of applicant
to accept position or upon his discharge for cause.
8. The health and hygiene of the homeless migratory and
casual worker is of vital concern not only for his economic
efficiency but also because of the relation of his high
mobility to the spread of communicable diseases.
9. The homeless migratory and casual workers constitute a
womanless group. The results of this sex isolation are:
_a_) No opportunity for the expression and sublimation of
the sex impulse in the normal life of the family.
_b_) In a few cases, the substitution for marriage of
free unions more or less casual, usually terminated at
the will of the man without due regard to the claims of
the woman.
_c_) The dependence of the greatest number of homeless
men upon the professional prostitute of the lowest grade
and the cheapest sort.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account