September 3, 2025 • 41 mins
This investigation delves into the complex and often overlooked issues surrounding prostitution. While many individuals instinctively seek the causes behind societal vices, a significant portion of the intelligent population in New York has suffered the consequences of this persistent issue without exploring its root causes. Each year, countless lives are impacted, as broken health and tarnished reputations emerge from this vice. Is it too late to awaken your curiosity and compassion for this critical matter? We argue that it is high time to conduct an inquiry that addresses these pressing concerns‚one that is essential for public safety, personal well-being, and the greater good.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Section fifty three of the History of Prostitution. This is
a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
Recording by MENA. Anderson. The History of Prostitution by William Sanger,
(00:23):
Section fifty three, Chapter thirty five, New York Prostitutes and
Houses of Prostitution, Part one. First class or parlor houses, luxury,
semi refinement, rate of board, dress, money, lavish extravagance, instance
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of economy, means of amusement, housekeepers, rents, estimated receipts, management
of houses assumed respectability, consequences of exactions from prostitutes, affection
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for lovers, second class houses, street walkers, drunkenness, cephilitic infection,
Third class houses germans, sailors, ballrooms, intoxication, Fourth class houses,
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repulsive features, visitors, action of the police. First class houses
of assignation, secrecy and exclusiveness, keepers, arrangements, visitors, origin of
some houses of vassignation, prevalence of intrigue, foreign manners, effects
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of travel, dress, second class houses, visitors, prostitutes, arrangements, wine
and liquor. Third class houses kept mistresses, sewing and shock girls, disease,
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fourth class houses, panel houses. It will not be out
of place here to say somewhat concerning the manner of
life among prostitutes, how they occupy the time, and what
facilities they possess for mental or bodily recreation. The domestic
life of a number of women whose every action is
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contrary to all the rules of virtue, who are living
in the constant violation of the law, with a daily
subsistence contributed by those whose folly or passions make them
visitors to their abode, cannot but possess considerable interest to
all who have followed thus far in this painful task.
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In entering upon the subject, the endeavor will be to
give such particulars as will enable the reader to form
satisfactory conclusion, without recording what would merely minister to a
prurient curiosity. The object is to give information as explicitly
as possible, without offending the most sensitive delicacy, wounding the
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most refined feelings, or unnecessarily parading these poor women before
the public eye. The subject is invested with such an
array of real and palpable horrors as to render unnecessary
any endeavor to excite undue emotion by penetrating the mysteries
of the saturnalia. There is a wide diversity among the
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various grades of prostitutes in New York. The first class
are those who reside in what are technically called parlor houses.
These veries seldom leave their abodes unless for the purpose
of making purchases of true jewelry or articles of toilet
or taking an afternoon promenade on the fashionable side of Broadway,
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excepting when they accompany their lovers or visitors in a
ride or to some public place of amusement. These utterly
repudiate the name of street walkers, and very seldom perform
any act in public which would expose them to reprobation
or attract the attention of the police. They assume to be,
and are, in fact, the most respectable of their class,
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if any respectability can be associated with so vicious a course.
Being almost invariably young and handsome, and always very well dressed,
they pass through the streets without their real character being
suspected by the uninitiated. The houses in which this class
of courtesans reside are furnished with a lavish display of luxury,
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scarcely in accordance with the dictates of good taste, however,
and mostly exhibiting a quantity of mcnut eificent furniture crowded
together without taste or judgment for the sake of ostentation.
The most costly cabinet and upholstery work is freely employed
in their decoration, particularly in the rooms used as reception parlors.
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Large mirrors adorn the walls, which are frequently handsomely frescoed,
and guilt paintings and engravings in rich frames, vases and
statuettes at their charms. Carpets of luxurious softnents cover the floors,
while sofas, ottomans and easy chairs abound. Music has its
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representative in a beautiful pianoforte, upon which some professed player
is paid a liberal salary to perform. Even the bedchambers, passages, halls,
and stairways are furnished in a similar style. In such
an abode as this probably dwell from three to ten prostitutes,
each paying weekly for her board from ten to sixteen
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to exclusive of extras, which will be noticed hereafter. Their
active life comprises about twelve or fourteen hours daily, ranging
from noon to midnight or early morning. Their visitors are
mostly of what may be called the aristocratic class, young,
middle aged and even old men of property, of all
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callings and professions. Anyone who can command a liberal supply
of money is welcome, but without this indispensable requisite, his
company is not sought or appreciated. None of the disgusting
practice is common in houses of a lower grade are
met with. Here. There is no palpable obscenity, and but
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little that can outrage propriety. Of course, there is a
perfect freedom of manner between prostitutes and visitors, but so
far as the public eye can penetrate, the requirements of
common decency are not openly violated. Profanity, as may naturally
be expected, exists to some extent. It is an almost
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invariable accompaniment of prostitution, but even that is divested of
its grossness and is not a frequent occurrence. There is
no bar room or public drinking place in the house,
but it is a general custom for each visitor to
invite his pro tempore in the marata and her companions
to take champagne with him, which is supplied by the
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keeper of the place at the charge of three dollars
a bottle. As remarked in the preceding chapter, excessive drunkenness
is rare, both prostitutes and keepers trying to suppress it
because an intoxicated man would be likely to give them trouble,
damage their furniture, and injure the reputation of the house.
By means of a small aperture in the front door,
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covered by a wrought iron lattice work, the candidates for
admission can be examined before entrance is given, and the
door is kept closed against any person who is likely
to prove an annoyance. As a natural consequence of their position,
the women exert all their powers of fascination by adopting
the latest and most superb fashions in dress, and by
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a very tasteful arrangement of their hair, for which purpose
a hairdresser visits them every day, charging each woman two
or three dollars a week for his assistance. Besides these,
they practice a thousand other artifices, unknown to mere lookers
on in order to secure the favor of their visitors.
About three fourths of the courtesans of this grade are
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natives of the United States, and mostly from New England
or the Middle states. Some of them are very well educated.
Accomplished musicians and artists are sometimes found among them, while
others aspired to literature. With the greater number, much elegance
and refinement of manner, or a close observance of what
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may be called the conventionalities of life is seen. Their
income is large, but so are their expenses. It is
no exaggeration to state that their individual receipts very seldom
fall short of fifty dollars per week. From this amount,
the duct, the sum charged for their board, an additional
fee which they pay the proprietus for every visitor they entertain,
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the expenses of hair dressing, perfumery, et cetera. The cost
of their washing, which is all done at their own charge,
away from the house and must be considerable, and the
remainder will give their expenditure for address. All are not
equally extravagant. Some seem to consider prostitution a business and
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act upon the idea of saving as much money as possible.
In one case, a woman asserted that she had seven
thousand dollars in the bank, which she had accumulated by
prostitution in a few years, and her statement was confirmed
by the captain of police for the district. The economical
ones are generally shrewd, calculating down easters, who argue that
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if they save enough during the zenith of their charms
to support them when their attractions fail, or to help
them establish a house of this description on their own account,
they are only doing their duty. Others have dependent relatives
whom they support or illegitimate children, whom they maintain and educate,
frequently appropriating considerable sums for these purposes. In nearly all
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of them, Kindness or the unfortunate of their own sex
and grade is a striking trait, much as they may
quarrel among each other when they are all alike in health.
Let one be visited with sickness or overcome by misfortune,
and as a general rule, their envy or jealousy is forgotten,
and they freely contribute to her support. Their means of
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amusement are limited. When they have no visitors, They generally
indulge in a luxurious endolence for any useful employment, such
as even sewing or fancy needlework. They have but little inclination,
and their general refuge from ennui is found in reading novels.
These are not as would be generally supposed works of
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lascivious character. To these, they seem to have an objection,
most probably because their own expertise has proved the fallacies
of the highly colored descriptions of the delights of love
which abound in such productions. To one source of recreation,
they are extremely partial, namely driving in carriages some few
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miles out of town, and they frequently persuade their visitors
to indulge them in these rural excursions. They are well
acquainted with the most pleasant drives, and know exactly where
to find quiet and retired hotels where all the delicacies
of the season can be served in the most approved style.
If they cannot induce their friends to gratify them in
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this manner, they will endeavor to secure an invitation to
take luncheon or oysters at some fashionable saloons. Dress, gay life,
and excitement seem necessary to their existence. And amid all
this array of luxurious homes, of splendid dresses, of comparative affluence,
the question arises, are they happy? A moment's consideration will
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prompt the answer that they cannot be. Continued indulgence in
their course of life tends to obliterate the sense of degradation,
and makes their career almost second nature. But even the
most confirmed must the times reflect the memory of what
they have been. The thought of what they are, the
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dread of what they must be, haunt their minds. Conscience
will make itself heard. Many a poor girl, dressed in
silks or satins, gleaming with jewelry and receiving with a
gay smile the lavish compliments of her friend, is mentally
racked with a keen appreciation of her true position. She
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knows that the world condemns her, and her own heart
admits the justice of the verdict. She knows that he
who is so ostentatiously parading his admiration regards her but
as a purchased instrument to minister to his gratification. She
feels that she is emphatically alone in the world, and
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her merry laugh but ill conceals a breaking heart. These
houses are generally kept by middle aged women who have
themselves passed through the initiatory course of a prostitute's life.
In some cases, they own the real estate and furniture.
In others, they hire or lease the house, paying an
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exorbitant rent, often to some wealthy man who considers himself
a respectable member of society, and provide their own furniture.
In other cases, they rent both house and furniture. In
one house in this city. The normal a sum of
nine thousand, one hundred dollars is or was at the
time of examination, paid annually for rent and use of furnishings,
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the owner being a woman who formerly kept the place,
but who is now living in the enjoyment of a
large income in one of the Italian cities. The following
extracts from information obtained on this subject will give you
a very good idea of the facts. E. M pays
thirteen hundred dollars per year for rent and use of
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furniture which is owned by a woman who formerly kept
the house. MS pays one thousand dollars per year rent
and owns the furniture. M L owns the house and
furniture estimated to be worth fifteen thousand dollars. MAT pays
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seven hundred dollars per year rent and owns furniture valued
at five thousand dollars. JG pays seven one hundred dollars
per year rent and owns furniture valued at three thousand dollars.
E t owns the real estate and furniture valued at
thirty thousand dollars. C G pays eighteen hundred dollars per
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year rent and owns furniture valued at six thousand dollars.
M c K pays thirty nine hundred dollars per year
for rent and use of furniture. C E pays fourteen
hundred dollars per anum rent and owns furniture valued at
six thousand dollars. M B owns the house and furniture
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valued at fifteen thousand dollars. JB pays five hundred and
sixty dollars per year rent and owns furniture valued at
two thousand dollars. E B pays one thousand per year
rent and owns furniture valued at three thousand dollars. M
M owns house and furniture valued at fifteen thousand dollars.
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C C pays eight hundred and fifty dollars per year
rent and owns furniture valued at eight thousand dollars. M
M pays seven hundred and fifty dollars per year rent
and owns furniture valued at two thousand dollars. M G
pays six hundred and twenty five dollars per year rent
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and owns furniture valued at one thousand dollars. V N
pays thirteen hundred dollars per year rent and owns furniture
valued at three thousand dollars. C E pays fourteen hundred
dollars per year rent and owns furniture valued at six
thousand dollars. L C pays one thousand dollars per year
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rent and owns furniture valued at two thousand dollars. A
T pays one thousand dollars per year rent and owns
furniture valued at three two thousand dollars. The financial effects
of the system of prostitution will furnish a theme for
some remarks hereafter. These facts are quoted now to explain
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the expenses connected with first class houses. Of course, where
such outlays are incurred, the receipts must correspond. The following
statement will exhibit the minimum weekly receipts in a house
where ten boarders reside. Board for ten women at sixteen
dollars per week each one hundred and sixty dollars fees
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for visitors, say one each day to each woman one
dollar each, seventy dollars. Profits from sale of one basket
of champagne each day weekly one hundred and sixty eight
dollars total three hundred and ninety eight dollars. This estimate
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does not reach the daily average of visitors, and a
more correct statement would be board for ten women at
sixteen dollars per week each one hundred and sixty dollars.
Fees for visitors, say two each day to each woman
one dollar each, one hundred and forty dollars. Profit from
sales of two baskets of champagne each day weekly three
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hundred and thirty six dollars total six hundred and sixteen dollars.
Taking the mean of these two calculations will give receipts
exceeding twenty six thousand dollars per year or five hundred
dollars weekly. The cost of maintaining these luxurious establishments, in
addition to the rent, is considerable, but still there is
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a very large excess. This is satisfactorily proved by the
fact that the women who own the houses in which
they conduct their traffic have almost without exception, purchased them
since they commenced housekeeping, and also that many of them
own considerable personal property in addition to the real estate.
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One woman is positively affirmed to be worth over one
hundred thousand dollars, Many are reported as worth sums ranging
from fifty thousand downward, and many more are reputed to
be rich, but no special amount mentioned. The management of
many of the houses is confided to a housekeeper acting
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for the principal, who is rarely visible unless specially called for.
And under this housekeeper are a number of servants, varying
from three to seven according to the size of the
house and the number of boarders it accommodates. These servants
are almost invariably colored women, and no difficulty is ever
experienced in obtaining a full complement. Their wages are liberal,
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their perquisites considerable, and their work light. A neat and
well arranged breakfast is prepared for the lady boarders about
eleven or twelve o'clock, and their dinner is served about
five or six o'clock. As a general rule, these our
only meals supplied them in the course of the day.
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If they require anything more, they send out for it
or persuade their visitors to escort them to some saloon.
The proprietors of this class of house assume to be
respectable women when they are away from the scene of
their business. An anecdote, and a true one, has been
related of one of them, who, on a recent visit
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to Newport, so effectually carried out her disguise as to
receive the escort of a reverend gentleman, a DD of
this city, to the dinner table and elsewhere with his family,
he thinking her a most amiable and deeply afflicted widow.
Some of them have private residences uptown in the quiet,
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respectable streets, and come to their house of prostitution every forenoon,
returning at night. A portion of them professed to be religious,
frequently attending some place of worship, the better to preserve
their mass. Naturally benevolent, as are all women, they contribute
liberally to charitable objects, and freely relieve any indigent persons
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who may ask their assistance. Even in political matters, they
have some weight, their resources and connections, proving valuable to
some aspirant for local distinction, who has promised them that
he will, if elected, use all his influence to protect
them from annoyance toward the miserable women whose vice is
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the source of their wealth. These proprietors act as interest dictates.
A girl who has not the tact or disposition to
attract visitors is seldom treated with much consideration, while one
who is successful receives more favors, but favors generally speaking
of a nature to render her subservient to their wishes,
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such as the loan of money to purchase new and
fashionable articles of dress, a short credit for her board,
or some equivalent which will place her under an obligation
and render it difficult for her to leave the house.
They are actuated in this by a desire to retain
an attractive girl, for in addition to the actual cash
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payments she makes, she also possesses the power of inducing
her visitors to be liberal in their orders. For wine,
and the profit from its sale about two hundred percent,
is an important source of revenue. The excessive demands made
upon the earnings of prostitutes by these women has been
productive of a serious social evil. Many unfortunate girls cannot
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appreciate the advantages of leading a vicious life for the
benefit of a landlady, and in self defense have hired
apartments in some private house so as to secure their
earnings for themselves. This is generally arranged so that two
of them engage a suite of room, say a parlor
and two bedrooms, representing themselves as virtuous women, governesses or seamstresses,
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and frequently as the wives of sailors or men who
are in California or some other distant land. Here they
either board themselves or resort to some saloon and to
this lodging, or to the house of assignation, which will
be noticed in due course they introduce their visitors. It
is a fact more than suspected that many prostitutes are
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living in this manner in our city. It is needless
to enlarge upon the injurious effects likely to result therefrom
before leaving this branch of the subject. There is another
characteristic of keepers of these houses which must be noticed, namely,
an exaggerated affection for some man to whom they are
passionately attached. Some few of them are professedly living with
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their husbands, but this is an exception to the ordinary rule.
Generally speaking, they are the mistresses of some persons upon
whom they lavish all their tenderness, and for whose gratification
they willingly incur any amount of expense. Some of these
individuals are men upon town, gamblers or rowdies of the
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highest class, whose noblest aspirations are satisfied by a liberal
supply of money. They were readily ignore all social virtues
for the same consideration. It is related as a fact
concerning a celebrated brothel keeper in the city, that when
she was residing in the interior of the States some
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years since, she became desperately enamored of a young man.
Whose friends discovered the connection, they removed him to the
far west. Undaunted by the dangers and difficulties which surrounded her,
she followed him, and, during her journey through the large towns,
had many offers of protection from men acquainted with her antecedents.
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True to her affection, she refused them all and traced
her lover to the forests. Here she remained with him,
living in a log hut, deprived of many of the
necessaries and all of the comforts and elegances of life,
for three years at least. Infidelity to her love cannot
be charged against this woman. And is it not a
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natural conclusion that a heart so sincere and devoted in
its attachment could have been led to a more virtuous
course had a different social feeling existed toward her and
her former transgressions. As a general rule, the keepers of
these first class houses will not permit the borders to
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have the men whom they style their lovers residing with them,
although they allow them to visit. A constant residence is
considered as likely to engross too much of the girl's
time to the neglect of the interests of the proprietus.
We come now to the second grade of prostitutes and
houses of prostitution. Many of the women of this rank
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are those who made their debut in first class houses,
but left them when their charms began to fade. To
some extent, they endeavor to carry out the same rules
of conduct which governed them while there, and generally speaking,
the management of some portion of the houses of this
grade assimilates very much with the former, the same privacy
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being observed, though in a less expensive manner. In others
a marked difference is perceptible, and these will now claim
attention a longer continuance in the habits of prostitution, and
the association with a less aristocratic class of visitors has
diminished the refinement of the women and imparted to them
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coarser manners. There is not the same desire to assume
a virtue if they have it not, or the same
ambition to make vice seem unlike itself. Degradation has had
its effects upon them, and now that they are reduced
to a humbler sphere, they feel more of the world's
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pressure and become more daring and reckless in their conduct.
Many of the street walkers and women frequenting theaters are
of this class, and anyone who has ever come in
contact with them would have found no difficulty in at
once assigning their true position. It is right to say
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here that many of the managers of our best theaters
have abolished the third tier so called, and if any
improper woman visits them, she must do so under the
assumed garb of respectability, and conduct herself accordingly. Other women
in this grade, or rather this section of the second grade,
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commence their life of vice in it. And as the
natural tendency of prostitution is to depress instead of e
its followers, they have very little chance of ever rising
beyond their present rank, although such instances do occasionally happen.
The keeper of a first class house, sometimes consenting to
receive a border from a lower rank if she has
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only recently commenced prostitution and is sufficiently prepossessing in manners
and appearance for this exaltation. A great number of foreign
born women are found in this class, victims of emigrant
boarding houses or of seduction on board ship during their
passage to this country. The houses are generally conducted in
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a similar manner to those of the first class, with
this distinction that what is costly luxury in the one
is replaced by tawd refinery in the other, and for
expensive mirrors and valuable paintings they substitute cheaper ornamentation. Their
reception rooms are of much inferior finish. They also furnish
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one and brandy to customers who wish for them. Drunkenness
is more general, both with the prostitutes and their visitors,
and the most revolting scenes are not uncommon. Profanity is
indulged in to a considerable extent, and in some places
seems the vernacular language. The attempts at fascination made by
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the women are more excessive and frequently vulgar, to a
degree which while it excites a smile also inspires disgust.
The general charge for board here will be from six
to ten dollars a week, rarely reaching the latter figure.
When evening approaches, if there is little or no company
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in the house, the girls resort to the streets, dressed
in their most attractive finery, in the expectation of finding
some man whom they can induce to accompany them home.
They are seldom unsuccessful in this search, and very frequently
repeated several times, and the course of the evening, others
of them visit the third tier of such theaters as
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will admit them, and there exert their charms to secure conquest.
Intercourse with these women is attended with considerable danger, professional
experience having shown many of them to be infected with syphilis,
while numbers are connected with dishonest men who would not
scruple to rob a stranger if any opportunity offered for
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the purpose, such opportunity being not unfrequently afforded by some
arrangement of the woman herself. In such places, vice presents
comparatively few attractions, and yet these houses are numerously visited
principally by travelers clerks from stores. The higher class of mechanics, etc.
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Some of whom will spend in an evening the earnings
of a week. The women who preside over these brothels
are usually of the strong minded and frequently of the
strong handed order, the latter being those who can, by
their own strength to suppress any riot that may occur
without calling an aid from the police, and generally calculate
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to preserve a moderate decorum in their establishments. Their profits
are very large derived not merely from the board money
and extras paid by the women, but also from the
wines and liquors they sell. They do not endeavor to
screen their own character, as do those of the upper class,
but openly acknowledge that they are and do not hesitate
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to give their personal attention to the business of the place.
Anxious to accumulate money as rapidly as possible, They are
not very particular about the means they employ, and although
they would not allow any positive act of dishonesty to
be performed toward a visitor while he was in the house,
on account of the trouble to which it might subsequently
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expose them, yet they would scarcely consider it their duty
to warn him against the proceedings of the men who
live as lovers with the prostitutes under their roofs. The
virtue of these keepers is generally not of a very
rigid order, and their favored lovers are universally selected from
among men of the same character as themselves. The meals
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provided for borders are served at about the same hours
as in the fashionable houses, but they lack that neatness
and arrangement which a good cook would give. The domestic
matters being mostly confided to inexperienced servants, and frequently to
some old prostitutes, who are retained at nominal wages to
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do as much work as they can, and in their
own style. It has been already stated that some of
the second class houses of prostitution are conducted in a
similar manner to those of the first, and therefore no
attempt has been made to give any detailed account of them,
which would be a mere repetition of what has been
once described. The lower class have been taken as illustrating
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the second grade, and consequently the account must not be
taken as a sweeping condemnation of the whole. The next
or third grade of prostitutes and houses of prostitution may
be found very fully developed in the first police district
among the Germans, in the fourth district, where sailors mostly resort,
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and also in the third, fifth, sixth, and fourteenth districts.
A majority of the women in these districts are of
foreign birth, the largest proportion being Irish and German. Although
rated as third class houses, some of them are equal
in all respects, and sometimes superior in many to houses
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of the second class. Most of the women are young,
and many of them are very good looking. While the houses,
particularly those kept by Germans, are in general conducted very quietly,
even in those places resorted to by sailors, the principal
part of any noise which may occur is caused by
the boisterous mirth and practical jokes of the visitors themselves.
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The houses are, in every sense of the word public
places of prostitution, and neither women nor keepers seek to
disguise the fact in any manner, the general argument seeming
to be we live by prostitution, no matter who knows it.
There are many distinctive features in the several districts, but
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the first and the fourth will be fair average types
of the whole, and there we will notice briefly commencing
with the German houses in the first district. Here drinking
is openly carried on, although seldom to such an extent
as to cause absolute intoxication. There is a public bar
room opening directly from the street, where it can be
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obtained lager beer and German in wines, as well as
the usual liquors sold in porter houses. This is the
reception room of the establishment, and a stranger in the
city who might walk in to get a glass of Laugerbier,
without knowing the character of the place or being aware
of the significance of the crimson and white curtains festooned
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over the windows, would find himself followed to the bar
by some German girl who would ask him in broken
English if he would treat her if he feels inclined
to gaze around him and study human nature. In this phase.
He sees that the room is very clean. A common sofa,
one or two settees, and a number of chairs are
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ranged round the walls. There is a small table with
some German newspapers upon it, a piano upon which the
proprietor of this bar keeper, at intervals performs a National malady,
and a few prints of engravings complete its furniture. Two
or three girls are in different parts of the room,
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engaged in knitting or sewing. For German girls, whether virtuous
or prostitute, seem to have a horror of idleness, and
even in such a place as this, are seldom seen
without their work. Everything bears an unmistakable teutonic appearance, from
the heavily mustached proprietor or the recently imported barkeeper, to
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the mistress or madame as she is generally called, and
the women themselves all plainly tell their origin. He is
surprised at the entire absence of all those noisy elements
generally considered inseparable from a low class house of prostitution.
He can sit there and smoke his cigar in as
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much peace as at any hotel in the city. And
if he once tells a woman he does not wish
to have any conversation with her, he will scarcely be
annoyed again unless he makes the first advances. If he
thinks proper to enter into conversation with the proprietor, he
will be certain of a courteous reply, and will frequently
(37:09):
find him an intelligent and communicative man finally concluding to
resist the temptations around him, he leaves the place in
the most perfect security and without the least fear of
being insulted. The majority of the girls here have recently
arrived in the United States. Some have embraced this course
(37:31):
of life from absolute poverty and friendlessness. Some have followed
it in their own country. Others have been the victims
of seduction, and with some the ruling motive seems to
have been a desire to speak and be spoken to
in their native tongue. Their pecuniary arrangement with the proprietor,
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for there is almost invariably a man at the head
of each establishment, is that they shall give him one
half of all the money they read seed, for which
he provides them with bored and lodging. They are not
generally in temperate women, the light German wines being their
principal beverage, and although they frequently indulge in profanity, yet
(38:13):
as it is in their national language, it is unintelligible
to those who understand only English, and the annoyance is
consequently restricted. They are generally honest. In fact, it is
the testimony of those best qualified to judge that there
is very seldom much disturbance, and very rarely any dishonesty
practiced in this class of brothels. It cannot be said
(38:37):
that literally there is not much noise. For anyone who
has been in a room where two or three Germans
of each sex were talking and gesticulating with their characteristic earnestness,
will be of opinion that they talked quite loud enough.
But by disturbance is to be understood quarreling or fighting,
which sometimes occurs, but not very frequently. As before remarked,
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a man and his wife are mostly the keepers of
such houses. The man, sometimes with a lad for his assistant,
attent to the bar room and takes charge of the money.
The wife does the cooking and general housework, and the
girls attend to their own rooms. By this division of labor,
the work is generally done to the satisfaction of all parties,
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and the expense is being light, a considerable profit is made.
There are mostly three or four girls in each house,
seldom exceeding that number, and the rule among housekeepers is
to consider any girl an unprofitable acquisition who does not
pay them about ten dollars a week. Their rents are
(39:45):
low because they have but little room. The basement of
an ordinary sized house is generally the extent of their accommodation.
The front part of this forms the bar room, and
the remainder is partitioned int to very small bedrooms. There
is another feature connected with German prostitution, and exhibited in
(40:05):
the same neighborhood, which has already received a cursory notice
on a former page, namely, they're dancing saloons. Saltatory amusements
are carried on, more or less in all their houses
a prostitution, but in these saloons it is considered a
respectable business enterprise, although the morality of the establishment is
(40:28):
at least questionable. The ballroom is a large, open apartment,
devoid of all furniture excepting chairs or benches around the walls.
The musical arrangements generally comprise a piano and violin, and
the dances are national waltzes and polkas. No charge is
(40:50):
made for admission, and the bar is the only source
of revenue. The orchestra occasionally appeal to the charitable for assistance,
and the pile is mostly responded to in a liberal manner.
The business commences in the evening and is invariably discontinued
at midnight. The places are frequented by very few but Germans,
(41:13):
and order is well maintained. End of section fifty three.
Recording by Mina Anderson,
Section fifty three of the History of Prostitution. This is
a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
Recording by MENA. Anderson. The History of Prostitution by William Sanger,
(00:23):
Section fifty three, Chapter thirty five, New York Prostitutes and
Houses of Prostitution, Part one. First class or parlor houses, luxury,
semi refinement, rate of board, dress, money, lavish extravagance, instance
(00:46):
of economy, means of amusement, housekeepers, rents, estimated receipts, management
of houses assumed respectability, consequences of exactions from prostitutes, affection
(01:06):
for lovers, second class houses, street walkers, drunkenness, cephilitic infection,
Third class houses germans, sailors, ballrooms, intoxication, Fourth class houses,
(01:29):
repulsive features, visitors, action of the police. First class houses
of assignation, secrecy and exclusiveness, keepers, arrangements, visitors, origin of
some houses of vassignation, prevalence of intrigue, foreign manners, effects
(01:57):
of travel, dress, second class houses, visitors, prostitutes, arrangements, wine
and liquor. Third class houses kept mistresses, sewing and shock girls, disease,
(02:18):
fourth class houses, panel houses. It will not be out
of place here to say somewhat concerning the manner of
life among prostitutes, how they occupy the time, and what
facilities they possess for mental or bodily recreation. The domestic
life of a number of women whose every action is
(02:39):
contrary to all the rules of virtue, who are living
in the constant violation of the law, with a daily
subsistence contributed by those whose folly or passions make them
visitors to their abode, cannot but possess considerable interest to
all who have followed thus far in this painful task.
(03:02):
In entering upon the subject, the endeavor will be to
give such particulars as will enable the reader to form
satisfactory conclusion, without recording what would merely minister to a
prurient curiosity. The object is to give information as explicitly
as possible, without offending the most sensitive delicacy, wounding the
(03:23):
most refined feelings, or unnecessarily parading these poor women before
the public eye. The subject is invested with such an
array of real and palpable horrors as to render unnecessary
any endeavor to excite undue emotion by penetrating the mysteries
of the saturnalia. There is a wide diversity among the
(03:45):
various grades of prostitutes in New York. The first class
are those who reside in what are technically called parlor houses.
These veries seldom leave their abodes unless for the purpose
of making purchases of true jewelry or articles of toilet
or taking an afternoon promenade on the fashionable side of Broadway,
(04:09):
excepting when they accompany their lovers or visitors in a
ride or to some public place of amusement. These utterly
repudiate the name of street walkers, and very seldom perform
any act in public which would expose them to reprobation
or attract the attention of the police. They assume to be,
and are, in fact, the most respectable of their class,
(04:31):
if any respectability can be associated with so vicious a course.
Being almost invariably young and handsome, and always very well dressed,
they pass through the streets without their real character being
suspected by the uninitiated. The houses in which this class
of courtesans reside are furnished with a lavish display of luxury,
(04:53):
scarcely in accordance with the dictates of good taste, however,
and mostly exhibiting a quantity of mcnut eificent furniture crowded
together without taste or judgment for the sake of ostentation.
The most costly cabinet and upholstery work is freely employed
in their decoration, particularly in the rooms used as reception parlors.
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Large mirrors adorn the walls, which are frequently handsomely frescoed,
and guilt paintings and engravings in rich frames, vases and
statuettes at their charms. Carpets of luxurious softnents cover the floors,
while sofas, ottomans and easy chairs abound. Music has its
(05:36):
representative in a beautiful pianoforte, upon which some professed player
is paid a liberal salary to perform. Even the bedchambers, passages, halls,
and stairways are furnished in a similar style. In such
an abode as this probably dwell from three to ten prostitutes,
each paying weekly for her board from ten to sixteen
(05:59):
to exclusive of extras, which will be noticed hereafter. Their
active life comprises about twelve or fourteen hours daily, ranging
from noon to midnight or early morning. Their visitors are
mostly of what may be called the aristocratic class, young,
middle aged and even old men of property, of all
(06:23):
callings and professions. Anyone who can command a liberal supply
of money is welcome, but without this indispensable requisite, his
company is not sought or appreciated. None of the disgusting
practice is common in houses of a lower grade are
met with. Here. There is no palpable obscenity, and but
(06:43):
little that can outrage propriety. Of course, there is a
perfect freedom of manner between prostitutes and visitors, but so
far as the public eye can penetrate, the requirements of
common decency are not openly violated. Profanity, as may naturally
be expected, exists to some extent. It is an almost
(07:04):
invariable accompaniment of prostitution, but even that is divested of
its grossness and is not a frequent occurrence. There is
no bar room or public drinking place in the house,
but it is a general custom for each visitor to
invite his pro tempore in the marata and her companions
to take champagne with him, which is supplied by the
(07:26):
keeper of the place at the charge of three dollars
a bottle. As remarked in the preceding chapter, excessive drunkenness
is rare, both prostitutes and keepers trying to suppress it
because an intoxicated man would be likely to give them trouble,
damage their furniture, and injure the reputation of the house.
By means of a small aperture in the front door,
(07:48):
covered by a wrought iron lattice work, the candidates for
admission can be examined before entrance is given, and the
door is kept closed against any person who is likely
to prove an annoyance. As a natural consequence of their position,
the women exert all their powers of fascination by adopting
the latest and most superb fashions in dress, and by
(08:10):
a very tasteful arrangement of their hair, for which purpose
a hairdresser visits them every day, charging each woman two
or three dollars a week for his assistance. Besides these,
they practice a thousand other artifices, unknown to mere lookers
on in order to secure the favor of their visitors.
About three fourths of the courtesans of this grade are
(08:33):
natives of the United States, and mostly from New England
or the Middle states. Some of them are very well educated.
Accomplished musicians and artists are sometimes found among them, while
others aspired to literature. With the greater number, much elegance
and refinement of manner, or a close observance of what
(08:53):
may be called the conventionalities of life is seen. Their
income is large, but so are their expenses. It is
no exaggeration to state that their individual receipts very seldom
fall short of fifty dollars per week. From this amount,
the duct, the sum charged for their board, an additional
fee which they pay the proprietus for every visitor they entertain,
(09:17):
the expenses of hair dressing, perfumery, et cetera. The cost
of their washing, which is all done at their own charge,
away from the house and must be considerable, and the
remainder will give their expenditure for address. All are not
equally extravagant. Some seem to consider prostitution a business and
(09:38):
act upon the idea of saving as much money as possible.
In one case, a woman asserted that she had seven
thousand dollars in the bank, which she had accumulated by
prostitution in a few years, and her statement was confirmed
by the captain of police for the district. The economical
ones are generally shrewd, calculating down easters, who argue that
(10:01):
if they save enough during the zenith of their charms
to support them when their attractions fail, or to help
them establish a house of this description on their own account,
they are only doing their duty. Others have dependent relatives
whom they support or illegitimate children, whom they maintain and educate,
frequently appropriating considerable sums for these purposes. In nearly all
(10:25):
of them, Kindness or the unfortunate of their own sex
and grade is a striking trait, much as they may
quarrel among each other when they are all alike in health.
Let one be visited with sickness or overcome by misfortune,
and as a general rule, their envy or jealousy is forgotten,
and they freely contribute to her support. Their means of
(10:48):
amusement are limited. When they have no visitors, They generally
indulge in a luxurious endolence for any useful employment, such
as even sewing or fancy needlework. They have but little inclination,
and their general refuge from ennui is found in reading novels.
These are not as would be generally supposed works of
(11:09):
lascivious character. To these, they seem to have an objection,
most probably because their own expertise has proved the fallacies
of the highly colored descriptions of the delights of love
which abound in such productions. To one source of recreation,
they are extremely partial, namely driving in carriages some few
(11:30):
miles out of town, and they frequently persuade their visitors
to indulge them in these rural excursions. They are well
acquainted with the most pleasant drives, and know exactly where
to find quiet and retired hotels where all the delicacies
of the season can be served in the most approved style.
If they cannot induce their friends to gratify them in
(11:53):
this manner, they will endeavor to secure an invitation to
take luncheon or oysters at some fashionable saloons. Dress, gay life,
and excitement seem necessary to their existence. And amid all
this array of luxurious homes, of splendid dresses, of comparative affluence,
the question arises, are they happy? A moment's consideration will
(12:17):
prompt the answer that they cannot be. Continued indulgence in
their course of life tends to obliterate the sense of degradation,
and makes their career almost second nature. But even the
most confirmed must the times reflect the memory of what
they have been. The thought of what they are, the
(12:39):
dread of what they must be, haunt their minds. Conscience
will make itself heard. Many a poor girl, dressed in
silks or satins, gleaming with jewelry and receiving with a
gay smile the lavish compliments of her friend, is mentally
racked with a keen appreciation of her true position. She
(13:03):
knows that the world condemns her, and her own heart
admits the justice of the verdict. She knows that he
who is so ostentatiously parading his admiration regards her but
as a purchased instrument to minister to his gratification. She
feels that she is emphatically alone in the world, and
(13:25):
her merry laugh but ill conceals a breaking heart. These
houses are generally kept by middle aged women who have
themselves passed through the initiatory course of a prostitute's life.
In some cases, they own the real estate and furniture.
In others, they hire or lease the house, paying an
(13:45):
exorbitant rent, often to some wealthy man who considers himself
a respectable member of society, and provide their own furniture.
In other cases, they rent both house and furniture. In
one house in this city. The normal a sum of
nine thousand, one hundred dollars is or was at the
time of examination, paid annually for rent and use of furnishings,
(14:09):
the owner being a woman who formerly kept the place,
but who is now living in the enjoyment of a
large income in one of the Italian cities. The following
extracts from information obtained on this subject will give you
a very good idea of the facts. E. M pays
thirteen hundred dollars per year for rent and use of
(14:29):
furniture which is owned by a woman who formerly kept
the house. MS pays one thousand dollars per year rent
and owns the furniture. M L owns the house and
furniture estimated to be worth fifteen thousand dollars. MAT pays
(14:51):
seven hundred dollars per year rent and owns furniture valued
at five thousand dollars. JG pays seven one hundred dollars
per year rent and owns furniture valued at three thousand dollars.
E t owns the real estate and furniture valued at
thirty thousand dollars. C G pays eighteen hundred dollars per
(15:15):
year rent and owns furniture valued at six thousand dollars.
M c K pays thirty nine hundred dollars per year
for rent and use of furniture. C E pays fourteen
hundred dollars per anum rent and owns furniture valued at
six thousand dollars. M B owns the house and furniture
(15:40):
valued at fifteen thousand dollars. JB pays five hundred and
sixty dollars per year rent and owns furniture valued at
two thousand dollars. E B pays one thousand per year
rent and owns furniture valued at three thousand dollars. M
M owns house and furniture valued at fifteen thousand dollars.
(16:05):
C C pays eight hundred and fifty dollars per year
rent and owns furniture valued at eight thousand dollars. M
M pays seven hundred and fifty dollars per year rent
and owns furniture valued at two thousand dollars. M G
pays six hundred and twenty five dollars per year rent
(16:27):
and owns furniture valued at one thousand dollars. V N
pays thirteen hundred dollars per year rent and owns furniture
valued at three thousand dollars. C E pays fourteen hundred
dollars per year rent and owns furniture valued at six
thousand dollars. L C pays one thousand dollars per year
(16:50):
rent and owns furniture valued at two thousand dollars. A
T pays one thousand dollars per year rent and owns
furniture valued at three two thousand dollars. The financial effects
of the system of prostitution will furnish a theme for
some remarks hereafter. These facts are quoted now to explain
(17:10):
the expenses connected with first class houses. Of course, where
such outlays are incurred, the receipts must correspond. The following
statement will exhibit the minimum weekly receipts in a house
where ten boarders reside. Board for ten women at sixteen
dollars per week each one hundred and sixty dollars fees
(17:33):
for visitors, say one each day to each woman one
dollar each, seventy dollars. Profits from sale of one basket
of champagne each day weekly one hundred and sixty eight
dollars total three hundred and ninety eight dollars. This estimate
(17:54):
does not reach the daily average of visitors, and a
more correct statement would be board for ten women at
sixteen dollars per week each one hundred and sixty dollars.
Fees for visitors, say two each day to each woman
one dollar each, one hundred and forty dollars. Profit from
sales of two baskets of champagne each day weekly three
(18:18):
hundred and thirty six dollars total six hundred and sixteen dollars.
Taking the mean of these two calculations will give receipts
exceeding twenty six thousand dollars per year or five hundred
dollars weekly. The cost of maintaining these luxurious establishments, in
addition to the rent, is considerable, but still there is
(18:39):
a very large excess. This is satisfactorily proved by the
fact that the women who own the houses in which
they conduct their traffic have almost without exception, purchased them
since they commenced housekeeping, and also that many of them
own considerable personal property in addition to the real estate.
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One woman is positively affirmed to be worth over one
hundred thousand dollars, Many are reported as worth sums ranging
from fifty thousand downward, and many more are reputed to
be rich, but no special amount mentioned. The management of
many of the houses is confided to a housekeeper acting
(19:20):
for the principal, who is rarely visible unless specially called for.
And under this housekeeper are a number of servants, varying
from three to seven according to the size of the
house and the number of boarders it accommodates. These servants
are almost invariably colored women, and no difficulty is ever
experienced in obtaining a full complement. Their wages are liberal,
(19:45):
their perquisites considerable, and their work light. A neat and
well arranged breakfast is prepared for the lady boarders about
eleven or twelve o'clock, and their dinner is served about
five or six o'clock. As a general rule, these our
only meals supplied them in the course of the day.
(20:08):
If they require anything more, they send out for it
or persuade their visitors to escort them to some saloon.
The proprietors of this class of house assume to be
respectable women when they are away from the scene of
their business. An anecdote, and a true one, has been
related of one of them, who, on a recent visit
(20:29):
to Newport, so effectually carried out her disguise as to
receive the escort of a reverend gentleman, a DD of
this city, to the dinner table and elsewhere with his family,
he thinking her a most amiable and deeply afflicted widow.
Some of them have private residences uptown in the quiet,
(20:50):
respectable streets, and come to their house of prostitution every forenoon,
returning at night. A portion of them professed to be religious,
frequently attending some place of worship, the better to preserve
their mass. Naturally benevolent, as are all women, they contribute
liberally to charitable objects, and freely relieve any indigent persons
(21:14):
who may ask their assistance. Even in political matters, they
have some weight, their resources and connections, proving valuable to
some aspirant for local distinction, who has promised them that
he will, if elected, use all his influence to protect
them from annoyance toward the miserable women whose vice is
(21:35):
the source of their wealth. These proprietors act as interest dictates.
A girl who has not the tact or disposition to
attract visitors is seldom treated with much consideration, while one
who is successful receives more favors, but favors generally speaking
of a nature to render her subservient to their wishes,
(21:57):
such as the loan of money to purchase new and
fashionable articles of dress, a short credit for her board,
or some equivalent which will place her under an obligation
and render it difficult for her to leave the house.
They are actuated in this by a desire to retain
an attractive girl, for in addition to the actual cash
(22:18):
payments she makes, she also possesses the power of inducing
her visitors to be liberal in their orders. For wine,
and the profit from its sale about two hundred percent,
is an important source of revenue. The excessive demands made
upon the earnings of prostitutes by these women has been
productive of a serious social evil. Many unfortunate girls cannot
(22:43):
appreciate the advantages of leading a vicious life for the
benefit of a landlady, and in self defense have hired
apartments in some private house so as to secure their
earnings for themselves. This is generally arranged so that two
of them engage a suite of room, say a parlor
and two bedrooms, representing themselves as virtuous women, governesses or seamstresses,
(23:08):
and frequently as the wives of sailors or men who
are in California or some other distant land. Here they
either board themselves or resort to some saloon and to
this lodging, or to the house of assignation, which will
be noticed in due course they introduce their visitors. It
is a fact more than suspected that many prostitutes are
(23:30):
living in this manner in our city. It is needless
to enlarge upon the injurious effects likely to result therefrom
before leaving this branch of the subject. There is another
characteristic of keepers of these houses which must be noticed, namely,
an exaggerated affection for some man to whom they are
passionately attached. Some few of them are professedly living with
(23:54):
their husbands, but this is an exception to the ordinary rule.
Generally speaking, they are the mistresses of some persons upon
whom they lavish all their tenderness, and for whose gratification
they willingly incur any amount of expense. Some of these
individuals are men upon town, gamblers or rowdies of the
(24:15):
highest class, whose noblest aspirations are satisfied by a liberal
supply of money. They were readily ignore all social virtues
for the same consideration. It is related as a fact
concerning a celebrated brothel keeper in the city, that when
she was residing in the interior of the States some
(24:35):
years since, she became desperately enamored of a young man.
Whose friends discovered the connection, they removed him to the
far west. Undaunted by the dangers and difficulties which surrounded her,
she followed him, and, during her journey through the large towns,
had many offers of protection from men acquainted with her antecedents.
(24:57):
True to her affection, she refused them all and traced
her lover to the forests. Here she remained with him,
living in a log hut, deprived of many of the
necessaries and all of the comforts and elegances of life,
for three years at least. Infidelity to her love cannot
be charged against this woman. And is it not a
(25:20):
natural conclusion that a heart so sincere and devoted in
its attachment could have been led to a more virtuous
course had a different social feeling existed toward her and
her former transgressions. As a general rule, the keepers of
these first class houses will not permit the borders to
(25:40):
have the men whom they style their lovers residing with them,
although they allow them to visit. A constant residence is
considered as likely to engross too much of the girl's
time to the neglect of the interests of the proprietus.
We come now to the second grade of prostitutes and
houses of prostitution. Many of the women of this rank
(26:02):
are those who made their debut in first class houses,
but left them when their charms began to fade. To
some extent, they endeavor to carry out the same rules
of conduct which governed them while there, and generally speaking,
the management of some portion of the houses of this
grade assimilates very much with the former, the same privacy
(26:25):
being observed, though in a less expensive manner. In others
a marked difference is perceptible, and these will now claim
attention a longer continuance in the habits of prostitution, and
the association with a less aristocratic class of visitors has
diminished the refinement of the women and imparted to them
(26:47):
coarser manners. There is not the same desire to assume
a virtue if they have it not, or the same
ambition to make vice seem unlike itself. Degradation has had
its effects upon them, and now that they are reduced
to a humbler sphere, they feel more of the world's
(27:08):
pressure and become more daring and reckless in their conduct.
Many of the street walkers and women frequenting theaters are
of this class, and anyone who has ever come in
contact with them would have found no difficulty in at
once assigning their true position. It is right to say
(27:31):
here that many of the managers of our best theaters
have abolished the third tier so called, and if any
improper woman visits them, she must do so under the
assumed garb of respectability, and conduct herself accordingly. Other women
in this grade, or rather this section of the second grade,
(27:52):
commence their life of vice in it. And as the
natural tendency of prostitution is to depress instead of e
its followers, they have very little chance of ever rising
beyond their present rank, although such instances do occasionally happen.
The keeper of a first class house, sometimes consenting to
receive a border from a lower rank if she has
(28:15):
only recently commenced prostitution and is sufficiently prepossessing in manners
and appearance for this exaltation. A great number of foreign
born women are found in this class, victims of emigrant
boarding houses or of seduction on board ship during their
passage to this country. The houses are generally conducted in
(28:38):
a similar manner to those of the first class, with
this distinction that what is costly luxury in the one
is replaced by tawd refinery in the other, and for
expensive mirrors and valuable paintings they substitute cheaper ornamentation. Their
reception rooms are of much inferior finish. They also furnish
(28:59):
one and brandy to customers who wish for them. Drunkenness
is more general, both with the prostitutes and their visitors,
and the most revolting scenes are not uncommon. Profanity is
indulged in to a considerable extent, and in some places
seems the vernacular language. The attempts at fascination made by
(29:22):
the women are more excessive and frequently vulgar, to a
degree which while it excites a smile also inspires disgust.
The general charge for board here will be from six
to ten dollars a week, rarely reaching the latter figure.
When evening approaches, if there is little or no company
(29:43):
in the house, the girls resort to the streets, dressed
in their most attractive finery, in the expectation of finding
some man whom they can induce to accompany them home.
They are seldom unsuccessful in this search, and very frequently
repeated several times, and the course of the evening, others
of them visit the third tier of such theaters as
(30:05):
will admit them, and there exert their charms to secure conquest.
Intercourse with these women is attended with considerable danger, professional
experience having shown many of them to be infected with syphilis,
while numbers are connected with dishonest men who would not
scruple to rob a stranger if any opportunity offered for
(30:26):
the purpose, such opportunity being not unfrequently afforded by some
arrangement of the woman herself. In such places, vice presents
comparatively few attractions, and yet these houses are numerously visited
principally by travelers clerks from stores. The higher class of mechanics, etc.
(30:47):
Some of whom will spend in an evening the earnings
of a week. The women who preside over these brothels
are usually of the strong minded and frequently of the
strong handed order, the latter being those who can, by
their own strength to suppress any riot that may occur
without calling an aid from the police, and generally calculate
(31:09):
to preserve a moderate decorum in their establishments. Their profits
are very large derived not merely from the board money
and extras paid by the women, but also from the
wines and liquors they sell. They do not endeavor to
screen their own character, as do those of the upper class,
but openly acknowledge that they are and do not hesitate
(31:32):
to give their personal attention to the business of the place.
Anxious to accumulate money as rapidly as possible, They are
not very particular about the means they employ, and although
they would not allow any positive act of dishonesty to
be performed toward a visitor while he was in the house,
on account of the trouble to which it might subsequently
(31:55):
expose them, yet they would scarcely consider it their duty
to warn him against the proceedings of the men who
live as lovers with the prostitutes under their roofs. The
virtue of these keepers is generally not of a very
rigid order, and their favored lovers are universally selected from
among men of the same character as themselves. The meals
(32:18):
provided for borders are served at about the same hours
as in the fashionable houses, but they lack that neatness
and arrangement which a good cook would give. The domestic
matters being mostly confided to inexperienced servants, and frequently to
some old prostitutes, who are retained at nominal wages to
(32:41):
do as much work as they can, and in their
own style. It has been already stated that some of
the second class houses of prostitution are conducted in a
similar manner to those of the first, and therefore no
attempt has been made to give any detailed account of them,
which would be a mere repetition of what has been
once described. The lower class have been taken as illustrating
(33:05):
the second grade, and consequently the account must not be
taken as a sweeping condemnation of the whole. The next
or third grade of prostitutes and houses of prostitution may
be found very fully developed in the first police district
among the Germans, in the fourth district, where sailors mostly resort,
(33:27):
and also in the third, fifth, sixth, and fourteenth districts.
A majority of the women in these districts are of
foreign birth, the largest proportion being Irish and German. Although
rated as third class houses, some of them are equal
in all respects, and sometimes superior in many to houses
(33:47):
of the second class. Most of the women are young,
and many of them are very good looking. While the houses,
particularly those kept by Germans, are in general conducted very quietly,
even in those places resorted to by sailors, the principal
part of any noise which may occur is caused by
the boisterous mirth and practical jokes of the visitors themselves.
(34:12):
The houses are, in every sense of the word public
places of prostitution, and neither women nor keepers seek to
disguise the fact in any manner, the general argument seeming
to be we live by prostitution, no matter who knows it.
There are many distinctive features in the several districts, but
(34:35):
the first and the fourth will be fair average types
of the whole, and there we will notice briefly commencing
with the German houses in the first district. Here drinking
is openly carried on, although seldom to such an extent
as to cause absolute intoxication. There is a public bar
room opening directly from the street, where it can be
(34:58):
obtained lager beer and German in wines, as well as
the usual liquors sold in porter houses. This is the
reception room of the establishment, and a stranger in the
city who might walk in to get a glass of Laugerbier,
without knowing the character of the place or being aware
of the significance of the crimson and white curtains festooned
(35:19):
over the windows, would find himself followed to the bar
by some German girl who would ask him in broken
English if he would treat her if he feels inclined
to gaze around him and study human nature. In this phase.
He sees that the room is very clean. A common sofa,
one or two settees, and a number of chairs are
(35:42):
ranged round the walls. There is a small table with
some German newspapers upon it, a piano upon which the
proprietor of this bar keeper, at intervals performs a National malady,
and a few prints of engravings complete its furniture. Two
or three girls are in different parts of the room,
(36:02):
engaged in knitting or sewing. For German girls, whether virtuous
or prostitute, seem to have a horror of idleness, and
even in such a place as this, are seldom seen
without their work. Everything bears an unmistakable teutonic appearance, from
the heavily mustached proprietor or the recently imported barkeeper, to
(36:26):
the mistress or madame as she is generally called, and
the women themselves all plainly tell their origin. He is
surprised at the entire absence of all those noisy elements
generally considered inseparable from a low class house of prostitution.
He can sit there and smoke his cigar in as
(36:48):
much peace as at any hotel in the city. And
if he once tells a woman he does not wish
to have any conversation with her, he will scarcely be
annoyed again unless he makes the first advances. If he
thinks proper to enter into conversation with the proprietor, he
will be certain of a courteous reply, and will frequently
(37:09):
find him an intelligent and communicative man finally concluding to
resist the temptations around him, he leaves the place in
the most perfect security and without the least fear of
being insulted. The majority of the girls here have recently
arrived in the United States. Some have embraced this course
(37:31):
of life from absolute poverty and friendlessness. Some have followed
it in their own country. Others have been the victims
of seduction, and with some the ruling motive seems to
have been a desire to speak and be spoken to
in their native tongue. Their pecuniary arrangement with the proprietor,
(37:52):
for there is almost invariably a man at the head
of each establishment, is that they shall give him one
half of all the money they read seed, for which
he provides them with bored and lodging. They are not
generally in temperate women, the light German wines being their
principal beverage, and although they frequently indulge in profanity, yet
(38:13):
as it is in their national language, it is unintelligible
to those who understand only English, and the annoyance is
consequently restricted. They are generally honest. In fact, it is
the testimony of those best qualified to judge that there
is very seldom much disturbance, and very rarely any dishonesty
practiced in this class of brothels. It cannot be said
(38:37):
that literally there is not much noise. For anyone who
has been in a room where two or three Germans
of each sex were talking and gesticulating with their characteristic earnestness,
will be of opinion that they talked quite loud enough.
But by disturbance is to be understood quarreling or fighting,
which sometimes occurs, but not very frequently. As before remarked,
(39:01):
a man and his wife are mostly the keepers of
such houses. The man, sometimes with a lad for his assistant,
attent to the bar room and takes charge of the money.
The wife does the cooking and general housework, and the
girls attend to their own rooms. By this division of labor,
the work is generally done to the satisfaction of all parties,
(39:24):
and the expense is being light, a considerable profit is made.
There are mostly three or four girls in each house,
seldom exceeding that number, and the rule among housekeepers is
to consider any girl an unprofitable acquisition who does not
pay them about ten dollars a week. Their rents are
(39:45):
low because they have but little room. The basement of
an ordinary sized house is generally the extent of their accommodation.
The front part of this forms the bar room, and
the remainder is partitioned int to very small bedrooms. There
is another feature connected with German prostitution, and exhibited in
(40:05):
the same neighborhood, which has already received a cursory notice
on a former page, namely, they're dancing saloons. Saltatory amusements
are carried on, more or less in all their houses
a prostitution, but in these saloons it is considered a
respectable business enterprise, although the morality of the establishment is
(40:28):
at least questionable. The ballroom is a large, open apartment,
devoid of all furniture excepting chairs or benches around the walls.
The musical arrangements generally comprise a piano and violin, and
the dances are national waltzes and polkas. No charge is
(40:50):
made for admission, and the bar is the only source
of revenue. The orchestra occasionally appeal to the charitable for assistance,
and the pile is mostly responded to in a liberal manner.
The business commences in the evening and is invariably discontinued
at midnight. The places are frequented by very few but Germans,
(41:13):
and order is well maintained. End of section fifty three.
Recording by Mina Anderson,
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