As previously explained, the term "lodgers," in this report, includes relations as well as other adults unrelated to the family. It was apparent in the study that there was a large number of relative-lodgers in Negro families. The recent migration from the South had a distinct bearing on this situation. Many Negroes came to Chicago at the solicitation of relatives and remained in their households until they could secure homes for themselves. The migration further accounts for the accentuation of the lodger problem during the period immediately following it. The 274 family histories include 1,319 persons, of whom 485, or 35 per cent, were lodgers, living in 62 per cent of the households. The greatest number of households with lodgers were those living in five-room dwellings. There were thirty-eight such households. Living in six-and seven-room dwellings were thirty-four families with lodgers. Families with only one lodger were most numerous. There were fifty-five such families as compared with thirty-nine having two lodgers, twenty-five with three lodgers, twenty-three with four lodgers, thirteen with six lodgers, eight with five lodgers, and seven with more than six lodgers.
Naturally the lodger evil was found in its worst form in the congested parts of the South Side. In the district from Thirty-first to Thirty-ninth streets seventy-two of the ninety-nine families had lodgers. In twenty-two families there was but one, however, as against twelve with three and four, eleven with two, and six with five and six lodgers. Two families had ten each, and one had thirteen. This last case was that of a widow who rented nine sleeping-rooms in her ten-room house, in addition to catering at odd moments. It was a typical rooming-house as distinguished from a family taking lodgers. One family that had ten lodgers consisted of a man, his wife, and a son twenty-five years old; they had eight bedrooms, seven opening into a hall. The other family that had ten lodgers consisted of the parents and two children, a boy of eight and a girl of seven, and had a ten-room house. The lodgers were two men and three women, with five children. Five of the ten rooms were used as sleeping-rooms.
In the district north of Thirty-first Street an increased number of lodgers appeared in only one family, that of a man and his wife, without children. They lived in a ten-room house, using eight of the rooms for sleeping purposes and accommodating seven male and five female lodgers.
In the district from Thirty-ninth to Sixtieth Street was one instance of seven male lodgers in a seven-room house with the man who owned the property. Two of the lodgers were his brothers. There was no heat and no bathroom. The house had been reported to the health department.
In the Lake Park district one, two, or three lodgers were the rule, only five of the twenty-eight families with lodgers in that district being outside of those three classes. Eight lodgers were found in an eight-room dwelling. The family consisted of man and wife, and the only female lodger was their niece. Five rooms were used for sleeping purposes.
In the other district no instances of excessive overcrowding due to lodgers were found.
Complaint has often been made of the numerical preponderance of lodgers over children among Chicago Negroes, and comment has been made on the economic significance. It has been suggested, for example, that economic pressure had lowered the birth-rate among Negroes and increased the infant-mortality rate. As indicated by the 274 family histories, the number of lodgers among the Negro population exceeds the number of children, that is, the number of boys less than twenty-one years and girls less than eighteen. The School of Civics and Philanthropy, in its housing studies, counted as children those less than twelve years of age. On this basis it found in its study of the Negroes of the South and West sides that there were less than half as many children as lodgers on the South Side, but a more normal situation in the West Side. Even extending the ages of children, as has been done in the present report, the situation does not appear in a much better light.
The proportion of lodgers and of children in the districts covered by the Commission is shown in Table IX.
| District | Percentage of Lodgers | Percentage of Children | |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Side: | |||
| Thirty-first to Thirty-ninth | 45.9 | 15.4 | |
| Twenty-second to Thirty-first | 37.8 | 20.4 | |
| Thirty-ninth to Sixtieth | 30.1 | 21.4 | |
| West Side | 21.8 | 32.0 | |
| Lake Park | 42.1 | 16.9 | |
| North Side | 15.2 | 25.0 | |
| Woodlawn | 26.9 | 30.0 | |
| Ogden Park | 12.3 | 45.0 | |
| Total of 274 families | 35.0 | 22.7 | |
By way of comparison similar figures from other housing studies of the Chicago School of Civics might be mentioned, the children in each instance being less than twelve years old.