s I am not much concerned, and though generally I hold a brief
for old sinners, criminals and convicts, I hold no brief for the old and
middle-aged habitues of a common lodging-house.

Can any one call the dead to life? Can any one convert cold flesh into
warm pulsing life? Nay, nay! Talk about being turned into a pillar of
salt! the common lodging-house can do more and worse than that! It can
turn men and women into pillars of moral death, for even the influence
of a long term of penal servitude, withering as it is, cannot for one
moment be compared with the corrupting effect of common lodging-house
life.

So the old minstrels may go seeking their wandering boy! and the
begging-letter writers may go hang!

The human vultures that prey upon the simple and good-natured may, if
middle-aged, continue in their evil ways. But what of the young people
of whom there ought to be hope? What of them? how long are these "lazar
houses" to stand with open door waiting to receive, swallow, transform
and eject young humanity? But there is money in them, of course there
is; there always is money to be made out of sin and misery if the
community permits.

Human wreckage pays, and furnishes a bigger profit than more humdrum
investments. I am told by an old habitue with whom I have had endless
talks and who has taught me much, although he is a graceless rascal,
that one man owns eight of these large establishments, and that he and
his family live in respectability and wealth.

I have no reason to doubt his statement, for these places are mines of
wealth, but the owners take precious good care not to live in them. And
infinite care that their families do not inhabit them. Some day when we
are wise--but wisdom comes so slowly--these things will not be left to
private enterprise, for municipalities will provide and own them at no
loss to the ratepayers either.

Then decency, though homeless, will have a chance of survival, and
moral and physical cleanliness some chance to live, even in a common
lodging-house.

Sadly we need a modern St. George who will face and destroy this
monstrous dragon with the fiery breath.

Let it not be said that I am unduly hard upon them who from choice or
misfortune inhabit these places. From my heart I pity them, but one
cannot be blind to the general consequences. And these things must be
taken into consideration when efforts are made, as undoubtedly efforts
will some day be made, to tackle this questi