Commercialized Prostitution in New York City

S:[1] (a) P

orts. These resorts are of several kinds. Most prominent are the so-called parlor house or brothel, the tenement house apartme

nmates gather in the parlor to receive their guests. There is, however, an exception to the definition, inasmuch as some parlor houses

tan, it may be said to approximate the total. It is improbable that many were overlooked. Every one of the establishments investigated was visited two or more times on different dates by different individuals who have made

cent houses; 80 as one-dollar houses; 6 as two-dollar houses; and 34 as five- a

between Fifth and Eighth Avenues. A few of them are located on the East Side on residential streets east of Third Avenue, and on Second Avenue. A still smaller number were discovered on the extreme East Side near the river and below

, the loose and creaking floors are covered with matting which is gradually rotting away, the ceilings are low, the windows small, the air heavy and filled with foul odors. The sanitary conditions in the majority of the one-dollar houses on the West Side streets between Sixth and Seventh Avenues are ha

is paid a bonus for securing a suitable building. In the majority of cases regular leases are drawn up and signed for stated periods. Usually two or more individuals enter into a regular partnership agreement to conduct parlor houses. In the course of this investigation interesting data were obtained respecting the purchase, sale, and value of these shares,[3] which constantly fluctuate in va

e personal charge of the enterprise. She is usually a former prostitute who has outlived her usefulness in that capacity. To her the owners look f

lored girls, who look after the rooms, tend the door, and aid in the sale of liquor to the customers during business hours. A porter is emp

e first place on her ability to secure and hold the "right sort" of inmate. The girls must be contented; they must be stimulated to please; quarrels must be avoided, jealousies nipped in the bud. In the art of management, the madame must exercise all her i

s constantly looking for clever salesmen who have a reputation and a record for increasing business. The author has in mind a particular woman[5] whose customers follow her wherever she goes. There are in this busi

madames or housekeepers have a punch similar to those used by railroad conductors. When a customer is secured, the inmate hands the madame a square piece of cardboard, in which she punches a hole. Among the exhibits obtained during this investigation is a series of sixteen such

nmates. Hence, in practically all the houses here referred to the investigators were assured that the girls have in their possess

rectly or indirectly in the business of prostitution in New York City-has a large practice among the inmates of the cheaper type of house. At times, physicians who make a specialty of this branch are also active in the local politics of their respective districts: these men are in demand, for the keepers hope thus to "stand in" with those "hig

o be utterly useless in the house, was removed by her cadet, who, covering up the signs of her disease, put her on the street. An equally unconscionable and characteristic incident is the following: A young traveling salesman was assured that an inmate was free from disease and a medical certificate stating this

st 24th Street before and after the cleaning up in 1907 declared that his receipts, before that date $3,500 per week from 25 women, have gradually declined until now they are about $2,000 per week. Another owner, in West 36th Street, gave the reason for this falling off: He had visited di

nmates to leave and enter the parlor houses on the pretense that much more money can be earned thus; street walkers are frightened away from the vicinity of these houses by threats of the police. The madame of an establishment in West 28th Street drove away a street walker who was soliciting men for a near

n the house." They gradually accumulate lists of names and addresses of men and boys, keeping them up to date, and at stated intervals they send announcements of change of address or a veiled suggestion as to the "quality" of "goods"

t your earliest convenie

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. 36th

patrons-to sailors on board certain war

bing the inmates and the prices charged. One of his important duties is to see that street walkers do not solicit in front of his employer's house and "take the trade away." Together with the runner or lighthouse, the lookout is supplied with cards advertising the house, which he gives to men and boys in the street. He also goes wherever men and boys congregate-to saloons, restaurants, entertainments, prize fights, wrestling bouts, lobbies of theaters, hotels, and other public places, to distribute cards and to drum up trade. For example, on March 7, 1

" in the underworld, eager for any job no matter how poor the wage. Some of them are well known and take pride in their ability to "run in" a lot of customers. Saturday, July 15, 1912, one of them, Max by name, claimed that he had "hustled in" sixty-

as they are sometimes called. "I know some good houses," "I'll take you to see the girls," "I know where there are a lot of chickens," are among the familiar expressions employed. In occasional instances, customers can gain access only if escorted to the door by the cabman, who

s of the women for whom they act. Customers entering the saloon to drink are directed to the tables where their women sit or receive the busin

The advertising devices above described were openly employed; and visitors procured easy entrance at most places. External order is, however, usually preserved. Madames and inmate rarely and then very cautiously solicit trade from windows, doors

the importance of the sale of intoxicating liquors. Especially is this true in the five-, ten-, and twenty-dollar houses, frequented by a more pretentious type of customer. In such places a small bottle of wine is sold f

hibitions are too vulgar and degrading to be described. Suffice it to say that men have been known to spend fifty

tandpoint are drugs. The girl must be kept gay and attractive; her eyes must look out upon the world of business bright and unfaltering. She must smile and laugh and sin

f making the picture somewhat more vivid I shall briefly describe a few houses of each of the three types w

rs he found himself in a large, loft-like room formerly used for manufacturing purposes. The rooms where prostitution is carried on are partitioned off by means of curtains. The only furniture in the receiving "parlor" are old leather couches and chairs. The curtains over the windows are o

about thirty-five years of age, a short, heavy man, with a black mustache; a cap sits upon his mass of black hair. The man is well versed in the art of "pulling" customers into the house for which he works. As men approach, he motions with

ers, who could not be accommodated with seats, stood about the room. At the foot of the stairs which led to the bedrooms above, a man was stationed. Every time a visitor came groping his way down the stairs, the businesslike and aggres

ndings. One of them on Sixth Avenue[20] was visited at 12.45 A. M., March 1, 1912. A little woman admitted the investigator to the receiving room, where sat nine inmates, all scantily dressed. At 9.30 P. M. on March 6, 1912, another investigator counted eigh

them to spend money or leave. At 12.45 A. M., March 14, 1912, twelve inmates in flimsy costumes were seated about the parlor with five men-one a forlorn peddler who had come in to sell fruit. The place was in an uproar. One of the inmates was quarreling with the madame; several were complaining of poor business. One of them showed the investigator a plain white card

a resort in Sullivan County where many of her kind go during the summer months. She had placed in charge the housekeeper,[23] who did the best she could to keep the girls in good humor and to get through the day's business. On this hot July day there were 264 customers. So the records on the cards showed the next morning as the housekeeper sat with the "boss" making up the "books." Buster served 30 of these; Babie, 27; Charlotte, 23; Dolly, 20, and so on. B

heard to advise young men to patronize this class of house on the ground that there is less danger; everything is said to be sanitary, the inmates less vulgar, younger, and more intelligent. The e

., May 5, 1912, one of them was "introduced" by a man well known as a promoter of the business in former years. Six inmates were on hand at this hour, "house girls," as they are called,-that is, they are "steady" and leave all their earnings to the house, purchasing from the madame ev

litician and ex-city official. Ten years ago this man met her when she was an inmate in Diamond Fanny's house on West 40th Street. Becoming infatuated with her, he took her away and "kept" her. Finally, he "set her up in business," and now he "looks after her." The madame keeps a list of girls whom she calls to the house as occasion requires

he 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. Th

t[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 ca

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

s volume.[34] They establish beyond a doubt the systematic, notorious, and well-night undisturbed