This gives a total of $325 or an average of about $46 per day.
Sixteen white cards were obtained from a dollar house in West 28th Street showing the earnings per inmate on July 9th, 1912. “Babie” is credited with $27; Buster, $30; a girl whose name is not readable, $27; Charlotte, $23; Dolly, $20; Dorothy, $11; Minnie, $15; Eva, $16; one whose name is not given, $15; another, name not given, $14; another, $10; others whose names are omitted, $14, $14, $9, $8, $11 respectively. The total is $264 or an average of about $16 per inmate for the day. The madame when paying the inmates the one-half due them for their day’s work always deducted the sum of $1.50 for board.
In the figures above given, there is no element of doubt whatsoever: they are taken from the actual records of the day’s business,—the cards in the possession of every inmate. Whether they can be regarded as fairly representative is another question, which it would be futile to discuss. We possess, however, certain totals, the precise reliability of which the reader must judge for himself. It has been stated that our investigators succeeded in establishing themselves on an intimate footing with those most prominently concerned in the commercial exploitation of prostitution. They took part in conferences, and could discuss business and its prospects without suspicion. From time to time these agents found themselves in position to canvass freely the question of returns, past, present and future. The approximate estimates of the value of the various properties prior to the Rosenthal murder; and the main items of expense incurred in their conduct were set down as thus obtained. In regard to the general credibility of the figures it is to be remembered that these men are decidedly communicative among themselves and that any exaggerated departure from probability would have drawn forth expressions of skepticism or disbelief; on the other hand, it is not pretended that the figures are more than roughly significant of the scope and profits of a fluctuating trade; they are given for what they are worth.
TABLE SHOWING APPROXIMATE MONTHLY RECEIPTS FROM INMATES, MONTHLY EXPENSES,
NUMBER OF INMATES, NUMBER OF MADAMES, ETC., IN 30 ONE-DOLLAR HOUSES.
| Location of house | House receipts[223] (½ fees) | House expenses[224] | No. inmates | No. madames | No. maids | No. lighthouses | No. owners | Value of business S=sale B=bid. | ||||
| No. | — | W. | 18 | $3,600 | $814 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | ... | |
| " | " | " | 24 | 3,200 | 735 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | ... | |
| " | " | " | 25 | 3,200 | 606 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | ... | |
| " | " | " | 25 | 4,000 | 839 | 24 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | ... | |
| " | " | " | 25 | 3,227 | 705 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | $5,100 S. | |
| " | " | " | 25 | 3,000 | 571 | 9 | 2 | 3 | ... | 3 | ... | |
| " | " | " | 28 | 2,800 | 729 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | ... | |
| " | " | " | 28 | 3,000 | 821 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | ... | |
| " | " | " | 31 | 2,800 | 516 | 12 | ... | 3 | ... | 3 | 2,000 S. | |
| " | " | " | 35 | 2,400 | 788 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | ... | |
| " | " | " | 40 | 1,200 | 275 | 4 | ... | 2 | ... | 2 | ... | |
| " | " | " | 40 | 1,000 | 293 | 6 | ... | 2 | ... | 1 | ... | |
| " | " | " | 40 | 2,000 | 628 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | ... | |
| " | " | " | 56 | 3,200 | 797 | 20 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | ... | |
| " | Sixth Ave.[225] | 2,400 | 691 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ... | |||
| " | " " | 3,600 | 689 | 19 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4,400 S. | |||
| " | " " | 2,400 | 733 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | ... | |||
| " | " " | 2,000 | 593 | 12 | 1 | 2 | ... | 2 | ... | |||
| " | " " | 3,200 | 555 | 12 | 2 | 2 | ... | 3 | 6,000 S. | |||
| " | " " | 1,200 | 437 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ... | |||
| " | " " | 3,200 | 667 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3,750 S. | |||
| " | " " | 3,600 | 847 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | ... | |||
| " | " " | 2,800 | 627 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 10,000 B. | |||
| No. | — | W. | 24 | 2,000 | 674 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2,500 S. 3,200 S. | |
| " | " | " | 26 | 3,700 | 819 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | ... | |
| " | " | " | 27 | 3,000 | 570 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ... | |
| " | " | " | 28 | 3,000 | 741 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | ... | |
| " | " | " | 28 | 1,200 | 441 | 8 | 1 | 2 | ... | 1 | ... | |
| " | " | " | 36 | 3,000 | 748 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3,000 S. | |
| " | " | " | 36 | 2,800 | 706 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ... | |
| Total | $81,727 | $19,655 | 432 | 50 | 87 | 24 | 65 | |||||
Similar data were also procured—and in substantially the same manner—for eight five-dollar houses.[226]
TABLE SHOWING APPROXIMATE MONTHLY RECEIPTS OF HOUSES FROM INMATES, MONTHLY
EXPENSES, NUMBER INMATES, NUMBER MADAMES, ETC., IN 8 FIVE-DOLLAR HOUSES.
| Location of house | St. | House receipts (½ fees) | House expenses | No. inmates | No. madames | No. maids | Lowest price of service | ||||||
| No.—W. | 38 | $2,400 | $871 | 12 | 2 | 4 | $3 | ||||||
| " " | 41 | 1,800 | 924 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | ||||||
| " " | 46 | 2,800 | 938 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 5 | ||||||
| " " | 46 | 3,200 | 952 | 16 | 2 | 5 | 5 | ||||||
| " " | 46 | 1,800 | 760 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||||||
| " " | 47 | 3,000 | 871 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 5 | ||||||
| " " | 49 | 1,800 | 878 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 2 5 | ||||||
| " " | 52 | 1,600 | 885 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | ||||||
| Total | $18,400 | $7,079 | 100 | 15 | 28 |
Ten disorderly tenements were studied in the same way, with the following results:[227]
TABLE SHOWING APPROXIMATE MONTHLY RECEIPTS FROM INMATES, MONTHLY EXPENSES,
NUMBER INMATES AND NUMBER MAIDS IN 10 DISORDERLY APARTMENTS.