4. The homeless men in Chicago fall into five groups: (a) the seasonal laborer, (b) the migratory, casual laborer, the hobo, (c) the migratory non-worker, the tramp, (d) the non-migratory casual laborer, the so-called “home guard,” (e) the bum. Groups b, c, d, and e constitute what are known in economic writings as “The Residuum of Industry.” In addition to these groups of the homeless casual and migratory workers are the groups of seasonal laborers and the men out of work, which expand and contract with the periods of economic depression and of industrial prosperity.
5. The causes which reduce a man to the status of a homeless migratory and casual worker may be classified under five main heads as follows:
a) Unemployment and Seasonal Work: these maladjustments of modern industry which disorganize the routine of life of the individual and destroy regular habits of work.
b) Industrial Inadequacy: “the misfits of industry,” whether due to physical handicaps, mental deficiency, occupational disease, or lack of vocational training.
c) Defects of Personality: as feeble-mindedness, constitutional inferiority, or egocentricity, which lead to the conflict of the person with constituted authority in industry, society, and government.
d) Crises in the Life of the Person: as family conflicts, misconduct, and crime, which exile a man from home and community and detach him from normal social ties.
e) Racial or National Discrimination: where race, nationality, or social class of the person enters as a factor of adverse selection for employment.
f) Wanderlust: the desire for new experience, excitement, and adventure, which moves the boy “to see the world.”
6. To satisfy the wants and wishes of the thousands of homeless migratory and casual workers at the lowest possible cost, specialized institutions and enterprises have been established in Chicago. These include: