SKED ROWERS:

THEIR ALIENATION AND INVOLVEMENT
IN COMMUNITY AND SOCIETY

Thesis for H1: Degree of DR. D.
MiCHlGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Ronald C. VanderKooi
1966

 

This is to certify that the
thesis entitled

Skid Rowers:

Their Alienation and Involvement
in Community and Society
presented by

Ronald C. VanderKooi

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

Ph.D Sociology and

Anthropology

 

° degree in

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Dec. 28, 1966
Date

 

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LIBRARY

Michigan State
University

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ABSTRACT

SKID ROWERS: THEIR ALIENATION AND INVOLVEMENT IN COMMUNITY
AND-SOCIETY.

by Ronald C. VanderKooi

This was a study of the involvement of skid rowers in
American society and the skid row community. To provide an
orientation to skid row, attention was first given to the
historical process by which skid rows developed and to the
general appearance of skid rows today. Next this study
reviewed the development of thought concerning skid row.
Then it surveyed the background of alienation literature and
attempted an analytic treatment of the concept. Finally the
hypotheses of this study, along with the methods employed,
were introduced.

It was considered important to observe a great variety
of social and other activity and attitudinal patterns within
skid row in order to characterize the overall alienation or
involvement of skid rowers. While a variety of approaches
utilizing some "participant observation" and resource people
were used, for descriptive and validity purposes, the chief
method employed for this study required the interviewing of
a random sample of residents drawn from a stratified selec—

tion of hotels, missions and other sleeping places.

Ronald C. VanderKooi

Interview schedules consisted of questions about many life
activities along with numerous items intended to measure
aspects of alienation. Some of the latter items were devel-
Oped by the author and others were taken from scales of Dean,
Nettler, Srole and Rosenberg. Several attempts at developing
scales from these were not successful in this study, but one
five-item set, which we chose to call "Meaning of Life," did
show sufficient reproducibility to be called a scale.

Eight general hypotheses provided the framework for the
findings of this study. Concerning the first set of four,
the following summary of findings can be stated: Regarding
overall alienation, skid rowers showed themselves to be
little different from other populations in terms of four
comparative measures (Hyp. A). They showed the strongest
concern (and, possibly,alienation) about unemployment and
financial pgoblems, skid row community-related problems,
and alcoholism (Hyp. BL In almost all institutional areas,
alienation of powerlessness was more prevalent than that of
normlessness (Hyp. C). None of Merton's nonconforming
"modes of adaptation," such as "retreatism," seemed suitable
in labeling the actions of skid rowers.

A second set of four general hypotheses was concerned
with the relationships between 1) certain kinds of alienation

and 2) activities and personal attributes of skid rowers.

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Ronald C. VanderKooi

These were treated in 166 subhypotheses. "Meaning pf Qifg"
alienation was significantly related to 18 of 55 generally
negatively-valued activity patterns and personal attributes
of skid rowers (Hyp. E). More specific kinds pf alienation,
for example, regarding work or family, were related to "pimp
pj_residence ip.§kig row" in only five of 41 tests (Hyp.F).
Those specific kipd§_p§_alienation were related to ”Meaning
pf,L1fpfl alienation in 12 of 41 tests. (Hyp. G). Finally,

those specific kinds pj_alienation were related to specific,

 

 

usually negatively-valued, activity patterns and pgrsonality

 

attribute; in ten of 29 tests (Hyp. H).

The descriptive aspects of this study showed that
respondents tended to accept what are said to be important
American value-orientations and that they do not ascribe to
a unique lower class or skid row set of values. They showed
general interest and approval of what was going on in Amer—
ican society and they showed a limited acceptance of skid
row's generally deleterious conditions, while complaining
of jackrollers and similar hazards of skid row.

Skid rowers, many of whom have lived both in families
of origin and procreation, expressed generally positive
attitudes toward these. They showed themselves to be active

in a variety of friendship groups and appreciated these.

 

 

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Ronald C. VanderKooi

They experienced a range of social interaction with women,
predominantly favoring heterosexual relations and being
repelled by the idea of homosexuality. Their attitudes
toward themselves were, in most regards, positive and not
in keeping with accounts of them as ”alienated from self.”

While only a minority worked, they almost unanimously
supported work values. Their financial status tended to be
critically low and they tended to use such resources quite
carefully. They were quite active in a range of rather
typical, if low-cost, American uses of free time. Similarly,
they were, with some limitations, active in politics, reli-
gion and education and gave very definite SUpport to values
regarding such participation.

Skid rowers exist in a community and subculture which is
organized and thus facilitates the existence of poor males
who are often alcoholic, aged, unskilled and otherwise
handicapped. While this is an atypical community, its men
are at the same time accepting of, and willing to participate
in, general cultural patterns. Given their limitations,
careful planning, in cooperation with them, is necessary

before any attempts to change that community are made.

 

 

 

 

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IN cannunisr Us: SOCIETY

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Ronald C; VanderKooi

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requir
for the degree of

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.DCClCalzl? PEUT,®SCT%¥{
Department of Sociology and Anthropology

1966

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PREFACE

A study that develops as this one did affords the
researcher an extensive and many—faceted experience. It
elicits the c00peration and contributions of many people
who many times provide pertinent ideas and sometimes give
continued effort to the research problem.

With beginnings in working with alcoholics in reha-
bilitation centers and then studying college student drinking,
I came to do research on skid rows and, after two such studies,
developed a conception of skid row as a community which
provides many social, economic and other facilities that are
useful to handicapped, poor and old men. My work with these
men has secured my interest in them and their community and
has led to a continuing interest in skid row research. Even
though skid row has stood out as a social area which could be
pointed to by Americans as the place for failures and ”bums,”
many aspects of life there have not been systematically
investigated; and nearly all the interest shown in skid rows
is of a provincial sort, for example, focused on a particular
mission or on police work. Such phenomena as the workingman's
culture, visible in the business of the street after five a.m.,
have not received their fair recognition, probably because
most Americans would rather have a more simple picture of

"skid row bums."

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The men of skid row, through patience, cooperation and
frequent, intense interest, gave this study whatever success
it may have. My chief regret is that I could not give an'
assuring answer to respondents' questions about how this
study would help them and other skid rowers. As is frequently
the case in the "culture of poverty," they had once again
"been had" by a social system which is skilled at using the
poor. I only hope that I can, through continued effort,
make the data here gathered useful in improving the lot of
skid rowers.

Hotel owners, mission workers and other professionals
were helpful in facilitating this study and providing infor-
mation. If their knowledge and ideas could be effectively
discussed and sponsored in a wholistic way, Chicago could
immediately embark on a precedent setting program of skid
row improvements.

One must have the help of persons removed from skid row
to accomplish such research as this. Three of these have my
greatest appreciation: Professor Walter Freeman, who helped
get this research through its planning stages and into the
field, Professor Arthur Vener, who assisted through the
middle stages and Professor Duane Gibson, who by steadfast
interest and diligent effort helped give the report that

follows whatever quality it has.

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My wife, Betty, gave not only the patience and encour-
agement Which is expected of a graduate student's wife but
also countless hours of assistance in the less glamourous
off-skid row tasks of this production.

This is necessarily the preface to an unfinished work.
I hOpe it will encourage others, as it has myself, to ask
new, more insightful questions of skid rowers and others

who hardly share in the "affluent society."

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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

This study is concerned with an American community
called "skid row"1 and its effects on men. Skid row
exists as a legitimate object of sociological examination.
It is a form of social organization which is in certain
ways significantly different from other social organi-
zations found in American society. It maintains a
(deviant subculture which is generally disapproved by
'those in the mainstream of American culture. Its
(airfarences have frequently led laymen and some social
escientists to assume that skid row is socially-dis-
<3rganized and populated by nothing more than an aggregate
<>f alienated individuals.

This student, however, is in accord with others
vvho have seen skid row as somewhat organized and func-
‘tional both for its members and for American society.2
{Dhis study, then,assumes the existence of skid row as
Emu organized, if deviant, community. It takes as its
Ipurpose the detailed examination of many social
zictivities of skid row and the involvement in or aliena-
'tion of skid rowers in regard to these activities.

According to Mercer,3 the community is,

a functionally-related aggregate of peOple
who live in a particular geOgraphical
locality at a particular time, share a
common culture, are arranged in a social

The term, "skid row,”(hereafter not in quotation
marks) is used in a generic sense in this disser-
tation even though the findings are chiefly

based on one Chicago skid row. Rationale and
limitations regarding this generalization are
discussed at a later point.

See for example Warren Dunham, Homeless Men and
Their Habitat, p.12; Peterson and Maxwell, "The
Skid Row Wino," Social Problems, pp.308—316, v.5:4.

Blain Mercer, The American Community, p.27.

1

 

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tm cture, and exhibit an awareness
of their uniqueness and separate
identity as a group. (emphasis mine.)

‘These criteria are borne in mind throughout this study.
The conception of skid rowers as merely an aggregate

‘of individuals, alienated from society for various
:reasons, becomes false to the extent that men seek in
skid row not simply an escape from society but a viable
community in which many social activities and attitudes
similar to those found in all communities are sustained.
{The understanding of skid rowers demands community

study as was suggested by Park in his preface to Ander-
saan's classic, The Hobo.‘+

...every community...tends to determine the
personal traits as it does determine the
language, the vocation, social values,

and, eventually, the personal Opinions

of the individuals who compose it.

Skid row areas as such have existed for nearly one
laundred years and have long attracted the interest of
Ilaymen and social scientists. Many studies have been
(lone and present interesting, surprising and useful
information.5 None has produced a definitive theory
Of skid row.and its population. Similarly, movements
to abolish skid rows or bring them under rigid control
have failed. Skid rows have demonstrated their functional
nature in their persistence and show their complexity
by defying easy explanations.

Skid rowschave been studied in many theoretical
Perspectives and probably most often in.one of "social
lupblems.” Like other parts and issues of American
society so considered, they have received an abundant

k

4 Nels Anderson, The Hobo, p.xxv.

5 See the bibliography here or that of Samuel
Wallace's, Skid Row §§_Q.Way g£_Life, pp.207—214.

 

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but unsatisfactory treatment. They have been consider-
ed as areas where social problems, chief of which is
alcoholism, are concentrated and evident. Among other
problems so considered have been crime, unemployment,
family disorganization, sexual perversion, drug addic-
tion and mental illness. In recent decades, studies
Ihave clearly shown that a "problem" focus, as well as
‘traditionally—similar social disorganization approaches,
:is inadequate in describing and understanding situations
;such as skid row.6 Another focus on skid row, building
upon that of ”social problems," has been concerned with
"social action." Many agencies have undertaken action
:in the area, usually with only vague or implicit theoreti—
<3a1 background, and these attempts have been generally
ineffective . 7

Most studies have been of a descriptive nature and
Ilikewise have been limited in scope and generalizing
:power. A number of survey researches and demographic
istudies have been done but they have usually assumed
'the existence of problems and disorganization. Few
:researchers have studied skid row by looking for its
organized and functional nature as a community.

The ecological area of skid row has never been
‘Iell-defined. It has sometimes been confused with
other slums or roughly defined as an area in which men
have collected as failures and withdrawees from society.

_‘

6 C. W. Mills, "The Professional Ideology of Social

Pathologists," American Journal g£_Sociology,
v.49 :20 ppel65-1800

For instance, see Minneapolis Housing and Redeve10p-
ment Authority, A General Re ort gn_thg Problem of
Relocatingthg Population g_.t_g_Lower Loop RedevEI-
opment Area: Social Planning Council of Toronto,
Report 9; the Committee gg_Homeless and Transient

en: Chicago Tenamts Relocation Bureau, The Homeless
E 2g Skid Row: The Greater Philadelphia Movement,
What ja_o_ 911 about _t_h_e_ Mg; 9;; Skid Row: City of Detroit,
Mayor's Rehabilitation Committee Regort gn_Skid Row

roblems. For evidence on the ine ectiveness o
Detroit's project, see "Skid Row," the Detroit Free
Press Magazine, August 11, 1963.

 

 

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Skid row men have often been taken as examples to
illustrate alienation and similar themes. Many times
the curious assume skid row alienation and want to
know its objects. The ask for instance, "What are
skid rowers running away from?" "Wives?" "Work?" and
so forth.

While in some respects skid row men may be alienated,
their total alienation as a blanket assumption is viewed
Zhere as subject to question. It is the purpose of this
dissertation to examine the nature and extent of this
.alienation. Further discussion must await a definition
lof terms. It is sufficient at this point to say that
.skid row Will be approached here as an on-going communi-
ty of men in American society who, though they are deviant
:1n.important ways, still may have certain identity and
Iinvolvement as skid row dwellers and as Americans, and
1nill demonstrate these in their activities and attitudes.

In summary this study, in analyzing the alienation
<3f skid row men, examines a variety of important potential
'types of alienation in American society. Its concern
21s with the nature of the skid row community and the
effects that community has on the alienation of its
population. A good deal of descriptive treatment is
thus basic to this study but more intensive comparisons
and analyses are also undertaken.

Having selected alienation as a major concept, it
mdght be assumed that the study is negative in approach,
but such should not be taken to be the case. While
"social problems" approaches have been relatively negative
and have imposed middle class values, the alienation
Eumroach is less judmental in that it allows participants
Ofla system to evaluate themselves. Thus, the relative
luosence of alienation and involvement can be measured
in the kind of quantitative study done here, and com-
Parisons with other communities become possible.

Lienation :
var; 111011 the res

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5

Alienation as such is a personal quality but it is
very much the result of sociological circumstances.

The concept, therefore, is useful in observing such
social situations as the skid row community. In using
it, a consistent frame of reference is developed in
vwhich a variety of socially-induced effects can be
observed. The chief question, in addition to "Alienation
.from what?" becomes "Does the skid row community en-
courage involvement in or alienation from its various
:institutions as well as from those of American society?”

The concept of alienation has gained increased
acceptance in recent years among both social scientists
:and the general public. Its broad perspective facili-
‘tates the examination of many aspects of human existence.
{The term has been used haphazardly, sometimes as an
tall-revealing principle, sometimes in narrow operational-
:1zations. It has been heavily criticized, and the concept
:in itself is no more an explanatory tool than "sin"
lass been. Alienation demands rigorous treatment if it
:is to be useful in sociology. Though this study is not
;primarily a methodological one, rather careful attempts
to order basic characteristics of the concept are made
in.Chapter Four.

In connection with this study, an extensive research
project was carried out in the city of Chicago on its
large West Madison skid row. The author obtained the
Principle data by means of one hundred survey interviews
but also accumulated a knowledge of skid rows in previous
studies in Chicago and other cities. Many contacts with
resource people permitted the collection of various
Perspectives on the situation. An extensive literature
was reviewed and the author used a limited amount of
Imrticipant observation and casual contacts to help
determine the validity of this study.

Although this is primarily a study of one skid row,
insights gained in it may prove useful in generating

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hypotheses and theories about other such communities
and they may be helpful in providing some general know-
ledge about alienation and its meaning for all men.
Chicago's skid row is a large one with some special
features, but it has parallels in skid rows elsewhere.

In Chapter Two, the origin, development and current
status of skid row are outlined, with emphasis put
upon skid row's structural-functional place in society.
In Chapter Three, attention is turned to sociological
theory of skid row, observing its beginnings, classical
.form and overall development to the present.

Chapters Four and Five deal with methodology. In
'the first of these, alienation is introduced and its
Incanings discussed. Attention is given to its current
(definitions, treatment and criticisms, and its operation—
alization in this study. The latter chapter introduces
'the general problem and some hypotheses explored in the
study.

Chapter Six provides a broad introduction to findings.
The eight hypotheses central to the study are treated
and some findings concerned with the daily life of skid
:rowers are presented. Chapter Seven is a treatment of
the skid row man's orientation toward American society
and his community. His attitude toward peOple in general
and toward important American values are treated, as
is his lower class status and attitudes toward certain
”lower class values." Then the existence of skid row
as a community is examined. Some basic community
activities and attitudes of skid rowers are treated,
some special problems of that area are observed and
brief attention is turned to the issue of race.

The rest of the chapters treat particular institutions
‘fluch are relevant to skid rowers and their community.
Ihoh institution performs "locality-relevant functions,"
and thus is part of the community to which skid rowers
must react. In observing the participation in and

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7

psychological attitudes of skid rowers toward these
institutions, evidence is offered for the structure
and function of a skid row community in American society.
Chapter Eight investigates the skid rower's associ-
ation with various potential primary groups including
families and friendship groups. His apparent lack of
interaction with women is explored and finally his
'very important relationship with himself is treated.
Chapter Nine is concerned with work and finance,
tend with a wide range of free-time uses. Chapter Ten
:is a consideration of three other institutions: politics,
:religion and education. Chapter Eleven contains a summary
<3f findings and some conclusions concerning this study.
Throughout the investigation of these institutions
'there exists a predominant concern with the relative
sadherence or conformity that skid rowers display in
:regard to important value and behavioral patterns of
JLmerican society. The data will suggest the degree
‘to which skid row exists as a distinct community and
subculture in which men are involved in or alienated
:from society and its various component parts.

 

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CHAPTER TWO: THE DEVELOPMENT AND NATURE OF SKID ROW

Skid rows in American society are communities that
are at once familiar and little-known areas of the
”invisible culture of poverty."1 Nearly everyone knows
of them: their mention stimulates quick interest and
,preconceived ideas. Nevertheless available descrip-
‘tions of these areas have shown that skid rows have
ldifferent meanings for various observers in such vital
Imatters as the physical areas covered, the peOple who
occupy them and their life styles. Even the actual
lexistence of many particular skid rows is frequently
questioned.

The idea of skid row as a community is introduced
zin this chapter by examining its development in histori-
<3al context and by some initial descriptions of the
(contemporary area and pOpulation. Skid row, like other
communities, experiences continual change and has,
within American societal deveIOpment, evolved through
‘various stages which have affected its present condition.

It is important that a sociological perspective
'be maintained in this admittedly historical and descrip-
tive chapter. In the account rendered here, skid row
can be positioned in the deve10pment of human culture
and in that of American society, and the structural
and functional deveIOpment of skid row is suggested.
Reasons for skid row's development are important to
the understanding of it as a contemporary community
and its men as alienated or involved members of that
community and American society.

.A. SKID ROWS IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE.

American skid rows form unique twentieth century

1 Michael Harrington, The Other America, pp.97-105.

  
  
  
   
 
    
 
  
  

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American communities with distinctive institutional
patterns. Though each had develOped something of its
own distinct character, all have developed in a similar
pattern, for similar purposes and they maintain similar
forms today. An historical examination of skid rows
luw'be viewed meaningfully in terms of stages of their
development such as those that follow.

1. Before Skid Row; Beginning of History to 1850 (the
decline of nomadism and the increasing definition and
sanctioning of homelessness as deviant.)

The antecedents of American skid rows and their
inhabitants date back apparently throughout man's history
with the ”homeless man" appearing as nomad, vagrant,
tramp and in other forms. Nomadism by definition was
the pervasive way of life before the beginnings of
civilization. With the growth of civilization until
now, the nomadic person has been increasingly defined
as a deviant, and often outcasts, person. Stable and,
especially, industrial societies tend to define the
wanderer as a liability to the system who must be dis-
couraged. Communities of nomads became less common and
the individual wanderer became more visible. Many
variations of the vagrant and beggar as they have existed
throughout history have been documented by Gilmore
and Ribton-Turner.

The beginnings of Western civilization brought
negative definitionsgand severe sanctions for homeless-
ness and vagranay.;

Edward VI's response to this growing prob-
lem was a statute of unparalleled severity
...all persons loitering, wandering, and
not seeking work were to be...marked with
a hot iron in the breast the mark of V...

2 Harlan Gilmore, the Be er; and C.J. Ribton-

Turner, A_History g£_Vagrants agg_vagrancl and
Beggars and Begging;

  
 

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presented to his captors as a slave
for two years and...fed on bread and
water...caused to work by any means.
If he ran away he was to be branded
on the cheek in the sign of an S, and
the second time...put to death.3
Nevertheless, "the number of men, women and chil-
dren who were vagabonds and rogues steadily increased,"
amd eventually other less severe kinds of societal
reactions resulted.4 By 1601 the English Poor Laws
were being written, witnessing for the first time some
Ihumanitarian attitudes towards beggars and others who
‘were clearly handicapped. From 1524 until 1676 in
ZEngland, at least forty-nine works were published on
‘the distress of the poor and these included some studies
of the homeless.5 Nevertheless, harsh judgment and
:repressive treatment were to continue to be common.
IFeudal attitudes that people should permanently attach
'themselves to one locale continued strong, and they

persist toclay.6

2. Boomer Days:7 1850-1900. (Disorganization and
industrial development in America conducive to new
kinds of homelessness).

 

3 Wallace, Qp:cit. p.6.
4 ibid.

5 Dunham, 22,cit. p.7.
6

To the extent that there is an alienation and
estrangement of the homeless from society (or

the existence of a deviant skid row community),

it has increasingly been a society-imposed state

of affairs. As Howard Becker states in Outsiders (p.9)
"social groups create deviance by making the rules
whose infractions constitute deviance." By enforcing
these rules societies create deviant groups such

as skid rowers and other outcastes.

The "boomer" was a temporary, migrant worker, either
by his own choice or his employer's. He was,
according to B.A. Botkin and A. Harlow in g’Treasury
9£_Railroad Folklore (p.164):

 

 

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11

a) Immigration, Industrialization and the Western
Movement

Emigration from the Old World to North America
established a startling new pattern for community-
'bound Europeans. Whereas mobility had previously been“
an.unthought—of activity, many had been "uprooted,"8 and
'the possibility of further migration was clearly realized.
With the intensive industrialization and deve10pment,
especially that occurring from 1850 to 1900, American
Inen were further encouraged to loosen community ties.
{The expanded Industrial Revolution with its great effects
<>n labor and the Western Movement, which were vital to
'this nation's character, also meant a "loss of community"
for many. They provided an impetus for new kinds of
kiomelessness, for the banding together of the homeless
Exnd the later emergence of skid row communities.

b) Work as a Cause of Homelessness

It is argued here that the development of skid rows
<3an be traced chiefly to the need for a large mobile
Inale labor force and thus to a proportion of society
.finding nomadism its most desirable way of life. The
Ingrant role was recognized as necessary but undesirable
both by the migrant peOple and by the communities which
they left and entered. Thus the case of these new home-
less was one which fitted the "price for progress" theme
often raised with regard to civilization and industriali-
.zation. Two earlier and two contemporary students
make this a strong point.

¥

(7) ...an itinerant...who travelled light, skipping
at short notice from one [failz'road to another
...ZhigZ'heyday was the period of national expan-
sion between the Civil War and World War I. He
was bred of wanderlust, wars, strikes, depressions,
seasonal rushes, liquor, the desire to avoid
shotgun weddings, and often just plan bad luck.

8
Oscar Handlin, The Uprooted.

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The tramp comes with the locomotive,
and almshouses and prisons are as surely
the marks of ”material progress" as are
costly dwellings, rich warehouses, and
magnificent churches.

These men are the necessary and inno-
cent victims of existing conditions who
are turned out every day as surely as 10
chaff is produced by a threshing machine.

While the phenomena of fagrancy and
mendicacy have been recognized since the
days of ancients, they assume their modern
form as a result of the industrial revolu-
tion in Eur0pe and America, and the social

forces which were unleashed by this revolution.ll

It is clear that in the overwhelming
majority of cases, the migrant is the
product of economic and social conditions.
He is the end product, some have called
him the waste product, of a society in
which opportunity is limited.12

With early industrialization, a new kind of poverty,
particularly noticeable in urban centers, was deve10ping.
Skid rows were being formed by industrial and cultural
forces and affected by such traumatic events as were
and depressions, issues which will be treated below.
These forces.whether supporting the idea of alienation
or not, point out substantial reasons for the beginnings
of skid row. There is, moreover, evidence that migrant
workers did create certain kinds of communities in which
they shared common interests, special languages and
many facilities, and in which they maintained much
c00peration.

 

1: Henry George, Progress and Povert , p.7.
Edmund Kelley, The Elimination 9;.Tram s, p.140.
1 Dunham, gp;cit. pp.6-7.

l
2 Frederick Feied, No Pie in the Sky: The Hobo as
American Cultural Hero, pp.7-8.

 

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41
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13

Brief attention should be given to a few industries
*which were prominent in recruiting men for migrant work.
It is clear that 1) in so recruiting, these industries
were weakening the traditional integration of many
families and communities and that 2) the men were
generally adhering to American values concerning work
and that any alienation found among them would have to
take into account such motivations. In times of growth
and prosperity, these industries employed "boomers"
by the hundreds of thousands; in depressed times or
whenever workers were not needed, they were simply
released. The actual operation of many industries was
made possible by the existence of a rootless male labor
force. The four industries to be considered here include
:railroading, seafaring, farming and logging.

Railroads were once massive employers of the home-
less. The building and maintenance of railroad facili-
ties required a great many workers, domestic and foreign,
Inost of whom were unskilled but strong. The construc-
tion of level railroad grades required countless shovelers,
graders, mule drivers, track layers and others in an
era devoid of bulldozers and automated machinery.

The literature on railroading is replete with tales

of the boomers and their more adventurous experiences.

The railroads recruited their workers in massive campaigns
and gradually deve10ped labor hiring centers, usually

in what came to be skid row areas. Many railroad workers

came to reside in these areas during winter off-seasons
or when unemployed.

The Hobo Mecca of Meccas is right where it
has been for almost a hundred years - in the
city of Chicago, the Big Junction, and
specifically West Madison Street...Chicago...

from Iaic

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14

from which fan out forty railroad lines.13

The railroads came to hire men in great
numbers. They were located in the area.
(The large North Western Station is
located on the edge of skid row and

Union Station, which serves five major
railroads, is two blocks away.) Other
smaller employers came to realize that 14
West Madison was an ideal hiring place.

From today's perspective, it is clear that the
development of such industries as the railroads,
depending at first on much manpower and gradually
becoming automated, helped at first to deve10p a migrant
work pool and then later contributed to the unemployment
of that pool. Reformers were strong in their denuncia-
tion of early railroads for their dangerous and inhuman

operational practices.

Mbst American railroads are to blame for the
industrial conditions in which the unskilled
laboring class finds itself. They offer
starvation wages, under unsafe conditions...
After the job...has become completed, they
are left stranded wherever they have finished
their work....Hundreds of thousands of able-
bodied, economically useful citizens of

the country are being put to immature death
by the railroads of America and an equally
appalling number are bein maimed and
crippled by "accidents."1

The role of the railroad boomer, always an unstable
one, is nearly extinct today, as this summary suggests.

 

13 Stuart Holbrook, The Story 9; American Railroads, p.397.

14 From an interview with Frank Igolka, the Director
of the Chicago Office of the Illinois Unemployment
Compensation Agency.

1
5 Edwin Brown, Broke: Man without §_Dime, pp.36-37.

 

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A million railroaders were uprooted

by the Civil War, the violent strikes
of '77, '86 and '94, and a succession
of panics and business slumps. They
became floaters. Blacklisted as strikers
or furloughed when traffic fell off,
they roamed to areas where work was to
be had, at least temporarily. But the
top factor in creating boomers was the
seasonal rushes -- moving the various
crops as soon as they were harvested.
Nowadays the periodic needs of railroad
companies for additional help to wheel
the seasonal cigps is met by recruiting
local workers.

Seafaring as an occupation was important in many
cities serving as sea or river ports from New York to
Seattle. In a day of no powerful unions, longshoremen
and sailors were free agents who found jobs in the
daily "shape ups." There the most able workers were
hired and released when work was short or when cheaper
or more able workers were available. The Bowery in
New York until fairly recently was a convenient place
to hire for ocean shippers. Anderson, in describing
Chicago's West Madison skid row, states that it was
located "near the river...a stronghold of casual
labor...a rendezvous for the seamen."17 Another
observer with forty years acquaintance with that Chicago
area stated that,

Skid row concentrated at the point where
West Madison crosses the...river....many
ships tied up there or nearby. Some men
were hired aboard the ships and many more

were hired through emplogment agencies
opened on West Madison.1

16 Botkin, gp,cit., p.165.

17 Anderson, gpgcit., pp.5-6.

18 Frank Igolka, .2- cit.

 

 

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Farming, too, required many mobile workers, es-
pecially in certain seasons, and this has been an en-
during pattern of employment for skid rowers. Some
workers learned a traveling circuit for harvest and
other work, similar to ones observable today, while
others came to urban hiring centers to obtain the jobs
available there. Early farming required the hiring
of from one tohundreds of "hands" during harvest and
other peak seasons. Today automation has reduced this
labor market and evidently will soon affect the migrant
employment which has still remained rather extensive
in fruit and vegetable harvesting. But at the present
time farming is the one industry which consistently
recruits skid row men by the busload, whereas rail—
roading was formally the "large scale employer."

Although there were other notable employers, only
one more industry need be mentioned here. Logging
drew many men from urban areas and other settled
communities into unstable male work camps in backwoods
sections of the country, and it has been documented
as an important factor in the development of skid rows.19
In such states as Michigan and Maine and in the whole
Northwest region, thousands of men became part- or
full-time workers and moved into the_rugged and isolated
industry that fostered the legend of Paul Bunyan.

Loggers reputedly worked hard and waited for the
time when they would quit, be fired or more likely
deliver logs to port or to the mill. They would then
arrive at a town such as Saginaw or Seattle where the
logs were skidded down and into the river, and the
celebration would start. I

19 Peterson and maxwell, gppcit., p.308, and
Stuart Holbrook, The American.£§§berjackw
pp.90-112, 173-183.

 

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17

Skid roads were where you blew her in. A
Skid road might be one, two or a dozen
streets of a lumber city. You didn't have
to ask how to find it, for it has a charac-
ter of its own. It was usually handy to
the waterfront, whether of river or ocean,
and not far from the railroad depot. Its
places of business catered to loggers,
miners, cowhands, fishermen, sailors and
construction workers, but on the West Coast
10ggers were the most important customers.

Other such towns included Bangor, Maine and Muskegon,
Michigan.

Muskegon was close by the "down end" of the
Muskegon River and when a man had finished
his work on the drive, well -- there was Mus—
kegon. Keen-nosed loggers claimed they

could smell Muskegon booze as far upriver

as Big Rapids, fifty miles away, and said
they detected the first erotic whiffs of
Sawdust Flats (the red light disgrict)
perfume at Newaygo, half as far. 1

The naming of skid row is evidently derived from
the lumbering industry.

Even the useful term "skid road" has been
corrupted in many places and turns up in

the press as "skid row." Ignorance and
carelessness bred the bastard "skid row"
from a term which originated in Seattle
seventy years ago. "Skid road" in a word

of unsullied etymology, derived from saloons
and fancy houses that grew up along Henry
Yessler's logging road in the Puget Sound
metropolis and is now Yesler's Nawflz

Holbrook describes the general character of smaller
city skid rows as they have changed.

...The old time slave markets -- as employ-
ment offices were known -- have largely

 

20
21
22

Holbrook, The American Lumber'ack, p.173.
Ibid., p.103.
Ibid., p.231.

 

  

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been supplanted by union hiring halls.
Time was when the skid road districts

of all logging towns were lined with
employment offices....Gone too are the
Wobbly Halls and Wobbly soapboxers. The
burlesque theaters have faded along with
...honkytonks...lodginghouses.... fewer
shops selling loggers' boots and clothing.
"For Rent" signs mark many store fronts
in skid road districts.23

The influx of workers encouraged the opening of saloons,
houses of prostitution, missions and other facilities,
and the area developed some notoriety among most towns-
men despite the profits obtained by some of them. Most
of the celebrating customers would return to work,
especially when their money was gone, but the area

came to maintain a few permanent characters, often
natives of the town, i.e., the "town bums."

In summary, work and the lack of it created and
encouraged the migrant worker and then led to his later
maladjustment and finally to the establishment of skid
row communities.

When Americans built a labor movement,
the Bowery played host to heroic hoboes,
singing songs and writing poetry that

was fierce and wistful or funny, spreading

the gospel of an organized working class
while they mistrusted all rules....24

c) Other Reasons for Homelessness and the Emergence
of Skid Row: War, Wanderlust and Recreation.
While the function of early skid row areas in

relation to work is extremely important, attention also
should be turned to at least three other factors which
supported the development and persistence of skid rows.
The first two of these, war and wanderlust, helped
motivate the hobo, the forerunner of the skid rower.

 

23 Ibid., pp.230-231.

24 Elmer Bendiner, The Bowery Man, p.192.

 

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19

The third, recreation, helped prepare skid row for its
eventual role.

‘Egg is perhaps the greatest of a variety of
traumatic events which can weaken the ties of men with
their communities. The Civil War was a major event
in which many men were rendered physically or psycho-
logically unfit to return to their normal home lives.

Although the homeless had existed for
centuries both here and abroad, skid
row ... came into being roughly at the
close of the Civil War. The number of
persons uprooted, rendered destitute

and homeless by the Civil War is legen-
dary....Public Welfare in New York was
extended to persons removed from their
places of settlement because of War and
to disabled veterans and to the resident
families of soldiers wounded or killed in
action.... Eglief doubled‘ébetweegz 1861

éangz 1877.

Many men, particularly in the South, found their
homes and the economic status of their communities too
devastated or changed to encourage their return. Others
experienced an awakening to the country around them
and dissatisfaction with their old communities. Many
of these took to the road and became the first of many
tramps or "knights of the open road" as their litera-
ture described them.

As the term "knights of the open road" suggests,
those made homeless by war and other events deve10ped
a folklore of their wanderings that stressed "wander-
$253" as well as the other romantic features of the
road. Their interpretation of this psychological
state is well—summarized in a hobo song stating, "Once

 

25 Wallace, op:cit., p.13.

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20

you got the roamin' fever, why you're never gonna'

settle down."26
Some note should be made of this "romance" which

is said to have existed with regard to an ideal of

the “Open road" with its adventure and freedom. An

extensive literature developed which was at once

critical of societal constraints and admiring of the

hobo life ranging from writers of the 1850's to

Kerouac27 and others today. The early hoboes told

of adventure and wanderlust that "got into the blood,"

and warned of the dangers thereof.

Restless young men and boys who read this
book, the author who has led for over a
quarter of a century the pitifully hard
and dangerous life of a hobo gives this
well-meant advice. DO NOT JUMP ON MOVING
TRAINS, even if only to ride to the next
street corner, because this might arouse
the ”wanderlust," besides endangering
needlessly your life and limbs.
Wandering, once it becomes a habit,
is almost incurable, so NEVER RUN AWAY
BUT STAY HOME....There is a dark side to
a tramp's life; for every mile...one es-
cape from a horrible death...many weary
miles of hard walking with no food er
water...there are...bitter, cold, long
winter nights...scores of unfriendly acts
...hounded by minions of the law...one
never knows the meaning of home and friends
eeeWhat is the end?eeeninety-nine Of one
hundred times...an unmarked pauper's grave.28

It is an interesting note that this dire warning
came, as usual, from someone who practiced hoboing

 

26 This and the following lines quoted in this

section on "wanderlust" may be found in George
Milburn's, The Hobo's Hornbook.

27 Jack Kerouac, Lonesome Traveler.

28 Leon Livingston, Life and Adventures of A-no.l,

preface.

 

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21

extensively and throughout his book made many boasts

about his skills and experience. Whatever the meaning

of "wanderlust," there certainly have been romantic

forces drawing men to the cpen road. Moreover, Tully

reasoned that life on the road was, for the poor, at

least as good as staying home, even though he describes

many hardships and risks of train-riding against the

Opposition of railroad police, machinery and the elements.
Hoboing probably served first as a means of making

29

a living. Nevertheless, its functions as a romantic
life has been recorded in songs, poetry and prose --
speaking of the folly of "working when the skies are
so blue," and the search for a utOpian ”Big Rock Candy
Mountain," with its "lemonade springs," "c0ps with
wooden legs," "trees full of fruit," "no snow," and
so forth.

The life of the hobo had its paradoxes as attested
to by "The Great American Bum."

I am a bum...and live like a royal Turk.
I have good luck...and to heck with the man
that works.

but one verse admits:

Lady would you be kind enough to give me something
to eat?

...for really I'm so hungry, don't know where

I'll sleep tonight.

Though war and work served as important factors
in producing the homeless migrant worker and the formative
skid rows, at least one ether factor, that of recreation,
was affecting the early development of skid rows.

Among the most clear examples of skid row providing
recreation was the old Bowery. In American history

 

29 Jim Tully, Beggars 9;.Life, esp. pp.328-336.

 

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22

it first served for a colony of freed Negroes who were
given land where they would serve New Amsterdam as a
buffer against Indian attacks.30 During the Civil War,
violent riots were ignited there by anti-Negro Yankees,
and many Negroes were lynched and much property destroyed.
After 1865, the area became one of New York's "tender-
loin" areas, a place of extravagant entertainment and

31

vice.

The war cost the nation and the Bowery their
innocence. Corruption has always been
there, as in most societies, but blood-
shed, politics, fortunes made too easily
during the war's aftermath, exhaustion

of emotions and the return of business

as usual while the corpses are still warm -
all this meant a change in the Bowery.32

At this time the Bowery was becoming a place of
particular kinds of entertainment. Bendiner exemplifies
its mood with the case of Stephan Foster who "turns
out the type of entertainment the Bowery craves and
dies a penniless alcoholic in its rooms." He further
describes the postwar era saying,

It is more and more a street of pleasure.
On the Upper Bowery here are the white
gloves and white waistcoats...ladies...
beergardens...Johann Strauss, fresh oysters
...more whores in New York City than Metho—
dists....Highly moral reporters...harrow
the souls of Harper's Weekly readers with
descriptions of the "rough thieves, fallen
women and little children of the Bowery."
Stephen Graham notes the profound separation
of the street from the rest of the city.
"The Sunday law which seems so rigidly en-
forced in other parts of the city is a dead
letter on the Bowery." There are still

 

3O
31

Bendiner, op}git., pp.41-42.
Ibid we ’ ppo6l-650
3? Ibid., p;64.~

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23

some relatively innocent diversions on
the Bowery for the sailor on leave, the
slummer, the farm hand on a spree, and
the uptowner in diamond stickpin playing
the very devil...dime museums...electric
shocks...private movies of exotic dancers
...five cent vaudeville....33

The Bowery seems almost nonexistent as a place of
entertainment today. A song containing the words,

”The Bowery..., they say such things and they do such
things, I'll never go there again," spoke of a place
quite unlike the deteriorated, alcoholic skid row which
is the Bowery today.34

In Chicago, the two skid rows besides that on
West Madison do not seem to have employment facilities
as a major reason for their existence. Today South
State Street has a notable skid row which, though much
of it has been razed, serves as an entertainment place
for a large number of Chicagoans, sailors and others
who are interested in burlesque, tatooing, "penny-
arcades" and the bars. A few hotels and one large
mission do cater to what appears to be a highly alco-
holic and handicapped population.

Chicago's North Clark Street area appears to be a
bohemia with a notable sample of chronic alcoholics,
disturbed individuals, older men and women, immigrants,
quasi-intellectuals, artists, beatniks, homosexuals
of both sexes and other "characters" who often hold
unusual beliefs or causes.

Obviously skid rows have and do serve an important

 

33
34

h Ibid: 3 pp065-66e

In a turn of events in the 1960(s, some artists
and others from nearby Greenwich Village have
invaded the area to escape urban renewal and
rising costs in their former community.

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24

entertainment function for many who would drink to
excess, seek a prostitute or burlesque show, or enjoy
the uniqueness of slumming -— all types of entertain-
ment which their own community would not allow.

Thus these three factors, war, wanderlust and re-
creation played their roles in the nineteenth century
and had a formative effect on skid rows. By 1900
the tradition of the "Open road" was well-established.
But increasingly negative attention was being given
to the homeless since the frontier was closing and the
need for migrant labor was becoming less important.
Writers were beginning to be concerned with the "hobo
problem," work was becoming less readily available and
many cities and towns were no longer welcoming tran-
sient workers.

Many of the ”boomers" settled down to assume local
responsibilities as "home guard" and gained position
and respect in their communities. Many others did not
and skid row began to gain them as citizens. Skid row
developed more clearly as residence for the unemployed
and alcoholic where the usual norms of family and public
morality were not maintained. Police, while becoming
more severe with the traveling migrant, came to tolerate
more deviance in skid row areas. A definition evolved
of skid row as an undesirable, nonrespectable area ,
serving only as residence for men who were economically
and socially "down and out."

3. Hard Times:35 1900-1940 (Decelerating industrial
growth and the disorganizing effects of depression
and war).

The life of the homeless has never been easy, yet
it was at least a major and accepted pattern for

Americans at the turn of the century. There was, thus

 

35 Anderson, 92, cit., pp.xxxi, 96.

25

far, little distinction between the able migrant

and other workers, but an increasingly important line
was being drawn. New wars, economic upheavals and
general forces and Opportunities for conformity

were to make the hobo's life a more difficult and
less institutionalized way of life. But migrant
labor was becoming less useful as is suggested in

the case of railroading.

As railroading lost its pioneer quality,
as the locomotives grew heavier, trains
longer, traveling safer, and the compe-
tition for jobs more keen, the indepen-
dent ordgg of boomers gradually faded
away....
Thus the nation's industries were requiring fewer
migrant workers and skid rows were becoming more
permanent settlements for those who did not fit
in elsewhere.

By 1920 when Anderson did his classical study,
skid rows were well-established. The wandering
hobo was still common enough so that Anderson titled
his book The Hobo, though he subtitled it "The
Sociology of the Homeless Man." While one chapter
was concerned with "The Jungles: the homeless man
abroad," the other sixteen focused on the hobo
"at home" on skid row. One classification common
to Anderson and others compared the migrant worker
or hobo with the "home guard" who had settled in
Chicago. While the former tended to be contemptuous
of the latter, the ”home guard" was steadily growing
in prOportion.37

World War I seems to have had some effect in

 

36
37

Botkin and Harlow, 92, cit., p.165.

A phrase commonly used to describe depression
eras in American folk literature.

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26

shrinking skid row pOpulations while it lasted,
though, like the Civil War, it probably supplied
more men who failed to make satisfactory adjust-
ments on returning from the war.

Depressions large and small have had severe
repercussions on skid row. In periods of economic
depression, the number of homeless men in Hobohemia
are swollen with men out of work, the majority of
whom for the first time find themselves on the
"main stem." The pOpulation estimate in 1917
ranged "from below 30,000 in summer to 60,000 in
the winter, reaching 75,000 in periods of unem-
ployment."38

The Great Depression evoked even greater
changes which have had profound effects on skid
row. It brought millions of men who were previously
sure of their own self—sufficiency to the skid row
pattern and shelter—house welfare. The Great
Depression had an important demoralizing effect
in skid row. The romance of wandering could hardly
exist in men who had lost their hope in the security
and future of American life, especially since they
found it worse to wander than to stay in one place.
The literature of the early 1930's focused upon
the demoralization that occurred in skid rows.
Sutherland wrote about the "roads to dependency"
and the process of ”shelterization" which he found
"morally deteriorating." Dees, in a bitter com-
plaint, berated the Chicago public "f10phouse"
programs, which he entered, for their "ignorant
bureaucracies" and "filthy management.”

During the later thirties, America and its

 

38 Anderson, gp.cit., p.13.

 

 

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27

skid rows slowly returned to their normal statuses.
The little information available suggests that the
auto and a changing economy facilitated something
of a diffusion of the skid row way of life into the
country and urban fringes and the develo§3ent of

migrant families as well as individuals.

4. The Second World War and the Modern Era:
1940 to Present.

World War II employed all but the most handi-
capped American males. Skid Row became the habitat
of only the most severely handicapped alcoholics,
others seriously handicapped mentally or physically,
the elderly and perhaps some "draft dodgers."

After the war, skid row again attracted some who
became maladjusted during the war or displaced
occupationally and, more recently, some who never
found a social or occupational niche in society.

In the next twenty to thirty years, ex-
cluding depression and the larger inter-
national catastr0phies, the number of
homeless men will gradually decline in
American cities. 0

A 1949 study of New York's skid row popula-
tion offered evidence of a short term post—war
increase in men but a greater long term decrease.

The number of homeless men in New York
in need of free lodging, custodial care
and rehabilitation is currently on the

 

39 See John Steinbeck, The Grapes g£_Wrath.
Also, in investigations in Bloomington and
Indianapolis, Indiana (and elsewhere) I
found men living outside the central city
in trailers and huts.

4° Dunham, 23mm, p.43.

 

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28

increase. Disregarding temporary peaks
and valleys, the trend is upward even in
this period of high level employment...
a peak was reached in 1935 when up to
19,000 were served per day...a general
decline to 1944...when in summer 550
were lodged and since that a gradual
increasa until in 1948, 1850 were being
served. 1

Chicago's skid row hotels Operate at about
two-thirds their capacity today, despite the fact
that many of them are being razed. Nevertheless,
the number of skid rowers remains a large one in
Chicago as throughout the nation.

While the population of Chicago almost
doubled from 1910 to 1958, the skid row
pOpulation was only 25 percent of its
1910 size....The current estimate of
homeless men on Chicago's skid row is
12,500 to 13,000...an underestimate...
as there are men...living elsewhere in
the city under skid row conditions.4

In the last 15 years new emphasis has been
given to the elimination of skid row areas and to
alcoholic, occupational and other rehabilitation
of skid rowers. Several cities have initiated
action programs which have been in varying degrees
successful at eliminating skid row areas or helping
some men. It is probable that with aggressive
programming, the traditional skid row communities
could be completely destroyed in ten to twenty years.43

 

41 Welfare Council, "Homeless Men in New York

City, ” pPOl-ZO

42 Chicago Tenants Relocation Bureau, gp,cit., p.6.
43

William J. Plunkert, "Skid Rows Can Be
Eliminated," Federal Probation, June,l96l,
Pp 0 40-43 0

29

However, this destruction of facilities would only
achieve the removal of what is considered an eye-
sore. The problems of the population would pretty
much remain and new ones would appear. It does
not seem likely that enough resources will be
directed to the human problem to end the need for
skid row lifeways in the near future.

This section has summarized the forces which
led to the formation of skid row communities and
their populations. If the migrant man deve10ped
a sense of alienation, from these experiences, it
would appear from this treatment that it would be
related to work and to the political system. But
rather than anticipating a complete alienation,
the evidence has suggested the development of a
community in skid row in which human identity as
well as various facilities appeared.

B. PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE SKID ROW COMMUNITY TODAY.

1. The Area

In the remainder of this chapter, some of the
more observable features of the skid row community
will be examined. These features offer some evidence
for the existence of a skid row community since
they show that skid row is, in great measure, a
self-sustaining social system. This section, how-
ever, is a descriptive introduction to the skid row
community rather than a theoretical discussion of it.
Some comments on skid row as a community are made
here, though, and the contention that it is a
community is further substantiated in the second
half of Chapter Eight and elsewhere.

Although skid rows may have become smaller today
than in their most prominent years, they still serve
many men and are a significant part of American
culture. Established skid rows exist in nearly all

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30

American cities, and one study conservatively states
that "almost all of the 100 largest cities contain
an identifiable skid row of at least 250 men."44
Smaller but similar areas, whatever they are called,
exist in nearly all communities. Middle-sized
cities and towns have small, concentrated areas

and more diffused skid row lifeways; villages and
rural areas have their town drunks and hermits.

The number of skid rows and skid rower types cannot
be known until data is gathered on the basis of
now-unavailable rigorous definitions. Without

such a definition, skid row remains an ambiguous
social area and, like homeless men, an ideal type
from which actual cases vary.

Skid row areas can be easily delineated in
some cities, but more often they are merged into
other social-economic areas. In most smaller
cities, they are thoroughly merged into business
and general slum housing areas. The insulated
nature of most skid row cultural patterns has kept
outsiders from knowing very much about its struc—
ture and Operation. Most Americans have only a
vague knowledge of what is meant when reference
is made to the "skid rows" of American cities.

Bogue has characterized skid rows in a way
which points out important facilities in the area
and, though these are not universally found, they
are helpful in locating the physical areas of
skid rows. For him skid row denotes,

A district in the city where there is
a concentration of substandard hotels
and rooming houses charging very low
rates and catering primarily to men

 

44 Bogue, gp.cit., p.8

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31

with low incomes...numerous taverns,
employment agencies...for unskilled
laborers, restaurants serving low-
cost meals, pawnshops, and second
hand stores, and missions. Perhaps
...barber colleges, burlesque shows
or night clubs with strip tease acts,
penny arcades, tattoo palaces, stores
selling men's work clothing, bakeries
selling stale bread and unclaimed
freight stores. [They were locate§7
Most frequently...near the central
business district and also near a
factory district or major heavy trans-
portation facilities such as a water-
front, freight yard or truck and
storage depot.4

The following definition has been developed
in previous studies by this student. It is of
a more abstract nature than BOgue's and takes a
more generic, explanatory approach to the issue.
While such a definition is more difficult to
Operationalize, it is useful in orienting the
reader to the sociological issue.

The traditional skid row is in a highly
deteriorated, mixed commercial and
residential area, located nearly always
in an older downtown section of the
central city, having an extremely

high sex ratio in a densely settled
rooming house and hotel pOpulation

and, besides inexpensive housing, several
other facilities for maintaining a low
economic status male population.

This definition suggests some of the economic
and ecological perspectives of the writer as well
as the existence Of community in skid row. In
observing skid row as a community, the criteria
established by Roland Warren will be borne in mind.

 

45 BOgue, gp.cit., p.1.

We

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32

We shall consider a community to be
that combination of social units and
systems which performs the major
social functions having locality rele-
vance. [That i§7'the organization of
social activities to afford peOple
daily local access to those broad
areas of activity whifig are necessary
in day-to-day living.

Among these he includes "production-distribution-
consumption" having "to do with local participation
in the process of producing, distributing, and
consuming those goods and services which are a
part of daily living and access to which is
desirable in the immediate locality."47 (He also
includes: socialization, social control, social
participation, and mutual support, all elements
which will be examined in later parts of this study.)
In our concern with production-d1stribution-consump-
tion and the other locality-relevant function of
community, it is essential that we examine the
physical facilities of skid row. These Obviously
form the essential spatial framework in Which any
skid row community or alienation of skid rowers
must exist.

By way of introduction, a comparison is made
of facilities in one rather typical core block
of skid row as it appeared in 1923 and 1964.
Nels Anderson first described this block near
the concentrated east end of West Madison,48 and
the author surveyed the same block to see what
change had occurred.

 

 

46 Warren, The Community in_America, p.9.
47 warren, gp.cit., pp.9-lO.
43

Anderson, gptcit,p. 15.

 

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TABLE 1 FACILITIES ALONG WEST MADISON AVENUE
IN THE BLOCK BETWEEN DES PLAINES STREET AND
JEFFERSON STREET, 1923 and 1964

 

 

1925 1964 1923 1964

taverns/bars 6 7 drug store 1 0
restaurants 6 3 fortune telling l 1
barber college 4 2 grocery O 1
employment cleaners O l

agencies 10 l funeral home 0 l
clothing 5 5 empty lots 1 8
hotels 8 9 key shOp O l
gambling 2 0 parking lot 0 2
mission 1 O
cigar store 1 O

 

From the above it can be noted that in forty-
two years between the two studies there has been
a gradual trend away from such distinctively skid
row facilities as employment agencies and cheap
hotels. The number of employment agencies has
particularly declined and more general purpose
businesses, parking lots and empty properties have
appeared. In the Opinions of the writer and others,
this trend is accelerating. Two medium—sized skid
row hotels, for example, were razed in the year of
the field study, 1964. Plans now call for the
elimination of whole skid row blocks with high-rise
office buildings to replace them.49
skid row has retained most of its important facili-
ties over the past four decades.

In describing the specific facilities that
serve the skid row community, the hotels and rooming
houses are perhaps of most importance. A larger
prOportion of men use them for greater amounts of
time than other facilities. Skid row living facili-
ties range quite widely in price (from less than $5.00

Nevertheless

 

49 Department of Urban Renewal, City of Chicago,
Madison-Canal: Proposals for Renewal.

may to

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34

weekly to about $2.00 per night). They range in
quality from the most dirty with cockroaches and
rodents and rarely-changed linen to those which
are kept relatively clean. The newcomer finds the
worst of these extremely undesirable.

The sound of the flophouse at night

come in surges, each breaking through

the uneasy narcosis of the others.

There were groans, snores, cries,
coughing, spitting, gurgling, vomiting,
men calling out in Polish, German,
profane English...The soundsin the 50
night are much like those of dying men.

The smell here is intense: one of
urine, sickness, alcohol and crowded
living. The small window, the whole
room, the single bathgiom on the
floor, all are dirty.

Some hotels provide regular rooms, sometimes with
cooking facilities, but the standard accommodation
on skid row is the "cage hotel." The cage is a
small improvised room in high-ceiling lofts, about
7 by 5 by 7 feet, with wood or corregated metal
walls and chicken wire over the top and a door
with a fairly reliable lock. Generally a large
bathroom on each floor serves from 50 to 100 men.
Most of these hotels start on the second floor and
have a lobby with limited facilities. Nonrenters
are forcibly excluded from visiting rooms or using
lobbies. As one walks down the street, he may well
miss these hotels since their advertising is of a
minimum nature. A few hotels do advertise their

 

50
51

Bendiner, gp.cit., pp.59-60.
Vander Kooi, Skideow and.Its Men, p.9.

35

fire-proof quality, serving to remind all of tragedies
that have occurred. One hotel boasts an elevator:

all others are characterized by steep stairs that

are frequently in poor condition and littered with
bottles or other debris.

A second major group of facilities in the skid
row community include the barg and saloons. These
range in size from very large saloons which date
back to pre-Prohibition days and free lunches to
smaller, more typical bars. They range in respecta-
bility and a few of them rigidly exclude the "bums."
Most of them appear to be congenial toward the poor
man and obvious alcoholics and they serve cheaper,
lower quality drinks (e.g., 20¢ for a shot with a
beer) and often low cost lunches. They sell to many
who consume their beverage on the street or in their
rooms. They have a reputation as great money
makers, but are also frequently noted for extending
credit and other considerations. They are charac-
terized by a good deal of congeniality among customers
as well as employees. On the other hand, police
make regular stops at such places as the notorious
”House of Rothchild" to stOp fights and other unwel-
come behavior and to load those "too drunk to stand
on their feet" into the "paddy wagons."

Many lunch counters and occasional restaurants
appear along West Madison. These serve food ranging
from low cost meals that are fairly peculiar to skid
row, such as "pig's feet and cabbage," to conventional
fried foods. There are a few relatively clean
restaurants. Though eating places are a less
noticeable part of skid row than are taverns, they
are extremely useful in providing for the needs of
men on very low budgets. In addition, as in the case
of bars and taverns, they provide an important
setting for informal socializing.

 

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The second hand stores and "hook shopgflof the

 

West Madison community provide a cheap source of
winter clothing, work shoes, shaving supplies,
reading materials and other goods when they are
needed and a source of money when these are sold
back. These stores usually charge about double
what they pay for their used merchandise.

Other retail stores sell various new goods to
those who can afford them. Food and beverages are
sold to those who eat in their rooms and elsewhere.
Other assorted businesses on skid row include a
few drug stores, dry cleaners and a wide range of
others, even including two funeral parlors. They
are intended chiefly to serve skid row men. Several
barber colleges cater to men who are willing to
allow students to learn while rendering free hair-
cuts and shaves. Blood-buying agencies provide
a few dollars to men who are willing to sell theirs;
many do so too frequently or while sick or infected
at risk to themselves and others.

Employment agencies play the crucial role of
providing most jobs in the skid row community.

On West Madison are many small private agencies and
one large state agency. Private agencies charge
for their services and pay the workers themselves
after subtracting a sizable fee. They are commonly
referred to as "slave labor" offices, but they seem
to attract more men and good jobs than does the
state agency, perhaps because they pay daily for
work done and involve less "red tape.”

Among social services, Social Security agents
devote considerable time to skid rowers because of
the high number of Older and handicapped men. For
similar reasons, state welfare workers are kept
busy. Representatives of these agencies are, however,
seldom seen on skid row since most of their business

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37

is conducted in offices outside the area or by

mail. Much welfare, moreover, is still carried

out by religious and charitable organizations or

channeled through them from governmental agencies.
The religious mission is a highly visible

part of skid row. At least twenty-five such facili-

ties are present on West Madison. Some have existed

over many decades and are evidence of the concern

of organizations outside the community for skid

row men.52 They range from those which devote

their energies to promoting a very fundamentalistic

religion to those which are more concerned with

dispensing social and psychological aids than in

converting to a particular religious ideology.

Some are highly organized and sizable operations;

others are run haphazardly and sometimes even as

one-man Operations. Most seem to be sincere in their

efforts; a few have been exposed as illegal Operations.

Most of the larger ones offer a small meal and place

53

to sleep, sometimes for all who ask, sometimes for
a small charge, sometimes for attending a service
or being ”saved" and sometimes only for those in
rehabilitation programs.

 

52 One of these, for example, was established

in 1877, though one of its mottos states that
it has been "everlasting at it.” Many churches
send money to the missions and some present
weekly programs in them.

53

One woman, for instance, claimed to be
"feeding the men of skid row” and split
the proceeds from coin boxes with skid
rowers who distributed them.

38

There are about 1500 gospel or rescue
missionaries along Skid Row, U.S.A.
They believe, as Alcoholics Anonymous
leaders do, that derelict Rowers cannot
help themselves except through reliance
on Higher Power. They specify the
power as "the saving grace of Jesus
Christ" and work to provide Rowers with
free beds and meals and washing facili-
ties and clothes in His name. Some

who have charge of the larger missions
claim to distribute as many as 40,000
free meals and to furnish as many as
65,000 free beds in a typical year.

And they say that, although the vast
number of men who they contact use their
missions for free flopping and eating,
an appreciable number, as many as 800

a year are brought to "new lives in
Christ" through contact with them and
their institutions.

The Monroe Street Precinct Station of the
Chicago Police Department with its roving "paddy-
wagons" is both an agency of social control and
custodial care in skid row. It serves as a part
of the "revolving door" bringing men who are
usually intoxicated off the street for an overnight
stay in the "tank" (large cells with very limited
seating), and a morning appearance before a court
referee. From observations it would appear that
from half to two-thirds of those arrested are
released and the rest are sent to the county prison,
the prison farmgrthe county hospital (for physical
or psychiatric treatment). Discipline and welfare
are also served by the police social worker who
provides released prisoners with bus fare to a job,
leads on a place to stay and other personal assistance.

The city Reading Eggm_on West Madison was

 

5“ Harris, 9_p_.cit., p.138.

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39

established in 1952. It was opened primarily to
allow men a place to read but also a place to be
away from the streets, the bars or other undesired
features of skid row. In winter it is more crowded
since it allows many an escape from the cold. It
has undergone gradual change and its present function
seems to be quite different than what was envisioned
at its inception. Though it still provides a place
to read, only out-dated magazines and discarded
books from other libraries are avaliable. The room
consists of two very large rooms and a shower
room. Most of the men sit in a cavernous "TV room"
gazing at a totally inadequate TV, or at books,
or trying to sleep unobserved, or doing inventory
on their personal belongings. Others sit in another
room reading periodicals or conversing with other
men. Checkers are played and lunches eaten; many
men take advantage of a washroom shower and shave.
A few men talk with the director and his helpers,
often seeking their advice. The Room has deve10ped
as an important branch of the Illinois' skid row
labor office.55

Besides the facilities that have been treated
above, some comment should be made about the outdoors
features of skid row where life is most observable.
The "main stem" or main street is the most important
and busy area. During the day, especially in warm
weather after working hours and at meal times, it
is busy with homeless men walking toward particular

 

55 One employment agent spends half-days there.
Many employers call or stOp in since they
know many men are there. Buses are often
parked in front and loaded with men who are
then transported to agricultural jobs.

 

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40

destinations or loitering singly or in groups.
The groups frequently carry on discussions or share
a bottle in a rather open manner. Any event, such
as the paddy-wagon picking up drunks, a minor
squabble, construction work, gathers the attention
of the numerous curious by-standers. Many persons,
male and female, from outside skid row walk through
the area with no inconvenience other than an uneasy
reaction to the unaesthetic quality of the area
and the occasional approach of a panhandler.

The "main stem" is kept surprisingly clean
by the city but also by the bottle and;pnk collec-
tors of skid row who, for instance, make one half
penny for each wine bottle. The alleys are dirtier,
more deteriorated and more dangerous to pedestrians
because of the greater likelihood of robbery and
assault. Though the back streets contain factories,
warehouses and other businesses, the skid row
community diffuses into this area since a number
of rooming houses are located there. These and
adjacent residential neighborhoods tend to com-
plete the ecological area of skid row.

2. The Men

The one important aspect of skid row which has
not been treated is its ggn. This researcher and
others have found that skid rowers cannot be taken
as a homogeneous aggregate. It is not an easy task
to delineate them, but several typologies which
will be treated below testify to their heterogenity.
First an attempt should be made to define skid row
men in general, as follows:

Skid row men are a population with
traditionally high mobility, main-
taining few visible binding social
attachments and few possessions of
notable monetary value, holding the

41

more temporary and least rewarding
types of employment or being chroni-
cally unemployed, frequently having
any of a range of personal, social-
psychological or physical deficiencies,
living most Of the time in residential
areas for men in the central city.

In describing the men further, some information
which was obtained in this study would be useful
in describing types that other students have noted
among skid row men. The term "homeless man" is
a commonly-used one. It is value-laden in that it
judges in terms of usual familial homes. But men
who have settled in skid row, as Opposed to those
who fllow regular migration patterns, might be
said to have a personal home there. On the other
hand, it is certain that the skid row dwelling is
significantly different from "homes" as we usually
think of them, with their appearance of permanence
and usually including some kind of family. More—
over, very few skid row men identify their rooms
as homes even to the extent of staying in them
more than a month. In the larger hotels, guests
of roomers are rarely allowed in rooms and women
are especially prohibited. Though there is a large
part of America's non-skid row population which
is mobileaufileven without family, the relatively
complete severance of normal social ties and resi-
dence in markedly deficient skid row housing might
mark the skid row man as "homeless." Since this
term remains misleading and encourages value-
judgments as to skid rower's'anti—familial" behavior,
it will not be used in this study.

The term, "unattached," is occasionally used
to refer to skid row men but it is too broad since

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42

it includes people of all social classes who "go
it alone."56 Among more usual terms are these
which suggest a more msbile person than the skid
row dweller today: the "hobo," the "tramp," and
the "transient." The label, "vagrant," while it
is a legal designation, is rarely used in or out-
side court today and suggests greater idleness
than this writer observed. The terms, "bum" and
"beggar" are not useful since they are value-laden
suggesting as Webster states it, a "worthless
person." (The latter term especially, with its
emphasis on a parasitic nature, describes very

few persons in this era of enforced laws against
begging and increased government welfare.) The
term "skid rower" which is more neutral and better
describes the whole pOpulation studied here, will
be used throughout the study.

None of the above terms was found adequate in
describing the population. Therefore it was decided
to use the more neutral and accurately descriptive
term, "skid rower," to describe the objects of this
study. But skid rowers are not a homogenous pOpu-
lation and so a more difficult examination of
possible classifications of that population must
now be attempted.

One of the most important sociological obser-
vations of skid row (treated here though it is also
pertinent to our treatment of theory in the next
chapter) concerns the presence of various types
of men living within it. As early as 1806 Colquhoun

 

56 See for instance Arnold Rose, "Living

Anangements of Unattached Persons,"
American Sociological Review, 12:4,

if - F‘
.6; his
O

23'. C

43

had presented a classification of "those that will
not work and those who cannot work."57 Other early
differentiations were made between the hobo (who
works and wanders), the tramp (who dreams and wanders)
and the bum (who drinks and wanders). Anderson in
1923 restated these types but also differentiated
between the home guard and the bum of skid row,
the former being a worker, the latter a beggar or
thief.58
Solenberg listed these three types: the self—
supporting, the temporarily dependent, and the
chronically dependent.59 Sutherland and Locke
in their study specified four types: home guard,
casual worker, steady unskilled, skilled white collar.60
Various typologies in the recent literature
are along such dimensions as working habits (e.g.,
those with a regular job, part time and seasonal
workers and non workers), physical and psychological
conditions (the healthy and various handicapped
types), age (especially regarding younger, middle
age and elderly men) and, most often, drinking
categories (e.g., teetotalers, moderates, problem
drinkers, alcoholics, derelicts, etc.). Other
typologies are multi-dimensional, some of them
overlapping with others.

There are...the pensioner, the steady
worker, the seasonal worker, the character,

 

57 H. Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor,
Vol. III and IV.

As stated for example by Dr. Ben Reitman,
"King of the Hoboes," in Anderson, gp,cit., p.87.

58

59 Alice Solenberg, 1,000 Homeless Men.

60 Sutherland and Locke, 20,000 Homeless Men.

44

the tramp, the wino, the bum,
chiseler...the dehorn or rubby- _
dub (who use nonbeverage alcohol/,

the petty thief and smalltime racketesr.6l

The most recently published typology of skid
row men appeared in 1965 when Wallace divided skid
rowers into three kinds: those with mobile occu-
pations, welfareclients and pensioners, and "afficio-
nados" or marginal characters.62 At another time,
however, he states, "Drunk, alcoholic, hobo, beggar,
tour—director [Self-styled disenchanted intellectuals
who entertain outsiders "showing them" skid r037
and mission stiff...are the six primary statuses
on skid row today."63

While some unique types can perhaps be noted
on skid row, it is also true that one can also
observe persons who are typical of those who would
be seen in any community.

...the more one stays on Skid Row the
more he begins to notice the neatly
dressed men with shaven faces who
appear to be at home, quietly circum—
venting the sprawled body, noncommi-
tally navigating the flow of drunks
weaving out of a bar. These are mostly
retired bachelors, maybe former sea-
men or truck-drivers, who can live more
cheaply here than anyplace else or who
prefer the naked drama of Skid Row to
the boredom of a placid rooming house
in a conventional neighborhood.6

 

61

62 Wallace, gp,cit., p.201

Peterson and Maxwell, gp,cit., p.308.

63 ibid., p.200.

64 Bagdikian, In,the Midst g£_Plent , p.55.

L»

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t I! t .
H c ..n Ow . (-s $5 a 6w 0 ... . \IK Yea r. hub. en‘s

 

-‘_

45

The various types which have been presented
are not mutually-exclusive ones and, though such
a typology could be developed (for instance, with
work as the primary variable), it would serve no
good purpose at this time. Neither is it certain
that the character types here mentioned treat all
dimensions or have been all-inclusive with regard
to skid row men. An attempt should be made, however,
to list some of the more apparent characteristics
of the men.

First, the dimension concerned with the use
of alcohol should be examined. The severely alco-
hOlic are those most easily observed on skid row.
They represent a sizable minority of the men,

(though only a small proportion of all the alcoholics,
the "derelicts," are most noticeable to passers-by

as they lie in gutters, walk in front of moving

cars and carry on other grossly deviant behavior).
Alcoholics must be distinguished from moderate
drinkers and the occasional drunks and finally non-
drinkers. Among alcoholics are many with serious
physical and mental handicaps and some of them

work full or part time while others cannot.

The second, already-suggested classification
separates steady workers from others. Those who
are regularly employed, usually escape full involve-
ment in skid row; only on week-ends might some of
them participate in the full cultural pattern.

There are a great many "spot laborers," who work
when jobs are obtainable or when they choose to
"stake" themselves with a paycheck. The handicapped,
the aged and a few others do not work at all.

A third classification deals with the physically
and mentally handicapped. Physical handicaps, such
as missing limbs, tuberculosis damage and other
deformities, mark some men. Psychological distur-
bances are less easily recognized but may be noted

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46

in cases of men who demonstrate withdrawal, extreme
temper or "talking to themselves." Many other men,
of course, form the much less noticeable "normal
appearing" population of theemea.

In certain ways length of residence seems a
fourth important criterion. Most skid rowers are
"middle—aged," (45 to 60 years), and men younger
than 30 are unusual and are generally assumed to
be jack-rollers or isolates with personality prob-

65

lems. Men younger than 55 seem to be alcoholic
more often than others. The aged are, for the

most part, in poor health. They tend to live in

a quiet and frugal manner. They avoid the younger
men and usually stay in their hotels, but often
have strong friendships among themselves and many
join the Salvation Army's "Golden Age Club," (which
provides monthly meetings and excursions with
companionship among the men.)

Several classifications of skid row men have
been introduced including drinking patterns, employ-
ment, handicaps, length of residence in skid row,
and age groupings. Others could probably be added
and the fitting of all into one typology must await
further study, but the heterogeneity of the skid

row pOpulation has been clearly demonstrated.

SUI'vfia'lARY

The develOpment and present characteristics of
skid row and its men have been outlined. The variety
of historical events, facilities of skid row and

 

65 One, perhaps having a personality problem,
played chess continually and well, badly
defeating this writer. He claimed to be
saving to enter the University of Chicago,
having been accepted there, but appeared
to be making little progress in that direction.

47

inhabitants all suggest that this community is

not easily explained by any unicausal theories such
as that of alienation. A next task is the exami-
nation of sociological concern that has been directed
toward skid row.

 

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OH
O

CHAPTER THREE: THE SOCIOLOGICAL UNDERSTANDING OF
SKID ROW

Skid row has received a good deal Of general
and sociological consideration since the turn of
the century. This treatment has reflected both
the changing skid row scene and the changing Ameri—
can philosophy toward such matters as skid row.

In the preceding chapter some historical condi-
tions affecting skid rows and some of their descrip-
tive characteristics have been treated. In this
chapter we will treat the development of sociological
concern regarding skid row. This concern has assumed
that, despite specific historical causes and unique
skid row characteristics, there exist certain patterns
and regularities worth observing among skid rows
through several decades. Such patterns and regu-
larities must receive prime consideration in any
skid row theory. Wallace suggests some patterns
which have seemed to exist among skid rowers.

In only one major respect is the skid
rower still true to traditional form.
Throughout the years he has remained
both destitute and single. For the
most part he claims no ...kin. Out-
cast by all accepted standards, de-
graded and facing an ever—widening
gulf between himself and society, the
skid rower has nevertheless managed
to survive for almost half a century.
More than that, he has managed to
evolve on his own behalf a community
which shelters, clothes, and feeds

him, and keeps him supplied with drink.1

 

1 Wallace, pp.cit., p.25.

 

in a co:
resulted
further e
I111 be I
while the
in expl j
be Sim
analog:
bee: Wit}

F".AF .
('5'va :

49

It has been stated earlier in this dissertation
that the predominant early concern was with skid row
in a context of social problems and this concern
resulted in biased treatment. This chapter will
further examine the fact. Furthermore, evidence
will be submitted here that nonsociological theories,
while they may be useful in part, are not adequate
in explaining the existence of skid row. It will
be shown that the underlying concern of nearly all
sociological studies, whether explicit or not, has
been with the relative organization or disorgani—
zation that characterizes skid row. Further, the
early students of urbanism suggested that skid row
and similar urban areas were disorganized and many
observers of skid row have made it clear that they
considered skid rowers as an alienated population.
Finally, and most important, it will be shown that
a conception of skid row as an organized community
can be supported and that fact would contradict the
stereotype of skid row alienation.

A. EARLY CONCERN WITH SKID ROW

The sociological treatment of skid row emerged
only gradually from a more general concern first
expressed by journalists. Especially by the turn
of the century, writers were complaining of the
various kinds of slums emerging in the cities.

Jacob Riis, with his classic H E £hg_0ther Hg££
Lives (1890) and other works, was a pioneer in this
respect. He described the "Bend" area on the Bowery
as follows:

On hot summer nights it is no rare
experience when exploring the worst
of tenements in "The Bend" to find
the hallways occupied by "sitters",
tramps whom laziness or hard luck has

5O

prevented from earning enough by their
day's "labor" to pay the admission fee
to a stale-beer dive, and who have their-
reasons for declining the hospitality of
police station lodging houses....The men
...take to the railroad track and to
camping out when the nights grow warm,
returning in the fall to prey on the
city, and to recruit their ranks from
the lazy, the shiftless, and the unfortu—
nate.

Riis was, in general, equally critical of the
city for fostering the slum and of the inhabitants
for accepting it as a way of life, though he was,
when compared with most journalists of his time,
quite charitable toward the poor and enlightened
regarding the social causes of slums.

As the general public became more aware of
skid rows, more attention was directed toward them
by other writers. Hunter, for example, in 1904
wrote of skid rows as they deve10ped in various
cities:

In all cities there are special districts
in which most of the nomadic vagrants

as well as the habitual "town bums" are
to be found. They usually furnish a
considerable element to the flotsam and
jetsam which constitute a large portion
of the population in the districts of vice.
New York has, among other such districts
the Tenderloin and the Bowery. Chicago
has South Clark Street, Dearborn Street
and West Madison; Philadelphia, St. Louis,
San Francisco, Denver, have similar dis-
tricts...vice for the well-to-do, and...

 

2 Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives, pp.56-57.

3 Ibid., Introduction by Donald Bigelow.

1|
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x... a

 

51

vice for the poor....The average Ameri-
can knows little of the area....The
vagrant is only one element...[§hd Hunter
goes on to liit several available vices
in the aregz

Edwin Brown, in 1913, was among the first to
take the side of the homeless. He lived among them
by choice and reported on the extremely harsh and
uncharitable ways in which moniless tramps like
himself were treated. He satirized at length on
"The New England Conscience," Philadelphia's "Brotherly
Love," "LatterDay Saints who sin against society,"
in Salt Lake City and finally Denver, "The City
Beautiful." 5 In one typical case he found a mission
"of love and hOpe" where a detective lurked to arrest
any transients who requested help. Many colorful
and sympathetic descriptions, such as Laubach's
Tramping_with Tramps and Jim Tully's Beggars g:

 

gigthhen began to appear.

Among the first attempts to move beyond im-
pressionistic efforts was that of Solenberg who in
her 1000 Homeless Men (1910) focused on records
of New York shelter house dwellers. This empirical
study of large numbers of destitute men was followed
by others, (e.g., Sutherland and Locke's Twenty
Thousand Homeless Men) which like Solenberg's,
provided early systematic data about what was viewed
as a growing social pathology.

B. THE "SOCIAL PROBLEMS" PERSPECTIVE

First interests in skid row emerged, thus, in

 

4 Robert Hunter, Povert , pp.lO6-108.

5 Edwin Brown, gp.cit.. Quotations are from
chapter titles.

 

[1
t)

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I

t I) tr
0 5h

0. 4
a)

52
a focus upon it as a social problem. Just as the
first literature consisted of impressionistic ex-
poses, a "problems" orientation has been maintained
by studies in every decade since. Only examples
from recent years are noted here. Typical of these
have been studies of alcoholism on skid row. The
study of alcoholism in this setting is well-repre-
sented by Pittman and Gordon's The Revolvinngoor,
which observes many social characteristics of the
chronic homeless inebriate. The Quarterlngournal
9; Studies 9n Alcoholism has published articles of
the same sort,6 and a few Social Problems articles
have served well in describing aspects of the cul-
ture of skid row. "National Conference Reports on
the Homeless Alcoholic" have been sponsored by the
National Council on Alcoholism.

The "social problem" approach to skid row has
not, however, been confined to an examination of
alcoholism as the crucial factor. Other particu-
lar social problems, while receiving less attention,
have also been examined. Deutscher,7 Goldborough8 and
Schmid, for example, studied crime in this setting.9
Jones and others 10 and Paris and Dunham 11

 

 

6 See in that journal, for example, R. Straus and

R. McCarthy, "Nonaddictive Pathological Drinking
Patterns of Homeless Men," 12: pp.60l-6ll; J.F.
Rooney, "Group Processes among Skid Row Men,"
22: pp.440-460; and P.R. Brown, "The Problem
Drinker and the Jail," 16: pp.474-483.

7 Irwin Deutscher, "The Petty Offender: A Socio-
logical Alien," Journal gf Criminal Law and
Criminology. 44: pp.592-595.

Ernest Goldborough, The Petty Offender: 5
Philadelphia Study 22 the Homeless Man.

9 Calvin Schmid, "Urban Crime Areas," American
10 Sociological Review, 25: pp.655-678.

H. Jones, J. Roberts and J. Branter, "Incidence
of Tuberculosis among Homeless Men," Journal of
the American Medical Association, 155: pp.l22231223.

ll Faris and Dunham, Mental Disorders in Urban Areas.

‘V
"SH! a
“huge“

‘F‘w
3:; u..e

31‘8”":

“' li-u

53

have respectively observed physical and mental health
problems. Problems of housing have received much
treatment, particularly by city agencies in New York,
Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Chicago, Minneapolis and
elsewhere, and lengthy reports have resulted (see
page 3)-

One of the most recent and extensive sociological
treatments, a survey study by Bogue, also focused
on problems and their amelioration and seems to
make alcoholism its chief independent variable.
In a review of Bogue's book, Reissman was not only
very critical of the extensive use of alcoholism as
an explanatory variable, but also commented that:

...superficiality...Zfang7'notable senti-
ments...cannot sustain a scientific
investigation...[§ng7'might even be a
hindrance. Notably inspired action

goals become confused with sociologi-

cal objectives....[§7just cause is

better served by careful scholigship

than a spirit of high purpose.

Bogue introduced his 500 page report with a
statement which, while not referring to alcoholism,
nevertheless clearly showed the social problems
approach which he brought to the study.

Residents of skid row are the most
poorly housed group in the urban
pOpulation. The "normal" pOpulation
would refuse to live in the housing
occupied by these men. Here the
incidence of disease, neglect and
cruel living conditions is far higher
than in almost any other district....
Not only is skid row an eyesore, it
is also sociologically poisonous to
neighborhoods in a broad surrounding
zone....The conditions to be remedied

 

12 Leonard Reissman, American Sociological Review,

30: pp.lS2—153.

54

are acute, more complex, and beset
with more problem situations than

in most other neighborhoods under- 13
going urban renewal. [Emphasis mineg7

Social problems textbooks typically treat skid
row as a concentrated problems area as illustrated
by Korn and McKorkle.

The homeless, friendless drifter
who lives by petty thefts as he
moves in an endless round from
rooming house to the county jail
and "skid row" certainly fits the
picture of the social parasite
who contributes nothing to the
social order that nurtured him.
He lives for himself, steals for
himself and gives nothing in re-
turn for what he takes.1

It should be noted that, as the above quotation
suggests, the "social problems" literature has often
assumed the alienation of those confronted with
"social problems." The scholarly journals as well

as the mass media frequently assume that a list of
social problems such as unemployment, alcoholism and
family disorganization are, by definition, accompanied
by alienation and disenchantment. Thus they continue
to regard skid row as a "jungle" and social scientists
continue to make passing comments about the estranged
and hopeless state of skid rowers, and they assume
these characterizations with only the descriptive
evidence of problems that exist in skid row.

 

13 BOgue, 92,3;t,, p.1.
14 R. Korn and L. McKorkle, Criminology and
Penolo , pp.125-l26. Concerning the skid

row part of the "culture of poverty," Harring-
ton (22.9;1. p.97) stated that, "perhaps

the bitterest, most physical and obvious
poverty that can be seen in an American

city exists in skid row among the alcoholics."

 

gr:

55

The weakness of the social problems approach
is that it is too often characterized by a lack of
objectivity, is based on ethnocentrism, fosters
misplaced sympathy and results in value-judgments
being read in by the observer. This approach fails
to encourage the detailed observance of organization
among the peOple involved and the actual functional
nature of so-called "social problems."

C. INDIVIDUALISTIC APPROACHES

Nonsociological explanations for the existence
of skid row, including religious and moral, biological,
psycholOgical and economic ones have always been
pOpular. All but the last of these tend to be
individualistic in nature and have frequently been
given more attention than the sociological perspective.
Dunham suggests that individualistic theories were
becoming outmoded before this century.

Toward the end of the nineteenth century
explanations in terms of character
traits and defects, which basically

and in terms of later nineteenth

century investigation became bio-
logical, gave way tg broader socio-
economic theories.1

But individualistic explanations have remained
popular. Dunham in 1953 expressed concern about the
widespread acceptance of psychological explanations
(e.g., the "inadequate personality")l6 being used
to describe and.explain the inhabitants of skid row.
Perhaps the weakness of this approach can best be

17

 

15
16

Dunham, gagiy., p.8.
Ibid., p.12.

17 The writer has found this term pOpular also
in the labeling of prison inmates, alcoholics
and other deviants.

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hd NO...“ ‘H e.\«.\§ e‘ rr ‘ .V
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s 113‘

 

56
summarized in the words of Dunham:

While there have been various inter-
pretations of the homeless man in
terms of certain personality charac-
teristics and/or mental conditions
...such theories are not suitable

for explaining him.

It is impossible to proceed on the
basis of any narrow biologically

or psychologically unitary theories
for the condition of homelessness

as a defined social situation having
its roots deep in social organization
rather than in psychological traits
or biglogical defects of the individual
men.

Rubington agrees, saying,

Failure to account for the absence
of some alienated individuals on
Skid Row casts doubt on the indivi-
dualistic literature on unattached
heavy drinkers. The bulk of this
literature stresses undersocializa-
tion, broken homes, low education
attainment, low occupational rank,
high residential mobility...as
factors which cause peOple to take
up Skid Row social life. Neverthe-
less, many other peOple with similar
characteristics fail to select the
Skid Row alternative.19

The biological theories attempting to explain
Ealcid row are, like the psychological ones, indivi-
Cllzalistic in their treatment. They speak of an
innate proclivity to alcoholism and even of inborn
Eilltisocial qualities.20 They show a particular lack
‘323 imagination in explaining skid row as a social

M
18

19

Dunham, gpgljt, p.12.

Earl Rubington, "Failure as a Heavy Drinker:
The Case of Chronic Drunkenness on Skid Row,"
in D. Pittman and C. Snyder, Society, Culture
and Dyinking Patterns, pp.146-l47.

2O Horn and McKorkle, gp.cit., pp.l98—223.

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institution.
Psychological and biological theories have been

paralleled by religious ones which likewise do little
to explain the skid row community in American society.
These theories speak of the predestined life of the
blessed vis-a-vis skid rowers or of the skid row
punishment of "degenerate souls," (for example,

those who turned against parents, wives or God or
those who took to drinking or some other specified
sinful behavior).

It can thus be seen that these individualistic
theories, while sometimes showing promise in explaining
the behavior of individuals, cannot explain the skid
row community as an on-going institution in which
a variety of personality types, similar to types
found outside skid row, live.

 

D. SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY

1. Introduction

While it remains important to undertand the
19ersonalities that migrate to and maintain them-
eselves in skid row, the sociological perspective
(In.the organization and culture of skid row is
le'prime importance. Skid row is, in itself, a
"social fact" and cannot be accounted for simply
by observations of those who come to it any more
1bllan by Observations of the buildings that stand
in skid row.

What is needed is a broad general
social theory which attempts to
account not only for the fact that

a certain segment of the population
is homeless, but also for the fact
that this homeless group collects

in certain particular areas of the
cities in the Western World. Such
a general sociological theory can be

58

stated by weaving together four
strands of social theory which have
been helpful in explaining both
modern urban communities and the
men who cannot find a niche in them.
These four strands center around

1) the nature of ecological growth
and expansion of the community,

2) the nature and function of the
socialization process, 3) the
evolving Of a subculture within

the total culture, and 4) social
change as it affects both communities
and population segments.

This certainly establishes an elaborate challenge
for sociology, one which has been met only in a
hit-and-miss fashion. It demands a focus upon an
ecological area wherein exists a sub-culture which
socializes men and in which change is occurring.

Much of the sociological research regarding skid
row has dealt with it in a "structural" context but
from a negative, "social problems" point of view.
That is, rather than looking at the phenomenon as
"social organization," it has been viewed with an
assumption of disorganization. This approach posits
a maximum amount of disorganization both within skid
row and in its relation to the outside. All studies
which have been concerned with "social action" directed
toward changing skid row, (and such probably consti-
tute the bulk of all skid row studies), have either
assumed or been aimed at demonstrating the existence
of social disorganization. Relatively few studies
have taken the Opposite approach, that of revealing
aspects of social organization, but those Which do
exist have been able to show some of the existing
organizational structure in skid row.

Moreover, the issue of organization is closely

 

21 Dunham, gp.cit., p.12.

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59

related to that of skid row alienation. As will
be dealt with later at length, involvement in community
and society can be viewed as evidence of organization.
If a man fits some social niches, and if the fit
is not a coerced one, there is reason to believe
that he is not alienated. Social isolation and
psychological alienation, it will be argued in Chapter
Four, are quite related.

The treatment of skid row as a social problem
has been criticized by those who speak of its functional
nature in society and urban community. Dunham, for
instance, is quick to say that many who see skid rows
as eyesores and their inhabitants as victims of
tragedy do not see the whole picture.

The homeless men and their habitats
are by the peOple of a given city
generally regarded as something of

a public nuisance. But this...over—
looks the role which the men and
their habitat play in the economy...
1) They represented a reservoir for
seasonal demands of agriculture, the
railroads and the lumber industry,
and 2) they provided some of the
labor for the odd jobs in the city
for which there were varying demands
...restaurant work, distribution of
hand bills, work for the Salvation
Army, truck help, snow removal, dock
work,and the like....The second
economic function of these men is
still a significant one in any urban
community.

And skid rows are of course useful to the men who
go there.

1) They meet the needs of the men
for food, clothing, alcohol, enter-
tainment, and bed when they are "in

 

22 Ibid., p.25.

60

the money." 2) They serve as a
playground, a function largely
overlooked, for certain persons in
the community, who because of uncon—
ventionality or dissatisfactions in
their own family and neighborhood
milieu, seek the anonymous life of
skid row ... get drunk, pick up a
woman...seek some homosexual...make
contacts for petty crime... 3) they
provide a means of livelihood for a
small ssgment of the community pOpu-
lation.

Thus there is good reason for a sociological approach
to the study of skid row. The overall perspective

of the sociologist should be upon the structural;
organization and the functions of skid row communi—
ties although, as will be seen in the following
sections, such has not always been the case.

2. Sociological Concern with Urbanism

Skid rows, existing in core urban areas, were
obviously subject to sociological theories of the
city. Much of the research in early emergent Ameri-
can sociology did focus upon the city and there
seemed to be a general assumption that urban life
had an important and perhaps deleterious effect on
society. Early thinkers related the city to alienation
and assumed the former conducive to the latter.

They felt that urban life was detrimental to the
well-being of individuals. Their case is suggested
by Simmel in his, "The MetrOpolis and Mental Life,"
where he argued that the urban life was anchored
upon monetary interests and values and thus man
interacted with others in impersonal ways.

23 Ibid., p.26.

61

The individual is reduced to a
negligible quantity in his prac-
tice and in his obscure emotional
states...The individual has become
a mere cog in an enormous organi-
zation of things and powers which
tear from his hands all progress,
spirituality, and value....The
metropolis is the genuine arena

of this culture which outgrows

all personal life. Here in buil-
dings and educational institutions,
in community life, and in the
visible institutions of the state,
is offered such an overwhelming
fullness of crystalized and im-
personalized spirit that the person-
ality, so to speak, cannot maintain
itself under its impact....24

The "Chicago School" of Sociology, led by Robert
Park and developing such excellent students as Nels
Anderson, Louis Wirth, Harvey Zorbaugh and Clifford
Shaw, provided the pioneers in American studies of
urban areas. These men were concerned with the
"natural growth" of urban areas. They made sig-
nificant analyses of the nature of urban life which
are pertinent to the skid row community and its
alienation. Wirth's theory of urbanism stressed
the city's qualities of anonymity and impersonal,
superficial and segmental relations, characteristics
that have been taken as particularly apt in describing
the skid row area.

Characteristically, urbanites
meet one another in highly segmental
roles....The reserve, the indifference,
and the blase outlook which urbanites
manifest in their relationships may
thus be regarded as devices for immuni-
zing themselves against the personal
claims and expectations of others.
The close living together and working

2“ Georg Simmel, in E. Josephson and M. Josephson,

Man Alone: Alienation ;n_Modern Society, pp.15l-l65.

 

62

tOgether of individuals who have

no sentimental and emotional ties
foster a spirit of competition,
aggrandizement and mutual exploi-
tation. To counteract irresponsi-
bility and potential disorder,
forggl controls tend to be resorted
to.

This position about the impact of urbanism was
extended, and sometimes with added emphasis, to the
analysis of skid row. Just as others were becoming
concerned with the "social problems" of skid row,
certain sociolOgists were beginning to see skid row
as the focal point of urbanism with its anonymity,
impersonality and disorganization. Nels Anderson
presented what is considered to be the first and
perhaps best overall "sociology of the homeless
man" (Th£_flgpg) in 1922. He examined the varying
types of skid row men and presented an extensive
picture of the skid row community. While he thus
indicated something of the social organization which
characterized skid row, he also contended strongly
that attempts to establish any fairly durable social
and political organizations among skid rowers had
failed. According to Anderson, the skid rower was
an individualist in the city and there was a good
deal of subsequent disorganization in the skid rows
of Chicago. To even a greater extent, Zorbaugh
reported a lack of organization among skid row
dwellers on Chicago's North Clark Street.26 Shaw
wrote of the "jackroller," the unpOpular young
strong-arm robber found on skid row.

 

25 Louis Wirth, "Urbanism as a Way of Life,"
American Journal 9; Sociology, 44:1, p.12.

26 Harvey Zorbaugh, The Gold Coast and the Slum.

27 Clifford Shaw, The Jack Roller.

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63

Skid row is, of course, a core urban area, and
its way of life is often taken as a classic example
of anonymity, indifference and exploitation by classi-
cal students such as Simmel, Wirth and others. That
such definitions continue to exist may be noted in
Bogue's skid row definition or in his statement that,

Skid row is a good place to hide
from the police...to "get lost"
temporarily. Skid rowers do not
ask questions and they do not
talk much to police...a criminal
can register gnder any name and
be accepted.2

3. Alienation

Urbanism, then, as is indicated above, was
assumed to produce alienation among all exposed to
it and, especially, among the homeless. Attributing
alienation to skid row men, whether done by journalists
who sense unhappiness and isolation there or by
sociologists who observe famililess men and chronic
alcoholism, is sociologically relevant because it
does suggest that skid row is a social system which
fosters a significantly noticeable alienation.

Many writers have accepted the idea of skid
row alienation. The more careful of these have spoken
of demoralization, anonymity and isolation and others
of outright despair and hOpelessness. Those who
write of social problems and disorganization infer,
or specifically refer to, alienation. On the other
hand, almost all of the.literature indirectly shows
some kind of organization, even if it is only pragmatic
and temporary or in the conspiracy of jackrollers
and beggars, and this suggests, at the least, that

 

28 Bogue, gp.cit., p.60.

#05,.
do HE.

 

A/k

64

if alienation is present, it is certainly far from
total. It shows that there is a degree of involvement
in groups and the subculture as well as some struc-
tural interaction and linkage with "outside" society.

The resolving of basic contradictions in the
literature awaits further develOpments in empirical
research. In the remainder of this section a wide
range of writers, sociologists and others, who have
presented various conceptions of skid row as an area
of the alienated will be examined.

The idea of alienation was attached to the hobo
even before it was attributed to the skid rower.
Robert Park wrote theoretically about the idea of
locomotion and the resulting lack of philos0phy
and productivity among hoboes.2

In view of all this we may well
ask...what...is the matter with the
hobo's mind. Why is it that with
all the variety of his experience
he still has so many dull days?

Why, with so much leisure has he

so little philOSOphy? Why, with

so wide an acquaintance with regions,
with men and with cities, with life
on the open road and in the slums,
has he been able to contribute so
little to our actual knowledge of
life?

...The trouble with the hobo
mind is not a lack of experience
but lack of vocation. The hobo is,
to be sure, always on the move, but
he has no destination, and naturally
he never arrives. Wanderlust, which
is the most elemental expression of
the romantic temperment and the ro-
mantic interest in life, has assumed
for him as for many others the
character of vice. He has gained

 

29 Robert Park, The Cit , pp.156-l60.

 

2“i‘éna
:0 a‘ z

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65

his freedom, but he has lost his
direction. [THe is in a state 0:7
Restlessness....The hobo seeks
change merely for the sake of
change; it is habit, and like the
drug habit, moves in a vicious
circle. The more he wanders, the
more he must. it is merely putting
the matter in another way to say
that the problem with the hobo...
is that he is an individualist.

He has sacrificed the human need
for association and organization
to a romantic pagsion for indivi-
dual freedom....

Park was insistent on the salience of the
lack of identity with locale as a prime factor in

the estrangement of the homeless.

All forms of association among
human beings rest finally upon
locality and local association.
The hobo, who begins his career
by breaking the local ties that
bound him to his family and his
neighborhood, has ended by breaking
all other associations. He is
not only..."homeless"...but a
man without a cause and without
a country; and this emphasizes
the significance, however futile,
of the efforts of men like James

Eads How to establish hobo colleges....

Just as Park was concerned with examining

alienation and the hobo, other early commentators

were concerned with the state of affairs that led

to alienation among skid rowers. Speck in 1917

wrote that,

...privation and humiliation had
broken the spirit and exhausted

 

30 Ibid., p.158.

31 Ibid., p.159.

66

the energy and will power of these men.
They were childish ard ineffectual and
unable to concentrate. An aversion for
work, a fondness for drink and a passion
for wandering appeared as substitutes
for the normal pleasures they had been
denied.3

Wood, in Paths of loneliness, reviewed the case

 

of many young peOple during the Depression, empha-
sizing the element of alienation, though she did

not explicitly use that term.

In t»e early 1930's many young, both
boys and girls, took to the roads as
tramps....lt is...a life full of hard—
ships and physical and mord_dangers
...a life of fathetic loneliness and
insecurity. They ceased to be a part
of those groups in the community which
are characterized by relationships of
af’ecticn and reciprocal obligations.
Theirs was a socially—isolated exis—
tence which was not so much antisocial
as it was nonsocial....many...younfsters
became apathetic and accepted their
fate With a veary resignation typically
unlike the cheerful expentanoy nor-
mally characteristic of youth.33

In today's established skid rows, the life is
probably less harsh, but much of the journalistic
literature still speaks of a severe personal
alienation and of a mood of fatalism in skid rows.

Sara Harris, was outspoken in her Skid Row U.S.A.

 

Skid Row, U.S.A. belches despair. Skid
Rowers consider it 'the last step before
the grave.' They wash their hands of
themselves and say they're beyond caring
what happens to them....They are dyed—in-

 

32

In Margaret Wood, Paths of loneliness, p.70.

 

33 Ibid., pp.72-74.

 

‘s‘ Ar
“Yitc.

67

the-wool fatalists....They merely go

on existing day after hopeless day....
Everyone on the Bow feels hOpeless.

They wouldn't be there if they didn't.34

Bendiner, in a somewhat psychoanalytic vein,
found a similar alienation in skid row. He noted
that sociologists claim that a subculture exists
there and he described it as a subculture of aliena-
tion.

Psychologists agree that the Bowery Men
need a place where an effortless going
to hell is the accepted way of life....
They need a place where no one requires
anything of them. They need the sweet
delights of hopelessness, and anyone
who seeks to energize them betrays them
...when all they want is for the world
to leave them alone, worthless and
careless, beyond redemption or competition.
In the quiet attitudes of the men in
flops—~the old ones often sit for hours
with hands crossed in their laps-~it

is easy to read a prayerful solemnity.
There is an air of finality on the

street. Each man thinks it is all over....35

Harrington returned to the Bowery after he had
worked there and characterized the attitudes of the
residents in the remarks of one homeless man.

'We wondered when you would wise up,
Mike. Hanging around here, helping us,
that's nothing.‘ ZfHarrington added47,
They couldn't understagg why anyone would
want to care for them.

 

3“ Sara Harris, Skid Row U.S.A., pp.5-7.

 

36 Harrington, gp.cit., p.105.

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68

Sociologists, too, have pointed to the aliena-
tion of contemporary skid rowers. Dean noted that
"theorists have suggested numerous correlates of
alienation such as "hoboism." "37 Nisbet found that,

At the present time in all the social
sciences, the various synonyms of
alienation have a foremost place in
studies of human relations. Investi-
gations of the "unattached," the
"marginal," the "obsessive," the
"normless," and the "isolated" indi—
vidual all testify [to this_._7 38

Pittman treated the skid rower specifically
as follows:

The skid row alcoholic...is isolated,
uprooted, unattached, disorganized,
demoralized and homeless....His
treatment by the community has been
at best negative and expedient....

He has lost the self-esteem and sense
of human dignity on which any treat-
ment and gghabilitation must probably
be based.

Rubington, in a carefully-written article,
accepted the idea of a general alienation of skid
row men from the wider culture even though he was
chiefly concerned with their search for primary
relations and identity there.

Alienation from major value-patterns
is one price a complex society must pay
for ineffective socialization....A cer-
tain proportion of the alienated find
it convenient to fend together...Skid
Row...affords roles for several types

 

37
38

Dean, gp,cit., p.753.
Robert Nisbet, The Quest for Community, p.15.

39 David Pittman, "Homeless Men," Transactions,
1:2, p.16.

 

69
of unattached males....4O

Though they do posit an alienation of skid rowers,
Rubington and the others have not said precisely
what this alienation is, and their comments have
been somewhat impressionistic. Thus the task which
has been taken up in this study is necessary. The
exact nature of skid row alienation, in part because
it has been treated in a cavalier fashion by many
writers, remains quite unknown.

An important contribution to the concept of
alienation was made by Robert Merton in two classic
essays on "Social Structure and Anomie."41Merton
does not use the term "alienation" itself but he
discusses anomie in a manner which makes it appear
to be synonymous with "normlessness," one of the
types of alienation which is investigated in this
study. Some writers, expanding on Merton's theme,
have suggested that skid row alienation is prevalent
in an anomie sense. Wallace summarized this view
in saying,

...anomie is another way of describing
homeless men vis-a-vis society. Anomie
...refers to the homeless man's lack of
adherence to the shared system of values
and norms held by society at large.

The skid rower has rejected the culturally-
defined goals he is supposed to be
aiming for. The rejection stems from a
'dissociation between culturally-pre-
scribed aspirations and socially-struc-
tured avenues for realizing these aspir-
ations.’

 

4O Rubington, _p,cit., p.146.

Q; Robert Merton, Social Theory and Social
Structure, pp.lBl-l94.

#2 wallace, gp.cit., p.134.

7O

Merton, in the same essays, in addition to dis-
cussing anomie, suggested five "modes of adaptation"
which individuals may make in regard to societal
means and goals and which are pertinent to this study.
If skid rowers are alienated from American society,
in what ways might this be manifested in behavior?

Do they simply make skid row a retreat from society,
or are they in active rebellion against society?

 

Or, to consider other adaptations, which Merton
suggested, is their alienation characterized by
ritualism, or is skid row a community in which a

 

range of rather unique innovations are utilized?

 

Finally, is skid row life simply a conformity to

 

certain means and goals which are somewhat different
from those of the general American culture? All

of these appear to be possibilities in skid row as
suggested by the scheme presented in Figure 1,
adapted from Merton. (See next page.)

Some have been quick to conclude that the adap—
tation through retreat adequately describes skid
rowers. Bendiner, for example, states that skid
row "...is a retreat, an escape into tranquility
...a place where life is thoroughly anesthetized,"

and Bogue stated that, "Many of these men have retreated
44

43

from society and are seeking to escape reality."
Merton himself seemed to have skid rowers in mind
when he characterized retreat saying, "In this
category fall some of the adaptive activities of...
pariahs, outcasts, vagrants, vagabonds, tramps,
chronic drunkards and drug addicts.“+5

 

43 Bendiner, gp.cit., p.105.

44 Bogue, gp.cit., p.70.

45 Merton, gp,cit., p.153.

 

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71

FIGURE 1. MERTON'S MODES OF ADAPTATION AS THEY
MIGHT OCCUR IN SKID ROW*

 

Cul- Institu- Possible skid row
tural tionalized illustrations
goals means

Adaptation

 

Conformity + + Complying with a lower
class lifestyle or even,
with the general culture.

Innovation + - Accepting the societ 's
(or the subculture'sg
goals but devising
"shortcuts" or new ways
to "get by" to obtain
them.

Ritualism - + Going through daily
routines without regard
to goals.

Retreatism - - Escaping from the general
culture or from a former
subculture.

Rebellion Rejecting and trying

to change the general

culture or parts of it.

H-
H-

 

* According to Merton, "(+) signifies 'acceptance,‘
(-) signifies 'rejection' and 1 signifies 'rejec-
tion of prevailing values and substitution of new
values.‘ "

Other writers have written quite graphically
about retreatism stating, for instance,

ZfSkid row man7'retreats from normal
living...to become a social misfit...
on the treadmill to oblivion.46

Here in the brotherhood of the beaten
and defeated, men find a perfect hiding
place from the world, find what so many
citizens of the modern world seek and

 

46 E. Goldborough and Wilber Hobbs, "The Petty

Offender," The Prison Journal, April 1956.

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72
never find-—escape from tensions.1+7

While many writers have alluded to the contem-
porary retreatism of skid rowers, others have, in
addition, suggested a changing skid row culture over
recent decades, seen in a transformation from "re-
bellion" in past generations to "retreatism" now.
Bendiner, for example, asserted that retreatism has
replaced rebellion, as follows:

It is sad to listen to the noises of
a street that has had its spirit bro-
ken. It is pathetic to see beggars
where rebels once shouted, sang and
whored.

Lovald, too, suggested that since World War I skid
row has been transformed from a place of rebellion
to one of retreat, and from one of revolution to
one of powerlessness.‘+9

The above position may well be a valid one.
The proportion of skid rowers who were rebels at some
past time in history cannot, of course, be accurately
estimated. There were, however, enough of them with
their observable behavior and institutions to present
a clear image of rebellion, and this rebellion is
not visible today. In addition to such organized
protesting action groups as the International Workers
of the World and various socialist parties, many
less formal Operators advocatgg a range of reforms

from street-corner soapboxes.

 

47
48
49

Josephson and Josephson, gp,cit., pp.409-4lO.
Bendiner, gp.cit., p.180.

Keith Lovald, "From Hobohemia to Skid Row:
The Changing Community of the Homeless Man."
An unpublished doctoral dissertation. Uni-
versity of Minnesota, 1960.

50 Anderson, op.cit., pp.9-lO, 215—229.

73

With the coming of the Depression, the charac—
ter of skid row seemed to change. The literature
reflected more hOpelessness, especially among those
who resided in the public shelterhouses. Bendiner
suggested a rather drastic difference between skid
rowers before and after the Depression era.

The philos0phy of the old time hobo

who conceived himself as a member of
the wide working class rather than a
lone failure has no semblance of reality
today and the IWW, "the one big union,"
which, having been conceived and nur-
tured along the Row, offered dignity in
identification, is basically ineffec-
tual. There are no proud Skid Rowers
today, and there is no "one big union,"
to elicit pride. There is only a vast
mass of egoless...pe0ple, and there are
a very few movements consciously desig—
nated to "lift them up"...organized by
outsiders.51

Feied, in an insightful review of "The Hobo As
[fan7'American Cultural Hero," indicated a changing
perspective regarding hoboes as portrayed in the
works of three authors, a perspective that suggested
a trend from rebellion to retreat.

Jack London (up to about 1926) used
the hobo to expose the economic contra-
dictions of capitalism....Conflict he
exalted above all e1se....He loved to pit
antagonistic classes against one another
in his socially—oriented novels.

DosPassos (in the 1930's) employed the
theme of the hobo to show how the consoli-
dation of power in the hands of business
resulted in the destruction of civil
liberties and the decline of political
freedom in the United States.

Kerouac (in the late 1950's) also dis—
plays a keen sense of sympathy for the

 

51 Bendiner, gp,cit., p.180.

0 .f‘ 1 all .. V . . ~ I w 1 ' . u .. 4 I
rL. fib . ‘ II I .~ C~ . . s . s. ;
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I n. A." . a I . ....rU a: A. t. r ‘ vi. Yb .. J ~ Pa 2.. ”A.
I. ~ Is .VI.

 

 

74

hobo, though...not the intense concern
with the economic reform...Kerouac uses
the theme of the tramp and the hobo to
chronicle the disaffection of a generation
and to symbolize the search for values

in an age of disillusionment and wide-
spread social pessimism....ZfHe;7 looks
...not to Marx...out to Oswald Spengler,
author of The Decline g£,thg West...'
Kerouac...dramatizes the sense of aliena-
tion of a large number of his contem-
poraries...éfin_7 this desire to flee

or turn away from the hideous realities
that distinguish his fictionafi heroes
from those of earlier times.5

 

Perhaps it is true that in recent decades,
American society has become more complacent. Social
critics at least, complain of conformity and consensus—
living, and they consider rebellion, except in the
relatively new and limited case of Civil Rights, to
be a "lost art." Perhaps in these affluent times,
skid row does tend to attract men who have given up
their purpose in life and blame themselves or who
have given up any hopes of changing the society
which causes their problems.

One cannot, however, accept this position without
the kind of comparative data which is impossible to
obtain and the matter must be left an open question.
Wallace even questions whether we can refer to home-
less men as retreatists, unless we view the concept
in a special sense. He stated:

Whether homeless men are retreatists
as Merton suggests, or rebels who set
up a new system of goals and means -
however strange these new goals and
means seem to respectable society is
the question that only research can
answer. The burden of evidence re-
viewed herein points toward skid row

 

52 FBied, 23.0113. ’ pp082-9lo

out

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75

as a community with, rather than with-
out, goals and means for its members.
However, Merton may still be correct in
stating that skid row is generated by
the disjunction of goals and means in
the larger society. The lives of skid
rowers, at least some of whom are former
members of a skilled labor force, indi-
cate that they have failed to achieve,
perhaps because they were denied access
to the necegsary means to reach economic
success.... 3

In conclusion, then, it can be argued that the
general alienation as well as the retreatism of skid
row men has too often been taken for granted. Per-
haps the "social problem" orientation of middle class
students of skid row has resulted in their being
shocked by skid row into projecting their own aliena-
tion. Skid rowers themselves must be asked about
the issue. When Bogue did so in one question, he
found that only 17 percent "sometimes or often felt
hopeless," and 10 percent "felt hOpeless all the
time," while 68 percent "almost never felt hopeless."54
(Ironically in a preliminary report of the same study
it was stated that, "neglected and unwanted, the
homeless man lives amid refuse, vacillating between
despair and defiance."?5, Skid row alienation remains
a questionable entity and deserves more systematic
treatment than it has so far received.

4. Social Organization and Community

As has been suggested the issue of skid row
alienation is closely related to concerns about the

 

53
54

Wallace, gp.cit., p.135.

Bogue, gp.cit., p.398.

55 Chicago Tenants Relocation Bureau, gp,cit.,
p.56.

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76

social organization of skid row, and this study will
be specifically addressed to this relationship.
The nature of the social organization of skid row
has received only limited study; nevertheless, some
useful work has been done. Rubington, for example,
in assuming an alienation of skid rowers from society,
recognized skid row as a place where identity and
membership are sought, and thus where organization
can occur. For him, it was basic that, "...the
alienated fend tOgether...Zfan§7 develop or seek
out a social organization....[fThg7Skid Row...sub-
culture...can accommodate them."56

Jackson and Connor found highly institutionalized
group life there.

The lush groups provide for mutual sur-
vival and emotional support....To reap
the benefits of membership in such a
group, the alcoholic must adhere to
group standards and accept the obliga-
tions imposed upon him. Violation of
group standards means not only rejection
from a particular group but also iso—
lation from the lush segment as a whole
....All are assured of a stead supply
of alcohol...z.some protection from
police... and on becoming7’ill help is
given....

Peterson and Maxwell also found a variety of
organized groups of skid rowers. They clearly docu-
mented some important patterns that compose the
"wino way of life" including begging, getting wine

 

56 Rubington, gp,cit., p.316.

57 J. Jackson and R. Connor, "The Skid Row Alco-
holic," The Quarterly Journal 9; Studies 9g
Alcoholism, 14:3, pp.468-486.

Peterson and Maxwell, gp,git., p.316. The authors
readily admitted that they dealt only with types

of groups and that details as to "the number and

proportion of men to be found in the various

skid row groupings" (p.316) remained lacking.

58

F".
fl
.~‘“

 

77

and sharing it, all as group processes.

Edmund Love, in several biographical sketches,
showed that at least some skid rowers make their
adjustment quite deliberately and thus cannot be con-
sidered personally disorganized, and he provided
several examples of extensive c00peration in the skid
row community.59

A few sociologists have argued that skid row
should be viewed as socially organized to the extent
of being considered a community. Their discussion
has, however, tended to treat the matter in an im-
pressionistic manner, concentrating on case studies
and presenting what are almost "ideal types." While
there are arguments of an Opposite nature (a few
skid rowers are definitely anti-social, othersprobably
never identify as skid rowers and a few retain their
identification with other communities,) good overall
reasons have certainly been presented for conceiving
of skid row as a community.

But no matter how cut off from the main
stream of society, it does not follow
that the persons on Skid Road lack a
community of their own....Jackson and
Connor...found life on Skid Road to be
group-oriented, with a describable cul-
ture to be learned, folkways and mores
to be lived by and a web of expectations
and obligations which provide economic
and emog5onal support to members of these
groups.

Wallace in 1965, like others in past decades,
treated skid row as a "way of life" (i.e., subcul-
ture, hence also community), and was unwilling to

 

59 Edmund Love, Subways Are for Sleeping.
esp. pp.12—24, 65-78.

60 Peterson and Maxwell, gp.cit., p.309.

78

accept any more advanced theory for skid row than
one which might be paraphrased as follows: "Skid
rowers, like others, seek the best available pattern
of maintaining life and comfort. Skid row is their
communal solution."

Skid row as a way of life refers to...
the larger pattern that emerges from

the social organization of hundreds

of individuals into one community. The
skid row way of life with its prescribed
ways of behaving toward members and
nonmembers, with its institutions,
socialization, status order, special 61
language and tradition is a subculture.

He went on to point out some aspects of skid row
which appear to offer evidences of skid row as a
community and, even if these appear to this writer
to be overdrawn, they do indicate some of the more
unique characteristics of the skid row community.

Skid row is the most deviant community
in the United States. The skid rower
does not bathe, eat regularly, dress
respectably, marry or raise children,
attend school, vote, own property, or
regularly live in the same place. He
does little work of any kind. He does
not even steal....Generally [skid rower§7
extend to one another those very things
which society denies, beginning with
toleration if not acgsptance, and ending
with mutual sharing.

Lovald has described the community as a "status
community," supporting both the contentions that
skid rowers are lower class members and that they
form a distinct kind of community.

 

61
62

Wallace, gp.cit., p.141.
Ibid.

79

The basic thesis of the present study

is that the world of the homeless men
——the present skid row and its pre-World
War II form, hobohemia-—represent

small encapsulated institugions and
distinctive modes of life. 3

One essential characteristic of a community is
that it provide certain services and facilities for
its inhabitants. As we have already pointed out in
Chapter Two, a set of services and facilities 233
provided in the skid row community. Wallace showed
that skid rowers are "socialized" into the skid row
community by their use of its facilities, and he
suggested that their activity in this regard is fur-
ther evidence against the stereotype of alienated
skid rowers.

...The skid rower develops a special
set of relationships of his own with
f10phouse, welfare agency, mission,

the law, justice, the workhouse, the
library, bank, barber shOp, bar, among
others. The daily life of the skid
rower involves his participation in
these establishments in a pattern which
can scarcely be considered either as

a product or a symptom of severe per- 4
sonality disorganization or alienation.

Thus a community does seem to exist in skid row
providing a culture and certain social relationships
of which the population might otherwise be deprived.
The skid row community appears to be a social reali-
ty in itself. Conceiving of skid row as a community
should be helpful, not only in revealing how men are
affected by skid row, but also in explaining why men
first seek skid row and then remain there.

 

63 Lovald, 2p,cit., The Abstract.

6" Wallace, gp.cit., pp.131-132.

80

This review of studies of skid row's community
characteristics has shown that skid row does pro-
vide a somewhat organized way of life,for its in—
habitants rather than complete isolation and aliena-
tion. The actual nature of this community and many
characteristics concerning it must await further
research, although some aspects are taken up in the
findings of this study.

SUMMARY

An attempt has been made to treat the deve10p-
ment of sociological understanding regarding skid
row. We have highlighted several issues concerning
the "social problems" orientation, nonsociological
perspectives, and such important sociological deve10p-
ments as those concerned with urbanism, alienation
and community. Certain studies have suggested that
social organization does exist in skid row even though
most sociological studies have emphasized social
disorganization. Much has been said about the alien-
ated character of skid rowers and about retreatistic
behavior resulting from this alienation, and only
a few studies have in any way considered skid row
as a community.

That alienation exists among skid rowers, as in
any population, is not in question. However, care-
ful consideration must be given to the prevalence
of alienation in skid row as evidenced both in atti-
tudes and activities. Moreover, the existence of skid
row as a cultural "way of life" and as an organized
community remains the sociological issue which must
be observed.in this and other sociological studies.

 

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CHAPTER FOUR: ALIENATICN; AN INTRODUCTION
TO THE CONCEPT

A. THE PROMINENCE AND BACKGROUND OF THE IDEA

Alienation, the chief methodological idea used
in this study, has been an extremely popular concept.
Unfortunately it has too often been used carelessly
or presumptiously, with a consequence that it has
been subjected to much criticism. This criticism has,
however, not destroyed the utility or worth of the
concept, pg; g2, despite its frequent parochial and
faulty usage. It is here assumed that alienation and
its opposite, involvement, remain as significant and
useful conceptualizations in examining sociological
problems.

In recent years alienation has received increasing
attention. In fact, many have stated that ours is
an "age of alienation."1 The Josephsons, in an ex-
tensive anthology, subtitled, "Alienation in Modern
Society," offered considerable evidence that a neglect
of the alienation issue is a neglect Of a core issue
in modern life.

Perhaps never before in history has man
been so much a problem to himself. Rock-
eting through space...conquering the hea-
vens, he is fast losing touch with his
own world. Growing numbers of writers
describe him in various ways as alienated.
What forces have made him so? What kind
of society is it that loses control over
its own tools and creation? Is it one

in which the sense of community has be-

 

1 Note for example the Opening sentences in B.

Rosenberg, I. Gerver and F. Howton's Mass
Societ in Crises,"We live in a demented world
... with7despairing pessimism." p.1.

81

82

come seriously, if not fatally, wea-
kened?...Our present age of pessimism,
despair and uncertainty succeeds a
quite different earlier age of opti-
mism, hope and certainty.

There is little opportunity to objectively com-
pare our era with previous ones, but many sources
suggest that ours is at least more conscious of
alienation. Perhaps the absolute gain in wealth
occurring in idustrial nations and a rather broad
distribution of wealth has pushed subsitence pro-
blems into the background and allowed peOple to be-
come concerned with the state of mind and its dis-
contents. It may be that, while man has come to
greater control over his natural habitat, he is now
less sure of that which he created.

Obviously, despite the implication Of the quo-
tation above, the idea of alienation is not new.
Sociologists usually refer back to Marx and a few
earlier philos0phers in observing the roots of
alienation. But there is evidence Of man's aliena-
tion throughout history and Clark's comment that,
"The history of man could well be written as the
history of the alienation of man," is well taken.3
Perhaps only the difficulty of translation and
knowing the problems Of previous civilizations and
contemporary cultures keeps us from understanding
the universality of alienation.

It would be a major blunder to regard
alienation as characteristically a
phenomenon of modern society. For what

 

2Josephson and Josephson, gp,cit., pp.9-lO.

3John Clark, "Measuring Alienation within a Social
System," American Sociological Review. 24:6,
p.849.

 

83

stands out from an historical and com-
parative standpoint is the omnipresence
of alienation: it takes different
guises in all societies. There are
modes of alienation in small, egali-
tarian, cooperative and agricultural
societies.

Marx and Engels were especially concerned with
the concept of alienation in their early careers
though they later came to feel that the concept was
not sufficiently militant. Their earlier thoughts
regarding alienation can be summarized in these words.

In Marxian theory some men are alienated
from their labor objectively by the re-
lation of economic production and the
systems of class domination. This
separation from their work and the pro-
ducts of their work results also in their
being alienated from nature and from
themselves.5

Students of alienation have also referred to
Freud as one who contributed to the idea of aliena-
tion. Civilization and Its Discontents illustrates
this:ueme well, although it appears elsewhere, too.

In Freudian theory, alienation (the
term must be im uted although the idea
is clear enough occurs primarily as

a result of the needs of civilization,
although H. Marcuse suggests that
Freud was aware that the demands of
social structure, which were hostile
to the core of the self, could be made
worse b the existence of class domi-
nation.

 

4 Lewis Freuer, "What Is Alienation: The Career

of a Concept," in Stein and Vidich, Sociology
3g Trial, pp.138-139.

5 J. Gould and w. Kolb, g Dictionary 93 the Social
6 Sciences, pp.l9

Ibid.

84

Contemporary students who are concerned with
alienation have tended to follow in the orientations
of Marx and Freud. SociOIOgists have seemed more
apt to refer to Marx while the NeoFreudians follow
Freud more closely. But in neither case has their
adherence been particularly doctrinaire.

The writer has detected an important distinction
between students of alienation, separating what may
be called the "mass theorists" from the "empirical
researchers." The first group has rendered many
subjective accounts and comments on alienation in

7

alienation is either assumed to exist or is derived

modern society and large-scale organization. This
through impressionistic processes. These reports

are usually interesting, fairly credible, and fre-
quently cautionary. When these studies are care-
fully evaluated, it is difficult to separate the real
existence of alienation from the subjective inter-
pretations which have been rendered.

The "empirical researchers" (several will be
cited below) have attempted to measure the aliena-
tion of individuals and groups through the develOp-
ment of appropriate questions and scales. Such
tests are often considerably subjective and imperfect:
it is not certain what they measure and there is even
little consensus as to how alienation should be
measured. These scales have, however, achieved some
measurement external to the researcher and have made
replication and comparative studies possible. They
help to avoid the common error of researchers who
have allowed their own emotions and "cultural shock"
to distort the meaning of alienation in such deviant
subcultures as that of skid row. For these reasons,
systematic questions and scales are given a chief role

 

7 For example, Rosenberg, Gerver and Howton, gp,cit.

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85
irl this study.

IHKFIKING AIIEEATICN

A durable definition of alienation must await
1n01re conclusive work by social scientists. Blauner,
in. introducing his study of alienation in four

Anuerican industries stated,

NO simple definition of alienation can
do justice to the many intellectual
traditions which have engaged this con-
cept as a central explanatory idea.

One basis of confusion is the fact that
the idea of alienation has incorporated
philos0phical, psychological, socio—
logical, and political orientations....
Alienation is a general syndrome made
up of a number of different objective 8
conditions and subjective feelings....

lNexrertheless some attempts can be made to at least
Characterize the term, for as Nettler pointed out,
there is some consensus regarding the term.

...the uses of the term "alienation"

are sufficient to indicate some common
ground of definition while yet allowing for
confusion of conception and assumption.9

The three short definitions that follow illus-
trate the more common general :assumptions and con-
(3eIYtions regarding alienation and Offer some direction
in developing the definition used in this study.

...an Objective state of estrangement
or separation of personality from
specific aspf8ts of the world of ex—
perience....

\—
8 Robert Blauner, Alienation and Freedom, p.15.

9 Gwynn Nettler, "A Measure of Alienation," Amer-
ican Sociological Review, 22:6, p.67.

10 Gould and Kolb, gp.cit., p.19.

86

...loss or lack of relationship, es-
pecially where or when relationship
is expected.

...an individual feeling or state of
dissociation from self, from others
or from the world at large.

These definitions, although they are Obviously quite
abstract, do appear to be very broad ones and suggest
that alienation may be concerned with a very wide
range of social objects.

The following definition of alienation was
deve10ped in this study and serves to introduce
certain important dimensions of the issue which will
be discussed in the remainder of this chapter.

Alienation is an individual sense of
deprivation of or disagreement with
various important parts of one's cul-
ture and social order including signi-
ficant social organization at various
levels and significant cultural insti-
tutions and values, with an attendant
sense of normlessness and powerlessness.

l. ALIETATION IS A NEGATIVE PERCEPTION

Alienation is first an individual reaction to
environment and must be observed on that level. It
is further a feeling of deprivation or disagreement
varying in severity.

Its opposite is positive social and psychologi-
cal involvement. Etzioni has noted three kinds of

involvement which are useful in making alienation clear.13

 

11 H. English and A. English, The Dictionary of

Psychological and Psychoanalytical Terms, 5722.
2 Josephson and Josephson, gp.cit., p.13.

13 Amitai Etzioni, g Comparative Analysis gf
Organization, esp. p.13.

 

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87

These are "moral involvement" with pure and social
commitment to an institution, for instance, a reli-
gious one; "calculative involvement" with rational
commitment, for instance to an economic institution
in order to make money, and "alienative involvement"
with an intensely negative orientation toward a
system such as a prison in which one is forced to
participate. It would follow that in order to be
alienated, one must have something forced upon him
and be consciously aware of its coercive nature.

To the extent that parts of culture and the social
order are forced upon the individual, one is com-
pelled either to accept them (i.e., become involved)
or to maintain negative (i.e., alienated) attitudes
toward them.

2. ALIENATION IS OBJECT— AND SITUATION-RELATED

While many have regarded alienation as a variable
innate to the personality, it is imperative that the
phenomenon be recognized as occurring in the relation-
ship Of personality with environment and thus legi-
timately a sociological consideration. According to
Waisanen, "Alienation is not a condition of personali-
ty, but a condition of discrepant relationships between

the self and social system."14

There may well be a
general alienation syndrome, with, for instance, some
people more generally alienated with regard to life
than others (and indeed measures for such are investi-
gated in this study). Nevertheless the more impor-
tant and meaningful objects Of sociological considera-
tions appear to be fairly specific kinds of aliena-

tion.

 

14 Fred Waisanen, "Stability, Alienation and

Change," an unpublished manuscript.

V .

uu.

R\L
II .

 

88

This study assumes that the relationship of
personal alienation to environmental circumstances
is its most important characteristic. The question
of alienation must therefore be extended to ask,
"Alienation from what?" Dean concurred with this
in a conclusion concerned with his failure to find
a satisfactory scale of personal alienation.

One explanation might be that aliena-
tion is not a personality "trait," but
a situation—relevant variable. It is
plausible, for example, that an indi-
vidual might have a high alienation-
powerlessness score in regard to poli-
tical activity, but a low one in regard
to religion. For example, the "pre—
millenialists" among Fundamentalists
might be politically apathetic precisely
because they believe that international
crises cannot be solved by man, but
that the world can only be saved by
Divine intervention. ’

The contemporary measures of alienation usually
accept the idea that the concept is tied to situations.
Nettler's scale, for example, was deve10ped to measure
alienation from "mass culture" and taps attitudes
toward such parts of culture as TV, spectator sports
and new automobiles.l6 Dean's scale is more abstract
but is, at least in some of its questions, Obviously
tied to particular cultural objects. (e.g., "There
are so many religions one doesn't know which tO be-
lieve.") Even more abstract items appear to call
for answers with specific cultural frames of reference

held in mind by reSpondents.

 

 

15 Dwight Dean, "Alienation: Its Meaning and
Measurement," American Sociological Review,
26:5, p.757.

16

Nettler, 9p,cit., p.675.

89

Other students of alienation have been oriented
to specific objects or situations in their research.
The contents of the Josephsons' reader treats a wide
variety of social organizations, institutions and
conditions from which men can‘be alienated. 'Others
who drew attention to particular situations and objects
of alienation include the following: Middletown,
who studied Southern Negro and white alienation with

17

Seeman, who observed alienation
l8

regard to education;
among prison inmates with regard to education;
Neal and Seeman, who Observed the feeling of power-
lessness in a work organization;19 and Neal and

Rettig who noted alienation with reference to poli-
tical and economic attitudes among workers.20

Though, as can thus be illustrated, many re-
searchers recognize the situation-related feature
of alienation, Clark complained that too often in

research,

...situations in which man feels power-
less, normless or isolated are not speci-
fied nor possibly representative Of total
societal involvement. This characteristic
is common to all or most writings con-
cerning alienation within the whole of
society....ZPerhap§7a more rewarding
approach to the problem of measuring
alienation might be the single unit
approach, selecting for study only those

 

17 Russell Middletown, "Alienation, Race and Edu-
cation," American Sociological Review, 28:6,

PP.973-977.

Melvin Seeman, "Alienation and Social Learning
in a Reformatory," American Journal 9; Sociology,

19 A. Neal and M. Seeman, "Organizations and Power-
lessness," American Sociological Review 29:2,

A. Neal and S. Rettig, "Dimensions of Alienation
among Manual and Non-Manual Workers," American
Sociological Review, 28:4, pp.599—608.

18

 

20

9O

whom we can establish to be involved
in a single, well-defined unit, for
instance, a social system.

The idea of alienation has been readily attached
to that of social problems, and therefore such tOpics
as skid row have many times involved a consideration
of alienation. GrOdzin has stated that alienation
is an attitude showing itself in

a tendency to suicide, addiction, poor
marriage [adjustment7, mental disorder
and criminal behavior. He [the alienated
persop7 feels he is being rejected by
society which is doing him injustice
....He is becoming indifferent or with-
drawn [Eitualistic or retreatistic,
it might be saig7. He may alter his
expectations for life. He may become
sick or turn to hoboism. He may con—
form because he has no alternative.
He ma 2follow other defiance. [emphasis
ming7§

It has been noted that students of urban life
have assumed that the city is detrimental to per-
sonal well—being and conducive to alienation. Their
interpretations are subjective and personal but
reflect a feeling shared by a large part Of society
today that the city is an undesirable place in which
to live. Thus many would still agree with Wirth that
"anonimity, superficiality and transitory relation-
ships are inherent parts of city life."

The relevance of the question, "Alienation from
what?" is an obvious one as analysis is directed
toward the city and skid row life as potential sources

of alienation. But this study further assumes that

 

21 Clark, gp,cit., pp.847-850.

22 Morton Grodzins, The Loyal and the Disloyal,

p.145.

 

 

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'5 ‘

 

 

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91

a number of specific organizational structures
(family, friendship groups and others) and institu-
tions (work, religion, and others) should be examined
as objects of alienation. Since there are important
aspects of each of these structures and institutions
that impinge on all human beings, they are relevant
to an examination of the presence or absence of aliena-
tion among skid rowers.

The particular parts of culture which were selec-
ted here for examination as objects of alienation
were (as will be indicated below) those which are
viewed by sociolOgists as of special significance
in affecting man's behavior in all societies.

3. ALIENATION AS POWERLESSNESS AND NORHLESSNESS:

In his well-known essay on alienation, Seeman
presented five basic types of alienation: "power-
lessness," "normlessness," "meaninglessness," "social
isolation," and "self-estrangement."23 These have
remained the basis for classification by various re-
searchers who have conducted studies since Seeman's
article appeared, though none of them have utilized
all five types. Dean used Seeman's terms "powerless-
ness," "normlessness," and "social isolation," al-
though he defined them differently than did Seeman.24
Other empirical researchers have tended to concern
themselves solely with "powerlessness" or with "norm-
lessness."

Dean's three subtypes of alienation are defined

by him as follows:

 

 

2 u . . . . .

3 neIVin Seeman, "On the Meaning Of Alienation,"
American Sociological Review, 24:6, pp.783-
791.

24

Dean, gp,cit., pp.754-755.

92

Powerlessness: separation from control
over one's destiny.

Normlessness: purposelessness or con-
flict Of norms.

Social Isolation: a feeling of separa-
tion from the group or isolation
from groups standards.

To this writer, however, as Dean defined them,
these three elements do not seem to be mutually ex-
clusive types of alienation. It is here argued that
"normlessness" and "powerlessness" are fairly dis-
tinctive types within one dimension of alienation.
Normlessness is concerned with the acceptance and
understanding of a set Of norms (anomie can be taken
as a synonym) and powerlessness with ability to accom-
plish goals which the norms establish as important.
Social isolation, however, is taken to be one situa-
tional type of alienation with peOple and society
as objects. Social interaction patternsiare thus
considered as one of several areas in which alienation
can occur and can be viewed as "situation related."

A person may be normless and/or powerless with regard
to social patterns.

4. AIIENATION AS LEADING TO BET EATISM AND REBELLION:

Alienation should also be considered in terms of
the adaptive behaviors in which it manifests itself.

Generally speaking characterization

of alienation may be divided into two
major categories, according to whether
alienation is treated as "rebellious-
ness" or "retreatism." Rebéllious
alienation is characterized by a desire
to strike back at or somehow violently
manipulate the world from which the
individual has become estranged; it is

 

25 Ibid.

93

embodied in the kind of energy that
activates the "true believer." Re-
treatist alienation, on the other
hand, expresses itself in detach—
ment and despair, in the feeling
that the world promises nothin 6in
the way of comfort or support.

These two of Merton's modes of adaptation suggest
that alienated men may react either by trying to
fight the system or change it or by trying to with-
draw from it. In addition, it should be expected
that lesser alienation would sometimes be acted out

-in conformity, ritualism and innovation. Each might
be said to consist of alienation to the extent that
there is a rejection of societal means and/or goals
as the Merton model indicates. (See p. 71 above.)

As the model would suggest, rebellion and re-
treat appear as the more complete types of aliena-
tion in that societal means as well as goals are
rejected. A good deal of literature on alienation
as has been pointed out, suggests that both adap-
tations do occur among skid rowers and other pOpu-
lations.

[Many of the alienatei7are subdued; theirs
are the lives of quiet desperation.
[Otheg7...people do not sit and take

it: they rebel, retreat, or deviate

in some significant way from ordinary
behavior...artistic rebels...juvenile
delinquents, addicts, sexual deviants, 7
suicides...alcoholics....[§mphasis ours;72

 

 

26 William Erbe, "Social Involvement and Politi-
cal Apathy," American Sociological Review,
29:2, p. 206.

27 Josephson and Josephson, pp. cit., p. 356.

94
SUIv’EvUtRY

This study is based on the assumption that
alienation can be studied sociologically if strict
attention is given to situational contexts and ob-
jects with regard to which alienation may occur.
This alienation can well be described as being of
two types, "normlessness" or "powerlessness," de-
pending on whether the emphasis is placed upon a
lack or understanding or acceptance of norms or a
lack of the personal power to fulfill these norms.
To aid in conceptualizing the relation between types
of alienation, mode of adaptation and the situation
in which alienation may scour, the following chart
(Figure 2) is presented. Although the chart suggests
only the general institutional areas in which
alienation can occur, a number of detailed "objects
of alienation" within each of these institutional
areas will, of course, be examined in this study.

 

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-‘*‘IU -

 

 

95

FIGURE 2. A MODEL FOR HE S”UDY OE ALIJNATION
AND ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR

 

Institutional
Areas of Aliena-
tion

Type of Alienation

 

Normlessness Powerlessness

 

Adaptive behavior Adaptive Behavior

 

Retreat Rebellion Retreat Rebellion

 

General Societal
Values

 

Primary Groups
-Family
-Friendship

 

Work

 

Recreation

 

Politics

 

Religion

 

Education

 

Other Areas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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s

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u

 

Row: sunscsns, nyrcrnssss

CHnP 1:311 FIV.3: ALISJATICIJ IN K
33' Rh."

\'
All.) 51 UDY PRTQCL

Cf F1

Skid row is not just a place nor is it merely a
deviant community alienated from the larger society
and confined to a recognizable region of the city.

Skid row is a subculture in which men live together,

not as a simple aggregate, but rather in meaningful
relationships which affect the lives of individuals

and shape the subculture in which they live. This study
seeks to examine those relationships and their ordering
into a social structure.

While earlier research has sought to describe the
deviation, i.e. the characteristics which differentiate
skid row from the rest of American culture, this study
purports to describe the major patterns, the activities,
values and attitudes of skid row inhabitants which
describe skid row as a community. Two sets of hypotheses
were formulated, one dealing with the characteristics
of alienation in skid row (as intrOcuced in Chapter Four)
and a second dealing with a) the relations of the var-
ious forms of alienation to activities and attributes
of skid rowers and b) the relations among various forms
of alienations. Some of these hypotheses were investi—
gated in an exploratory fashion only. Others were tested

statistically.

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O

The key hypothesis of CHIS study is that skid ro ers

are not comoletely alienated and are in no way completely

 

l. .
These hypotheses are letter
to identify their subhy oth
Appendix 8.

ed A thrc ugh H in order
eses as reported in

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97
set off from other men as a subculture of alienated
men. While alienation data in many studies has not been
of a comparative nature, in this study some comparisons
of respondents with others, using various measurements,

were possible and were made.

nYPOTHESIS B. TH“ 3302:: or ATI“FATI( VAR ES AICIT.G
TH3=2 SOCIAI OHJV. Is WHICH TOUCH THE IVES CF SKID RIW
MEN: THEIR (SKID ROW) COKTUEITY, FA :11, FRI: Has

€311, AICOHOIISH, WORK, .OIIIIC s, HIIIC ION AND IoU.“-Ion..

 

1...:

Since we have argued that alienation is object-re-
lated, it should be expected that some social objects
will pose more problems to skid row men than others and
thus will elicit more alienation. The present state of
our theory did not make it pos.ible to s31ecify which of
these social objects would induce the greater likelihood
of alienation. However, in a limited test of this
hypothesis, Open—ended questions were used to determine
whether there were differences in the alienation-

producing tendencies of several kinds of institutions.

 

HYTOTHISIS C. O'CHL3SSC333 IS A r073 CnffifflTfiwTHmI”
FORM OF AIIENATICH AMONG SKID RC”I 3N THA‘T IS NORM-

These two major types of alienation (discussed in
Chapter Four) were Operationalized in a limited way.
It was eXpected that respondents would express under—

standins and acceptance of certain imgortant norms of

 

American society more often the satisfaction with

 

their ability (rower) to succeed with regard to them.
In skid row the yroblems men face, and therefore their
alienation, seem to be concerned less with knowing

wha t is normative in American culture than with the
ability to succeed personally with regard to the same
normative issues. In this study limited measures of
normlessnes s and powerlessness were Operations.) _ized

in seven institutional areas.

 

 

 

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HYIOIHIsIs P. ALIIIAIHD AZAJIATICNS CI HIIHIAII 1
011: CI HIZH SIID Haw JHI rn-H CIIIH TH H'? ”IO“: OI
(~R III<:I.

 

"Retreatism" and "rebellion," tyyical adaptations
of alienated persons, have Previously been shown (in
“hayter Three) to exist among skid row men. A good
deal of the literature has not only made reference to
these two adaptations in skid row, but also to a trans-
ition over recent decades from rat llion to retreatism.
Such literature commonly asserts that retreatism is
fairly predominant in skid row today .and tt at rebellion
is almost absent. At the same time, other adaytations
to behavior expectations such as those in Kerton's
scheme—-ritualism, innovation and conformity (even
ove rco nformity)—-s.lso would seem to be found fairly
commonly among skid rowers.

This hypothesis received only very exploratory
treatment. Some information on this point was gained
from a s; ecific ques stion about "reasons for drinking,"
and from reactions to questions about marriage and
emyloyment. In addition, twelve professional workers
on skid row were asked to judge the adaptive behaviors
of skid rowers which also yielded data bearing on this
hyyothesis. These findings are presented and some
imiressions of the writer are discussed, but any full
treatment of this hypothesis must await further Oper—

ationalizing of fierton's idea.

II. HHTAITFISHIPS (A) BHIHHLH FUELS CI LIIIHAIICH AND
THE ACTIVITIES AID lERSOFAL AIIHIBUIIS or SKID Row HEN
AND (B) .uo”. VARICUS FORKS OF AIIENAIICN

The second group of hypotheses unas concerned
with many measurable relationships (treated in sub-
hypotheses) (a) between various forms of alienation
and the activities and attributes of skid rowers and
(b) among various forms of alienation. These hypotheses

99

were based on the assumption that alienation is object-
and situation-related. Specifically, it was assumed

that various kinds of alienation are interrelated and
that skid row and many of its characteristics, eSpecially
those which are generally judged to be problem-creating,
are conducive to alienation. These hypotheses were also
exploratory in nature since they treated a great many
variables and since, as has already been made clear,

the meaning and Operationalization of alienation have

not yet become well-understood.

fiZICTHESIS E. GEIERALIZBD ALIENATION IS DIRECTLY
IETATED T0 MANY SPECIFIC INSTITUTICNAL ACTIVITIES
AND EIRSONAL ATTRIBUTES CF SKID ROTERS.

The Specific subhypotheses derived from I propose
that activities and personal attributes of skid row men
will be directly related to a measure of general alien-
ation called "Meaning of Life" which was deve10ped in
this study. There is reason to eXpect that men who do
not participate in activ1ties that are normai in soc1ety
are more likely to be alienated than Others. For
example, men who are unemployed, do not vote, do not
attend religious meetings, or have no friends would be
expected to be more alienated than others.

HYPOTHESIS F. IENGTH OF RESIDENCE N SKID HOW IS NCT
DIRECTIY RELATED TO SPECIFIC INSTITUTIONAL ALIEFATICN.

In a number of subhypotheses treated here, an
attempt was made to determine whether residence in
skid row p§r_§§_was conducive to alienation. If skid
row forms a deviant community, it is possible that it
would have a certain alienating effect on those who
have been in skid row longer than others. It is the
writer's position, however, that other variables (some
of them antecedent variables) such as lower class
origins or being unemployed, would cause alienation
(as suggested in Hypothesis H) more often than would
residence in skid row.

lOO

 

HYIOTHRSIS G. AiIV'A“I’h ” TL liEGA RD TO THE "NEANIHG
CF IIFI" IS DIR 3C’I7 IY IMIJLIZU ’E‘O GTE-III}? qth‘IRIC III?"-
TITUTICNAI FORKS OF ALI nankN

The nature of alienation is such that, while
specific kinds of alienation do exist, a general alien-
ation syndrome must also be anticirated. Thus there
should be a relationship between alienation with regard
to the "Tea_ni a of Tife" and, for examgle, alienation

concerning religious institutions.

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A complete examination of the nature of alienation
calls, finally, for an examination of the relation
between the situation-related forms of alienation and
the activities (and attributes) within the institutional
frameworks of these situations. Yen who are unemgloyed,
for examyle, would be expected to have greater alien—
ation in re erd to work as an institution, and, sim—
ilarly, men who are religiously inactive would be
expected to have greater alienation with regard to

religious objects than others.
B. STUDY ;IOC “U?“%

The field work for this study was carried out in
the fleet I<fison skid row of Chic cago, Illinois in August,
1964. The writer used a ejecielly—designed schedule
(Tee Appendix A) to interview one hundred men. The

interviews took about an hour each.
1. Samyling
There is no comuletely valid way of obtaining a
samjle of skid row dwellers. Often studies of the s'id

row community are based upon sam les drawn by such

biased methods as selecting men on the street, tAOSG in

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jails, missions or alconOlism programs or anSB who
v0lunteer. Suuu procedures cannot helpihut affect
the validity of generalizations made about skid row.

In this Study an attempb was made to approx1mate
the procedures used in sampling of "res1dences." For
skid row dwellers, residence may mean "cubicle" and
other hotels, missions, jails and the outdoors, these
being the places where they sleep.

In an effort to get a systematic cross—section
of those dwelling in these various places (with the
exception of jails and outdoors), a stratified sample
of hotels and missions was selected in order to cover
the range of skid row "residences" using these criteria:
a) the geographical area of the West Madison skid row,
b) the various sizes of hotels, and c) the various
kinds of sleeping facilities including cubicle hotels,
room hotels, and missions. Men were chosen randomly
according to the location of their rooms in each hotel.
Since it was found that many men were absent from their
rooms, the sample from hotels was supplemented by random
selection from men sitting in the lobbies of these
establishments.

In order to obtain some representation of those
whose "last residence" was in a jail or outdoors,
recourse was made to the Reading Room (described on p.39).
Here men were selected randomly according to their
seating arrangement. This procedure yielded four who
had slept outside and one person who had spent the pre-
ceding night in jail.

There is no way to estimate accurately the repre-
sentiveness of this sample._ However it is possible to
compare the sample drawn in this study with estimates
made in BOgue's 1958 study of the same community
using several important variables common to both
studies. (See Table 2).

 

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103

If one can assume that Bogue's estimates, based
largely on projections from his sample of over 600 men,
are reasonably accurate, than the sample for this study
would appear to be fairly representative of skid row men
(assuming too that the lapse of time between the two
studies had not produced a drastic change in population
character). In comparing the five variablxswe may first
note only slight differences in age with our sample being
older than Bogue's estimated ages. The sampling of racial
groups here was evidently representative of skid row men.

Men were obtained from various kinds of residence in

 

fairly close proportion to the ratio of residences among

all skid row men. A greater numder of nondrinkers

 

(measured here by rather limited methods) were, however,
obtained in this study than Bogue estimated to exist in
the skid row population. Finally, the marital status of
those interviewed in this study was closely comparable to
Bogue's figures. Ne were satisfied to use this "Meaning
of Life" measure as a guasi—scalc to provide some indi—
cation of general alienation.

Srole's "Anomie Scale" and Rosenberg's "Faith in
People Scale" were also tested for reproducibility.
Srole's scale was found to be a quasi—scale since its
coefficient of reproducibility was 86.4 percent.
Rosenberg's scale measuring trust in humanity was repro-
ducible with a coefficient of 92.5 and thus was a legit-
imate scale. We did not test Nettler's "Alienation
Scale" for reproducibility since, as a measure of "estrange-
ment from Americaé] society," it is not a general scale
but contains a majority of elements which are specifically
related to particular objects and institutions, such as

the family, television and The fiesder's Ligest.

 

Finally, a few attempts were made to develop scales
measuring alienation with regard to class values and
institutional objects using items from the above scales

and items of our own, but these were not successful

104

enough to warrant their usage in this study. An ll item
measure of Williams' "Value—Orientations" obtained a co-
efficient of reproducibility of 83.6 percent, a ten item
measure of alleged "Lower Class Values," 80.0, a six
item measure of "Family Attitudes," 82.1 percent and a
six item measure of "Political Attitudes," 88.0 percent.
The develOpment of good scales to measure Specific kinds
of alienation must, therefore, await further study.
Individual item analysis within the various institutional
areas, however, was found to yield useful information
regarding object-related alienation.

In terms of testing Hypotheses C, E, F, G and H,
the Chi square test of significance was employed to test
for significant differences as a one tail test with a .05
probability limit and Pearson's Corrected Coefficient of

Contingency was used to measure strength of associations.
2. The Questionnaire and Alienation Measures

The questionnaire was designed to obtain a wide
range of data on the activities and attitudinal patterns
among skid row men which bear Upon the hypotheses des—
cribed above. Included were questions pertaining to
American peOple and social values, the skid row community,
families, friends and self and also to work and finance,
free time, religion, politics and education. These were
designed to facilitate an observation of activity and
alienation in a wide range of p ssible situations.

Several methods were used in order to provide
measures of the critical dependent variable, alienation.
First, in seeking to obtain a measure of "meneral alien-
ation," a portion of Dean's Alienation Scale,7 selected

by thhail and associates through reproducibility testing

 

Dean, gp.cit., The scale and permission to use it
were obtained from him in a personal communication.

From Clark McPhail, "Dogmatism, Religiousity, and
Alienation," an unpublished research report and ob-
tained in personal communications with McPhail.

...

..Ap

,—

 

....

105
and viewed as potentially useful here since lower class
persons were included in their research, was employed.
Srole's "Anomie Scale,"9 Rosenberg's "Faith in People
Scale"10 and Nettler's "Alienation scale”11 were included
because of the lOgical relation these measures bear to
the concept of alienation.

Using these scales, and items reflecting alienation
which were developed especially for this study, attempts
were made to develOp valid and reliable scales to measure
alienation. Only limited success, however, was achieved.
In attempting to obtain a measure of "general alienation,"
two modifications of Dean's Scale were tested for repro-
ducibility and found to be inadequate. A group of 14
items produced a coefficient of reproducibility of 78.3
percent and a seven item cluster of items, 83 percent.12

Three items from Dean's Scale and two from Nettler‘s
were combined13 since they logically appeared to reflect
what might be called "Keaning of Life" alienation, and the
combination was found to yield a coefficient of repro—
ducibility of 87.6.

 

 

 

9 Leo Srole, "Social Integration and Certain Corol-
laries: An Exploratory Study." American
Sociological Review, 21:6, pp.709-7l6.

10 P. Lazarsfeld and Morris Rosenberg, "Misanthropy
and Political IdeOIOgy," The Language g; Social
Research, p.158.

11 Nettler, gp.cit., p.675.

12

Guttman in 1944 set the lower acceptable limit for
the coefficient of r producibility at 85 percent
and later changed this to 90 percent.

13 . . -. ,
The following items, the IlrSt three from Dean

and the last two from Nettler, were included:

I often wonder what the meaning of life
really is.

People's ideas change so much I often wonder
if we'll ever have anything to depend on.
Everything is relative and there just aren't
enough definite rules to live by.

Life as most people live it is meaningless.
Most people live lives of quiet desperation.

 

106

3. Interviewing skid row men

Certain questions have been raised with regard to the
validity of survey research in skid row. Some persons
would claim that all skid row men have interesting "tales"
for the curious outsider and others that skid rowers
will not answer truthfully on issues which threaten them
personally. Nallace has stated that,

...most personal information can simply not be

verified....For a variety of reasons, the skid

rower's report of his own behavior should be
considered unreliable until independently chezked,
inclu0ing that which is most "self-eVident."

While we might wonder at the seemingly intense
suspicion of that skid row student, special caution may
well be called for. An independent check of all infor-
mation gained in our interviews was impossible. Never-
theless, the variety of approaches which this student
has used have rather consistently seemed to validate the
responses obtained in interviewing. Having studied
upper-Class executives and many middle-class people, it
appeared to this student that skid rowers were as honest
and knowledgeable in the matters studied here as other
pOpulations have been. The overwhelming impression has
been that when approached in carefully planned and
forthright ways, and assured anonymity as well as the
interviewer's interest, skid rowers seem to respond in
a candid and honest manner.

Those who refused to be interviewed (twelve men)
should be briefly discussed. They seemed to do so for
various reasons ranging from suSpicion about the inter-
viewer's purposes to being "too busy." Two of the
former group showed what appeared to be paranoid feelings
in their relationships with other men, but most refusers
seemed simply to express a lack of interest or limited

alienation. It seemed that many refusers did so in a

 

l4 Wallace, pp.cit., p. 154.

107
group context and sometimes after seeing someone else
refuse. 0n the other hand, the great number of men who
gave interviews desgite activities in which they were
engaged reflected a good deal of willingness to be in-
volved with the interests of the researcher. Not one
interviewee discontinued the interview after the first

few questions were asked.

 

 

CHAPTER SIX: A SUMMARY OF ALIENABION HYPOTHESSS AND
DAILY ACTIVITIJS

This chapter attempts two tasks. The first of these
is to present summary findings regarding the eight
exploratory hypotheses of this study. In treating these,
a basic profile of skid row alienation is presented,
thus providing an orientation for the detailed findings
in the following chapters. The second part of this chap-
ter is a brief introduction to some aspects of the daily
routine on skid row. It facilitates an important general
perspective on the lives of men who answered the many
specialized, institutionally-oriented questions that were
investigated in the interviews, and it indicates indi-
rectly the positive involvement (or lack of it) of skid

rowers in their daily routines.
A. TREATMLNT OF HYPOTHSSES
I. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SKID RON ALIEMATICN

HYPOTHESIS A: THE ALIENATICN OF SKID ROWIRS IS NOT
SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER THAN THAT OF OTHdR POPULATIONSt

This hypothesis was tested by comparing skid rowers
with other populations studied by the writer and others
as to their response to scale items developed by the
following sociologists: Nettler, Dean, Srole, and
Rosenberg. Each of these scales,with available comparisons,
will be examined in turn.

1. Nettler's Alienation Scale

Two comparisons made in this study incorporated the
use of the Nettler Alienation Scale. This scale appears
to be one of alienation from American mass culture more
than one of "general alienation." While it has a few
rather abstract questions such as one about "lives of
desperation," most of them are rather concrete, like
one which asks, "If you had it to do over again, would
you marry or stay single?"

108

109

In his study, Nettler obtained persons nominated as
"alienated" and then applied his scale to 37 of them and
to a large cross-section (515) of Californians. The first
group scored 17.05 (where 17 would be highest possible
alienation and 34 lowest) and the second sample scored
28.56, a difference which he found to be highly
significant.1

Skid rowers scored 27.75 on the scale, and thus
were much closer to Nettler's general pOpulation sample
than to his nominated "alienated" persons. If one can
accept Nettler's scale as valid, skid rowers cannot be
assumed to come from a different sample than did his
general population.

That skid rowers are not uniquely alienated was
further supported in a comparison of our skid row reSpon-
dents with a sample of 92 introductory sociology students
studied by the writer.2 The students were presented
with just seven of Nettler‘s items and their response
was compared with that of skid rowers. In a possible
range from seven (high alienation) to 14 (low alienation),
students scored 12.65 and skid rowers 11.02, and thus
there appeared to be no marked difference between these

two samples as to alienation from mass culture.

2. Dean's Alienation Scale
Dean's Scale seems to be more abstract than that of
Nettler. Although there are some fairly concrete items,

such as one treating "...chance for promotion on jobs

 

Nettler, pp.cit., p. 675.

The student sample was taken to represent
middle-class, upwardly—mobile, relatively-advantaged
Americans with promising futures. Questions about
the typicality of students as Americans could be
raised and, in fact, the literature is replete

with assertions about the alienated position of all
youths. Systematic studies to support these
assertions have appeared to be wanting. The writer
stands ready to accept the sample of students he
drew as adequate for the purpose at hand.

110
unless a fellow gets the breaks," more of them, such as
"everything is relative and there just aren't enough
definite rules to live by," require a good deal of inter-
pretation on the part of reSpondents.

In three applications of his 24 item scale, Dean
reported averages of 1.53, 1.51 and 1.26 per item (with
each item being weighted from O for low alienation to
4 for high alienation. McPhail, using 14 items from the
scale, reported an average of 1.6 among lower class
people. This researcher, using the same 14 items, ob—
tained higher average scores among university students
(2.21) and skid rowers (2.16).

These statistics offer only rough comparison of skid
rowers with other pOpulations. The 14 item scale is,
of course, not comparable with the original 24 item scale,
and too little is known of NcPhail's sample to allow
accurate comparisons with his results. The higher alien—
ation found in both of this researcher's samples might
be due to the following reasons: an increasing awareness
and acceptance of the idea of alienation in modern society
(The other studies are five or more years old); the
particular techniques used in applying the scales in this
instance, or actual higher alienation in the populations
here studied.

The comparison between students and skid rowers,
however, would seem to be a legitimate one and there
was obviously very little difference between them. Our
most basic conclusion, then, was that measurement by
Dean's scale showed the alienation of skid rowers to be
similar to that of a group of students who were studied
at about the same time with quite identical techniques.
In comparing skid rowers and stu ents on the 14 items,
it was noted by the writer that skid rowers showed higher
alienation on four items, students on five items and the
two samples showed almost identical responses on five

items. In a brief examination of these items, the writer

111
observed no definite patterns to aid in explaining the
varyihg responses of skid rowers and students on specific
items except that perhaps the skid rowers tended to show
less hope for the future and students, if anything, tended
to see the operation of the world and social systems as
involving a multiplicity of values ("everything is relative”),
lacking single, specific standards ("rules to live by"),
and Operating as a chance, even inhuman, affair. More
study on the different manifestations of alienation
among skid rowers, students and other pOpulations would,
of course, be useful but this is beyond the bounds of
this study.

V - ‘ .-\ P" ,fi’ r— 1%,“ ‘ (I C -1 . " ' ' " V‘ V
dd the res Umuto oi skid rOWCLS to

._

In Table 3 are s 0
seven of the more general items from Lean's scale along
with the responses of students. It can be noted that
while skid rowers showed no major alienation except with
regard to the first item, students showed less alienation
in regard to all except one item, though the latter's
response tended to vary widely from item to item.
(Skid rower and student responses to other items which
seem relevant to particular institutional settings will be

presented in those contexts.)

3. Srole‘s Anomie Scale

Srole's five—item scale was also used in this study
and comparisons were again made with university students
(See Table 4). Skid rowers showed greater anomia than did
students on each particular item. nnd they scored some—
what higher total anomia than did students, averag'ng

AH
I

9.21 while students ave aged 12.u (with a score of 5
representing high anomia and 15 low anomia). Srole's
scale measures personal anomia and, perhaps, a concern
with the future in an undependable world. This seems

to parallel the performance of some of the items on the
Dean scale (in the preceding section), where skid rowers
departed from students most markedly on their hopes for

the future. Moreover, anomia as suggeSted in these items

 

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113
seems to be much more concerned with powerlessness in
an uncertain world than with normlessness regarding tra-
ditional cultural values and, though the meaning of higher
anomia among skid rowers is not completely clear at this
time, it wtuld seem to at least indicate a type of alien—
ation notably greater among skid rowers than among students.

r1"

TABLE 4. RSSPCNSLS it SRCLE'S RICHIE SCALE ITAMS

 

Skid Rowers Students

 

Agree Disagree UK Total Agree Disagree DK Total

 

~f
fi.‘
>- 1'
(.l—Q
r—_a
‘1
h/
C...

Nowadays a person has LI £3
to live pretty much
for today and let

tomorrow take care
of itself. 5§$ 42 O 100 .29 57 5 92

la

91

In spite of what some
peOple say, the lot
of the average man is
getting worse, not
better. 37 45 18 100 20 57 15 92

Ids hardly fair to
bring children into
the world the way

things look for the
future. 46 41 13 100 .15 69 8 92

There's little use
writing to public
officials because they
are not really
interested in the
problems of the
average man. 61 32 7 100 '11 71 10 92

These days a person
doesn't really know
whom he can count on. 65 29 6 100 35 51 6 92

 

 

 

*Re8ponses which were taken to represent "anomie" were underlined for
each item.

114
4. Rosenberg's "Faith in Peeple"

This scale (which will be treated in more teta'

H
H
P. P-
:3

Chapter Seven) served as a final comparison between 3k
r were and university students. Its five items measure
trust in humanity and attitudes about the cooperative
nature of people. In a range from 5 to 15 (with 5
representing high trust) skid rowers scored 10.81 and
students 9.73. The two populations thus did not seem to
differ to any great extent as to their overall "Faith in

People" or humanity.

5. Summary

Four scales or quasi-scales were used in comparing
respondents in this study with other samples and, where
comparisons were possible, the various populations were
usually similar in their response. Skid rowers were
much closer to a cross—section of Americans than to
Nettler's "alienated” sample, and Nettler's, Dean's and
Rosenberg's measures showed skid rowers to be very much
like a college sample in their responses. Only the Srole
scale showed skid row residents to be clearly more
"anomic" than our student sample, and, while this finding
may have something to say about the form of alienation
(perhaps uncertainty about the future ), in skid row,
no definitive statement can be made at this time. If
one can accept students as reflecting the typical American
outlook, the overall evidence gathered suggests that skid
rowers are not notably set off as alienated men when

compared with the general population.

HYPOTHESIS B: THS DEGREE OF ALIENATICN VARILS AKOHG THESE
SOCIAL OBJECTS WHICI TLUCH THE LIVES OF SKID ROJ LEN:
THEIR (SKID RON) CLMLUNIT‘, FAMILY, FRIENDSHIP, SELF,
ALCOHOLISM, JORK, POLITICS, RELIGION AND EDUCATION.

Though subsequent chapters will deal in detail with
the various objects and institutional contexts in which

alienation occurs, brief attention should be paid here

 

 

cl:

£19

 

 

v-n

 

 

 

 

 

115

to the issue as it was hypothesized, though this hypothesis
received only exploratory attention.

This hypothesis suggested that skid rowers would
be more concerned with problems related to some of these
social objects than others: skid row, family, friends,
self, work, alcoholism, politics, religion and education.
Two Open-end questions about "problems" and complaints
were asked after all specific topics had been covered
in the interview. It was thought that the responses
would indicate those areas in which respondents experi-
enced most alienation.

As Table 5 shows, the questions posed yielded a
wide range of responses. When asked, "what kinds of
things are you and others like you complaining about or
dissatisfied with?" most commonly mentioned, in order of
frequency, were: unemployment, the skid row area, the
people in the area, and alcoholism. And asked, "What
would you say are the most important problems you face?"
by far the largest number mentioned economic matters
though a number of others referred to personal and
familial problems. Thus the response gained from these
two questions tended to show that skid rowers experienced
more problems and thus potential alienation with regard
to some social objects than with regard to others. Though
the methods used in this study were exploratory, they
certainly serve to demonstrate that alienation varies
with regard to specific social objects.

TABLE 5. SOCIAL OBJECTS AND RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS ABOUT
COMPLAINTS AND PRCBLVMS OF RESPONDENTS

 

a. Complaints and Dissatisfactions 'E b. Problems ‘E
Work (unemployment, poverty) 25 Work (need job or money,
"getting by") 35
Community (skid row area, its Community (getting out of
people and police) 28 skid row) 3
Alcoholism 12 Alcoholism 10
Other miscellaneous problems 13 Self (personal adjustment) 4
Family (lack of, loneliness)9
Education (lack of) 2
Other miscellaneous problems
(eSpecially health) 12
No answer __22 No answer _22

TOTAL 100 TOTAL 100

116

HYPCTHESIS c: PowsRLsssxass Is A woes CHARACTERISTIC

 

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'5

In a test designed fo. thi

(I)

study (See Table 6),

r

respondents were asked about the importance of seven
major value-orientations and their perceived success in
thes . In six of seven categories, there was a signifi-
cantly greater number of resgondents who felt that the
value-orientation was "an important part of life" than
felt that they had "been able to succeed" with regard to
that orientation. Thus while most skid rowers apparently
understood and accepted the six norms, notably fewer felt
that they had personally been able to succeed in them.
Only with regard to their capacity to relate to others in
a friendly fashion did their performance (63 positive
responses) match or exceed their aspirations (61 stated
that this skill was important). If the researcher's
overall encounter with skid row men could be summarized
on this point, it would appear to be that these men do
aspire to be in the mainstream of American culture,
obtaining its benefits and following its procedures,

and while they are not unanimous in regard to this issue,
many experience significant feelings of powerlessness in

regard to their failure to gain such status.

HYPOTHESIS D: ALIENATSD ADAPTATICNS CF RETREATISH CHAR-
ACTERIZE SKID ROJ MEN MORE OFTEN TEAM TH SE OF RSBELLION.
This hypothesis,based on the Merton paradigm discussed
in Chapter Four, was treated only by limited exploratory
and secondary techniques. Of Merton's five "adaptive
types," it was thought probable that skid rowers would

be more likely to exhibit retreatism and rebellion (than

 

conformity, innovation and ritualism) and that, of these

 

two, it was hypothesized that the former *ould be more
common than the latter. Jhat evidence was obtained,
however, would seem not to substantiate the hypothesis.

In fact, if anything the resgonses of the skid rowers

2117

 

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118

seemed to be characterized primarily by conformity though,

 

of course, all five types of responses were represented.

Evidence of conformity was especially prevalent in

 

the pervasive support of institutional values and in the
pursuit of them,as will be demonstrated in later chapters.
Retreatism was seemingly expressed with regard to some
questions and perhaps evidenced in some consistent "I
don't know" reSponses, in apathy about admitted problems,

and in refusals to be interviewed. Rebellion was apparent,

 

for example, in some strong criticisms of "slave labor
offices," missions, the federal government and racial
integration,and suggestions for their reform. Ritualism
seemed prevalent in some patterns of seeking work,
drinking and other daily activities. Innovation seemed to
occur in a few unique ways of "getting by," in finding new
forms of alcohol to consume, and in getting money.

The analysis above was based largely upon impres-
sionistic rather than systematic examination of the respon-
ses throughout the interviews. Three minor empirical
tests of this hypothesis were, however, made. They were
concerned with reasons for drinking, and reactions to a
potential marital mate and to employment. The majority
of responses concerning drinking (to be treated further
for other purposes in Chapter Nine) could be summarized
as "I like it (beer, wine or liquor)," and "to be sociable"
reSponses that could scarcely be taken for rebellion
(as could "to get even with someone") or retreatism (as
could "to forget someone/something"). As a further test,
an Open-end question was presented to a limited sub—sample
of skid rowers concerning a situation in which each would
encounter a potential marital mate who "showed friendliness
toward him...." This question yielded responses which
could best be summarized as follows:

If I likedher and she liked me and if I could
begin to provide the things expected of a head
of house, I would court her and hopefully
marry her.

 

 

u .. ,l
..y .I f . ... ..n .~v {N- N u .. t h u ..n :u a - ~ \ e e .k . .. .e s .. . ., v

 

 

119

In a second question regarding a potential job,
addressed to the same sub-sample, the reaction could be
summarized in this manner:

If the job paid a minimum wage and were a
legitimate one, I would gladly take it on
a full time basis.

These responses also would seem to be similar to those
one would find in any group of American men.

In a further effort to test this hypothesis several
men with businesses or professions in skid row were asked
questions regarding the modes of adaptation of skid rowers.
The data obtained are presented in Appendix g. In summary,
it can be said that there was support for the idea of
retreatism but other modes of adaptation were also
specified. Moreover, it must be remembered that these
were not skid rowers but professionals who probably have
their roles in skid row further legitimized by beliefs in
stereotypes of skid row alienation and retreatism.

The idea of skid row as a community of retreaters
appeared, in general, not to be substantiated in this
study. The forms of Merton's modes of adaptation in
skid row can probably be evaluated only through extensive,
carefully-operationalized research. Until such a step
is accomplished, skid row should not be assumed to be
characterized by any of the nonconforming "modes of
adaptation." The evidence provided in this study would
seem to indicate that the view of skid rowers as retreaters

or rebels is oversimplified and probably wrong.

II. RELATICI‘JSHIPS (A) BET'.~"JEEZ-J FORE-{S OF ALIENATICIJ AND
THE ACTIVITIES AND P;:.RSCN.=\L A‘I‘TRIBUTES OF SKID ROI: MEN
(B) anon; vaazous FORMS or ALISWATION

Hypotheses E, F, G, and H called for the testing of
a large number of subhypotheses, since each was based
upon reference to a number of variables. In fact a total
of 166 subhypotheses were involved in all. One way of
examining the validity of the four basic hypotheses is

to summarize lg toto the number and proportion of them

120

which were found to be statistically significant. Using
this summary approach, it was found that 75, or 45.2
percent, were significant. Since a far greater number

of subhypotheses were substantiated than would be expected
to occur by mere chance, it would appear that the four
general hypotheses are sound ones and worthy of further
investigation. These hypotheses appear to be useful both
in 1) eXploring the general nature of alienation in
relationships among its various types and in relation

to other social and psychological factors and in 2) learn—
ing further about the place of alienation in the skid row
community setting.

At this point it should be sufficient merely to
report the general findings and indicate some patterns of
significance which seemed to emerge in this exploratory
examination. The reader wishing to examine them all is
referred to Appendix B where all of the subhypotheses
are listed, with an indication of those found to be
statistically significant.

HYPOTHESES E: GEFTRALIZED ALIENATION IS DIRSCTLY RELATED
TO MANY SPECIFIC INSTITUTIONAL ATTRIBUTES OF SKID ROEJ’BRS.
As was indicated earlier, one clustering of five

items dealing with alienation showed sufficient repro-
ducibility to be considered a quasi-scale and was desig-
nated, because of its content, a "Meaning of Life" scale.
It was this measure which was used as the main variable, in
connection with this hypothesis, to compare with a large
number of variables measuring institutional activities
and personal attributes of skid rowers. In 18 of 55
instances (32.7 percent), a significant direct relation-
ship was found between this rather abstract kind of
alienation about life and certain attributes of skid
rowers which are generally thought to be unfavorable ones
(such as, for instance, being jackrolled or having ab-
normally broken family ties-—see Appendix B—l). These
results provide some support for the assumption that

alienation is related to sociological situations and,

121

in fact, to certain unfavorable aspects of skid row life.
Further research on variables involved in the 18 sub—
hypotheses is clearly merited. dhile the testing of
these hypotheses was eXploratory in this study, and

precautions in their interpretation must be taken, the

\4

relationships betveen "Leaning of life” alienation and

three variables regarding politics, two concerned with
th: family of procreation, two with leisure time uses and
other variables should at least be noted and considered
in further alienation research. In addition, the par-
ticularly strong association between "Meaning of Life"
alienation and "Faith in People," a five item scale
shows a noteworthy kinship between these two variables.
HYPOTHESIS F: ’ENGTH Ob" RESIDEi-ICE IN SKID RON IS NOT
DIRECTLY RELATED TO SPECIFIC INSTITUTIONAL ALIENATION.
The theory upon which this thesis is based would
deny the idea that simple length of residence in skid
row would be related to specific forms of alienation.
Among 41 tests of this idea, only six were found to be
statistically significant. In other words, in 35 instances
(85.4 percent) there was no significant relationship
between length of time on skid row and specific types of
alienation (see Appendix B-2). The findings here
certainly oppose the contention that skid row is a
community and subculture which fosters and reinforces
alienation, for, if this were the case, length of resi-
dence in skid row would be expected to be significantly
related to many specific kinds of alienation. Instead
it was related to only these six measures of specific
alienation (three of them political): preferring govern-
ment by a group of experts, finding politics too compli-
cated, thinking self to have little say in politics,
disliking religious organizations, not wanting to marry
again and not perceiving sexual activity as a "good
idea."

 

 

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122

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LIFE” IS DIdSCTLY th TED TC OTHER SPECIFIC FCKmS CF
ALIENATICN.
In 12 of 41 cases (29.3 percent), "Keaning of Life"
cCifiC

alienation was significantly related to other spa
Ad is]

.1.

kinds of alienation (such as not being intersgt

W

(

1' I! I‘ 1'!

politics). Junta the assumptitxlxnizc Various ki'

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CS 03.

,.
...»

alienatio: tend to be inter—related received a Significant
amount of support in this study even though, as expected,
these relationships were far from perfect ones. (As Appen—
dix B shows the corrected coefficients of contingency in

the 12 cases ranged from .28 to .53.) Those "specific

forms of alienation" which were related to "Meaning of

Life" alienation included four so-called "lower class
values" treated in Chapter Seven, such as antagonism

toward atheists and higher education, and the denial of

such middle class values as conformity and activity-seeking,
along with opposition to religious organizations, disinterest
in politics and other variables.

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IJS
IN THE SAME INSTITUTIONAL AREA.

In ten of twenty-nine cases (34.5 percent), the
relationship of activities and personal attributes, which
are generally thought to be unfavorable in American
society, such as leaving. home early in life, with spe-
cific kinds of alienation in the same areas, in this
case reporting an unhappy childhood, was found to be
direct and significant (see Appendix B-3). The assumption
that these unfavorable circumstances would be related,
and probably conducive, to the negative attitudes was
thus significantly supported. The supporting instances
include: reported broken marriages related to negative
attitudes toward marriage, a similar relationship between
lack of friends and perceived failure in friendships and
political noninvolvement related to negative political

attitudes.

123

Summarizing, since alienation, in its specific forms,
was shown to be directly rel ted tn Specific OUJthS
and sitUations it the same institutional areas, the

consideration of alienation as exclusively a psychological
entity demands careful examination of social and other

environmental factors.

SUMMARY

The evidence provided regarding the eight hypotheses
of this study was of an exploratory nature but provided
useful perspectives on skid rowers. Alienation as it
was measured here is not a characteristic which distinguishes
skid rowers from other populations. The problems that
skid rowers stated as important to them were work, skid
row and its men (community), alcoholism and family problems,
and it was around these areas that such alienation as was
found revolved. Skid rowers expressed much more power-
lessness in not having "succeeded" with regard to impor-
tant value-orientations than normlessness with regard
to understanding those value-orientations. Finally, while
professionals and businessmen most often indicated
retreatism as typifying skid row behavior, they also
referred to conformity and other modes; and, more to the
point, throughout the study skid rowers demonstrated no
predominant nonconforming mode of adaptation and thus
conformity appeared to be the most prevalent type of
adaptive behavior although there were also some activities
which could be characterized respectively as retreatism,
rebellion, ritualism and innovation.

The relationship of "Meaning of Life” alienation to
activities and personal attributes (Hyp. E) and to
specific forms of alienation (Hyp. G) and the relation-
ship of specific forms of alienation to activities and
personal attributes in the same specific areas (Hyp. H)
were significant ones in nearly one third of the hypo-
theses tested. In only a few instances were specific

forms of alienation related to the length of time spent

124

in skid row (Hyp. F). While caution must be taken in
interpreting our findings concerning the many very spe—
cific subhypotheses, hypotheses S, F, G and H received

a noteworthy amount of support from our data. Table 7
demonstrates the freguency of significant findings among

the four hypotheses that tested the four inter—relationships.

 

 

TABLE 7. THE. iiifiLATICNSE-iIPS Cl“ VARICUS "ZIZ‘IQS CF I'xLIhjrlATICN
411a snca CEILR AND WITH CERTAIN ACTIVITIES
{ts-ID PLQQSCiIItL 3‘33} I3U’i‘35 017‘ SKID RC'L‘JEEZS
Number of
Number Significant
Hypotheses Variables of Tests Findings
E "Meaning of Life
Alienation" and %
Activities, Attributes 55 18 T32.75
F Specific Alienated
Attitudes and Time
in skid row 41 35 (85.4)
G Specific Alienated
Attitudes and "Meaning
of Life Alienation" 41 12 (29.3)
H Specific Alienated
Attitudes and
Activities, Attributes 29 10 (34.5)

E - H 166 75 (45.2)

 

125

B. AN OVERVIEW OF DAILY ACTIVITIES

In concluding this chapter, a very different topic
is treated which, nevertheless, also serves in orienting
the reader to all the findings that follow. The use of
"day inventory” technigues has served as a fruitful approach
for learning about unknown societies. Bogue used this
technique among others, and an examination of his results
seems to reveal some unique skid row activities as well
as many activities fairly similar to those of most
Americans.3 In this study the techniyue was used to
provide some basic guantitative information which would
be helpful in balancing the more institutionally-based
findings in the chapters that follow. The inventory also
provided a check on important activities that might have
been missed in the interview.

Asked what time they had "gotten up," skid rowers
responded as is indicated in Table 8. The findings clear—
ly show that most skid rowers are early risers. The
median time of "getting up" was 7 a.m. and 44 men were up
before 6 a.mfi’ Many of the early risers were interested in
seeking work but, whatever the reason, the data could be
viewed as reflecting an acceptance by skid rowers of the
ge;eral society's norm of early rising. Respondents
were also asked what time they "went to bed," and, as
would be expected, their retiring occurred fairly early
(67 were in bed before 11 p.m.). It should also be noted
that most respondents were in their hotels much earlier

than they retire and several respondents mentioned fears

 

3Bogue, gp.cit., pp. 116-133.

The reader is reminded that the number of respondents
rather than percentages are used throughout this
report since the sample was exactly 100 in size.

When the total specified does not add up to 100,

it can be assumed that the question did not apply to
the respondents not accounted for or that they had

no opinion.

126

 

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127

of being on the street after dark. rl‘he elderly, sick
and alcoholic tended to sleep or rest intermittently
during the day.

Respondents were asked to briefly describe what they
had done the previous day. The data in the table were
summarized from such replies as the following:

I went looking for work for about two hours with
several other guys. Then I had a few beers. Later
I went to the mission for some food and then took
a nap. I woke Up and went out and had a little

more to drink.

Ten persons cited work as their chief activity.
(It Should be noted that this may constitute an
under—enumeration since some may have considered it too
rOUtine to be called a major activity.) A third of those
interviewed indicated their major activity to be looking
for work though only eight pursued this for over two hours
and Eiloout half of those seeking work said they spent
most of the day drinking. Only a few admitted to doing
nothing but drinking the preceding day, though a con—
sider able number appeared to have spent their time
wandering around skid row or engaging in petty activities.
Note should be made that while few claimed work as the
major: activity of their day (some perhaps considered it
too routine), one-third claimed to be looking for work.
The rest of the men indicated routines that would seem
to be quite different than those of working men in
American society though perhaps not markedly different
than would be found in a community economically—depressed.-
That this interpretation might be valid is further
supported by skid rowers response to the question, "When
you Woke up, did you have any plans for the day?" Only
34 of the men replied that they did. An additional 30
did riot know or did not give an appropriate answer and

3
6 Stated specifically that they had begun the day with
no
plans.

Respondents were asked whether the previous day had
been a "typical" one for them. Seventy-four men replied
that it had been a typical day and 23 that it had not
been. Several men added that there was regrettably little
variation in their lives, and thus a significant amount
of boredom seemed to be evidenced.

The respondents were asked whether they did "anything
different on weekends" and 69 replied that they did not.
Others indicated that they had a day or two off from
work, but only a few named any particular activities,
such as visiting friends, attending church, or going on
outings, which might cause them to anticipate weekends.
Thus skid rowers seem generally uninvolved in the typical
American weekend activities which seem to elicit the
"Thank goodness, it's Friday, ” pattern among many

Americans.

SUMMARY

The day inventory suggested some aspects of skid row
life which make it a deviant subculture, but since it
cannot be compared with data on other populations no
generalizations can be made at this time. While a lack
of enthusiastic involvement with skid row as a community
was evidenced in many responses, there was no uniform
declaration of alienation. The limited case presented by
the inventory appears to be that the skid rower, in a way
somewhat similar to many other Americans, sees his days as
rather uneventful. His lack of a working day routine
contributes further to weekends which are fairly similar
to the rest of the week.

In seeking typically-American work,,recreational and
social activities in their daily life, skid rowers seem
'to exhibit conformity to important American norms but to
<EXperience powerlessness in fulfilling these norms. A
ceurtain amount of ritualism might occur when for example

ffiflne skid rowers appear to go through the routine of

129

seeking work while having abandoned hepe for obtaining
steady jobs; and retreatism (e.g., men avoiding work),

rebellion (e.g., men quitting jobs} and innovation

 

(e.g., in finding new ways to "get by") were also SUggested

in some activities.

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CHAPTER SEVEN: SOCIETY AND CCMHUNITY; SKID ROJSRS IN THEIR
SOCIAL SYSTEMS.

Skid rowers, as social beings, find themselves with—
in American society and within smaller urban and community
social systems. Their associations with these units are,
of course, important to studies of their alienation. In
this chapter, some basic relationships of skid rowers with
society at large and with their community are explored. In
the chapters that follow, attention is turned to particular
social groups and institutions that are relevant within
societal and communal contexts.

Consideration is here given to attitudes regarding
people in general and "average Americans," and to certain
value-orientations which have been said to be distinctly
American.l Then, after skid rowers are shown to be lower
class in status, certain values often attributed to the
lower classes are presented with skid rower responses to
them. Next, reasons for considering skid row as a
community are treated. Some basic community activities
and attitudes of skid rowers are presented and brief
attention is given to what are taken to be some of the

undesirable characteristics of the skid row community.

A. PEOPLE

As has been indicated earlier in this thesis, the
image of skid row men that is frequen 1y presented is one
of alienation from society. While this image of their
condition is often treated in vague description (such as
have been presented in pp. 63-68), casual writers are
sometimes outspoken in affirming this alienation. In

their perspective,

¥

1 . , . . . .
While Seeman referred to "isolation" as alienation

from the "goals and beliefs that are typically
highly valued," (pp. git.,p. 789), Dean referred
to actual isolation from people (gp.git., p. 755).
Both of these appear to be important issues of
alienation and thus are considered in this study.

130

 

...the final stage of withdrawal from society takes
place when the social isolate is alone on Skid Row
with his bottle as a substitute for people.

As suggested in a mission prOgram's introduction to

skid row, "...hind coming with us...to a sir et of for-
“ o 3 1 I
gotten men and -.;or;i;n...'Y many see Skis row as an area

of people completely removed from society. Some students
have assumed that skid rowers wish to be isolated from
society and that th:y are strictly negative in their
attitudes toward it. Harris, for instance, wrote that,
"Some of them hate all people and some hate all people
except their mothers,"4 and other, more careful, writers
still insist that all skid rowers are "anti-social."

The Josephsons said of skid row, "Here...men find a perfect

hiding place from the world."5

-‘

A degree of isolation is recognized by skid rowers

themselves, as the following quotation shows.

Even now when I leave skid row and go to the
respectable parts of town I feel the same way
....There are little cues you get from respectable
people that give you a sense you aren't part of
society....Add to that the look in people's

eyes when they find out the world you come from,
and it can get pretty undomfortable.

There are those, however, who argue that skid rowers
are neither isolated from nor opposed to the outside
world. Love reported that,

They appear to be anti—social, when they are not

at all. If a person can give them warmth and

understanding, they accept it gladly. They
recognize friendship as the only true charity.

2Rubington, gp.cit., p. 147.

Introduction to a weekly radio program, "Unshackled,"
presented by the Pacific Garden Nission, Chicago,

Illinois.

4“ . .L

narrls, pp.Clt., p. 12.
5Josephsons, 2p. cit., p. 358.
6Bagdikian, gp.cit., p. 64.

7 -—-

Love, gp.cit., p. 10.

132

Bogue found that his interviewers, after over two
hours with each respondent classified very few men as
"anti-social."

It has been claimed that skid row is a collecting—place

of peOple who hate other human beings and who are

basically anti—social....More than half the men

1—56 percent7 were rated as "sociable" while 33

percent were rated as "asocial" and only four

percent were rated as "antisocial."8

Bendiner wrote that today "The Bowery Man is above

- . 9 a . , _ ..
all American," and nncerson had offered some eVidence
for this in 1923.

Cne test of patriotism is military service. The

writer found that, of 400 men he interviewed,

92 had seen military service. The figure is

high....£considering the limited number, given age_10

requirements, who had been eligible in world war I/

Skid rowers may appear as men who have chosen to
escape society and its "hypocrisy," accepting in return
the hardships of skid row, but this is probably not the
case. While skid rowers may have individual reasons for
leaving particular social backgrounds, various students
have presented evidences of them as sociable beings and
as appreciative and active participants in the human
scheme of American society. The findings now reported
indicate some of the attitudes of skid rowers toward

people in general and Americans outside of skid row.

FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY

Skid rowers' attitudes toward peeple did not show
the alienation toward humanity that some of the literature
has suggested. They were asked about the importance of
"being friendly with nearly everyone," and 61 judged the

idea positively. With regard to their success in "being

8Bogue, gp.cit., p. 389.
Bendiner, gp. cit., p. 99.

0Anderson, gp.cit., p. 151.

133

friendly with nearly everyone, even a few more, 63,
answered in the affirmative.

Several items were asked regarding the nature of
people, and five of these Rosenberg's "Faith in People"
items, are presented together with a sixth item from
Dean's Scale, in Table 9. The first four Rosenberg
items elicited a response which showed a lack of trust,
but the last two items revealed a more positive regard
for human nature. (In this connection it should be noted
that these two items were the only ones in this table
which were positively worded. It is possible that this
form of wording may have induced a more trusting orientation
toward people than more negatively—worded items.) In
this area, direct comparison of skid rowers with a general
population is, of course, difficult. One comparison
was, however, possible. The last item in Table Nine
("People are just naturally helpful and friendly") was asked
of our sample of 92 introductory students. Of this number,
48 percent agreed with the statement, 23 percent disagreed
and 29 percent, markedly more than among skid rowers,

”did not know."

Since it is often thought that skid rowers are bitter
toward society and perhaps think of average Americans
as hypocrites, they were asked what they thought of
"average Americans who are better off than men who live
in this area," and the response shown in Table 10 was
obtained. The fact that 66 respondents made some kind
of positive evaluation of "average Americans" (and four
seemed to manifest sympathy for anomic Americans) while
only 20 made negative judgments certainly would suggest

4;
that

kid rowers do not condemn those who live ”normal

0)

American lives" in any blanket manner but indeed usuclly

admire them.

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In addition to a consideration of the attitudes of

skid row men toward oeoale in general the treatment of
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135

TABLE 10. ATTITUJE: TCJASD ”3V5 AGE AHQRICLNS”

 

Attitudes Number Attitudes Number
Good, works hard 14 Bad, hypocritical,
seeking status 12
Good, wonderful pe0ple 25 Bad, crooked cheater 6
Good, married, established 9 Bad (no reason given) 2
He's well off 1 Confused, doesn't know
where he's going 4
0. K. 18 Don't know _;51
TOTAL 100

 

their alienation in this chapter is concerned with certain
important American values. Harrington and others, in
speaking of a "culture of poverty," have suggested that
lower class peOple tend to be alienated from middle class
values.11 In this section, the attitudes of skid row men
toward some major American value-orientations were investi-

gated to learn whether they are alienated from these values.

FINDINGS IN THIS SlUDY

For the purposes of this dissertation, the value-orien-
tations which were selected for analysis were deve10ped
from among those treated by Robin Williams.12 Eleven
value-orientations which were thought to be most relevant
to skid rowers were employed in this study. The results

of our analysis are presented below.

 

11See, for example, Harrington, gp.cit., pp. 131-148.

It should be noted that some research has begun to
question the existence of separate lower class
values. Illustrative of these is S.M. Miller and
F. Riessman's "The Working Class Subculture: A
New View," Social Problems, 9:1, pp. 86-97.

12Robin Williams, American Society, pp. 415-468.

 

 

136

a. Achievement and Success (in work):
According to Williams,

American culture is marked by a central stress
upon personal achievementi especially secular
occupational achievement.

Stereotypes of skid rowers would suggest that they have
retreated from, and perhaps disdain, work and success
motifs. (Note, for example, many cartoons and other
comments by observers which suggest skid row life as
carefree and without responsibilities.) Only one respon-
dent here disagreed with the idea of work as an "important
part of life." (For information regarding the specific
questions asked and the responses obtained on this and the
other ten value-orientation questions considered see

Table Ten.) Rejection of the work motif as a character-
istic of skid row was certainly not evidenced in this
study. The response which the general pOpulation might
make to this type of item is, of course, not known, but

it would be difficult for it to be much higher!

b. Bfficienqy—Practicality:
Williams has stated that,

American emphasis upon efficiency has consist-
ently impressed outside observers. "Lfficient"
is a word of high praise in a society that has
long emphasized adaptability, technological
innovation, economic expansion....0ne of the
blackest curse-words we have is 'impractical'
....In the culture at large, the practical man
is the good man, an embodiment of a major
value.l

Skid rowers have been said not to be concerned with what
is practical and efficient, being wasteful of time and
other resources. Over three-fifths of our sample agreed
that "impractical" things should not be done. Although
support for this value-orientation was not as high as that
for "work and success," a clear majority did hold to this

important American tenet.

 

l31bid., p. 417.

Ibid., p. 428.

 

137

c. Progress:

Americans are considered to be strong in theflrbelief
in "progress."

From the society's earliest formation there has been
a diffuse constellation of beliefs and attitudes
that may be called the cult of progress. This broad
theme...AI§7 a certain "set" toward life the" has
permeated a wide range of behavior patterns.

Stereotypes of skid rowers would suggest that they no
longer hold to ideas of human progress, and that they,
perceiving humanity and civilization as hopeless causes,
are merely waiting out life. Almost all respondents here,
however (91 of the 100 interviewed), were agreed with the
idea that "man can make a better world" by his own efforts.
Their general support of the possibility of human progress

would, therefore, seem clear.

d. Science:

Williams and other observers have noted that most
Americans seem to invest an almost magical belief in
"science."

It has become a commonplace observation that the
application of science and related rational
approaches have transformed the external conditions
of American culture. ~Applied science is highly
esteemed as a tool for controlling nature.

It might be expected that skid rowers would be disillusioned
with science and technology since it had apparently profited
them so little. Almost two-thirds of our respondents,
however, showed their faith in science by agreeing that

it provides the best means for solving problems. Again,
neither this study nor any other known to this researcher
can provide us with the beliefs of Americans in general.

We can only emphasize that rejection of the value of

science occurs only among a minority of skid rowers.

 

lsIbid., p. 431.

lsIbid., p. 454.

138

e. Activity:

In the United States is to be found what is almost

an ideal type of culture that stresses activity:

it is no accident that the business so characteristic
of the culture can also be spelled "busyness." we
find that a notable series of observers have over-
whelmingly agreed that America is the land of haste
and bustle, of strenuous competition, of ceaseless
activity and agitation.l

Stereotypes of skid rowers would suggest that they prefer
relaxation to activity and dislike the busy American life.
Two—thirds of our respondents, however, said that they

would rather use their time in activities than in relaxation

and thus they cast doubt on this general belief about them.

f. Humanitarian Mores:

The central theme of morality in America has un-
doubtedly had a common base and unified direction,
derived from Judaic-Christian ethics. Americans
tend to "see the world in moral terms"...with
emphasis on disinterested concern and helpfulness,
including personal kindliness, aid and comfort,
spontaneous aid in mass disaster as well as the more
organized patterns of organized philanthropy.18

It is assumed by some observers that skid rowers, unlike
the general population, would reject such humanitarian
philoSOphy as is represented by the so-called Golden Rule.
This would clearly not appear to be the case since almost
all our respondents agreed to the ancient principle of

treating others as self would be treated.
g. Equality:

The avowal of "equality," and often its practice

as well, has been a persistent theme through most
of American history. 9

Skid rowers have been thought to be disillusioned with the

idea of equality, feeling inferior to "average Americans"

l'7Ibid pp. 421-422.

C
‘0

 

Ibid., pp. 425-426.

 

Ibid., p. 436.

 

139

and superior to others (especially to Negroes and derelicts
on skid row). Nevertheless, two—thirds of our respondents
agreed to the idea of the equality of all men as it was

treated in this study.

h. Racism and Group-Superiority:

Williams had pointed out that, despite our general
belief in equality, motifs of ethnocentrism exist and
prejudice has often been directed toward other races and
religious groups in America.

One of the chief conflicts...has centered around
those diverse patterns which have as their common
element the ascription of value and privilege to
individuals on the basis of race or parEficularistic
group membership according to birth....

Some believe that skid row men, living in a deprived
situation, hold strong racial and religious prejudices.
In this study, the chief test of this value orientation
consisted of two items directed toward assessing beliefs
about racial and religious segregation (Table 11). More
of our respondents said it would be better if white
children had separate swimming facilities than did not,
and their response was obviously given with Negroes in
mind. On the other hand, they showed less prejudice with
regard to children interacting with peers from different
religious grOUps. In summary, skid rowers showed less
than majority support for this value-orientation concerned
with the group-superiority theme both in regard to racial
and religious prejudices. How other Americans would

respond to these issues must again remain in question.

i. Freedom:

Among Americans, "...The verbal affirmation of the
value of freedom is widespread and persistent."21 Some
Observers have thought that skid rowers are disillusioned

20Ibid., pp. 466—467.

21Ibid., p. 444.

140

with the manifestations of freedom in America and are

even seeking an "escape from freedom" in a ritualized

skid row. Ninety one of our respondents agreed to freedom
as a chief value for Americans, showing a marked support

for this American value-orientation.

j. Democracy:

Like freedom or progress, democracy in American
culture is a highly complex...theme. The nation

has fought a great war under the slogan of making

the world safe for democracy...Here again the cultural
meanings of a value theme and its actual role in
social structure are full of complex variations,
conflicts and shadings througB time and from one

part of society to another..

Stereotypes of skid rowers would suggest that they might

be discouraged with democracy and even willing to accept
authoritarian controls. However, two-thirds of the
respondents disagreed with the idea of substituting experts
for the people in running our government, thus demonstrating

their belief in "grass-roots democracy."

k. External Conformity:

Americans today are increasingly aware of a pervasive
conformity which has characterized our behavior. Williams
showed that outside observers have been clearly impressed
by this conformity:

Laski, pointed to an "amazing uniformity4'of values
...and tried to show that the American spirit

required that the limits of conformity be drawn

with a certain tautness. Many Europeans in the period
prior to the Second World War had thought American
conformity behavior to have a certain harried,
compulsive, quality, and have referred to
standardization, "flatness," and lack of individ-

ualiEy...L§ng7 adherence to type, agreement, similar—
ity.

Williams accepts the validity of these contentions and

goes on to comment that "Some preoccupation with external

 

 

23Ibid., pp. 450-451.

 

141

conformity is to be expected in a society in which
Upward social mobility is highly prized and frequently
achieved."

Skid rowers, often viewed as having abandoned up-
ward mobility, are said to be "the real individualists"
in American society, thus avoiding any conformity and
seeking individuality at any physical and social cost.

In this study it was found that about half of the respon-
dents believed it was generally better to go along with
others and just a few less thought that they would rather
do things their own way. There would appear then to be
no clear evidence that these people either support or
renounce what Williams asserts to be one of our major
value-orientations.

The response of skid rowers regarding these value-ori-
entations makes it clear that they are not strongly aliena-
ted from any of the values that were explored and, in
fact, they were found to support certain values concerned
with work, progress and the "golden rule" almost unan-
imously. Only in the case of group-segregation and
conformity themes was here less than a clear majority
of support for what were espoused to be major American
value—orientations.24

Although an examination of the actual behavior of
skid rowers in relation to these value-orientations would
face the same problems as do all attitude-behavior studies,
it seems safe to assert that, as far as the values they
espouse are concerned, skid rowers are clearly in harmony
with others of the society around them, and their alleged
alienation in this regard must thus be disputed.

k

2
4Efforts to obtain information from students

regarding the same values, while they did not
result in satisfactory empirical data, suggested
to the writer that skid rowers were subscribing
to norms in a manner quite similar to that of
the Students.

 

142

TABLE 11. RESPONQLS TC CERTAIN IMPORTANT AMERICAN VALUE-
CRIEHTATICNS

Skid Rowers

 

Don't
Agree Disagree know Total

 

a. WOrk is a very important part of

life. 99 .l* 0 100
b. If something is not practical,

it should not be done. 61 g; 14 100
c. Man can make this a better world,

day by day, by just trying. 91 'Q 3 100

d. Science is the best thing to
solve our problems. 63 g; 14 100

e. I would rather use my time in
activities rather than in just

relaxing. 65 ‘11 18 100
f. You should do unto others as you
would have them do unto you. 94 '4 2 100
g. All men are equal. 67 .gg 4 100
h. 1) It would be better all around
if white children had swimming
pools of their own. 49 49’ 11 100
2) It is better for a child if he
keeps to playmates of his own
religious background. 41 ‘éé 3 100
1. Freedom is our mmst important goal. 91 Z. 2 100
3- It would be better to have a group
of experts run the government
rather than the people. .g9 67 7 100
k. On most things, it is better to
go along with others and do things
the usual way, rather than to do
things your own way. 49 41 10 100

 

 

*Responses which were taken to express alienation from.American
VaIna-orientations are underlined for each item.

143

C. Lower Class Status of Skid Row Men

Skid row men, though they are members of American
society, occupy a distinctly low status in it. By any
of the standard definitions, most of them belong to the
"lower-lower class." Although some doubtlessly could be
considered to be in the upper—lower class, even these
tend to exhibit a life style which is significantly differ-
ent than that of the general nmerican culture. This
section deals with the class origins and present class
status of the skid rowers.

A common belief has it that many skid rowers come
from professional and other higher status backgrounds
and that most are persons who, usually as a result of
vice, have experienced a severe downward "skidding"
mobility. Dunham, in refuting this conception, summarized
some of the evidence and provided a contrary conclusion.

The homeless man is a person who has a high prob-
ability of 1) having had to stop school in the
grades, 2) having his parental home broken by death,
desertion or divorce sometime before his fifteenth
birthday, 3) having had a good deal of institu-
tional living in children's homes, reformatories,
penitentaries, hospitals, CCC camps or the like,

4) having no relatives or friends to whom he can
turn..., 5) having never learned a trade, and

6) having wandered around a great deal in his late
teens and early twenties....This picture contrasts
sharply with the romantic notion that the homeless
man is a person who has fallen from a high status
to his present position because of some vice such

as alcohol, gambling or sexual irregularity. Straus
...points out that the homeless man could not fall
because he has never attained any height.

Bagdikian said that, "Most of these men of skid row
come from working class families. Their fathers probably

had unskilled jobs."26 Bogue summarized his respondents'
work careers thus:

M
25Dunham’ .92'Cit., pp. 13‘140
26

Bagdikian, Qp.cit., p.h63.

144

Their overall lifetime mobility pattern is marked

by a comparatively low level first job, rising

somewhat and then falling steggily to the present

very low socioeconomic level.

In their present study it was possible to obtain data
about the occupational experiences of skid rowers and to
examine their assessment of their position in comparison

with that of their parents.

FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY

When respondents were asked about their first full-time
job, nearly three—fourths named semi—skilled or lower
positions, and when questioned about the best job they
ever held, nearly half still named relatively unskilled
occupations. (See Table 12) Bogue's finding of low
level first jobs thus appears confirmed, as does his find—
ing that these kinds of people may at some later time have
held somewhat higher leVel positions (though here mostly
as craftsmen and clerical workers). Evidence supporting
Bogue's conclusion regarding a decline from higher status
to lower status occupations can be found in the fact that,
when asked about present jobs, the great majority referred
to themselVes as "day laborers" ( and frequently unemployed
ones), though occupations such as butcher, store clerk,
painter, railroad machine operator, and even professional
mortician were claimed by some as their present job.
In general, the results confirmed the expectation that
few of these men ever held high status occupations and
that while some decline from middle class occupations
occurred, it was neither general in numbers or dramatic
in degree.

The commonly believed themeof highly—educated
professionals who have "left it all" was clearly evident
in only a single case--a doctoral student who had fled

"father-in-law domination" and had become an alcoholic

 

7Bogue, gp.cit., p. 24.

145

on skid row. It is evidently the knowledgecfi'such
occasional but dramatic inscances that feeds the myth of
a skid row peopled by those who have "skidded" from high

status positions.

TABLE 12. RESPCHDENTS' "FIflSI JOB" AND "BEST JOB EVER"

 

 

Status First job Best job ever
.N. a:

Day labor 6
Unskilled l6 7
Semi-skilled S3 31
Skilled, craftsmen 13 29
White collar, clerks 7 22
PrOprietors, managers,

officials 4 3
Don't know _1 __
Total 100 100

 

In an attempt to measure inter-generational mobility,
respondents were asked to provide an estimate as to
"how well off" their parents were and to compare their
own status with that of their parents. Table 13 shows
the relation between these two variables. Though it is
not clear what the meaning is of an assertion that their
parents were "well off" or "able to get along OK" or were
"poor" (althOUgh it is likely that "able to get along OK"
is nearer to "poor" than to "well off"), we can see that
94 feel they are no better off (i.e. "the same") or are
actually lower than parents who were only "getting by"

Or were "poor."

In general, then, our informants are from lower class
families of origin and are themselves lower class. Having
established this fact, we may now move forward to examine
their acceptance of certain values attributed to the

lower classes.

146

TABLE 13. PARS‘NTS' TATUS AND CC-l-IPARATIVE STATUS OF
RdSPC-NDEJIJTS

 

Compared to Got

them, respon- Nell along

dents were: off OK Poor DK Totals

Higher O l 5 O 6

Same 7 18 9 2 36

Lower 13 2S 6 O . 44

OK 0 O 2

DK 0 5 3 4 12
Grand Total

Totals 21 SO 23 6 100

 

D. Some Lower Class Values

Some students of stratification, searching for
indicators and correlates of social class, have suggested
that certain values are typically held by lower class
persons. Some of these have been said to be specifically.
characteristic to skid rowers. In this study, nine such
values were operationalized to see whether skid rowers

would generally support them.
FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY

a. Honestonf the poor:

The following statement by a cab driver reflects the
(Kunmon Opinion that poor people and skid row men in par-
ticnilar are more honest and less hypocritical than
average people .*

The most honest guys in Detroit live on skid row.
They don't pretend to be what they ain't, like the
rest of us do. These guys do what they feel like
doing; they got no Lsigg7 responsibility and that's
the way they want it.2

\

2 . . . . . . .
8Ralph Daniel, "Michigan's Alcoholism Rehabilitation

Program," First Annual International Institute 22
the Homeless Alcoholic, p. 56.

 

 

147
A slight majority of our reSponuents avreed witn the
sentiment that the accr are basically mor
friendly than other people. (See Table 14 for the
exact stat ment and data for this and the following

values.)

It is also frequently believed that the "down and
out" are suick to share what they nave with others.4
Almost three-fourths of the esgoidents her3 dares”1 with
this ider but those who oicn't usually expressed strong

s against undeserved charity.

Tolerance of d-3viant behavior:

Slum dwellers including skid rowers, are thought to
be especially tolerant of certain deviant behaviors such
as mental illness and alcoholism, perhaps because they
have no alternative .out to learn to "put up with" the
situation in which they find themselves. For example,
it has been asserted that "...persons who are mentally
abnormal fail in their economic life and consequently
drift down into the slum areas because they are not able

30 my
.1.

to compete satisfactorily with others." his tendency,

known as the "drift hy/othesis ,” is said to produce a
higher concentration of We MlltS to whom ski; rowers are
exposed and must, of necessity, learn to adjust. On this
Value, our informants were in high agreement, 86 of them
indicating a willingness to accept drunkenness and

dirtiness among their fellow skid rowers.

d. Immediate_gratification:

Lower class people are thought to seek immediate rather
trIan deferred gratification——the pre ent looming as more
attmractive than the future. Hollingshead stated that the
lOHHEr class boy, eager to day his own way and escape fa mily

downination, seeks a full—time job at a very early age and
M

29Bogue, gp.cit., pp. 143—145.

30 , H _. V ,
Dunham, mental Disorders n Lrban areas, p. 103.

a

H.

 

 

 

14B

accordingly quits school early.jl But more lately Kahl

and others have argued that we cannot conclude that having
an immediate gratification pattern is a major characteristic
of lower social classes.32 The question we posed (Would

you say that you would rather put off present pleasures

for the future...?) yielded a slight but not overwhelming

preference for delayed gratification as opposed to
immediate pleasure.
e. Getting by:

Lower class people have been described as, "Without
...ambition for success and without the desire to improve
themselves,"33 and Kahl argued that this leads to an

alienation frtm all life.

Alienation from work in a culture which gives work
a central place in the life of the people means
alienation from life, and from the very core of

worker's personalities, their real self. It means
unrelatedness to the inner sources of creative
living, inability to feel fgie in the sense of
freedom to express oneself.

This value attributed to lower class people appears not
to be supported by our study since over two—thirds of our

sample did not prefer working "just enough to get by."

f. Physical aggression:

Lower class peOple have been described as being
extra-punitive, and, in doing so, of "handling their
aggression by directing it outwards."35 They are thought
”U3 be rigid in their discipline of children and to exer-
‘tise corporal punishment more often than middle class
PEIisons. Fifty of our respondents agreed to the idea of
strrict punishment for those who "get out of line," while
40 Then disagreed.

M

31. e . . . 3, ,
A. a. Hollingsneao, hlmtown's Youth, pp. 110—120.

2 —.- a {1‘ < 0 —¢ 3 [-
Joseph hanl, ihe nmerican Class structure, p. 213.

ioid., pa. 210—211.

.L-
LA.

 

Ibid., p. 208.

 

U.)
U?

Arnold Green, "The Middle Class Child and Neurosis,"
American Sociological Review, 11:1, pp. 31—41.

g. Authoritarianism:

 

Lower class people are oft n said to be more rigid
and dogmatic than others. Hoffer saw them as a population
from which "true believers" are easily recruited.36
Lipset's "working class authoritarianism" asserts that

...other things being egual...£the working c1a§§7_
will prefer the least complex alternatives...£and/
in the world of work above all, but not only there,
the lower-lower class person is more likely to
conform than others in the role 2f a subordinate
subject to eXpress demands...£tg/ "do this."37

And Broom and Selznick depicted the lower class as having
the "...strongest male domination. Father LEE? the more
traditional disciplinarian...AWith7 more physical punish-
ment (than in other social classe_s_7."38 The present

study appears to confirm these assertions, since two thirds
of the respondents agreed that persons in such positions

as fathers and employers should be obeyed always.

h. Intolerance of deviantbelief systems:

Lower class people, though considered to be tolerant
of certain deviant individual pathologies (see "C" above)
are said to be intolerant of what they consider to be
deviant belief systems. Cohen and Hodges found that,
"The lower-lower class was most harsh in condemnation of
other sorts of deviants: the atheist, the homosexual,
the "um—American," the artist-intellectual...."39
Supporting this position, three-fourths of our respondents
agreed that "communists and atheists should not be
tolerated."

_R

36Eric Hoffer, The True Believer, pp. 31-48.

7Seymour Lipset, Political Man, pp. 97-130.

38Broom and Selznick, Sociology, p. 385.

39Cohen and Hodges, "Characteristics of the Lower-

Blue-Collar—worker," Social Problems 10:4, pp. 321.-

 

 

i. Anti—intellectualism:

 

Likewise, the intellectual is said to be disliked
by lower class people.

The lower-lower class expressed least admiration

of intellectuals, professors, writers and artists
...he treated them with disdain pr suspicion. Those
who expressed the hope that their sons and_daughters
would go to college were most interested Lof all
social classes/ in the practical, financially
renumerative aspects as gampared to the esthetic

or intellectual aspects.

In this study, however, only 33 men agreed that
people in higher education are detached from reality,
which appears to question the validity of the assumption
that lower class are anti-intellectual.

The findings reported in this section showed that,
with the exception of those values related to immediate
gratification, "getting by," and anti—intellectualism,

a majority of respondents tended to support each of

these alleged lower class values. This analysis was,

of course, based solely upon the response to single
statements rather than scales or indexes so that we do
not have strong assurance of their validity. Moreover,
we cannot assert that the level of response obtained is
unique to the lower classes until comparative studies are
conducted in other social classes. In summary, it can
only be stated that most of the statements which seem

to reflect alleged lower class values were supported by

a majority of respondents in this study. It may be that
the respondents obtain some sense of orientation and
identity in their community and subculture through a
manifest avowal of these values (and accordingly feel some
sense of alienation from the mainstream of American

society which they feel does not share the same values).

H

L. Skid Row as a Community
Reference has already been made at several points

in this dissertation to the question of whether it is

 

40Ibid., pp. 318-319.

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legitimate to even consider skid row a community.

Specific data bearing on this poi:t are examined below,
though it is recognized that materials to be introduced
later could be viewed as having a bearing on the question.

While the meaning of the term "community" continues
to be eXplored and debated, two important aspects of the
concept seem to appear systematically in current definitions:
the ecological dimension and the social-psychological
dimension of member identification. It is to measures of
these two elements that the present analysis is addressed.

Before examining the findings of this study as they
bear on these aspects of community, however, some elab-
oration of these two dimensions of the concept community
is in order. As to the first of the dimensions-—that
dealing with the ecological nature of community-~perhaps
the most appropriate definition for present purposes is
that off,red by warren. He refers to community as "That
combinatioa cf social units which performs major social
functions having locality-relevance," and speciffixsthat
these social functions are concerned with "the broad
areas of activities which are necessary to everyday
living."41 According to this definition, the area which
was the object of attentiol in this study can be viewed
as a community only if evidence can be provided to show
that the services essential to everyday living are indeed
available on West Madison. Specific data bearing on this
point are presented below.

With regard to the second dimension of community--
the sense of identification with a place and its activities
on the part of those residing there—-attention is directed
toward what has sometimes been referred to as an "image
of community."44 This prOSpective suggests that men

develop a kinship with and interest in a locality or

 

lWarren, gp.cit., p. 9.

42See Robert Nisbet, The Quest for Community, pp. 23-44.

 

153

association as a result of their presence or interaction
therein. Identification with community is often occasioned
by ethnic, occupational or class status, or through
residence in a neighborhood. Recently, certain lower class
neighborhoods have asserted to be viable communities,43
but so far little has been said about skid row in this
regard. The question here considered, then, asks whether
skid row fulfills the requirement of community or is

merely a locale used by a category of men.

FINDINGS IN THIS STUDY
1. The ecological dimension of community

west Madison's skid row seems to fulfill Warren‘s
requirement for community of locality relevant social
functions since many facilities for homeless men are
provided in the skid row location. To supplement the
information already provided in Chapter Two, it should
be noted that a list of skid row community facilities
would inclu e the following. Skid row provides such
sleeping facilities as hotels of various kinds, missions,
jails and, in warm weather, nearby freight yards and
other outdoor places. It provides such eating and drink-
ing facilities as restaurants and taverns of various kinds,
and many retail food outlets. Clothing and other personal
items can be had inexpensively at second hand stores and
pawn shops. A large number of unskilled jobs (and a few
skilled jobs) are available on skid row or throughs
employment agencies located there. Recreational, religious,
political, educational, health and other facilities are
available, in certain forms, on skid row—-as will become
apparent throughout this study.

Not only do skid rowers tend to spend much of their
time in the ecological community but they also have

resided in the area for some time. Asked, "How many

 

43See,,for example, Herbert Gans, The Urban Villagers,

esp. pp. 104-119, and William F. Whyte, Street
Corner Society.

 

154

times have you moved from one town to another in the last
two years," 81 listed no moves at all (See Table 15).
Among the rest, only one had moved more than five times.
Though there were many replies indicating that skid

rowers often move from one residence within skid row

to another, the larg; majority evidently had become rather
permanent residents of the skid row community. They

were also asked about the totaltime they had spent "in
nest Madison and areas like it," and, while there were

a wide range of replies, the average man had spent from

seven to ten years in skid row areas.

 

 

 

 

Tit-:LLE 15 . I-TC‘:1ILI1“.:’ Inf-Ti}- 2’3 EI'LFSTT’Z'S I! 5111') RC?!
a. Number of moves in past b. Years spent in skid row
two years areas

en .cn

None ‘31 Up to 3:3 5

1 5 9 — 1 5

2 6 l — 3 l7

3 2 4 — 6 10

4 3 7 -10 26

5 2 11-15 16

6-9 __1 16—20 9

Total 1 0 21-30 7

31-40 __5

Total 100

 

One important difference among men who live in the
skid row community concerns the range of residences avail-
able. The majority of men here (60) stayed in "cage
hotels," and some of them had established relatively
"permanent" homes in these accommodations. Twenty six
men lived in rooms and apartments, which are generally
considered to have better facilities and fewer rules

about drinking and visiting in rooms than the cage hotels.

155

Men who stayed in rooms tended to look down on the
"flophouses" (cage hotels) and their inhabitants just as
the latter group tended to disparage "mission bums."

Nine men depended on the missions for a bed, four slept
outside (in August) and one informant had spent the
preceding night in jail, and, as might be expected,men
who use these facilities appeared to be the lowest status

members of the skid row community.

2. The identification dimension of community

In the second aspect of the definition of community
discussed above, it was suggested that an identity with
community, in addition to residence there, was important.
In interviewing skid rowers, we asked two questions which
measured attitudes toward the area and its population in
an effort to ascertain the sense of community which existed.

Asked, "would you say that you had gotten used to
life in the West Madison area?" 66 men said that they
had and 33 that they had not. The former group tended
to be noncommital, though a number of them, as well as
some of the latter group, suggested that, while life was
not wholly desirable there, an adjustment could be made.
A few of the latter group complained that no one could
ever get used to life in such a "deteriorated" and
"cruel" community. At the same time, most gave responses
that indicated that the skid row community was nothing
unusual and that it just provided anbther type of life
whose uniqueness or undesirability is noticed only by
the newcomer.

The question, "Would you say that the people you
associate with are typical of men in the West Madison
areas?" was designed to find out whether respondents
thought themselves superior to most men on the street
or whether they identified with that population.44

 

44Though Bogue (gp.gi§., p. 148) found 73 percent
claiming that "their friends were different," he
also found 62 pegcent "wanting to be friends
with these men 10f skid rog/."

156

Forty-seven men agreed to the statement while only 41

did not. The latter group seemed to accept the public
stereotype of the area as made up generally of "skid

row bums" but that they and their friends were different
than the rest. The larger group (47) would appear
(regardless of the status they might attribute to resi—
dents of the area) to view themselves as being part of

the larger whole made Up of people like “hemselves

(i.e. persons with whom they felt some sense of similarity,
hence, it would seem identity).

If there is any core of interaction in the skid row
community-—any "Center" where the sense of identification
might focus-—it would appear to be in the larger saloons
and hotel lobbies. One of the largest saloons functions
as such a focal point, although Chicagoans who know the
place and the police who "check it out" about every half
hour (both to pick up "drunks" and to investigate possible
violations of the liquor laws) view it as a source of
lawlessness and disorganization. The author had the
Opportunity on several occasions to observe social patterns
Of interaction in this community focal point. The rate of
interaction was extremely high. Almost no one was observed
sitting and drinking in complete isolation. Wany of these
People obviously were anuainted with each other.
FrEQUently buddies were observed sharing drinks. Bar—
tenders and some of the customers were engaged in running
conversations. A few individuals appeared to be known
"Characters" who were the objects of kidding by many others
Present. Some of the conversation involved men who were
cadging drinks. Female passers-by (none entered the
place) were given some attention, both visual and conver-
sational, Police, making routine checks, also participated
esPeCially in light banter. There was a continuous flow
of COnversation about persons and events within skid row
and all who participated showed some concern for issues

germ'dne to the skid row community. Lany customers

L.)
(.’1
‘xl

sto;ped briefly to buy carry—out a:verages though someone
might call for them to join them at the bar. Cccasionally
someone might help a handicapped person find a seat or
more often assist an intoxicated or hurt man back to his
hotel. The saloon was a place where, with little pressure
to buy drinks, one might come at any time, stay as long

as he liked and leave when he wished. The norms of the
establishment seemed to be extremely permissive. To some
extent, the integrity of customers, whether or not they

had money, seemed to be respected.

3. Disorganizing elements in the Skid Row Community

Skid row has, of course, a numb r of undesirable
characteristics, some of which have already been alluded
to. Forty percent of Bogue's respondents showed a dislike
for other men and ninety three percent of his sample made
at least one critical remark about them.45 Fifty-two of
these could be summarized as "they drink too much," while
others suggested begging, jackrolling, small crimes,
laziness, noisiness, belligerence, personal hygiene and
abnormal personalities. (It should be noted, however,
that 85 percent were able to mention positive attributes
of their fellow residents such as congeniality, helpful-
ness, empathy, identification and industry.)

Any community with too many negative characteristics
counteracting positive ones is likely to be a weak one
and will, by definition, force its members to be alienated
from it. Thus our concern here was with certain potential—
ly-alienating characteristics of the skid row community
and with the effect of these upon resyondents. Cur
Considerations included such matters as jackrolling and
theft, exploitation, by businessmen and by police, and

IYicial prejudice and discrimination.

Ti- 0 ~ It"
.L.r-)lO.. big). l‘tJ—létS.

 

wr—A
._\ ..

D
u- v «../

a) Jackrollinl and theft

‘. f‘

. , . (t0 . ,. 4: . ,
jaCkrolling involves a form o1 roooery

1
The act of
in which money or anything of value is taken from drunk,
old or handicapped men, by whatever force is necessary.
While jackrolling is a clear case when, as frequently
happens, someone is given a physical beating, it is more
difficult to define when, for instance, it is accomplished
by open or subtle threats sometimes from one's own buddies.
Skid rowers have a strong fear of being jackrolled and

most of them condemn the act. The police, too, view it
seriously and seek out the jackroller with a special
vengeance. It should also be noted that a good deal of
stealing from person's quarters occurs in the less-than—
secure hotels. It would seem that the person with material
possessions on skid row is likely an insecure person.

In this study, respondents were asked if they had
"ever been jackrolled or had things stolen from them by
other men there," and the response shows a number who
had never had it happen and almost as many who had often
been victims. Money was the loss reported most often, and
most of the victims reported losses up to fifty dollars.

Some men complained bitterly of the jackrollers as
the worst thing about skid row life. They sometimes
accused Negro youths, bartenders, women and police, in
addition to other skid rowers, of being the offenders.
Nevertheless respondents generally seemed to accept jack—
rolling fatalistically as one of the more severe hazards
Of skid row life.

It would be naive to suppose that all jackrolling or
‘theft occurring in skid row was the work of outsiders.
infierefore, the informants were asked whether they had
ever indulged in these activities. Perhaps because of
Ifiears of being labeled as "jackrollers," very few ad—
mi:ssions of jackrolling were made. (It should be noted that

k

4 . r .
6See, for example, Clifford Shaw's ClaSSlC study,

The Jackrollers.

 

'1 P f‘
3 “\ ‘-‘

.— v’ 0“

the number engaged in such activity would not need to be
great since only a few jackrollers could make the practice
appear to be an extremely prevalent one.) with an intro-
duction that suggested that, "...a lot of stealing goes

on around here that is not too serious," respondents

were asked whether they had ever been involved in "rolling
guys," and only 12 men admitted that they had ever done
so. Host of these pointed out that this was not a regular
activity for them, and some rationalized that they had
been offered money by a drunk or that, if they had not

taken it, someone else would have done so.

TABLE 16. THE EKPSRISJCE CF BEING JACKRCLLSD OR ROBBED

 

a. Did it ever happen? b. What was taken?
N N
No 27 Cash - up to $10 l§
Yes, once or twice 30 $11 - $50 20
Yes, a few times 21 $51 - $150 7
Yes, often 22 over $150 5
Total 100 Clothes and change 9
Billfold, papers 6

Other small-value

possessions 7
No answer 27
Total 100

 

Little is known about shoplifting and other stealing
on skid row. Asked whether they had ever "been able to"
take things that belonged to storekeepers or other people
who "are better off than you," only 14 admitted that they
had. Most of those who stated that they "had not,"
expressed moral attitudes regarding such activity remark-
ing for example, "I was not brought up to behave that
way," a response similar to what might be expected of
middle class people. The real extent of such activity
cannot, of course, be known, though more vigorous question-

ing would probably elicit a larger number of men admitting

to limit d stealing in certain periods of their lifetimes.
(An element of some relevance to this matter should be
noted here. Observation would seem to indicate that there
is actually rather limited opportunity for stealing in this
community. Personal possessions are few, self—service
stores are uncommon, and hotel and other facilities are
minimally furnished. Moreover, merchants and inhabitants

guard their possessions zealously.)

b) Exploitation by businessmen

Skid row men interact a great ceal with the Operators
of business facilities in the area. The nature of
these interactions is such that many unfavorable ideas
about businessmen have deve10ped in the skid row community.
These ideas are generally concerned with the cheating that
is said to occur in the many situations in which skid
rowers are dependent on businessmen or in which they do
not understand the nature of their business encounters.
Sometimes, through illegal monopolies, men are forced to
buy their food, drinks and lodging from the agents who
employ them.47 Likewise, it is sometimes discovered that
merchants are overcharging, keeping unfair accounts and

even jackrolling.48

(The picture is not wholly unfavor-
able, however, since there is eviCence that many skid row
merchants are quite charitable in their dealings with
customers and are considered as helpful counselors.)

In this study respondents were asked whether they
had "ever been cheated out of money or anything owed them
by businessmen and employers," and two-thirds of them
replied, "No." Among the rest, 17 indicated that it had

happened "once or twice;" 11, "a few times;" and five,

47 1 - ‘ w 0 w o 9 Ac °
"Tne Voucner sgueeze on Skid Row Jorkers,” chicago

Sun Times, Sunday, August 9, 1964.

8Bogue, (gp.git., p. 440), investigating skid rowers'
attitudes toward various facilities in their area,
found the following types said not to be doing a good
job: labor offices by 43 percent of the men, restau-
rants - 37 percent, taverns — 31 percent and police -
39 percent.

"often."

indicated the following amounts of money:
$10—$50,

Eight other men indicated low pay and six

11 men;

fired unfairly.

lil
Asked of what they had been cheated, they
up to $10,
2.

indicated being

5; $51-$150, 2; and $500 or more,

(Cne mentioned being cheated out of an

estate and anvtner indicated explaitation by a business
loCated cutsid; of Liid row.)
The\ here also asked Jhc;her thwv had evcr been short-

“J

changed or OVercharged and 64 agreed that this had happened

"once or twice," 13 said "a few times," and only seven

said

"often."

Fourteen said that it had never happened.

Specific instances of exploitation by businessmen

were actually found to be relatively uncommon,

although

there was a general belief among skid rowers that it was

a routine occurrence in their community.

facilities,

Particular

such as employment agencies, however, were

particularly likely to be accused of specific exploi-

tations.

facilities

itarian functions,

In general, it appears that most skid row

do

provide positive, appreciate”, even human—

and they are not simply tools of

exploitation despite their general negative image.

c)

The
and play
numerous
sight to

ers and an assurance, many times an assistance,

mistreatment by police

police are present in large numbers on West Madison
important roles there. The presence of the

"paddy wagons" and cruisers is often a "sobering"
the intoxicated, a warning to would-be trouble-mak-

to others.

Some have praised the benevolent role of the police stating

for instance, that, "Perhaps Askid rowersL7 most faithful

gnardians are the police without whose protection and

surveillance these men would surely die of starvation,

COld or illness."

9 .. M
DaVio heyerson,

49

"Rehabilitation for Skid Row,"

Fifth Annual International Institute 9: the

Homeless Alcoholic, p.

2.

‘3
)\J

'flJ

Cthers have been extremely critical of the police
as was Harringt: n, saying, "...even more vicious Athan
tourists inrr1n.cme ts on skid ro ers privacy, etc;/

was the police pickup....The paddy ma would arrive on

W
the Bowery: the police would arrest th 3 first men they
came to at random and that was that." '50
Some have suggested that the whole police—court
system is an evil.

The court story, with rare exception, is the same
from coast to coast. Skid Rowers line up before the
bar, filthy, disheveled, some with the look and
smell of last night's nausea still on them. Their
name is called...they are asked to plead guilty to

a charge....They do it like sheep, bleating the

same words one after another. "Guilty, your honor."
Some don't even bother to raise their heads as they
mutter the wogds. The judges know most of the
faces...£som§/ men with...two hundred arrests.

Many judges and policemen, embarrassed over their
ineffectuality, are callous toward Rowers. They
do their jobs routinely...come out from under the
routine only occasionally and when they do it is
usually in response to public pressure.

The skid rower is isolated from participation in
society's legal institutions....arrested...for
what he is—-a skid rower...under outdated, 52
ambiguous and perhaps unconstitutional laws.

But there are certainly some positive functions to "skid

row justice."

The workhouse is more to skid rowers than simply a
shelter from inclement weather, /it provides/ treat-
ment and rest for the chronic drunk, the opportunity
to meet and make friepgs, and for some habitues,

a place of re tsidence.

OHarrington, gp.cit., p. 104.
ES

lHarris, gp.cit., p. 158.

2wallace, pp.cit., p. 89.

5
31bid., p. 105.

q ”A
, \)

Nineteen of the men in the present study had exper-
ienced from 40 to 250 arrests; 15 men had been arrested
"several times;" 23, "a few times;" six, "two or three
times;" nine, "one time;" and 28 claimed "no arrests."
Among the 72 who had been arrested, forty-five stated that
they had been treated fairly while, of 27 complaints, the
following were heard: cruelty, nine times; police arrest—
ing at random on skid row, six times; police robbing them,
four; false charges, four; sentences too sevens two; and
two simply stated that they hated the police.

while many respondents expressed some disdain for
the police (and two known as "Mutt and Jeff" were especially
cited for their alleged cruel affronts on men "whom
they had it in for" 1E1CL7), nevertheless our data would
suggest that a minority of the men actually suffered
personal abuse as victims of the police.

The police and courts are actually marginal to the
skid row community, though their physical presence is
pervasive. Complaints of unfairness, similar to those
prevalent in other lower class communities today, are often
mentioned in skid row. When skid rowers think of the role
of the police in a general sense as protectors in their
community, they generally indicate an appreciation of
them. The following incident illustrates the complexity
of police-community relations in this type of community.

As I approached, an obviously nervous policeman was
roughly searching a Negro man while a white woman
nearby cursed the policeman, and a few people
watched. More policemen arrived. Several of the
watchers had come out of a tavern and claimed that
the Negro had threatened them with a gun. The man
denied this story and nodded agreement with the
woman who stated, with a choice selection of pro-
fanity, that the people in the bar had picked on the
man since he was with her, a white. No gun was
found, but the man and the woman (for ”not keeping
(her) g...d...f...mouth shut") were taken away in
police cars. As IL was obviously an outsider, I
was asked by a policeman what my interest was,

and replying that I was a student..."observing,"

I was told to move on and was immediately shoved

on my way.

d) Racial prejudice and discrimination in skid row

Ln especia”ly sens'tiv: issue in American society
today, that of race, is also an important one in skid
row. The skid row community is about 11 percent nonwhite
(Negro, nine percent; Indian, 2 percent), and the pro-
portion of Negroes is growing. Bogue has even suggested
that the Madison Street community may someday be all
Negro.54

Our sample consisted of 90 whites, eight Negroes
and two Indians. The two groups were rather similar,
except that the nonwhites seemed to be somewhat younger,
more physically able, and poorer.

Skid rowers maintain particular forms of prejudice
and discrimination. Like other lower class people, they
seemed to hold highly-prejudiced attitudes. They were
not, however, always in a position to practice discrim-
ination. The situation was illustrated by a mission
worker, who said, "A lot of Southern boys come here

thinking that they'll never mix with niggers, but before

)

! _.~ ‘7 ‘\ ,— J—V. J— " I“ ‘ -
o-wn at the table and

('1'

C

long they're hungry enough ta si

55 ,

eat next to them." Snare is segreg t on on skid row,

a i
particularly in the hotels, but it aipears to be decreas-

ing.

...every Skid Row in Chicago now has people of both
races living in segregated but adjoining buildings,
and gradually they are sharing the same establish—
ments. Negroes are appearing far more frequently in
Skid Row bars and restaurants...56

That the facilities which have begun to integrate
experience continued ill—feelings between Negroes and
whites was observed by this writer in such situations

as these:

 

54Bogue, pp.cit., p. 106.

S .. . . . .
Obtained in a personal interV1ew.

5r
on _ -. .
sogue, oa.c1t. p. 258.

n p '-
v
1 .

--.—z.

w.~:;1

7‘ .- it} C) .L ‘7; W 1‘: C)

:E11. (311 a 25L1<:i'1 111:1, .l. i?=ei.r .1 1‘1 t SE 1- 3.. 1,__ :«

was int_rvi; ed ca lloi'ed ab ut ,ot bai1g able to
move a¢1y from "these ni<g gers." Shortly thereafter
I witnessed a; ar 1331t in which a drunken white
cursed a Negro aid the latter, while stronger and

trying to get an apology, was very careful to avoid
conflict.

I was repeatedly cursed in a mission dcrmitory by
a young intoxicated white because I was engaged in
an intense conversation with a Negro.

After a mission service, I observed that whites were
given beds first and some Negroes were simply refused.
Nevertheless, missions seemed to be the most success-
fully integrated of residences (except for jails),
probably because of the dependent nature of their
clientele and the purpose to which the e institutions
are committed.

he Iro infiltrat101 into skid row and integration there

were obvitusly net appreciated by the whites. The con-
sistent reference to Negroes, at least when they are not
present, was to "niggers." Bogue foundiflmt,of all minority
groups, Negroes were most disliked (by 80 percent of
whites); Puerto Ricans were second (77 percent); Mexicans,
third (60 percent); and Indians, last (only 30 percent).57
Negroes in this study also showed some dislike of whites,
though nearly always as subordinates seeking a "better

break" in the social structure.
SUI {JURY

1. Society

Alienation from American society, especially from

 

its people and value—orientations, did not appear as an
important characteristic of skid rowers in the findings
of the present study. The evidence suggested, rather, an
acceptance of American people and values and a desire

to be more a part of the society. Skid rowers did,

however, support some so—called lo er class values and the

 

sogue, on. cit., p. 258.

(’1

U 1

.,
-L

idea of skij rou as a deviait :ubculture was grv:‘ some
support although c mparative research is needed to sub—
stantiate this point. Ehe little alienation that was

expressed seamed to be colcerned with powerlessness re—

 

garding society rather than with a rejection of its norms.
Nonconforming adaptations such as retreat or rebellion

in regard to general society was not discovered in this
research. (Jhile some of the central issues of importance
with regard to "alienation from society" were treated in
this section, a number of other issues relevant to
"alienation from society" for instance in work, political
and religious issues are treated throughout the remainder

of this study.)

2. Community

Skid row is a community in that it provides 1) within

 

a limited area the salient facilities, including many
social relationships, necessary for human existence and

2) an organization in which men can obtain membership

and identity. Nevertheless, skid row was cited second
most often in response to two questions about "problems"
and "complaints" in this study. Of 31 such mentions, 15
were concerned with the area, particularly its inadequate
facilities and deterioration; 12 with its people, par-
ticularly alcoholics and jackrollers; and four with
police. Skid row appeared to be a community of men who,
when they had any claim to outside membership, frequently
mentioned it. But it would appear that most respondents
showed a general acceptance of the area and its population
and understood the rules of behavior which would protect
them against exploitation, while they sensed powerlessness
in reference to doing anything to change unfavorable
conditions in skid row or in reference to leaving the area.
There appeared to be 22 apparent resulting retreatism or
other nonconforming adaptation prevalent in regard to
interactions in the community and it would seem to be

accurate to say that respondents conformed t2 various norms

 

of the skid row community.

 

(IE-[AFTER EIGHT: IZITIEv'LRTE RL‘JLATICI‘JSLIIPS; FAMILIES, FRIENDS,
NOI‘VIBN ALJD SSLF FOR SKID FCxJEJRS

This chapter will examine the role that certain kinds
of primary groups and relationships, which have been ob-
served to be rather universally important to man, play
for skid rowers--both in and outside their community.

Any complete alienation of skid rowers would seem to
demand a withdrawal from all these primary relationships
as, indeed, many descriptions of skid row have suggested.
On the other hand, the skeptic regarding the generally
accepted idea of skid row alienation and those who
hypothesize that social organization exists there would
e‘pect to find important social relationships of a pri—
mary nature in skid row.

Moreover, if skid row is a community, Warren's
position would require that it provide socialization,
social control, social participation and mutual support,1
and primary groups would certainly be helpful in these
functions. Since the skid row community apparently does
not provide typical familial relationships, it might be
expected to provide substitute primary relationships.

Five different types of primary groups or relation-
ships were treated in this study. They were: the family
of orientation and that of procreation, friendships,
relationships with women (and the attendent issue of sex)
and, finally, relationships with self. These are all
important relationships which might or might not be de-
sired and obtained by skid rowers, and they are obviously
relevant in studying alienation and involvement in the
skid row community.

The family, which probably serves as the most im—
portant primary group in American and all societies, is
treated in the sections, "A" and "b," that follow. This

 

lWarren, gp.cit., pp. 9-10.

137

kind of primary group seems nonexistent on skid row.
Its absence is probably one of the most important factors
in making the skid row community a unique one. Skid row
men are, at least temporarily, separated from their
families. The families of origin and procreation, as
skid rowers relate to them, will now be examined along
with some important attitudes related to these relationships.
A. THE FAMILY OF ORIEIN: A NEAR-UNIVERSAL EXPERIENCE
.AMCNG SKID RCJERS

Much has been said about the importance for every
human of early childhood eXperiences in forming per-
sonality and, in fact, especially about its bearing on
skid row men.3 Many psychologists and others have es-
poused theories of "inadequate personality" and more
specific ones referring to alcoholic fathers and broken
homes or have pointed to over—dependency on the family4
and particularly on the mother in explaining skid row.
Their studies have tended to involve small samples and
to be self-fulfilling and biased in eXplanation.

Kission workers often treat the childhood themes in
suggesting either that skid rowers came from disorganized
homes or, more often, that they are "black sheep" who
rebelled against good homes. For the former group,
mission workers try to offer the possibility of a "being

born again." For the latter group, they preach against

 

2A very small prOportion of skid rowers are reported
to be orphans.

3See, for example, Pittman and Gordon, gp.cit.,

pp. 78-930

The writer, for instance, encountered one man who re—
mained living with his parents until he was about 40
and his parents died. He drfiied to skid row within a
month and, despite efforts to return him to his
native community, continued in a cycle of heavy
drinking and working in a mission.

"prodigal son" behavior and hang si ns to reminl the men
that ”Mother's Erlyers Folloj You," or to as k the ”How
long has it been since you wrote your mother?"5

The boyhood homes of skid rowers were probably neither
ideal nor totally deleterious environments. The evidence
some literature provides is that both poverty and conflict
played important roles in giving some skid rowers an un-
happy childhood. Many others apparently had fairly typical
childhoods. Thus the formative years varied widely, and
it would be seemingly impossible to develop a definitive
theory of childhood experience as an explanation of the
situation of skid rowers.

The role of family background in skid row needs in—
tensive sknmhg since, whiltaifizxmaes not exgltfin1'the exist—
ence of the Siii row community, it an help in explaining
the selective recruitment of members. This kind of
study could be guided by such hypotheses as that suggested
by Dunham: "Persons who have known homeless men will
report an early tendency to become isolated from close
social contacts."6 Nevertheless, such gross assertions
as the following by Harris would probably not be supported
in such research.

The egolessness started during early childhood for
most of them....They were inferior children, neither
as strong nor is smart as the others around them.

Many...Cvme frt11oor amili s or lived in over-
crowded homes .../or c-me/ from homes broken by divorce,
separation or death. Many of them never knew what

it meant to be loved by their parents. Paradoxi-
cally, however, at least as many were loved too much
...by adoring mothers and not ever by anyone else.
Skid Row USA is full of adoring sons of adoring
mothers.

 

SAn unpublished content analysis of case reports in
The PGM News (of the Pacific Garden Mission, Chicago,
Illinois) done by me consistently supported these
statements.

\J

;-1
(4)

Neither is the portrayal of skid rowers as now "alone
in the world" accurate. Past research has shown that the
isolation of skid rowers from families is less than
complete.

...There is substantial evidence to indicate that

at least one_fvu£th of the ifew York7 Skid Rowers
have kin...LMany/ reported that they had friends or
relatives uith whom they could liv; if they wished.
...Agoxerman in 1933 reported that/ ov;r one fourth
of tne men had no kinship ties. Cne out of every
five men had sore kind of parental tie, and a similar

prOportion reported a sibling....One of every ten
men gave the name of his wife as a nearest relative.
...More than one—third of the men had relatives
residing in New York City and the majority of these
were extremely close ties.

While the studies cited above consisted of very selective
samples, they probably reflect the skid row situation

better than does any "forgotten men" stereotype.

FINDINGS IN THIS STUDY

This study presents some information with regard to
the issue of the family. Our concern here is with the age
at which men left their families of origin, an evaluation
of their youth and their present interactions with family
members. (See Table 17). Despite the frequent theme of
runaway boys and over-dependent men who respectively left
their families early or late in life,9 data have shown
that nearly half (47) left home between the ages of 17
and 24, a range which would appear to be fairly typical of
American young men. Lacking comparative data we do not,
of course, know whether the members found to have left
home quite early (four prior to age 14) or rather late
(thirteen after the age of 33) are typical or atypical of
American men in general of their ages and social origins.

They indicated neither a great deal of unhappiness

nor, on the other hand, excessive nostalgia concerning

 

8wallace, gp.cit., pp. 129, 146-7.

9See, for example, The PGM News cited in footnote 5
of this chapter.

171
their youth--themes that are commonly used in some dis—
cussions of homeless men. Two-thirds of the respondents
claimed to have had at least a "happy'childhood, but
there was no noticeable effort by respondents to rem-
inisce sentimentally about their early years during the
interview.

Most skid rowers still had members of their family
who were alive (parents or others); and, despite the
stereotype of skid rowers as estranged from their fami—
lies, at least half of those interviewed continued to

interact or communicate with their kin. Asked why they

did, such comments as these were common: "I like to keep
in touch," "To know what they're doing," "To let them
know how I'm doinc " and "It's onl natural." Some

J:

interesting relationships were cited. One respondent,
for instance, stated, "A friend visits me and tells them
I'm all right," and another said, "I just ran into
Amy family7 at the Indianapolis races a while back."
A few negative comments also occurred such as: "I want
to leave well enough alone," "I left and that was it,"
"we live our own lives,” and "My career and character were
such that I cut myself off." But, in summary, a wide
variety of interactions with family continue to occur.
B. THE FAB-EILY CF PROGREATI 7:3: AN II‘JSTITUTICJ ABSSJT IN

SKID ROW

Literature on the American family suggests that it
continues to maintain its importance as an American
institution, and marriage seems to be practiced by an
increasing proportion of the pOpulation. In nearly all
communities of all social classes--the exception is
usually a restrained community such as prison-~marriage
and family patterns are well-established.

The skid row community, as our definition makes
clear, maintains almost a completely male population.
It is, in this respect, a deviant community. As Bendiner

has stated, "If there is a man who is regarded as deviant

TABLE 17. THE Fin-LILY CF ORIGIN: PAST AND PRESENT

iiPSRIEHC43 CF SKID Romans

 

 

 

a. Age at which respondent b. Evaluation of child—
left family: hood:

Years g g
6—13 4 Very happy 10

14-16 24 Happy 57
17-20 32 Unhappy 18
21—24 15 Very unhappy 3
25—28 9 Don't know 12
29‘33 3 Total 100
34-39 8

40—46 4

over 46 1

Total 100

c. Parents still alive? d. Present interactions

 

with family:

a N.
Yes 34 Visit 17
No, but siblings 46 write 12
No, but other kin 2 Both, often 10
No, but children 1 Both, not often 15
Nobody known 7 Neither 29
Nobody 10 Does not apply 17
Total 100 Total 100

 

can“
.L/Q

/Within skid r037 , it is the rare one who undertakes

. "10
marriage.
Some writers have suggested that skid row men are

completely uninterested in the family or even antagon-
istic toward it. Others have indicated that these men
have a fear of women or of family responsibilities, as
illustrated by Harris.

The vast mass of men along Skid Row, U.S.A. LEEZ not
capable of forming any love relationship with people.
Still, there is a need for love in them, not so much
to be loved, for they feel too unworthy, but to love
sgmebody.....So they are notorious lonely-hearters
Lwhp/write and receive letters and exchange pictures.
They mull over Athesg/.....Similarly they vent their
need for love on sexually—significant objects. Flop—
house keepers, who doubtless know more than anyone
else about sex patterns here, say that there is no
flop in this country which does not shelter its share
of men whose most precious possessions Ile blouses

or stockings or pieces of women's hair.

Finally, it has been thought that many skid row men
would blame their wives for marital problems and their
arrival in skid row. In Bogue's st dy, hovever, it w s

a
40 percent of those separated from wives blamed

(‘1‘

found tha
themselves for family problems and only 30 percent blamed
their wives.14 Their married lives had initially been
happy and then due to qUarrelling (in 43 percent of he
instances) and drinking (in 27 percent of the cases),

problems deve10ped.

FINDINGS IN THIS STUDY

Forty—nine of the respondents had been married and
Were separated frcm their wives in these ways: 30 were
divorced (two of them divorced more than once), 12 were

separated and seven were widowed. Though the question was

 

10Bendiner, 9p. cit., p. 95.

 

ll . .,
Harris, Op. Cit., p. 82.

121*, o . FN {-0
DOJUB, 0g. Cit., p. orj.

l.)
t
he

not asked specifically, few of the divorced and separated
volunteered expressions of bitterness concerning their
marriages. Even more, however, indicated a strong desire
to be reunited with their mates. Among 51 men who never
married, only four claimed that they had never had a girl
friend or been engaged. Thus, even those who had never

married failed to suooort the sterotype of skid rowers

as men who never experience normal relationships with

CL

women. The overall evidence 5!

H)

eme to suggest that a

"marital-problem" explanation for the skid row community
as evidenced either in non—marriage or unhappy marriage
is not at all a valid one.

Four attitudinal statements included in the question-
naire appear to be relevant in showing how respondents
felt about the family of procreation. These are presented
inTable 18.
TABLE 18. ATTITUDES CR RESPONDENTS TONARD MARRIAGE

AND THE FAMILY

 

Most married peeple lead agree Disagree 5K Total
trapped lives. 34* SO 16 100

If you had it to do over
again would you marry
(or stay single)?H 62 33 S 100

Would you be interested in
having children if you

could?'* 7O 2; 5 100
Generally, children are a
nuisance. 23 71 6 100

‘ Responses which were taken to represent alienation are

underlined for each item.
" Responses of "yes" or "no" to these statements were taken
to reflect agreement and disagreement respectively.
Responses which could be taken to represent alienation
with regard to the family occurred in no more than a third
of the responses on each item, thus presenting evidence
opposed to the alienation of skid rowers from the family.
In an effort to shed further light on this matter,

five men were posed a situation (cited below) under which

they might consider marriage and were asked to respond

to it. Though the sample is obviously small, the reaction

to the question would seem to suggest conformity (with

some sense of responsibility) rather than alienation and

retreatism with regard to marriage.

Q. You meet a woman and she shows friendliness toward
you. She seems to be somewhat like your type of

woman. How would you react to this? Under what
circumstances would you ask her to marry you?

A. l. (given7 the circumstances that I am now in I do
not believe in being friendly with a lady so as not
to lead Asic_ / to any future entanglement and the
only way I would ask a lady to marry m; would be

/if I were7 financially secure.

2. I would just become good friends.

3. I would go with her for some time and if she is
a good woman I would marry her to make a home for her
and myself.

4. I would talk to her and try to get to know her
better. If we were congenial in most ways, I would
propose marriage, but only after I had secured a
steady job.

5. I don't know.

C. THE FRIENDSHIPS OF SKID RON MEN

In addition to the family, certain other primary
groups indicated by the ambiguous term, "friends," have
appeared to have universal sociological importance. The
term, "friends," though it is without any exaCting socio-
logical definition, has an obviously important meaning
for most people; and "having friends" is often regarded
as one characteristic of "human nature."

In the literature that assumes skid row as an aggre—
gate of homeless and isolated individuals, the idea of
friendship cannot exist, and friendship as a primary
group activity is thus not even brought under consideration.
Nevertheless, the skid row stereotype of friendlessness
is in opposition to certain evidence which suggests that
skidixnv is group-centered and heavily controlled by

group norms.

Barly sociological writers

\1
(3)

FJ

paid a goon deal of

attention to anonymity and impersonal interaction on

skid row. Anderson wrote of men who ”will brush elbows...

n
for weeks without learning each other's names."lj
Suth-Larl nd cemmented on the extreme case of shelterh u e
men diring the iepression as follows:

The men as a whole do not want to be known :nl saeL

to do ire only casual cont acts...I canwpt into any
group by just sauntering up to it.

duced to the conversation but never to any person...I

I willle intro-

just sort of say "hello"....The Anegative/ reaction
of men to receiving mail and to questions at Intake
illustrate their desire to remain unknown....1

and Dees commented on.shelterhouses in a similar vein.

In his 1964 research,

U)

1’]

...After swending several weeks in the shelter, I
learned only one man' s name....I was never ask d my

nafle
me/

nor any personal_ busines s.

AOne man advised

'Never tell them /outside ac: uaintances/ you' re

in the shelter. No one wants you
They will think you're a bum and that you're buggy.'

You

ask too damn many questions.

when you come out.

Bagdikian received this advice:

Do I ask you

where you come from? Jhere you spent the “act
sixty days?...Take a tip from me,
so goddam miny questions a1d you' ll g;t along
better here.13

ask

endinar
egative

He

dces not

fallow. lafil't

Jumle,-Jmaj the (Lise 3: tin: Bowery/(aan ixi'this

‘3! ('11, 0

z-Iant friends, with their incess ht

d‘31l1-;nd3 upon__hi1... . o 9/1/1'2/ chLV'BS tile illu 31:311. Of
friendship / and/ brothers, but not the brotherhood
and...res;onsibilities the concegt entails.

 

l3
14
15
16
17

Anderson, 9p. gi£., p. 20
Sutherland, pp. gi£., p. 20.
bees, pp. gi£.,pp. 124—125.
Bagdikian, pp. 223., p.58.

Bendiner, pp. cit., p. 92.

lb

.—

177

Some of the literature suggests that social distance

is maintained beta-Jean grr_‘u:ii.=s :1nd types of men in skid row,

_ I _ 1 , r- _0_‘ ! . _. ‘l |_ . _ H '1 _I ‘ a ‘0 ‘ I . '1 . '1 ~ "P ; ", _ _. .-~ ' _ _ ': ,N '_ ~ .. ,-.y .
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'- .: 1' . .-1 . .1 I - I..' . . . f:
r- V‘ '\“‘ I‘H C 4,. - (~ ' Ill‘uwa, I)» W.-. «I: .- (‘-
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_ —
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an. .—

FJ
k":

from other grpu_s.” ‘ These certainly fulfill Bendiner' s
prOposition twat, "The Bowery Man is a social drink er with
a sense of responsibility,"19 and Jackson and Connor make
it clear that there are important norms governing "lushes."

To reap the benefits of membership in Lthe group7,
the alcoholic must adhere to grQUp standards and
accept obligations imposed on him. Violation of
group standards means not only rejection from a
particular oroua but 1190 isolation from the lush

L ..J 1- ’0
r- .\. ‘ r I} . . “ \. ." .”\ ”‘1 I
_-,aC-Jt .s i JA-l-.
"1" ‘ ,9, _ ‘ I- x {w 1 v"--- "I \ / , 4.— -‘. I}... .. x - q . 7 A ~ 3‘ '- - .- a ’, . - -, . -~- ‘ I- -‘ "I r~ '
.1. Qt: ‘11;le :2 , ' LJ..‘._' (45,110 Iii LLlL': :5- IO'.‘. “31'. L, ;. LU _) ._,. J‘ Jr by; I- r: , :13. 'f.
a ,. . '_ . .‘I -. .' . r . - ,. . . ,... L. . ,- ‘I
"‘1 1'7;C.‘ r’_:‘.\,.)f“_“‘f'\l tk, _i.i:;L kI.‘_."-‘.‘ 31.. x. U. ..>-'..~.311L..fI-”3C1 .IOILI’IS, ti’lC‘Ugh

3e haps of a less ri; jid na' :u e. Describing them, Peterson
and Maxwell state that,

while an individual may have close friends in the
same groUp as he, and even though some persist over
a period of time, permanence is not a prevailing
characteristic of these groups. The size and
duration of a small group is often governed by the
price of a bottle, the time it takes to raise this
amount...and the time spent in drinking it. But
...almost all wine drinking is done in such groups
and groups tend to be for med within a range of

ac ;uaintanoes. ltrtd--ior the sense of obligation
toward all wino companions with whom a man has
associated is great.¢l

Thus the "bottle gang" has been cited frequently as an
important skid row group. It usually consists of from

three to eight individuals who are sezn passing a bottle

.1: I.>l‘ v‘ . 1. r‘ -\ 1‘” l— 1 " H 3‘ ‘I . \ 4— : 1' —f- .. .I ~ I u I- —., .L- .— ’: .' > ‘ '
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CklE: ;,;r\so:1 IHIt dluub;yL 1.1uwavns 1L.s a .1141zm1ci-.1 I-(n.tr‘i OLrt-I;nn

 

“f; ‘1)- —‘ 1 - -_- -1 II — _\u\ A “-», ~-- —— -I- " .‘|,
U TJCI‘; (10:1 '.11.‘.l.4' VCIn..(_. l- , (. 0 LJ. 2. O , ' 1° (3. I ./ Q
—~ m ‘-
10,
'7 V‘L'jn ‘r‘ I 0'14 F. 1° C‘ o
. i .. ..- ' .1. w
’ _- *q— ’ L
H"
I
L- V— (N . ' _ ffi‘!
kH‘ .. -l ikx wxi]. , '. ,._' -o, .o “:/_L°
fi'!
C J- ~ .. _y x —- V q 1 w. I \ filfi
I. __ \9'. CI: ._,.I{“‘_._L.L, ( I. ..,_ -9, Lo ) .Lo

and seeks out others to help "form a corporation." Men
contribute as they are able and those interested but with—
out finances may join if their "credit" is good. Finally
"the baby is born” and a messenger, who must be trust-
worthy and fairly sober, is dispatched to obtain a bottle
of wine. While drinking, those who contributed more may
drink more. It is common to see members, for various rea-
sons, leave the group prematurely and other evident
acquaintances seek or be asked to join the group. Much
group drinking on skid row thus follows certain
well-institutionalized procedures as Wallace summarized.

A fairly complex system of norms is built up regard-

ing what is considered appropriate, and punishment

is meted out to those who do not "treat" others

when they have funds or who attempt to drink more

than their share. The time and place of meeting,

the amount of alcohol consumed and the conguct of the

drinkers are all controlled by the group.2
FINDINGS IN THIS S‘I‘UDY

In the present study an attempt was made to determine
both the background attitudes and present pattern of
friendship as well as the type of social groupings in
which skid rowers participate. As to the first of these
two elements, ninety-nine men agreed that, "It is very
important to have good friends in life." In response to
a related question, 73 stated that they had "been able to
have good friends in life," and 21 answered in the negative.
Thus, although nearly three-fourths claimed to have had
good friends, a comparison of the two responses does
reveal a notably greater amount of this powerlessness
regarding having friends than was revealed regarding
normlessness concerned with the importance of having
friends.

Regarding friendship patterns, an open-end question

was first asked about "your closest friend anywhere,"

 

22Wallace, gp.cit., p. 186.

and the response is described in Table 19. The diver-
sity of friends among skid row me: must be noted, and the
fact that musgrcfl? Uisir friends wemm:cn1tsije skid raw

offers evijence that skid rovers are not completely
encapsul ted within the skid row community. The number

s in which reletives were mentioned shows

(T;

of instanc
again that many skid row men have not destroyed their
connections with families. The naming of skid row social
workers and businessmen as friends can scarcely be viewed
as a companionship relation. They seem to have been
mentioned by skid rowers, however, because they appreciate
their relationship with these persons and a few specif—
ically stated that they considered the companionship with
skid row peers undesirable and sought identification with
non-skidrowers. In two cases, informants responded that
the interviewer, because of his intrrest, was indeed

their best friend. One man named "Christ" and thus
typified those who have resolved their "earthly" status
by looking for "better things in a world to come."

Among questions concerning their best friends, one
asked "when (that friend) had last been seen,” and the
responses to this ranged from less than a day to more than
seven years, but 28 had seen their friend within the
past week. They were also asked how long they had known
this friend, and again there was a wide range of answers,
but 59 of these friendships had been of eight or more
years. (Those noted as "lifetime friends" were, with a
few exceptions, kin.) Finally, respondents were asked
whether they would "trust this friend to hold their money
if they had to go somewhere without it." Sixty-three men

of friendship

.responded in the affirmative to this test
sand several voluntarily added that they had already done so.

' 1

while this set of measures merely introduced the
:issue of "best friends" and more study could be extremely
Ilseful, strong evidence was provided to repudiate the

ixhea of skid rowers as isolated and forgotten men. These

r
I
H
[J
H
‘O
o
r"
\
L
l
I
U
ri
K.
L
I.) '3
f
L
'. LI
f
r
L
r
l
E
'11
U1

 

 

 

 

 

a. Best friend: 2 b. When last seen: E
A specific skid row peer 15 Today 11
A specific non—skid row Yesterday 11
peer 18 2—7 days 6
a skid row buSinessman Up to 1 month 10
or profeSSional worker 15
Member of immediate l to 3 months 5
family: 3 months—year 8
parent or sibling 21 l to 3 years 9
wife 2
other relative 7 4 to 6 years 8
You (interviewer) 2 7 or more years 13
fT " o 'L" _.
Christ 1 no anszcr _l2
No one named 19 Total 100
Total 100
c. How long known: 1 d. Trust wi“h your
money: a
Up to 3 years 3 Yes
3 to 7 years 19 No
8 to 25 years 24 No answer 10
2
6 to 35 years 3 Total 100
Lifetime 32
No answer 19

Total 100

 

 

lSl

initial data suggest that skid rowers desire and maintain
many primary social relationships which provide them an
integration into various social systems within and
outside skid row.

Two specific questions were asked about contemporary

friendships in skid row. In the first of these, 25 men

 

reSponded that they had "no real friends," 39 that they had
"one or a few," and 36 thct they had "several good friends."
Nith regard to the human settings in which respondents
spent their time, 48 men claimed to spend "most of their
time alone," 23 with "people who happen to be around,"
22 with "acquaintances," and seven with "friends." Thus,
the majority of respondents stated that they did have
friends and that they spent most of their time at least
with people if not with friends.

Finally, consideration should be given to the social
groupings in which skid rowers participate. Response
has already been made to the "bottle gangs" as common in
the community. But drinking groups are not the only ones
to be found on skid row. Others noticed by the author
were usually dyadic in structure. Two types should be
pointed out briefly. First, there are many older men who
could be called "old cronies" who ”stick together" for the

sake of companionship and solidarity. They sit for hours,

(D

sometimes in silence, sometimes discussing issues of th
day, including problems of skid row and disliked changes
(eSpecially in types of men) occurring there. Second,
younger men frequently have "buddies" with whom they eat

and drink, watch ball games and possibly travel or with
whom they jackroll or steal.

The man of skid row, unless he chooses to be a "loner,"
must go through a socialization process in which he learns
the norms that are maintained on skid row, and a cooper-
ative spirit seems to be an asset to him as one long—time

observer noted:

__ /\
i 3 ‘

He must get along on the street with those around
iiim. ’They'liave k1 "ccmfie of in» ir owni," Lummmnplim-
cated but, in its own way, quite rigid. For example,

if they borrov or lend small sums of money, they
expect to pay or be repaid; if one of their number
is intoxicated, he is protected by his friends from
arrest by concealment from the police. Also, it is

. . . 2
an unwritten law that no one "informs" on another. 3

Thus there is much evidence for the existence of
groups (and norms) on skid row; and, although the mani-
fest purpose of these groups may be pragmatic-—for
instance, getting a drink—-sociability and friendliness
are at least latent results. (In this respect they are
probably no different than peOple in other communities,
though data for comparative purposes are not available.)
We must suspect that the skid row community not only
provides a context in which a variety of satisfying
group affiliations are available. The group structures
of skid row might thus be expected to be fairly similar
to those of groups found in other communities.

Several questions were asked about the most recent
"group situation" in which respondents had been present.
Though they interpreted this question quite broadly,

62 specified a situation within the past four days.
Further inquiries were made into the situations as to
what the event had been, whether respondents knew group
members, whether they had enjoyed themselves and whether
they would probably be in the group again. As Table 20
shows, most of the occasions proved to be quite informal,
most members were at least known by sight, the occasions
were nearly always enjoyed and of the respondents over
two thirds expected to rejoin the group within a week.
Thus, as has been the case in regard to other aspects of
skid row friendship treated in this study, respondents
once again demonstrated a rather consistent socially-active,

rather than alienated and isolated, pattern of activities.

 

23,... o o I . I o I
prom an interView With a thel manager in skid row.

F"!

(J)

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE 20. EXPERTISE-JCS "LAST TIIVTE IN A GROUP" AZ-ICNG
R3.3PCZ‘~IT)ETI'I'S
a. When? E b. Activity?
Today 32 Talking, visiting 31
Yesterday 16 Some recreation 13
3-4 days ago 14 Drinking 13
a week ago 3 Watching TV 12
1-3 weeks ago 6 working 7
1-6 months ago 7 Religious activity 6
6 months-5 years ago 2 Eating 4
Longer ago 5 School activity 1
No answer 15 No answer 3
Total 100 Total 100
c. Were Members d. Occasion
Known? g Enjoyed? g
Well known 26 Yes 74
By name 16 No 11
By sight 16 No answer 15
Part of name or Total 100
nickname 13
Part of group well
known 3
Slightly known 3
Not at all 8
No answer 15
Total 100
e. When will you see them again?
3
Now 23
Today 26
Tomorrow 10
This week 10
This month 5
Sometime 2
Don't know 19
Never 5
Total 100

 

Several items were used to measure attitudes of skid
rowers regarding the issues of friendship and sociability.
These included five items from Dean's Scale (the first
five items in Table 21) and two regarding "being with

people" which were Operationalized in this study. The

l;4

TABLE 21. ATTITUDSS CF RdSPONpENTS TCWAhD FRIENDSHIP
AND SOCIAL ISCLATION

 

 

 

Agree uisagree DK Total
a. Sometimes I feel all
alone in the world. 69‘ 36 4 100
(students 2Tb 11% 65% 10 %
Sometimes I feel
that other people
are using me. 47 46 7 100
(students 46% 6% 48% 100%)
Real friends are as
easy as ever to find. 67 27 6 100
(students 66% 7% 27% 100%)
These days a person
really doesn't know
who he can count on. 65 29 6 100
(students 523 15) 33% 1005)
There are few
dependable ties
between people any
more. 73 23 4 100
(students 31% 123 57$ 1001)
b. It is very important
to have a job '~.~...~'ith
other people around. 86 ll 3 1u0
It is better to spend
your free time around
neople rather than
alone. 80 13 7 100

 

‘Responses which were taken to represent alienation from
people are underlined for each item.

 

'4
6)
L11

Dean Scale items revealed a fairly noticeable lack of

confidence regarding friendship among a majority of
respondents. A camparison with student respondents shows
that skid rowers exhibited, more alienation than students
on the first, f urth and fifth items, and nearly the same
on the other two, but skid rowers also provided more
unalieiated reSQCnses than students on all items since

24

 

students very frequently used "don't know” responses.

The responses regarding ”being with people," nevertheless,
showed skid rowers giving predominant support for such a
norm.

The data collected regarding friendship activities
and attitudes certainly show that skid rowers are not
strongly alienated with regard to this kind of social
relationship. They displayed a wide range of strong
friendships and group activities; and, though some of
their attitudes suggested a powerlessness with regard to
friendship ties in today's world, they almost never dis-

played any rejection of the idea of having friends.

D. WOMEN AND 53': THEIR SCARCITY IN SKID ROW

1. Relationships with Women

The topic of women in the skid row situation involves
the issues of friendship and sex as well as the considera—
tion of relations with women as possible substitutes for
the family. The topic at first would seem alien to skid

rows such as the one that was studied here, since almos

 

Ta
L‘The great number of student "don't know" answers

were probably used as an easy ”way out" since they were
interviewed in group rather than indivdual sessions.
Moreover, when only those who agreed or disagreed with
the four items are examined, those who showed an
alienated response were the great majority (i.e. on

the five items respect'vely: 75, $8, 90, 78 and 72
percent) and students showed a greater alienation

than skid rowers on all five items.

no women reside there. (Only one such resident, the wife

of asmall hotel manager, was observed by this writer.)
The relationship of skid rowers with women would

appear to be much as Anderson suggested four decades ago.

Most hobos and tramps, because of drink, unpre-
sentable appearance, or unattractive personality,

do not succeed in establishing permanent, or even
quasi-permanent, relationships with women. For them
the only accessible women are prostitutes and the
prostitutes who solicit the patronage of homeless
men are usually forlorn and bedraggled creatures

who have not been able to hold out in the fierce
competition in higher circles.

The contemporary issue has been summarized by Wallace as

follows.

Rarely has the skid rower formed any lasting
attachment to a women. The vast majority report
that they have never been married, and even if their
self report is questioned, they are certainly not
living with a woman on skid row.26
There are certain characteristics inherent to the men
which limit the potential involvement of skid rowers with
women. Many men, because of their age, are not concerned
about women. Some writers suggest that alcoholism commonly
serves as a substitute for sex and limits interest in, as
, 27 . . . .
well as acceptance by, women. and finally, it is held
by some that skid rowers are alienated from women and
sex and that this is the basic reason for their retreat
into a male community. For example, Bendiner states that,

It seems that there is a flight from all sexuality
in the Bowery. There is, in part, the atmosphere
of a monastery, a silent withdrawal from all the
joys of the world save the passport of Nirvana
contained in a little alcohol.28

 

25Anderson, gp.cit., p. 142.

6. .

wallace, Op.c1t., p. 147.

7 . . . a . .
Or as Bagdikian, op.Cit., p. 39 states It, "It IS
a place where wine ov,rwhelms the impulse of

women and song."

8Bendiner, gp.cit., p. 95.

187

On the other hand, Harris suggested that skid rowers
are "lonely hearts" who are incapable of stable love
(see quote on p.173 ) and stated that the relationships
which they have are extremely bizarre ones.

A few cf the younger Rowers manage, despite them-
selves, to "shack up" with good women who are
really in love with them....Actually, most of

them prefer alliances with women who are tran-

sient and easy of affection. Those who have the

contact and can afford the tariff seek burlesque

girls out. working Rowers with seasonal jobs

have been known to spend a whole summer's"roll"

03 a few lush weeks with a "burleycue gal."

Acthers/ try to make do with prostitutes. Rowers

know only two kinds of prostitutes, "live ones,"

who are younger and cleaner than the majority and

"fleabags," old-timers in their sixties and even

seventies who came into Skid Row begguse they could

not meet the competition elsewhere.

Questions must be raised as to what does happen to
the sexual lives of men who enter skid row and what the
relationship is of these men with women. Too little
has been written on this issue, and what has appeared has
been highly subjective and has superficially suggested
that sex was nonexistent or took a highly perverted form
on skid row. General observations of skid row suggest
that men there spend little time with women;D Work, tavern
and street activities usually seemed to be carried out
in a context of male companionship. Whereas many implfl?‘
:itlyfi assume that skid row men are, willingly or unwill-
ingly, estranged from women, this study attempted to
explore these relationships specifically to discover

the exact nature.

 

29 . .
Harris, on.Cit., p. 81.

30There are, indeed, few women on skid row, but the
fact that there are few would suggest that the ones
who age there might play an especially significant
and active role and should, hence, be carefully
observed in order to interpret the role of women

in the skid row community.

H
0'7
0)

FINDINGS IN THIS STUDY
Since women might too easily be assumed as absent
in skid row, when they were not, we introduced this topic

with the statement, "It seems that there are few women

in this area, but appearances can be deceiving." Informants
were then asked, ”when was the last time you took a women
out or were with one?" and 51 indicated an occasion with-

in the past month (See Table 22).31 (The question was
usually understood to concern a "dating" or sex—related
occasion, though a few replies indicated the reporting of
contacts lacking this kind of intimacy——such as those who
mentioned social workers.)

Next,respondents were asked who this woman was and
friends, prostitutes and a variety of other women were
named although many respondents (34) did not answer in
any clear way. At least 19 (and certainly some of those
who did not answer regarding length of residence but
indicated, for instance, that'the woman was known'before
I came to Chicago" or "I lived with her ") had known the
woman referred to more than a year, and 25 indicated that
they had never known the woman before. Asked whether
they visited or went with any other women, 18 specified
friends or acquaintances and six specified casual or
professional prostitutes.

Sexual_activity was considered "a good idea" by 67 men,
and "OK" by four who said they were "too old," while 14
disagreed and 15 did not know. Of those who approved,

48 suggested the "naturalness" of sex and 19 its
psychological usefulness. Among the 14 who disagreed,

three were concerned about potential disease and 11

 

31One unusual incident involved a maid who had just

left the respondent's room; and, from other
testimony, it was discovered that these maids
constitute an important sexual market for skid
rowers o

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

189
TABLE: 22. IQSCE.‘IF.YL1 E:A::£:_ll Lil: JCBS Elf-I'L‘IA I I- [I .R.ID SEX
a. Last time with a b. who was she? g
woman: 3
Within 2 days 5 Friend 27
‘Jitfdxi a :meek 4 usl_w--at 7
within 2 we ks 15 -rostrtute(profession l) 3
Jithin a montli 17 Casual Lros titute 12
Within 6 months 11 Girl met at bar 8
within a year 12 Raid 2
Within 3 years 26 Wife 5
Social worker
1"- t 1 100 Q .
O a (profeSSional) 2
No answer 34
c. How long known? a Total 100
Up to 1 year 13
l to 7 ear 12
M y S d. Other women
8 or more years 7 . .
.d speCified: N
miscellaneous comments: -
Casually 4 Friend 12
Knew in Chicago 2 Acquaintance 6
Knew outside Chicago 5 Prostitute(professional) l
Lived with her 1 Casual prostitute 5
Didn't know her 25 No answer 76
No wer 31
1 ans —-— Total 100
Total 100
f. Active sexually
e. Sex(ual ctivity) in past year? Q
i” a ocd iiea: H
D - Yes 43
Natural 48 No 35
Psychologically good 16 No Answer 22
Hel s loneliness 3 fl .
‘ p. , TOtal 100
OK, but I m too old 4
Not necessary 11
Wrong--brings disease 3
No answer 15
Total 100
9. Active se~::u::1ly in past ment h?
H
1 occasion 5
2 occasions 15
3 occasions 5
4 occasions 2
5 or 6 occasions 3
7 or 8 occasions 2
11 or more 4
No sex 64
Total 100

 

190

thought sex unnecessary.32 Finally regarding actual
behavior, 43 men claimed to have been sexually active in
the past year, and 31 indicated two or more heterosexual
experiences within the past month.

The patterns of general social interaction with

women and specific sexual activity with them, while

they varied widely, elicited no clear indications of
v ' 3“, 1,: J_ ' —. _“r }; 7 ’1 l ‘0 vi" ’1 -. _l_.: A .' _. . ., .-.‘ V— ~,— (...... o: 7 ‘2 .71) ‘1': +-

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who related to women specified friendship rather than

casual, purely-sexual relationships. Some would have
liked more interaction with women, and no one expressed
any clear and total rejection of the roles of women and

sex in American society.

2. Homosexuality _

As a community consisting almost completely of men,
skid row has been considered by some as a harbor of
homosexuality. Given the scarcity of women and assumptions
that suggest that sex must have its outlet, homosexual
relations could be expected. But just as the absence of
women in skid row was diSproved, so might the idea of
rampant homosexuality be false, and some factors do
suggest that little homosexuality exists in skid row.

In reference to gay sexual activity, for example, many
of the men are too old, others too severely handicapped,
and, finally, many seem preoccupied with drinking and
other possibly "sublimating" activities.

Skid row homosexuality cannot, however, be disregarded.
Since the time of the hobo, evidence has suggested that
such factors as the freedom of the homeless from normal
community constraints and the absence of women, along with
frequent and close contacts with other males,does encourage

homosexuality.

 

32Bogue (gp.cit., p. 360) found that 52 percent of his

respondents agreed that women interested them sexually,
while 28 percent said they did not and 13 percent
indicated interest in the East (seven percent

did not know).

 

Commenting on ”agrvgrs;on ammni the tramps" in 1‘'he

- J ‘

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' 'A ‘\ '7 '. . ,‘s '. I ': "fi “ r I ' 3 . .‘ '3 " -‘ r“ 1 1 ' r
ntkfiuls )‘UQLCI‘JELD /d'.l(l/ lllfllVilettlz Huff‘s.
1.-.. .. '1 . x 1 ”7° _ x, ‘-,. :..x. .-'1 x: ‘ .:-
LCmerdrliy oUJoufitUtUJ homosexual ior hetero—

sexual behavior.

He reported that "boy tramps" were frequent victims and
that liaisons were rationalized and intense though
short—lived.34 Contemporary writers,too, make reference
to homosexuality on skid row, and some skid rowers talk
about the presence of homosexuality, in repugnant terms,
as the following illustrates.

He shakes his head violently from side to side...and
says in a confidential whisper: "Queens!...Ya'
know what I mean--big young fellers, filthy dirty.
Come with a whole bunch of guys—-all make you sick.
They make beds in the masonary under the stairs

and everywhere like that....Dirty shame. Nothing
like that ever happened when I first came to the
Bowery. It's the young peOple that does it. And
they fight over the queen with knives, too. I tell35
ya it's disgusting--just like it was a real woman."

Harris provided a description of the ranging dura-
bility of homosexual relationships.

Many men who can't abide Asyphilitig7 "fleabags"
and are unable to get "live ones" form transient
homosexual attachments that last for a few weeks
or months or even years and then break up with-
out anybody's getting hurt. Occasionally, two
men stay together because they love and need one
another.36

This comment sounds remarkably like other journalism

today which reports "increasing homosexuality" in American

 

33Anderson, gp.cit., p. 144.

34Ibid., pp. 145-149.
5Bendiner, 22.cit., p. 159.

36Harris, pp.cit., p‘. 81-82.

192

society in general. Evidences do confirm the presence

of homosexuality on skid row, but they also show some of
the intensely negative reaction skid rowers direct toward
it.37 nnd recalling Anderson's reports, we must question
whether older skid rowers accurately recollect the
innocence of the ”good old days” in comparing it with

modern "moral decay."

FINDINGS IN THIS STUDY

Respondents were asked whether "they had run into
any homoCsexual)s in the area" and, while only 21 gave
an affirmative reply, many of those answering "no"
probably interpreted the question to refer to some kind
of actual interaction with, or other than a mere recog-
nition of homosexuals in skid row.38

A second question brought the issue more clearly
into focus and elicited an even more negative reaction.
Asked whether they would ”think it all right to go with
one if he paid you right," only four men responded
"yes," one of them stating that five dollars would be

an adequate fee nd three ttzat more than ten dollars

(I)

would be necessary. while a few of the remainder
commented on being too old or handicapped, at least

81 showed very negative moral reactions declaring, for
example, that "no amount of money" would be sufficient
to interest them, and they frequently used obscene

language to describe homosexuals.

 

7Bogue's (gp.git., pp. 362—365) respondents estimated
less than five percent. (He estimated that about
10 percent were homosexuals, though he provides no
basis for justifying his estimate or its variation
from that of skid rowers themselves.) Twelve
percent of his respondents expressed violent dislike
for homosexuals, 66 percent disliked them and 22
percent felt they were CK if "they leave you alone.”
38, .
mt least two known ”cnaract.rs," one a male
prostitute and another a homosexual seeking a
liaison, were pointed out to me by skid rowers.

193

They were probed even further as follows:

Some people think that homoaexuality is all right
as long as no one is forced into it. Have you
ever felt that it would be a better solution

than marrying or going with a woman?

Eighty-seven said "No to this idea, and only four said
that they had, in the past, thOUght of homosexuality as a
solution, with but three of these admitting that they had
tried it. Mine men did not answer.

Finally the men were faced with a question which dealt
with "sublimation" as follows: "All people seem to have
energies stored up. What activities have kept you busy
when there were no women around?" While many respondents
indicated that they led normal sex lives, among the rest
some stated that they masturbated sometimes or often,
others made reference to "taking walks," others said that
work took all their energy, others indicated that they
enjoyed heavy drinking and finally several claimed that
they never seemed to have enough energy, let alone
an excess.

The evidence here certainly did not suggest that

7,- A, ~ 1 ‘ ' -.- .-.. -. .'_.z. .- , _, ., .. .-. ,. .. ' .71 ,- . .,. . a. ,3
llOiLlOSt:1{Lch_thy 18 a COILnflOH LJchtirzl 1.110119 .‘::]\.l\-l rowers, Ciflu ,

though skid row may still be a canvenient rendezvous for
some homOsexuals, the respondents' answers would suggest
that most skid rovers are repelled and angered by homo—
sexual advances in the same way as most other Americans are.

E. ALISIJA‘I‘ICN FRCX SLLF: The) PL‘JRSCI‘LXL -4‘1DJUSTl-‘LEE‘JI‘ CF
SKID RCJERS

The importance of personal adjustment in American
and other societies has received much scientific recog-

nition in recent decades. Concerns for the self, as

 

9 . . .
3 Respondents appeared to accept this whole Kinsey-type

investigation of their sexual lives without undue
surprise or resentment. By my evaluation only

17 men were at all evasive with regard to the
whole seguence of sexual questions.

194

A «a J— fi~ 1r ~ . — Y." “~, A. - .- -‘ A1 ~~ ‘ *- - v — [—1. - AA 1- -
\ IL 3;.-.1 LLQ L‘Y x-‘Ir:‘.‘pr«.?(: .1~:.,‘I.~)'t;1- C int-Eati 1,1111 :Jcill‘x OLfl-a‘l. 2;, ”qu3

pointed to the need for a personal development in which

individuals learn to value themselves and direct their

own behavior efficiently.4O

Skid row is often thought to be composed of those

who are personality failures. Americans often point to

l

1,‘ 5 .. A .1.-- ' , .'_.,.M__*_- *. _V,fi_'_l_.' __ F ,..- ...." ,‘1 l .r- ..
skid rOwers te lllh.SL_a;pU the conditions whip» result iron

not followin CL;l Lzurally-prascribed gat;erns such as those

of "hard work" and "moral behavior."
Dees, in referring to the "shelterization" on skid

row, saw it as,

...the process of personal disintegration....The end
product of this process is degradation, meaning

the men have been reduced to the level of the
bum....AThey are/ not allowed to think for them—
selves, even in the matzirs of personal care

and everyday living....

Harris, suggesting that most skid rowers today are

"egoless" and despise themselves, stated that,

Most...Rowers are contemptuous of tneHsLIVes

/and thirxk {jury 3:;/ on. _§xilhyv because they
c‘thV: to be. Alhey arg/ dyed-in-the—wool
fatalists....self—respect is a vanished

commodity. /lhere are/ no proud Skid Rowers today
...only a vast mass of egoless and handicapped
people.

Harris found support for her opinions in quoting a fairly
typical statement made by several psychiatric social
workers who arrived at this generalization of personality
types inhabiting skid row:

They are passive...chronic leaners, immature,
lacking initiative and self- direction....Some
of them age psychotic with marked antisocial

 

 

 

behavior

40..., , -. . 4.
see head s sine, self and 30cie-y.

41

Bees, o;.cit., 95. 121—125.

195

Other types of professionals who encounter skid
rowers make similar judgments. Typical cf these is a
psychiatrist at an "International Institute on the
Homeless Alcoholic," who stated that, "In skid row,
total failure of the individual is the only common
binding force."44

In a related consideration many students consider
mental illness to be prevalent among skid rowers. Dunham
in 1953 predicted that, "...among homeless men...there
will be an increasing proportion...suffering from serious
mental disorder."45 Casual observations of the skid row
community also suggest that mental disorders are prevalent
there. The feeble—minded and psychotic, are frequently
encountered ”talking to themselves" or addressing themselves
to whomever navyens ts ea in earshot and perhaps making

' ' .-, - ._ “in mm... i. 1. -i - ., _ ,m
inconerent gestures. inus the, ai3 extremel

<

isible,

though their actual numbers may be relativelv small.

*2 ~,1°7,.' -..- l .3 -_,. ‘ '1 ,-' .~‘I..-' ,7 -VV. .3 ..-,1. , u -. law—“f. ,.
wagulnldn bUgJEdeQ Cdrt sale lbw grobdfllj Has a megaLlJt

effect on personalities who reside there.

These men themselves are of en looked on as of
low intelligence, but I'm not sure their range
of intelligence is very different from men at
large....when they reach skid row they've had
ten to fifteen years of being beaten by life.
They're apathetic and sick and appear stupid.
...At this point there's no question a large
proportion of them are mentally defectige or
ineffective and emotionally disturbed.

Even so Bagdikian was able to note that the more he
observed skid rowers the more he began to recognize rather

neatly dressed normal—behaving men.

 

4, .
Meyerson, on.Cit., p.1.

45f .
ounham, pp.Cit., p. 43.

46Bagdikian, gp.cit., p. 63.

47Ibid., p. 55.

 

L

It is wholly possible thrt the skid row community,
providing as it does a set of understandings for its
members, would yield some support to personalities and

a meaningful subculture in which mental health might even
be enhanced rather than endangered. This writer believes
that skid rowers have received little in the way of
unbiased personality studies, and thus, though it was not
the central concern of the research, a brief investi—

gation of the topic was pursued in this study.48

FINDINGS IN THIS bTUDY

Skid row respondents were presented with a statement
to the effect that "all people spend some time sizing
themselves up” and they were asked whether they considered
their lives "successes or failures" and then whether they
were "satisfied" with themselves or "not" (See Table 23).
No criterion of satisfaction was imposed upon them—~any
arbitrary definition of "success" would seem to be a
presumptuous one--and therefore their judgment was entirely
subjective. The respondents were about evenly divided as
to whether they felt satisfied or not with their lives.
While the criterion which respondents used in providing
this response cannot be exactly stated, many, especially
those who reported dissatisfaction, referred to what could
be taken to be middle-class work and social interaction
patterns while others, especially some who reported
satisfaction, tended to refer to such criterion as
"having done my best." In reaction to a related issue,
the largest number (46) judged themselves as failures,
Ibut a.considerable number (25) were able to claim them-

selves a success, too.

 

48 . , .- , .r
The writer found the idea that skid rowers "do

not want to talk about their pasts" to be con-
sistently untrue. It is probably more likely
that they are reluctant to discuss their past
when listeners are only interested in hearing
the story of skid rowers as personality failures.

 

1‘-.E ‘ 13 2 3 . "1.1.4. I 1; ".‘ )' 71. :11...) .. *3 C 5' ‘1‘? 73111 .ierLE -.’iZ‘-.'.'1‘I ESL‘AC‘I‘IOQI
' “"‘T‘W

a. are you: b. Do you conside yourself:
if I?

Satisfied 46 A success 25

Dissatisfied 49 a failure 46

Don't know 5 Don't know 29

Total 100 Total 100

 

In this study some preliminary estimates of certain
personal attributes of respondents were made at the end
of each interview by this researcher. These estimates
were obviously done in an impressionistic manner and
without the diagnostic techniques which the clinical
psychologist might use. Though many writers suggest that
skid rowers are mentally and physically deteriorated
persons, such descriptions were found to be generally
inaccurate in this study (See Table 24). 'Cver one—third
of the respondents were judged to be "normal" in their
mental adjustment though a majority of the men (53) did
seem to have odd habits or beliefs. Few were judged
as neurotic, and none who completed the int;rview seemed
psychotic (although two men who quit after the first
questions showed what could betnken as paranoid symptoms).
The majority (67) seemed to be normal or above normal in
intelligence. Almost all were neat or fairly clean in
appearance, though a few (13) showed severe physical
deterioration.

Another question which was posed was clearly related
to self—adjustment and mental health. Informants were
asked to respond to the statement, "There are so many
decisions that sometimes I could just blow up." Forty
three of the skid rowers agreed with this statement, 48

disagreed ano nine failed to answer. If this served as a

 

 

 

L. ;--s‘ur«> ( 17 1L '. ‘1. ‘ 1 titty", : C. 1 -3 U i4: _L.C ate
tnat - ia ro 1r- -r i~tit evenly divide} T.t -e1 those
u.o face L1roon L cri‘ 7 of t.is kind and those who do not.
T..BLZZ 24. I;;'1‘1..-’.'\/‘I_;.£JR .513‘1‘II-L.‘.TES CF FCUK PnI‘Jt'IAL
Cf{--.E9..-;<'I’l‘ 'r‘ .‘STICS Cb‘ :ELS‘.‘C-LI'LELI‘1‘S
a. Mental adjustment: b. Intelligence:
:1 y
Normal 38 Normal 61
Aberrant, odd habits Above normal 6
or beliefs 53 Marginal 28
Neurotic 4 Definite deficiency 3
Psychotic 0 Don't know 2
Unclassified 5 ,
’ ———- lotal 100
Total 100
c. Appearances (clothes d. Significant physical
and cleanliness): deterioration:
Quite neat 36 Ho 87
Fairly clean-not too Yes, probably due to
dishevelled 59 drinking 5
Very dishevelled 3 Yes, other reasons 6
Don't know 2 Don't know 2
Total 100 Total 100

 

One last concern was
affect personality. Skid
old population. Eighteen
than 40, but 60 were aged
Usually the older persons
most lonely and alienated

Edmund MacIntosh was
hard—boiled eggs and
refrigeration. And h
theory that if you wo
mind your own busines

fuelp. .knd ruyj hethas
needed help. (And he
if I just hmd some go

would be all right, t
twelve 11aonths int”? t“
account.” /:e
months after this int

49

‘ . J..
‘Ll'iL,

 

0

Ibid., pp. 83—890

dined ()-

the issue of age as it might

row constitutes a relatively

of our respondents
40 to 65 years and

appeared to be the

were younger
22 were over

poorest,

as the following case suggests.

depending on the theory that
Opened cans of Spam need no

e was sick.
rk hard,
s, you'll get by without

He had also...the
live frugally and

seventy—four years old and

in

my

knew loneliness) "...hayhe
od company I guess that

00. I ain't had a letter
xvas frxwu'the tmnfic about.

T ”natural causes” three
erview;/49

65.

199

asked in this study whether they "worry about the
idea of getting old," 51 reSpondents agreed, 39 disagreed
and ten did not know. The response suggested that the
population of skid row, which tends to be an older
aggregate of American males, is concerned with problems
of aging. Some of the older men did represent, both
in appearance and in what they said, cases similar to
Edmund MacIntosh.

In concluding the treatment of various personality
characteristics, it would seem that skid rowers cannot
be described as men who have predominant personality
problems which set them off from other Americans. Though
life in the skid row community seems to encourage the
develOpment of SUperficially "oad" personality types, the
men who were intensely interviewed here gave many evidences

of being fairly similar to other Americans.
sm-fimRY

l. The Family

Men in the skid row community showed positive attitudes
toward the family and expressed g2 predominant alienation
either with regard to their family of orientation or of
procreation. A lagk pf familv or wife and loneliness
was the fifth most mentioned response in regard to the
Open-ended question about "problems" and "complaints"
of skid rowers (See Chapter Six). While the norms of
family life were evidently understood and accepted, a

notable amount of powerlessness was expressed with

 

reference to present failure in maintaining families.
Only in a very few cases did skid row appear to serve as

any kind of retreat from families, nor were other non-

 

conforming adaptations such as innovation in sex life often

suggested by reSponCents.

2. Friends

Skid rowers sought and maintained friendships in

 

and outside their community while avoiding "LUidesirable

200

people" in a manna not unlike other Americans. The
literature which sugoests that their friendships are
impersonal and short—lived must, according to our findings,
be highly susgect. host of the respondents' attitudes
toward friendship appeared quite normal, though some
distrust was indicated and about one-fifth exhibited

powerlessness in that they felt that they had not

 

"succeeded in having friends." Retreat from friendship

 

or any other nonconforming behavior such as ritualistic
interaction with peers did not appear to be a significant

mode of adaptation in skid row.

3. Women and Sex

Though men in the skid row community are limited in
their interaction with women, various encounters do occur;
and respondents expressed n9 patterned alienation regarding
women or sex. Likewise, most men favored heterosexual
activity and many at least occasionally engaged in it.

If anything , powerlessness with regard to women and sex

 

was more predominant than any rejection 9f American norms
regarding them. Though skid row may be thought to be a
retreat from particular women, no such case was SUpported;
and a desire to return to particular women and to active
sex lives was reported much more often than any rebellion

or retreat from this activity.

4. Self

Though this area of investigation was not given as
intensive a treatment as would be necessary for any
definitive statement, the respondents showed no great

alienation from self, even though about half of the men

 

expressed some "dissatisfaction" and nearly as many felt
that they "had not succeeded in life." Alcohol problems
(which can be taken as personality problems) were mentioned
third most often, 22 times, in resgonse to questions

about "problems" and "complaints;" and concerns for

health were mentioned fourth most often (18 times)

l\)

01
(See Chapter Six). Powerlessness regarding control of self
was more prominent in the overall response of men than was

normlessness (i.e., in knowing how they should maintain

 

themselves). A good deal of interest in self and
self-examination was apparent in their reaction to these
questions and their interest served to refute the idea
of skid rowers trying to retreat from self. Skid row as
a community appeared to offer some personal status,

at least in being above lower—status skid rowers, but
certainly also in being an accepted member, to nearly

all its men.

CHAPTER NINE: JCRK, FINANCE AND RECREATION

In this chapter some important aspects of the skid
row community, which center around economic institutional
behavior are examined. work is given most extensive

consideration, but attention is also addressed to finance

"1

and to VKHflC'S couple MAML, free fjxma and its;11%a. Each

of these elements obviously exists in well—established
patterns in the American cultural system. Each also
appears in rather unique patterns in the skid row sub-
culture and provides further evidences for conceiving of
skid row as a community. Finally, various obserVers have
contended that skid row alienation is especially marked

in regard to these institutions.

A . WC RK

Work patterns of a particular sort, favoring regu-
larity and heavy commitment, especially in terms of time,
are well-implanted in the American way of life.1 Such
values as efficiency and hard work are assumed to have
made the United States a great country and, when they
result in material prosperity, they are even taken to be
a sign of God's approval.2 To most observers, such values
and the activities that attend them are absent in skid row.
An important or the stigma attached to skid row men
is due to their alle wd violation of the American work ethic.
Cutsiders oftei aresume that skid rowers do not work, that
they are ea er to retreat from such involvements and
that they are even in rebellion against capitalistic work
values. References are made to men who refuse jobs or
quit them and to high relief rolls in skid row, and skid

rowers are thought to be men who have chosen poverty

 

1Robin Williams, pp.cit., pp. 417-421.

(Max Weber, Protestant Ethic and the Spirit 2:
Capitalism.

202

203

I I ' '. ' .'. l 3 "“ .' " . ' ° ‘ -i ... . . .
rather tnan resyonsihility. skid row is, in snort, taken

~_ ‘ - ~ ,- . V l "1,’ .ofi‘ . ("I ‘ .1 4 A "
to b; a nanny-«(ark .:tlux.-tlJ.LU..L'd.

Jork, QVe» when it is available, is censid red to be
guitc unrewardlng. The low pay, the lack of job stability

and other unsatisfactory features of the available jobs
could easily be taken as a cause of alienation on the
part of workers. Wallace added to this argument stating
that,

The nature of his employment has further iso-
lated the skid rower as his jobs offer him no
advancement, no security, and no social inte—
gration through work. Organizing activity on
the part of labor unions, even when based ex—
clusively on the migratory worker, has been
singularly unsuccessful. Thus the skid rower
has never become a part of the labor movement.
His only protest against outright exploitation
and bad working conditions has been, as we have
seen, an individualized response--simply to
walk off the job.4

Thus the attitudes of skid rowers might be conceived to
be totally negative with regard to work. They might be
considered to possess an alienation concerned with

frustrat d asviratinns to achieve better work circum—

A.

l 1

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501.163 Oi Work JJE‘,’ 1.1913175, C's. C'tll .‘DUK‘VSJ' :3;:l\,rz;‘ (“tut/f ulilu an},

such cc_>nclL.1si ‘ n: .

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i. .;.-i-J..L.3x3'.J CL A. . [-1. _', .).L ‘-JLJ I
~j.,- f .34-, .. , '. .t .1 .., t? q .r.. ,_J_.' i, , Q l. l, .... ‘ ' . ‘. - 1-1.. ' t ‘a
at: ore sz'._lli'.li1_ui.‘5i Ht; hideoulul‘l regaining CiLLl 11095

of alienation toward work among skid rowers, attention
should be given to the generally held belief that skid
row is filled with people who refuse to work. It should
be pointed out, in the first place, that skid row has a

high population of persons who are ordinarily defined as

 

3The writer has collected cartoons about skid rowers,

"bums," etc., and these tend to support the above
contention. One, for instance, pictures a bum at a
commuter station cheering departing workers with,
"Have a good day."

4- .
wallace, OO.Clt., p. 148.

204

falling outside the "labor force." Among these are men
beyond retirement age and those who are physically or
mentally handicapped.

Although skid rowers over 65 years old are not
usually employed, some of them find light work in their
hotels or nearby--often as janitors or dishwashers-~in
order to earn a little money and be occupied. Many
other elderly men also do such tasks as "portering" in
their hotels (which amounts to light janitoring and helps
defray lodging expenses) or junk collecting (especially
wine bottles and scrap metal).

For many men, alcoholism or other mental or physical
handicaps interfere with work patterns. While these men
may hold jobs like those held by the elderly, they are more
likely to have heavier "spot (or temporary) jobs."

Despite their handicaps, some of them will work for a day
or two at fairly strenuous labor and then stay on skid row
for a few days. Others even manage to work for longer
periods, even entire seasons, and perhaps quit only when
employment ends.

Among those who are regular workers, (and who might
be defined as falling in the regular labor force) day-labor
is most common. Some men are able to find work nearly
every day; others, especially the less able, are infre-
quently hired. Some men have regular employment with
salaries adequate enough to permit them to live elsewhere.
They continue to stay on skid row, however, for the sake
of convenience to work, economy, satisfying companionship
and tolerant surroundings (especially with regard to
drinking patterns).

Skid rowers have been said to be concerned only with
a pattern of "getting by,"5 (i.e., living from day—to—day
especially with regard to finances), and this is no doubt
a frequent patt rn. Still, getting and keeping jobs are
day—to-day aspirations and endeavors for many. Along with

the probability that jobs will be temporary, they are

 

See, for example, Anderson, on.cit., pp. 40—41.

 

205

usually low—paying and accompanied by hazard, dirt and
other conditions which make them some of the least
desirable jobs in American society.

The employment agencies, which skid ro ers commonly
refer to as "slave labor offices," with their high fees,
practice of favoritism and frequent lack of jobs, are
important institutions with which skid row workers must
deal. Each day these agencies hire hundreds of men to
perform a great variety of jobs for employers who pay the
agency. From the pay, usually $1.25 or $1.50 per hour,

a high fee and taxes are deducted, often leaving less than
$1.00 remuneration per hour. As already discovered,
illegal practices by the agencies are periodically
uncovered.6 Though the men complain, they seem to prefer
the private to the public agencies since they avoid

"red tape" and offer daily pay. (Employers, too, seem to
prefer to list their jobs with private agencies, pethaps
because they feel that greater flexibility and less paper
work is involved.)

As already documented, the skid row day begins at
about 4:30 a.m. when many workers awaken and start toward
employment agencies or their jobs. The agencies are
especially busy until seven o'clock. As time passes,
many men who are not hired go to other agencies or quit
looking. Some men remain at the agencies even into the
afternoon though there is very little hOpe for work by
then. Those who are able to obtain jobs may, in addition
to time at work, spend hours getting to the job. Returning
late, they may do little more than have a drink, watch TV
and go to bed.

As to the issue of skid rower alienation regarding
work, work was viewed as "an important part of life" by

99 of our 100 respondents. If they were alienated with

 

See discussion and footnote on p.160.

206

regard to the norm of work, they might have been expected
to utter rebellious comments about work cc onditions or

to show no interest in work. They expressed no strong
criticisms of the American work situation except as it

limited their full participation. They were chiefly con—

cerned with ldCtCrS--Svm9 their own fmUlt, some not—-
hCzich linuit. i t1;ai:‘<:pgm;rtinxit;’. :Sirety-w.ic Twas, 'u inig
their own definitions, fhflj:in.Lt troy lid "succ econ in"
their work lives, while 36 said they had not. Thu: over
a third, while ascribing to the lMuUrLRHC of work, fclt

that they had personally been powerless in their work
careers.

Thirty-two men had worked from four to six months in
the first half of 1964 (the year of the study), 21 had
worked up to four months and 47 had worked less than one
month. Most of the last category were not qualified to be
in the labor pool, being old or handicapped.

Skid row men in this study held only lower-status

jobs (as was shown in Table 12, Chapter Seven), and re-

ceived low pay although this pay would probably be SL ffi—
cient to sei ntLii them if the work were regular a;1d high

LthOVVSHt fees were avoided. To further substantiate
this, a question was asked about average hourly pay.

Among 41 men who had held jobs recently, the usual pay
reported was $1.25 per hour. Eleven men received less and
just one claimed more than “2. 25 per hour.

Seventy workers weie asked to state any complaints
they had about th;ir jobs and ‘8 mentioned none. This
lack of complaint would seem to demonstrate the acceptance
of the conditions and norms which characterize skid row

jobs. Among 22 complaints that were made, seven concerned

 

7In a slightly different investigation, Bogue (gp.gi§.,
p. 100) found that 40 percent had worked during the
"previous week," about half of them at part-time jobs.
He found (pp. 306-308) that 63 percent had first

come to skid row seeking work.

207

"hard work;" six, "low pay;” four, "work cond itions;”
two, "not enough work available;” tuo, "cheating and

favoritism;" and one, ”lorCI hours. ” All 9; these would

u ,_ V - _I 1 .' _q_ I a _c ‘ . _-. ~‘—' .I ._ _‘_ .“"' _0 .j ,. _ _' _ ‘ 3.‘ ‘ ._

a: ear t: 53 Veti~ critieim»s wJ nos? owLu 50” JU‘~2 9Ut:
L L
.-. .I r‘ " - L ‘ . u v - . - .'- -? .—‘ ~ .' . "| ', . , l : - A -.I .- f _¢— .1: A ,<.‘ r. r_ H ’ ‘.. -l- -o
billet: Lu ,1 “ ..kif ;‘ 1.1:; .L-_1.\..-l\.;'_. .:-/V L; -..-Ll’lkyL .1.L“~ (11.2 I. ":3: [LIlLWLEJLb
.L .1 .1. A.

-\ a .° .. I- _. . .."- -, .. . ,7 - a ' . 1': _ .-. . - . 1 ‘ -.1 . .. ‘_
and .‘xJ-Z’1(,e 1,1314 :;!".L,",'.‘:'_« in.) C:;1..i _ (Cub, C1... ...j e in nu;. .-;.(_-::::f.1

to reflect vi ov rill alienation toward work. If anything
they seemed to suggest a 3:neralized powerlessness re-
garding work.

Cther attitudes regarding work were measured in a
number of items presented to respondents, some of which
have already been treated. It should be recalled that
respondents did not react in an alienated fashion to
items concerning the importance of "practicality and
efficiency," the value of "activity" and the salience of
"immediate gratification" (pp. 136, 138, 147).

Slightly less than half of the respondents, 44 men,

_ i .. . _ ' 1. ., .3 !_ 3 .° . , .-1 .3 .v. m: V- .3 '7 ' - I- i
agre ted to a nean item boatiflg that, "inere is little clyjnce
C‘ .- _‘ .: ._ : ‘ ., ‘l _ .. _ . - . , .. '.. .'..‘- .
ior promotion o1 a Joe unless a fellow gets tn? Hr: ks,’
ting; " ‘\ ~‘.~.* .1: :“ r: " r'x ' -C/_')«- j ‘: 1' ('1 x-_- "‘ L: ". T '3 (r .;-- r‘ r-‘ " c t

LAvrC../.‘, \.-.1\.‘J ._,._..w-,_1_1--_,I t). .1.‘3(.-_L.L..l._,, OJ- i-)O'-'(_.r._kio.afle ..‘)3 Cir) O

occupational mobility. The 51 men who disagreed with

the statement commonly remarked that men could succeed if
they tried and some blamed themselves for not having done
so. In response to the same measure, 59 percent of our
student sample agreed and only 31 percent disagreed (while
10 percent did not know) thus indicating a higher alien-
ation among students in this regard.

Another item, assumed to refer to economic and
political issues, was: ”Despite what people say, the lot
of the average man is getting worse, not better," and
37 men agreed to it while 45 disagreed, often adding that
"things are pretty much the same as ever." Thus in this,
and time previous statement, powerlessness was expressed
by a sizatde minority of skid rowers. In response to
this itefiu as Opposed 0 the previous one, students showed

t
a lower‘éiLienuticn. uuSt 22 percent agr;ed that "things

208

were getting worse," inle 62 percent disagreed and 16
percent did not know. Also, in a fairly similar measure
applied to a national sample by the American Institute
of Public Opinion, 55 percent agreed that, "Life for
people generally will get better," while 23 percent

, . . . 8 fl, . . .
tnought that, "Life will get worse." ine Similarity of
the responses of students and the AIPO respondents
should be noted.

In summary, the findings of this study in regard to
work attitudes, as well as related value—orientations,
make it clear that skid rowers tend to accept American
work norms though they experience some powerlessness
With regari to work.

The question that follows was presented to only five
men. Their responses, while concerned with the low pay
and legality of a potential job, seem to suggest normal
rather than definitely deviant and alienated patterns
of thought with regard to accepting employment, e.g.
expressing the opinion tha‘ "work is only for suckers."

Q. You receive an offer for a job. You must

report at six the next morning five miles
fr m here. The pay will be $1.25 an hour
and the job will b; steady as long as you
report on time 5 days a week and work
steadily. You are not sure how difiicult
the work is and there issbme question as
to whether you will have to do something

you think is wrong. What will you tell the
employer? th do you react in this way?

A. l. I would not accept the job until I was
sure it was legal. I would not want to
be involved in something morally wrong.
I react this way because of childhood
training.

2. There is no question on my part of
accepting any employment that I know
I cannot do or, if there is anything
with the job that I think I cannot do,
I will not accept that job.

 

8 . . , a _ . .
"Roundup or vurrent kesearcn," Transaction, July—
August, 1966, p. 3.

.L

 

209

3. As long as it is steady, I would take it.

4. I would not go 5 miles to a job for $1.25
an hour.

5. The pay is not enough. You can't live

on $1.25 an hour.

Though skid rowers exist in unfavorable circumstances
regarding work, the ones in this study showed evidence
of wanting to do what was necessary to improve their
position by obtaining regular, higher-status occupations
rather than escaping frcm or drastically changing the
work system. They faced increasingly difficult work
careers. Still they did not express any noticeable strong
alienatirn with regard to America's work system and its
demands for regularity and pgrsonal commitment. Respon-
dents here expressed an approval of values which are
supposedly held by mi dle class people. While they
seemed to concur with the norms of the American work
structure, they did express some powerlessness in reference
to their wishes to obtain better work circumstances. The
values that bolster the work habits of middle class
Americans appear to be present in skid row; other factors
or handicaps, such as illness or a lack of skills, seem to
limit the carrying—out of such work habits. The pOpular
belief that skid rowers deliberately flaunt American work

ethics was clearly contradicted in this study.

B. FINANCES

The "Spirit of Capitalism," as demonstrated in finan-
cial behavior of most Americans, has seemed to result in
patterns of careful long-range saving and considerate but
‘nilling spending especially for whateme thought to be
(wise investments. And the "affluent" American society is
'vastiy richer than most nations and has now launched its
(well-advertised "war on poverty." Nevertheless, skid row
Emmi remain extremely poor. This is true despite myths
ofiiqidden money and miserly behavior which are bolstered
by'cxscasional reports of skid rowers dying with large

shuns of money under their mattresses or in banks. Such

210

rumors tend to support a theme of skid rowers who, be-
cause they are alienated, street from society and hoard

Thev supposedly choose to escape society

.1

their money.
and, as misers, lose the ability to use money as an in-
strument in their socio-economic dealings.

A counda‘image of skid rowers, also reflecting a
belief that they deviate from the norms of society and are
alienated with regard to them, is that they are profligate
spenders--money "slips through their fingers," the desires
of the moment guide their Spending decisions.

Because of these conflicting themes about skid rowers,
both representing a belief that skid rowers suffer
alienation with regard to the way they handle financial

matters, an attemyt was made in this study to explore

.. .r: 4.1- ...... ,1-‘ M, . .-w. ....:-. _ -. a l. 1. , .. ..-. , -‘ 3
8.513(3Cts OJ. clip) “#0.: .;::-_:1. LV 1 Ltelllaellb .:.LiflCile [CHJL'lthY n;'_n(.'.
" '~ C’ rut. ‘ ("7 fix} 1* .' n . ':'-‘..'. ‘:, " ~ »“ ' v-g-r-w -'-; I”; «4" .r‘ r; w -,-r—~--‘~-: .- , t, 37
L)U._)3\-b.‘v..‘-&.‘;-..) ’3.1' \,.-l __;_f_ LIL.J_‘;‘..'.l..'m.L._J_'cxi.Q r1, 5p.-- kill)“; magic
173-:- vc~*r~-"‘ ‘- ‘r h" ~ “7‘3"
17.1. .L..L.‘3_) .5. .. 1.1.. -k’qL
w"4.‘ -.-—‘4 —. m. -. .rr‘ ....4. ...": 1. _~_ ' ‘, ,- J- ,—-= ‘
albl’l re. lit, to L3; ill. st C‘J. th;:._.~;: l-QeCLS LllJQUL. BRIO

w

rowers——that a xumb-r of them hav; los

- their ability to
treat money instrumentally and amass it for itself alone—-
the writer interviewed only one man who indicated that he
kept a large sum of money in his room. It is question—
able whether he might be viewed as a miser, however,

since he was a chronic invalid who could not get to the
bank and knew of no one who could serve as a bank messenger.
It is interesting to note, in passing, that he seemedtto
feel safe enough with his money in the skid row community
and willingly showed it to the author, a stranger.

With few exceptions skid rowers have little money
vfljji which to make the choice between saving and spending.
Ihi fact, their total possessicns seldom added up to a
smflostantial amount. Asked to estimate the total value of
tfluair savings and all goods and possessions, 59 of our
100 infermants claimed a total of less than $20, (See

Tabflxz 25). Cnly seven estimated their total worth at

‘I (p‘ -. __ ~. “_4, < ' ~~ ': ‘I ' 1 r '. " ‘L' " “" . " 1 " “ " "\ ' 4' -.V “‘ ' _‘ ' "““ ‘4!- A ’1

alt/'00 C'r l‘.'.k)rk_‘fo --.L._: tlrfi.’-1.‘l.i;.L 1"l_:u-.lll('i_L gg’K/‘er'Z:r:_3L',)-‘-L/‘_l~ff f &_2rt.'_,kl
- A —c‘ \ .fi‘.‘ . ~:— ' ' ,—~ '— 01 '*~ 9 ‘ v .— ' ' -‘ J- ‘— -: fi ‘1 \ »‘-- 1' -- "~ 1 .- a ’A -‘- -..

‘.',-';'L e s: u ~...1 l L. q :-: :1. l .:.». «of!» 2‘ L, (.:.. LIQ tilt. in cinCl pcrlluy S

shoes, a change of underwear, an additional pair or socks.
Only a few reSpondents listed watches and rings, items
which would be fairly commonly reported by American men
in general.

In addition to income from employment, slightly
more than half of those interviewed received some kind of
"non-work income." Social Security, railroad and other
retirement pensions, and some form of welfare payment
accounted for nearly all of these.

In general, then,one can say that skid rowers are
not money—(X‘possessicn-hoarders. Their income is small and,

with a few exceptions, their total worth is exceedingly

- . _ . 1-», V- - .:-: . .:...- ..-,--

11300317. 1 , :v Lax/Ll; 'cll‘.‘ (32CC'£‘_‘t,J.OI:S their .Jb‘Lc:
— ' —" — f .. u. I“ . . '.-: . A .9 '-*
i-;tance~ wn,ra u) t ti LmrJJ- lust rial morth' was tied

ation cr was otherwise beyond their direct

As to the charge that skid rowers are wasteful with
money, one must begin by making clear, as the data above
indicate, that they have little with which to be waste—
ful. And, as shown in Table 25, about three fourths of
those interviewed spent less than $30 the preceding week.
Nevertheless, the popular image of skid rowers as profligate
spenders, was exemplified to the writer by the suggestion
of an employment officer and several others who work, but
do not live,in skid row that its inhabitants should be
observed ”at the first of the month." It was contended
that Lfiwwlyxmlsb n amd‘va fare checks were receiVod, men
would be "speniing it all," and "the tavarns could be
crowded." Though the writer on several occasions sought
to verify these generalizations, his observations did not
seem to bear out the charges. It is possible that, with
many people receiving pay at the end of each day's work,
the flow of money into he pockets of community inhabitants

is somewhat more even thmlgh the month than in other

212

communities. If this is true, then one must assess

whether skid rowers are "easy” with money by other means.

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE 25 . FI‘I-IAZ'ICIAL Cl—i LLQ.‘\CL‘-;L:(I37:15:13 CF RSSE‘CLIDELJTS
a. Total Haterial North: b. Nonwork Income:
a 131
Up to 35 27 Pension 27
$5 — $9 19 Jelfare 21
$10 - $19 13 Pension and welfare 3
$20 — $39 7 Estate or Trust Fund 2
$40 - $59 7 Jone 47
r- _ *~ 0
i03 .i’9 3 Total 100
>100—b299 7
$300-$999 10
$1000 - 35000 7
Total 100
c. :ecly Sgending:
I_I_
Up to 5 6
L - $11 3
s12 - £19 32
2’ — 329 33
.30 — $39 6
543 — s49 13
$50 — L69 5
$70 — $99 1
$130—$150 1
TL tall 1 J 3

 

The typical impression of the skid rower is, perhaps,
represented by Bendiner, who says,

There isn't much money on the Bowery but what

there is is readily available. A man receives

his pension check, and once it is cashed he

does not dream of saving anything....Bowery

men are easy people to deal with. They rarely
bargain.9

Some men doubtlessly spend their money rapidly and rely

on charity when they run out. These and others usually

 

9Bendiner, gp.cit., . 28.

— L

213

find themselves living on a day—to—day basis. There are
pressures to Spend what one has in some skid row groups.
For many men there is a pattern of sharing which involves
the spending of what small funds one has for drinking and
other purposes knowing that those who share at the time
will reciprocate on other occasions. Nevertheless many

of the men appear to be quite careful with their money
presenting only what is necessary for predetermined needs.
Since some fear their own misuse of money, as well as the
attack of jackrollers, a number of men entrust their monies
to such individuals as hotel managers, social workers and
tavern operators for safe-keeping, and a surprising number
use banks, even for very small savings.

Our findings substantiated the expectation that skid
row is a poor community, poverty in itself seems to offer
more reason for the residence of men in skid row than any
interpretations of these men as financially—able, even
rich, alienated retreaters from other social classes or
as heavy squanderers of financial resources. Skid rowers
seemed to obtain, keep and spend little money and owned
few valuables, but they did show an interest in "getting
ahead." Thus they cannot be assumed to be an alienated
population which Spends its money with total abandon,
neither is there evidence to suggest that they form an
aggregate of men who hoard their money as an end in itself.
'Their financial affairs seem to further document skid row
as a low-status community composed of men who have some
fiJTterest in improving their status but find themselves
gxmwerless to do so. (Though the writer did not pay any
Clififllts or reward them with food or drink, four of them
IMNJght him beer or coffee.)

C. FREE} TIEvIE. mill”) IT‘S SKID RCn-J USES

The logical counterpart of work is free time and it
can kxa used in various recreational activities or in
idlfinuess. The "Protestant Ethic" has been taken to demand

tflua careful husbanding of this as well as working time,

214

and "activity” as opposed to contemplation has been shown
to be an approved American pattern in using free time.10
Problems arising from the increasing presence of free time
among most occupational grouys has received much treat-
ment in contemporary ”mass culture" literature, and some
are ready to despair of the ability of human beings in
using their free time well.11 with a decreasing need for
workers, shorter work hours and mandatory retirement, the
use of free time is becoming an increasingly important
issue for Americans.

Skid rowers appear to be faced with a chronic abun—
dance of free time. Some of them complain that a major
problem in their lives is "killing time," and some
seemingly have perfected an art of "waiting." Others,
however, claim to be "too busy," working long hours or
caught in patterns of job or drink searching. As Opposed
to these extremes, a large number of men probably occupy
their time in the same activities as other Americans.

with an obviously large amount of free time available
on skid row, many observers are content to assume that it
is used in drinking and idleness. If such observers do
not look systematically, however, they are not likely to
notice some of the more typically American activity patterns.
They are more likely to notice the busy saloons and large
numbers of men who appear to be drinking or loafing on the
streets. From such stereotypic viewpoints, an image of
alienated men, disengaged from all interest and activity
in normal cultural patterns, is easily constructed.

If skid rowers are alienated with respect to American uses
of free time, they would be expected to avoid involve—

ment in normal recreational patterns and to express

 

101 . . A
see discuSSion on pp. 138—142.
1 l H ~ -- -- "r P0

For example, see Robert haClven, The ureat

Emptiness" in Josephson and Josephson, pp.cit.,
pp. 144—149.

215

hostility toward such activities thus indicating their
dissatisfacti n witn the American culture. It is to this
question that the following section is addressed.
FIXDINGJ Ifillhild :JUDY

A careful look will make it clear that the skid row

community provi es various recreational facilities. Jhile

, 2‘- _ . . .r .°...-. - : 21,. .1 ._
the st r2;t o__,i. a 1m. 3 Ct "kill time,” it also allows
.:-- - .* . _- ... .. t. J-.'_-'. . .5” —'_ - ‘ a -
1UL NUC... .‘wC’p...g;l-u.a;.: 1’3, '1. 1:)“: '. L._1.;l-_J' 1w]? ..Lriild', cull -;:‘_-l O '30}:-
'-‘ ': 41- -‘ ' .:- -‘ —. ' - ‘ I - f- - .’ ‘-“, ,‘~'.~ 'f 4 ,"l ‘—.“ ”V‘- «v '-- -I—- «’~ .. .-- '9‘ I- L
tulllti iwf tau-.33.}- .J a--. .3 tin; I'...V.L.Llu gut“! C:‘f--r'-.‘1cS (if: CULchcrUC-

tion, police arrgsos add visits by tourists. Hot; 5 and
bars rather uniformly proviie television and room for games,
and the Reading Room and hotels also provide reading mater—
ials. Other facilities in or near skid row allow for a
wide variety of recreational activities.

In direct question of our 100 subjects, free time was
taken as "a very important part of life" by 91 men and
only six disagreed. Significantly fewer, only 56, were
able to agree that they had "been able to Use Athei£7
free time well," while 37 said they had not. Thus once
again skid rowers were normativsly agreed on a value, Ju
expressed poserlessaess with re;;rd to their ability to
achieve it.

The range of free time uses by the skid rowers inter-
‘Viewed is shown in Table 26. Two types of questions were
asked; the first was Open-ended and the second consisted
(If a check—list of items. The first, while inviting the

° . .,. 'A -\v- .7». 1 .~, ~ .C .5: ~ ' .. -..,.'1 ,‘ -
sklxi ro ers to name "a lew' uses o1 iree time, 3313p“

elixxit-Cd more that CA& or two. This may reflect the
atcl.(b. tiat “thurw is little to do” on skid row, a

viewv which may, however, parallel attitudes in many other
cxxmnunities. It should be noted that the firs t four
caixagories listed in Table 26 concerning such activities
as rwaading, going to parks, watching TV and, in effect,
"kiJLLing time" were most frequently mentioned.

'The second approach to measuring leisure time use—-

the (fideck-list of specific activities-—obtained many more

Affirmative reswons

particularly active

‘T‘S,

216

suggesting that respondents were

in reading and watching TV and spec-

tator sports.

 

'_-«' ~ r.“ .1 ’1,” I p, - _'v - f1 .- ,‘ [71* “ «ov v7 1‘ -_- ,2 T1 '1 “,4“! . . T \- - - -v- ,- l,-|gv1-v-\: ’71 T

-IkDp; LO. _'."‘sI:)\.L‘_-[_‘..I. .". __._(_..‘T I.‘: V.1.‘<.l.\ L,'.) ..-.1\_.-‘). J 1.1 C .Q'AL- -‘ZVLLJILILJS
‘v _ _ ‘ ~J_ _ . ‘ _' f-‘ ' , ' V '1 ' 1

a. nowadays mObL gee 1e have some free time. we'd like

to know more about how you use yours.
a few of the most important things you
free time? (First choice listed only.)

 

 

would you name
do with your

 

 

Activity _7_J_
Read, write, play table games 22
Sit, loaf, relax, wait 18
Go to park, talk, travel around 13
watch television 15
Go to movies, ball game, races, church 10
Take walks 7
brink 5
fiork, look for work 5
bowl, play pool 2
Nothing 3
Total 100
b. Do you: Yes Sometimes £9 Total
take walks 42 6 52 100
read 83 2 15 100
watch TV 81 9 10 100
watch spectator sports 73 5 22 100
play cards 25 10 65 100
drink 57 5 38 100
go to movies 2 6 52 100
play checkers or similar
games 29 7 64 100
gamble l6 8 76 100
go to missions 46 13 41 100
go to Reading Room 41 8 51 100

 

The evidence that a majority of

pate in several of the above activities is
proof of their involvement in the skid row

American culture.

skid rowers partici—

rather clear

community and

The great majority who showed interest

in television and Spectator sports would probably suggest

that they are generally as accepting of mass culture in

217

those forms as are most other Americans. The absence

of movie-going as a leisure time activity was, according
to responCents, the result of financial limitations.

The large minority who went to missions and to the Reading
Room respectively showed their acceptance of these
institutions. The large number who claimed to do some
amount of reading would seem to demonstrate their interest
in and acceptance of American culture. lhe proportion who
indiCated that thgv did net drink an’ the vast majority

who deni:o gamuliag iCClV1thS, as wall as many wno
c

Taking walks is an inpprtant activity for many skid
row men, some of whom COVcr many miles in their daily
journeys. In this study 87 men indicated places, close
and distant (sometimes over five miles), in which they

walked at least occasionally.

TABLE} 27. PLACES LIEIISKEC RJSPCLIDELETS I‘J’ALKED

Ii
Within skid row 29
The Loop (central business district) 4
Grant Park and Lake Michigan shores 17
Lincoln Park and the Northside 12
The parks 5
Southside 3
westside 1
Mostly skid row, sometimes in
the LOOp and parks 16
Nowhere _l§
Total 100

 

Almost one-third of the men who took walks confined
'thenn pretty much to skid row and most of the men probably
diti a large share of their walking there. Those who did
ncfi: report taking walks were almost always kept in their

hotxals by sickness or physical handicaps. Many of the

 

218

walkers specified visits to Chicago parks. Very few
visited the downtown area. A few visit;d the North,

South and Jest sections of Chicago because of friends

and relatives and home there. Some of these persons showed
little identification with the skid row community. In
summary, however, some additional support was gained for
conceiving of skid row as a community since many stayed
there for their "walks” and most of those who did not

saw their walks as "stepping out" from their community

and took appropriate precautions, for example, with regard
to dress and appearance.

The recreational activities of respondents did not
seem to reveal a pattern of alienation from American culture
with the exception of some evidence of powerlessness in
not being able to fully participate. All the observations
made by the writer tended to show that skid rowers were
quite ready to take part in typical American free-time

activities and many of them did so.

D. DRINKILEL} {Cg-.723 ALCCHCLIi-l IE! SKID RCQJ

The fact that skid row life is not synonymous with
alcoholism has become increasingly recognized. A very
small prOportion of all the alcoholics in a typical city
live in skid row, and many skid rowers are not even
drinkers. While various studies have verified these
statements, there is some disparity as to exact statistics.

...Straus found that only seven of 20l£skid r037

men reported no use of alcohol....5uther1and

and Locke estimated that alcoholics among home-

less men during the Depression ran to about ten
percent of the total group. Straus reported

57.7 percent of his group of homeless men as

steady excessive drinkers with no attempf to
estimate the percentage of true addicts. 2
Bog e found these proportionate gr ups among his skid row
r

u
espondents: teetotalers, 14.8 percent; light drinkers,

 

I‘

2“ . .
uunnam, on.c1t., p. 19.

In.—

219

28.4 percent; moderate, 24.4 percent; heavy, 19.9 p rcent;
and derelict, 12.6 percent.13
The number of those who do not drink is surprising
when consideration is given to pressures to drink id the
skid row community. Not to drink would seem to be an
active denial of important skid row norms, althOUgh total
abstinence appears to be a norm for certain skid row
groups especially those closely integrated into mission
programs. Abstinence, however, probably occurs just as
often among older and physically ill men. Otherwise,

The skid row denizen is in an atmOSphere which
is shot full of positive encouragements to
drinking. Being sociable, avoiding aloofness,
drinking with the boys, holding one's liquor,
getting drunk to forget, going on a spree,
"shooting the wad," and one's got "to drink

to live like a man" are all positive values among
homeless men.1

Drinking is overwhelmingly a social activity.
Straus observed that ninety percent of his
sample did their drinking with others, while
exactly the reverse obtained in a sample of
Alcoholics Anonymous where ninety-two percent
reported solitary drinking.15
The bars and saloons have previously been pointed out
as centers of sociability and community. While Bendiner
and others have suggested that drinking in skid row is
related to the alienation there, (e.g., "It is a drunken
street and each man aspires to a chemically-induced

tranquility."l6

), there is much evidence for the opposite
argument, that is that drinking provides an activity

around which many forms of social interaction are centered.

 

l3Bogue, gp.cit., p. 92.
l4Dunham, gp.gi_., p. 20.
lSIbid., p. 20.

16

Bendiner, op.cit., p. 182.

220

FINDINGS IE THIS STUDY

In this study respondents were asked t; classify

theaselv:s as to thtlr drinking behavior. Twenty—fjur
re: c1-in:1 t : « -riik-r* a- 31 lig“t tr 'c :“1te
drink_rs, whil* 17 said they were heavy drinkers. The
rest, 28 men, ad.itted that hey wer~ alcoholics who
either drank as often as they could or went on drunken

hinges. Additional support for the accuracy of this infor-
mation comes from the response to another question, far
removed in the int rview, which indicated that 28 claimed
hat they did not drink in their free time, 15 that they

drank "sometimes" and 57 that they drank regularly.l7

Table 28 suggests the limited amount of drinking and
the variety of drinks which respondents claimed to have
consumed the previous day. It certainly suggests that
images of skid rowers as universally preoccupied with
drinking are guite false. Kany r:s;onients made it Clear
that t_ey did not care to drink or that they simply could
not afford the monetary or physical costs of regular

drinking.

TABL E] 2 8 . AL CC H CL I C BESV r; 151.-1C} “:J 5 CC- I ‘3 Ulric] D TH E E? El 3 V I CUB DAY

}.J

[0
NCODOMbOW It;

L" to 4 he“: s
to 8 beer
or more "
or 2 classes of wine

a

9

l -

3 or more glasses of wine
1

C

m n

glass of liquor only
ombination of a few glasses of beer
and wine
Nothing

Total

H
OUT
OKOH

 

 

17There is a possibility that, since most interviewing

was done during the day, men who spent most of

their time in taverns drinking were under-represented
in this study. A number who had just come from
taverns or went to them immediately after the
interview were, however, included in the study.

 

 

 

 

221

The men were also asked why they drank (See Table 29).

1 .

ine ov rwnelming numner of r s;ense3 war; CQJerflcu with

- ' .' v ‘1 “ '.‘ ‘ '1" 4‘ r‘ _- r‘ 1 "‘ ‘3 2‘ ' ‘.' 4' ‘ ' '2 1 ’t g“ ‘ ' 2 , a . e-
L):3CCD(‘L-1'_yl 'f‘LlJU‘r... ‘ .1'... pi ..‘Lv'..._1...; ,ll.‘_ -4 o .. 1.4..) 11".. .‘gL I~-’A1 2, .:._~
iflL'W'A la 1 1 PM: . VI l k amid-Id ‘~A‘,« H.“ Pt 11(,\;'.1 (LIII’JAT L3,:
a _- ..i ‘ _ _ _, ~_. \ Q - - . - .L L. -4 . « J , _, _ __ .v _, J J ~ .. L ‘, ‘l J . ‘4 V . __. _- -
f— o q n ~ c ‘ 3 ~ I ~. ~ 1 ~,
C<"1=11‘~“‘*I::...l C” l. '1 H if.) [‘1 1.“ 'i ' ' tt‘ ' "3f L’e’.‘ "CL. " - 9161‘ t! «Llflk'l T. iii“ 13-”,
.. .. - 4 Q ~ -. —- on J -v v —- ‘— - - — - ~t .. J
A , . ,. .5 211‘ -‘ ‘- ' H . —'. ~ . a . ~. . . ..J— —‘
fdnrOflsdu oi i like it, certainly do not suggest any

rebellion, retreatism or ritualism in the drinking be—
havior of resyondents. Cnly a few resgonses suggested
any ritualism if "It's a bad habit" can be construed as
such and similarly only seven men suggested drinking
"to forget someone or something." None mentioned the
rebellious purpose of "getting even" as a reason for

drinking.

ADAPTIVE

TABLE 29. REASCNS FCR DRINKING AND PO‘

NTERPRSTATICNS

U1
U 4
H
0::
F
D J

 

O
." 4

1?;
(".-
| i

 

‘1
o . ‘r-—
C.
H
(“u
nh\ [\3

H0)

A A A
Ch \I ()3

It's a 11e .abit 7
To Fcr;;t something , 7
To ret even (with someone/something) O
No answer — not applicable 22
Total 100

 

SUPHARY
1. Work and Finances
Skid row is a community where only limited, low-status
occupations are available for men, and a large part of
the population cannot even hold these. In this study,

work and financial problems were mentioned most often

 

in response to questions about ”problems" and"complaints"
skid rowers had (See Chapter Six). Though 99 of 100 men

agreed to the importance of work, only 61 were able to

 

say that they had succeeded in that area. what was

 

 

observed in this study attested to skid rowers' acceptance

—‘ . I ‘ o ‘f- ‘. v‘o —‘ J— 1; ‘ . F" a. A. .A . -—\ I . 1 .fi) A, f— . I‘
of various work HLEJS and tneir sense of powerlessness
-—_-_

 

 

. - -‘v *1 . «-». ,- '1 ~" Pfi‘ ~ ’\ . Y‘ —-. r. f1 . v ‘ v‘ 1 . ‘— P‘ : --1 \ 1 r " 1 —, ~ r‘
in rt: 'J rift) tiJ CELL, I] O J. ILL]. J- C.) '7: . L; J" L‘ L11- S J]. L. KI .L (a; ail - 1 It: JC'r all—l x). ,
6‘. ff"- 7 1.1“? 7 \ \f .y’\’.‘. ‘7' ‘- 3. . c- '~ - p 131:. "317. 3r] :1 A." :. u 4- '3 av'i '7 z 1: c: r i r- t
(..-\ U.\r\_-‘_A.Lj, (J .-..."‘-» s... .... JU ’ a), vanallwgv. “Lil, A ‘.- LL- La __E~-‘_—Llce Lk‘jfi II;
F‘ ' ‘\ Q ~ , l— ‘ -~‘ .~ , "T — 1— A .— ’- C V.« A ‘ 1 .
Ste-'1. CJDJ~ 53;: Li. VII -1: L If k- +fC-Ll k I f- ‘1 L ‘11 'ZJ 11‘ :F

- , i - , ,. , ' '1 ..,. v a "

er 11tifs. “~11«J ~-la it His LL,-'r Haywlc or -r
.115“ 'i .'--?r- ~ ---.‘~‘— -. - 4.- a». ‘, -.-- .:- -.-I T ‘V-«v ..A —» -. - - '1- 1-1
_L l';J_ .L" LL11: ,A“_L b._ Cchi-“Lku 1, :1t_:\.\] 1'3 JL'JL. gig .ILI‘\'J~:_‘\7. ‘L , 1. ';‘b _,:OL1\,L\,‘:‘11L.LJ

who treated this issue repeat dly pointed to their
eagerness to escape their present circumstances and to
the barriers unskilled men without references, credit or
temporary finances face in trying to obtain jobs in
occupations where unemployment is already chronic.

Poverty was clearly a problem for nearly all respon-
dents, and 74 men lived on less than $30 a week. This
study found no pervasive patterns of either heedless spending

or miserliness as symptoms of alienation characterizing

 

skid row men.

2. Free Time and Drinking

Skid row community life presents a good deal of
"free time" to its inhabitants. Although this time is
probably accompanied by much inactivity and boredom, the
uses of it by respondents in this study attested to their

acceptance, to the extent their poverty would allow, of

 

American mass culture. TV, for example, was very popular,
but movies were too expensive for most men. In "using free

time well" powerlessness_was more prevalent than norm-

 

lessness. Skid rowers showed no prevalent rebellion or

 

other nonconforming activity in using free time. Host,
for example, claimed that gambling and even drinking were
not major activities for them, and narcotic drugs
apparently get little use.

Alcoholism was mentioned third most often, 16 times,

 

in.response to questions about "problems" and "complaints"
cof respondents (See Chapter Six). But drinking patterns

:for most men were related to group activities and to

223

community institutional patterns rather than to
alienation, and the motivations for such appeared to be
closer to conformity than to retreatism, rebellion or

ritualism.

CHAPTER TSN: CIHLR VALUfi—RQLATED IYQTITUTICNS; PCLITICS,
ELLIGICM afii EDUcLIICN

This final chapter of findings deals with three more
instittdonal areas of American life which are pertinent
to sociological study. Each of the three institutional
areas now examined-—politics, religion, and education-—
has a constellation of activities and values which seem
to be distinctly American. Moreover these three institutional
areas have develoged in certain patterns within the skid row
community, and, gain, many ob ervers have considered skid
row alienati n to be manifested in these particular in-

stitutions.

A. THS ECLITICS CF SKID ROfl

In a democratic society, political activity and power
are, at least in theory, distributed equally. Obviously
there has been a traditional denial of the vote to certain
categories, for instance to women, Negroes and migrants.
Nevertheless current social changes in the United States
appear to be toward more democratic practices.

The skid row community is one in which there seems
to be limited participation in government. Skid rowers
are not apolitical but such political activities as voting
have sometimes, for various reasons, been neglected. Many
skid rowers move too frequently to make it possible to
meet residence requirements, others do not understand
procedures for registering and voting or are even illit—
erate, others are probably simply uninterested but,
finally, some do vote and seem politically informed.
While an unknown number of these voters are said to do
so for a one or two dollar payoff by party machines,
many others, by voting, reading and discussing news and
politics, seem to show a rather genuine interest in
political affairs at all governmental levels.

The skid row community has a somewhat unique political
character. As part of Chicago's "First hard," it has

rather closely SUpported the Democratic political machine

224

225

for many decades. It has not in recent decades been
affected by "reform movements" which might indicate
rebellion.

while this community has generally if not very actively
SUpported local, state and federal systems, many skid
rowers have seemed to feel that they have received little
in return. Reforms on skid row, in terms of concessions
from the Mayor and others, directed toward general
community improvements, crack-downs on businessmen,
investigation of police brutality and so forth, have been
accomplished when outsiders with political power, rather
than skid rowers themselves, applied pressures.1

The political powerlessness of skid rowers has
probably always been a fact. In 1920 Anderson described
the political lot of the skid rower thus:

He seldom remains in one place long enough to
acquire legal residence. His work, because of
its seasonal character, often takes him away
from his legal residence just at the time when
ins stern] i the tfbsfji to Ifiegigsterf or"voi::. .Jhedfiier‘
lie Iiifii ” (flee: r ; tc> cr st 31i25 tn llxat (Jr :1cd:, lie :is

seldom able to do so.

.1

nevertheless skid row prior to 1930 deaonstrated some
political power at least in various attempts at rebellion.
During the first guarter of the century, skid row was
affected by certain radical political ideologies that
included labor organising, socialism and anarchism.

1A utopian union, The International Workers of the World,
emerged as the most significant of these forces. Despite
its radicalism in those years, many of its programs

have been accepted in recent decades. As Anderson

described it,

 

l , ., - ,
See for example "bklO dow Folk approve
Room,” Chicagc Ba 1y NEWS, April 21, 195‘

,Jc

Anderson, oo.cit., p. 151.

226

The I.N.J. was formed in Chicago in July, 1905.
Its head wuart rs are /there/ and its conventions
have alxost invariably been held /in Chicago/
because LChicagQ/ is a tianspoltitiei cent3r

, ,- r ... - H \ ,—‘ -— J: : i. N V. 1 ., .., _,_‘ J_ 1 O .11 " ‘_ _
1'3 .'.)".‘L. Ll.._‘.f OJ. .LL.;-_ tuft}- -ii ‘iiL. (71':th 1" i: tfa .' I ‘1

a ’- ,--¢ .- v~~ - ‘ — - A 01‘“ —‘ ... w —

str :h:~.,;l3. «.1ii.:cic«L ‘r,flit was/ eni

organization of all industrial workers, but

it has been most enthusiastically SUpported

by the hoboes. It was conceived on the "stem."
Some of the "wobbly" spokesmen boast of 100,000
members....Probably about a third of that
number /exist/. 3

Their constitution's preamble was clearly Marxist.

The working class and the employing class have
nothing_ in _common, /therefore7 a struggle must
go on /for/ abolition of the wage system /and/
ca'italists..../ae _can/ carry on production
when capitalists /are/ overthroMJn.

.—-.~ - “.:- ‘. n -‘ -- .. .» .-- - A . - l ..u .. n ' ,. ‘ '
ll’lO'clgul tfl: ..L.... J. 1U:v’:‘1_ d-.‘_:_;l_0g:iL11--:u LL 3 30;;15, it
V y ,J _,_ _‘ ~v_ __ 1 f:- _ v“ I- _ 0. .. ‘ 0 ‘IJ‘ a, -. fl ,9 - _I _0 v , C v A >1_ Y
n :1‘ 2. J l- 3’11. 0“; "71.1- J. E," 1- L11 1‘.‘ :11‘90 NJ. CI". {LL :: spirit OJ. L1;1.L~"Z.‘L, . ,
re ‘.,.— V. . ..'-, - r .. .' ... .. ”.9, _ 1' rd“. i" -~_l_- .‘ ,.~
\ their o‘JCL. ’1’371‘. I. ..‘ ri ‘_"'.S C: , _Lt‘l'c. 1 uL..L-1‘J t-.e 1.3. arcitkfiri’ 3.1; .11 CLilLl

such entgrprises as Hobo College, flourished at least,

briefly on skid row. They and the "Cooperative Hotels"
reflected distinct political motives.5

The I.W.N., which was strongest of the skid row
political organizations and lasted longest, is disappear-
ing today.

As the lights went off in Seattle's Wobbly Hall
for the last time last week, only a few pensioners
who have used it to pass lonely hours reliving

the old days will miss it. The secretary here
...declared, "A lot of fellas got hung and
murdered and threw in the can because we pulled

 

 

,- - A 1‘ - - -n " 1'. ~I— ‘ 1 “ r‘\ ' ._ \ 'J' . ,1 "
outlaw! strfzk as, and that. was twe- un forgive...)le
.°. 0 ‘. 4.3., ~~n- ..,J .. A- 1. \ ma- ...‘,.\.1 .:
5,111., 4'15) LLIC‘ ,LJLJ (111-191 lITAt‘Z‘L tilt.-. CLO (:1(I‘..Lll('.“.a .Ln
3 u . “ a A

...L'J. o , :3. 43d.
4~1._' ,1 , 'W'x's
J.)J.L:~l. , r). C.J.).

227

strength, the more radical I.N.W. began to
H / —

fade.... Lie were/ hoping the younger fellas would
take over, but it didn't materialize."6

The actual strength of the I.N.N. and other radical

groups remains difficult to assess, but certain com-

parative information, such as that offered by Dunham on

Detroit cited below, suggests that radicalism and rebellion

were much more prevalent in earlier skid rows than now.

In 1912 there were in "third party" votes
Asocialiit, Prohibition and National Pro—
gressiyg/...forty-fiv§ percent of the votes
cast Aby skid row meg/. In 1952...third
party candidates received approximately

one percent of the total votes. The con—
clusion is inescapable that the homeless
man is of a difie int vintage today-—he

has no political u
all pf his old fi h'
disappeared.7

Jallacc too has argued that modern skid rowers are

ad from political involvement.

”he skid erHf is isolated fron political life...
. - i f 1!. lat tips turfixxaf {flue cerdniry
the homeless man came to skid row on election

d ier to sell his vote, again and again,
...Jhen the golden era of the political machine
passed he could still get his name on the list
for municipal jobs like shoveling snow by
registering with the party. Today there is
notthJin politics for him and so he takes

29 part. why should he take any interest in
the affairs of a community from which he is
outcast?

These evaluations of skid rowers assume that they are

alienated because they are no longer interested in radieal

parties or because politics no longer has any immediate

 

6 .—\ Q ~ .,_ 0
Charles nunSire, "The Books Close on Hectic years

for the Wobblies," The National Cbserver, June 15,
1965, p. 5.

 

Dunham, oo.cit., p. 36.

BJ‘IallaCe, QQOCj—t.’ p0 1480

228

rewards for their participation, and they are partially
true. At the same time it is to be expected that skid
rowers might hold some attitudes typical to those of
other Americans favoring interest and involvement in
politics and that they therefore might not be completely

alienated with regard to politics.

FINDINGS In} THIS; yjlmDY

Skid row is a community with such apparent political
characteristics as low voting registration and a lack of
municipal or national influence. Nevertheless, two-thirds
of the respondents in this study held that "it is very
important to be interested and informed in politics"
wfmile only 30 men denied this. Just 39, however, felt
that they had "maintained an interest and been informed
in politics," while 58 did not. This and further evidence
provided below suggest that, while §<id rowers are willing
to support the normative system of American politics,
they experience a large amount of powerlessness with
regard to doing so.

Fifty—one responments had voted in the 1960
presidential election. (Among registered American voters,
64.5% did 50.9) Cther respondents indicated that they
would have voted if they had been registered or informed
on proper procedures. Sixty—nine men claimed to have been
interested in that election. Two—thirds stated that they
intended to vote in the 1964 election and 29 said they did
not. Among these who intended to do so, about four-fifths
said they would because ”it was a privilege," and most of
the rzst indicated "reSponsibility."

Forty-seven said they were "interested in local
elections" and 50 that they were not. Sixty—five claimed

to be Democrats, 17 said they were Republicans, while 12

Theodore H. fihite, The Making of the President—1960,
p. 419.

 

 

 

229

called themselves "independent” and six declared "no
intzrest in parties.” io one claimed to be socialist
in orientation (a revealing fact who: compared with the
strong socialist representation which once characterized
skid row). Skid rowers here seemed to hold what are
typical working class stereotypes of the parties similar
to those found by bogue. (

In order b probe their knowledge of politics,
respondents were asked to name certain public office-
holders (The U.S. President, Illinois' governor, one
Illinois senator and Chicago's mayor). Forty men were
able to name all four office-holders, 33 named three,

17 named two, five named one and five named none. Thus
they showed a fair knowledge of government officials
(considering the fact that many of them were relatively
new to Illinois and Chicago), and this knowledge might
not be greatly inferior to that of most Americans.
Evidently dcid rowers maintain some degree of interest
in and knowledge of politics.

Six attitudinal items focusing on political issues
were investigated in this study (See Table 30). It
should be noted that the first five items are concerned
with the ability (or power) to influence political
affairs and politicians and, on all but one of these,
the majority of respondents expressed alienation. The
sixth item, which was concerned with a normative eval-
uation of the politicians' professions elicited much less
alienation.

Certain other normative issues related to politics
have already been treated (pp.L%%LfiDand the reader is

reminded that two-thirds of the respondents SUpported the

 

loBogue (gp.cit., pp. 267-268) found the following

common images held by most skid rowers. Democrats
are "for the common peOple, keep the prosperity,
take action when depression strikes and rescued

the desperate in the 1930's." Republicans are

"for wealth and power, the privileged few, and cause
depressions."

230

values of "equality" and ”democracy" while almost all

agreed t3 the importance of "freedom.” The attitudes

~ ’- “ " A ‘P : - n -. A -’ CA -"--. n v“ —- 1 -. .'-. -~ J—‘ ‘ .‘.\ ‘- v. \ 'V‘. ' A ’1
CI til‘d‘mkj afield. r0 .et :3 l.""...‘._L ‘q..1.:'.‘_.)' ~-.".l«l._LL_._LC.‘;", kl)?! .-.-,2? .2, ‘Jn‘..’)‘.":k
‘ _J -

‘ ‘x -. ' -. . -. -3- ' . L i 2- _ *- ' - ' — ’. .- .1 - .C 4-3 -° r. ,. -.,.—~--' -'--

tint-.1 CU :3L1.4.,(:_’_ t- It.» '(‘If-L, ‘=-_Ll., -‘M-th.lC::;l 1'; 1.11.3.4) L)". L..Li:,~ .L“./‘V.L;'f~..‘7
A. . L L J ,

1* -. _‘ ‘ m '3 | 1__ a I 1 ’1

i’mt, ., ‘lk ‘-J\/ .‘M.._,. ..Ll ..‘ lit: 3.), Ci'tn/ riW‘C I” ""4-3.1 (Ll

 

1'6‘ ‘ — - 1:." H a 2"}:1 3
o,. k; h) _LCIC..L ill.u_;lCE.o
(.1 ,. ““V f 3r“ 7 rr" "t' §1¥.:“| " _' f :1 ..-, '1‘“ '- ' T l'fi‘ff'q 'l' h "‘z'.‘ . '1"—',"'-' ',__ A- *f1~_ ’~ ...:
.LAXLJLLJ V. 11.1. .Liikru/lJ.) bi. L\.._JKJL !y~‘I-~v’u --.—J as .I\Jlx.<-'~—}J- ""3 a. kl—JJ—‘QLVAJ
" ' " ' r T {“7 I"! 1’ (fl
1% .' 2 .. MIL—l: J..L\.I Q
‘ - '“- ' ., "arr m
agree sisa<ree Ln lotal
_‘I‘_ —-J— —— _v-Iun—o—un—

 

Politics and government are so
complicated that the average

man cannot really understand
what is going on. 7 ‘ 20 9 100

Does the average man or
peOple like yourself have
much say in politics?" 65 27 8 100

In the long run, who gets
elected, or doesn't, hasn't
the slightest influence on
social welfare. 46 43 11 l

C)
C.)

~. - .. ,.J.. --, 1 : : .: ,2 a r ,
Ji—xrtj l~l0 u?) ‘h' ..IOJ.-Lt.l-C’J- (111 n3 ItlL-’r‘3
. J—- ‘\ A r' -. !— - A ’. '4 ‘,"\ " ' ~ 1‘ .1 . "N 5‘
lnCdlmQL d in the .ublic's

welfare (or in themselves)?*‘ 59 24 17 100

There's little use writing
public officials because
they are not really inter—
ested in the problems of

the average. 100

'0‘»
w
[\J
\‘l

Politics is an honorable

profession. 62 100

I0
CD

 

J

tkesptwu as whitfii‘ ere tsfl<3n tt‘132flexfi:.avienimjan are
underlined for each item.
HResponses of yes or no to these statements were taken

to reflect agreement and disagreement respectively.

!

B. RELIGICN AND MISSICNS IN SKID RON

Certain religious institutions, including some
Christian practices (e.g., Sunday behavior), and the
Protestant Ethic are important parts of American culture

and are observed in some fashion by most groups of this

231

society. Religious as sociatio nal activities are mo st
practiced in the middle and upper class, but they are
encouraged on all social levels (t ke, for example,

slogans such as 'Wors hi) in the church of your chcice”
and the practice by judges of seiging Selinguents to

cinircfli).

"“r‘ . ‘3 .. , v . -. ‘ \ -' fl" - a W ‘ “‘ ‘1 —. . -- - -- ‘ J—
!)J‘.l‘..:. ff .’ ..."H‘ 1.} ‘ (fit-.11"? _Lh-I'g‘»- L " f'w'W -.»*..“~/..) 1. 'T 3....L WC
- v ‘- a ~ - -- v - -- — - . . a .2
‘w- ' ' -- ‘ (fi-'— - f 1— .— ‘ ' ’ '~ ' 1“ J-- : ". . ,‘ -' . r - —: > V ‘ ~ ‘\ ’c "c " ‘. u '1' ”T " V ‘
..-)»; #3-; ecu-=2 1 c; .3. 1*:qu declv': 1:1 r-z'ilgianlfs usoCCl :1 sient)

. w, _. ,H-‘ _,.-_ ,\' a. . ,,' .\‘. , 1. - 1. v 1-_ ._ 1,. _| 1_ = .-, . -. L.‘,, _,-.
CHLJ leutr‘. titllrf Illu'ILlCLA-lb, JUL. 1:11;)" 5:21;. c0 [12;Ve Cl rc.LL..1~.‘.‘r

unique activity pattern with regard to "rescue missions."
In addition, there is evidence that their belie f systems
are at least as orthodox and fundamentalistic as those of
most other Americans.11 hevertheless, some observers,
especially those connected with religious causes, fre—
quently testify to a religious alienation among skid
rowers. In this regard many Christians take skid rowers
to be unregenerates who are trying to hide from God or
rebel against Him. Skid rowers are thought to be among

those most alienated from Goa, and, as evidence, their

' . ' ..3. , , :i _7- ..1, .._' .. .7. '1 ' ,- - ' ~ - - ”
‘Wdlzeikyqle can. drtnnuui sinittt 111..CW1 «Ci- rmpr' 1‘ 3ALU1C”Q
,. ”11 L .. -.c, - - ‘1... —. -.. -A- '7 '... .. ..-.1_.. .. ._
Otat. .LIIEJ‘” , tucfc: 1.. (.1173, are L:1:-_r’il CZ... ‘3_.:_J(..I_t":-wely lulu/UL 6.1.13
1“ 3' - ' m Cr ' ’I I." (' . ‘ " \ ‘1' \
obJeCts i.r missionary a tenti

-‘

The rescue missions were est ablished ve ry early as
ways of helping the "down and out" to a spiritual and
physical recovery. Most of them continue to perform a
role of fundamentalistic evangelism but an increasing
number stress a "social gospel" role.12 Some observers
are extremely critical of the missions' function in the
community and argue that the missions, in their unrealistic
approaches to skid row problems, do a disservice and
further alienate men. An investigating minister reported

candidly that,

 

ll, . . , . , .
sogue, for instance round that 95s of his respon—

dents believed in God, (oo.cit., p. 264).

. Ieyer, "Four Days as Skid Row Bum,"
Mr e Press, Jan. 23, 1965, 0. 4A.

A

d, ,.. -,
Rev. b. 1\
Detroit ’

...the men who Lit passiVely is the_churcq
e1 uring th; fervices really n~ta Athe
even ‘J’sll S;L_:_‘_;‘_/. 17311.11" tl - , "he; .3, .:.-17:13 C:
1:;ir ‘ni.r-;, [hit I cuin't tma l ycmlufliat
they to ld me. It's un rinta 31%....1 was
(:1;ta L . isi111L1171;»1 Lt. tit? E gtugmal
lzlj- 5." {(5.153 0 o o o '3-“1 ‘ 1 :‘idfiJ. 1'; é‘l Exit, "-' 1‘ 3 .4. .‘J'C‘t
poked. Chm flldflt aw eJLugelict threw a
:gam (AH; and LLLLJLLSljd higlcwhi 11ft tdma
in. El lC't ':.1(:I:C'x_-S t1l3 Stl‘ aid-to o o o: Valiant to
check on the “an, Zut ft und some of his

skid row friends were already taking care
of him. /ompha— sis mine. _/

 

The mission workers, in their concern with the need
to "save men for eternity," put on a rather consistent
ritualistic performance which would appear to have a very
negative effect upon the men. In its extreme versions,
it occurs much as follows:

'fle're sinners like you. The only differ—
ence is that we've got grace.‘ The workers
revel in the sins which might be those of
skid row men. Men and women who know little
of the Bowery life are naive in their
approaches toward the men....The pain /the
mission worker/ promises...is the licking

of hell-lire on the soles of feet....The
Lmen's/ coughing, groaning, sneezing and
wheezing continue. Some...have bent their
heads as if in prayer during the sermon
...their heads fall lOWer and lO'er /but7

he will not rest until he has saved a
soul....A few hands are raised....A thanks

is said for this and "for the food we are
about to eat." /lhe workers/ troop off to

the staff kitchen for coffee and cake while
...the men, rescued and unrescued alike,

troop downstairs...for a black brew ladled out
by an attendant rescued but recently from 14
the street /a:1d/ two pieces of white bread.

As compared to that of skid rowers, the perspective
of the mission workers, who maintain their unigue pattern

of interaction with skid rowers everyday, is certainly

 

3Meyer, gp.cit., p. 4.

14Bendiner, gp.git., pp. 106, 110—113.

233

different. While ”scoffing rovers call them 'Hallelujah
Boys,‘ they define themselves as 'people who are sent to
deliver those who need us from actual or impenQing

calamity.”15

Although the missions certainly do p rform important
functions in supplying food and lodging (withtut govern-
mental "red tape") along with p ychological and religious
help to the most needy and dependent skid rowers, their
service is generally ineffective because of a general
factor which Bagdikian makes clear.

There's one trguble with the_religious people
down here....£dhile there is/ no question that
their own feelings bring them here...their
appeal is a narrow one. There are relatively
few men who can accept the kind of special,
fundamentalistic commitments to religion which
is the only salvation they are offered. It's
alien to most of the men, especially the men
who are really looking for a way out.

 

Despite such limitation, and though some skid rowers
despise missions and "mission stiffs," many men use the
missions intensively. Some do so for religious reasons
and others Lecause they are in material need. Some of
them develop a chronic dependence on the missions.

Hany skid rowers appreciate the missions' ameliorative
and religious purposes. There is some truth to the
assertion of one mission worker that even the most dis—
dainful of Skid row men are careful not to insult the

. . . . l7
miSSions Since "they realize they may need us some day."

FINDIJGS In? THIS STUDY

.‘
'

ighty-nine men agreed that "religion is a very

L-v 1

important part of life," while the rest disagreed; but

 

lSIbid., p. 138.

16 .,. .
Bagdikian, gp.c1t., p. 63.

17

From a personal interview.

234

fewer (75 men) felt that they "had succeeded in" their
religious lives, while 23 thought they had not. Thus
religious activity as a normative part of life was
strongly approved and thoudh powerlessness occurred more
often, a large majority still expressed a sense of power
and achievement in their religious exr
As Table 31 shows, most respondents did participate
regularly in religious activities and had done so recently.
Moreover, they claimed religious motives for doing so.
In addition they often traced some membership in religious
denominations though this did not necessarily reflect
any present activity or identification in regard to

those denominations.

'I‘ABLE 31 . 33.131.135.33- ". 7,15 1".CI‘IVI'I‘ILS 3 fin-ID 113313131?7:11-11"? C F R“; S E C ND .311

T3

 

a. Do you attend the missions? b. Do you participate in

the religious services?

 

H N
Yes 46 Yes 6T
Sometimes 13 Sometimes l3
1J0 .12; 140 .333
Total 160 Total 100
c. When did you last attend? d. Why do you attend?
N N
Today or last night 21 Services 66
2-7 days ago 25 Meals and/or bed 22
l to 2 weeks ago 5 To pass time 1
2 weeks to a month ago 9 No answer _ll
1 to 6 months ago 10 ‘
6 months to a ear a o 5 Total 100
Y 9
l to 5 years ago 5
Over 5 years ago 7
Never 8
No answer _____2_
Total 100
e. Are you a member of any religious group?
N
Fundamentalistic: Baptist, Nazarene, Christian —
Scientists 13
Ikare establigfiuni churches: ELJ_SCJp:l, Infifli ran,
Erisbytwrian, hethodist 14
(Lore general specification) Srotestant, active 6
Erotastant, inactive 3
Catholic, active ll
Catholic, inactive 12
done 39
Total 160

 

_~. . _ ~. ,. 7,, ,: ...' 1-2, .. . \ r_ ._ -',\ "
Resnon ants were further aSACJ, altn an open~ended

_\ _ o . 1“ _z_ 1. ‘ y 1 ‘ /( I - J.) __' 0 ,_ ‘ (,. . .— _‘ ‘ _; I". +- o f“ . F l 8
QUdSthn, what they thought or religious organisa-ions.

_J

jighty-nine men made generally peeitive Statements about

a a ‘ . t ’V : - 3‘ .: V“ n _‘ I, 'f . f" 1 _ _ y ' -~ (‘I
fellilOUS Olguuichlcnb and SONG OI tneue rEfbffet
_L

specifically to the missisns' iClldeUb inu s c t" roles.
deligion as an institution in American society, therefore,
we“ neithai something against which skid ro~ers rebellel,
nor was it something frun which man; were at'empting to

es ape. rheir resyonse to the first two item: in Table 32

shows an involvement in traditienal beliefs. A greater
but still minority alienation was expressed with regard
to the last three items which seem to treat more abstract
and relative guesti ns ~bout life.

Such iss es of morality, clearly related to Christianity
and derivative humanistic forms, as have been treated (p.138)
again suggested a conformity and lack of alienation among
skid rowers since 94 men accepted the "Golden Rule," and
91 agreed to the idea of man bringing about a better
world (the human programs theme). It was also noted (p.139)
that tolerance of other religious groups was greater than
tolerance of other social groups. Finally, while norms
of morality were held to be understandable in that
72 men felt that it is usual y easy to know "the right
things to do,” a majority exprnsssd their own powerlessness
in maintaining morality, that is only 45 claimed that they
had'been able to do the right things in life."

In summary, religious alienation does not seem to be an
important characteristic of the skid row community, although
there are important limitations as to the functions of

missions t ere. Host skid row men seem to understand and

 

D

l

\

(

Bogue (pg.gi§., p. 262) in a similar pursuit asked,
"Since these men are at the very bottom of the social
scale and can hOye for little, do they tend to have
mutinous ideas about religion.” He cited 92 percent
as "sympathetic toward religious organizations

in general.

236

feel successful with regard to traditional religious ideas,
but about half admitted some failure in regard to their

moral or humanitarian relationships with other people.

1' x ‘o '3 . " f.r'1.-n‘r-.‘1'v,‘.':;- .. ""1 0“ ' ~ ' "a 3 ;__) N ._ v" I.” M g ...-a “'-r
Plaqu 3C. [iii—LLULJLlr) (.‘i‘ l‘illa.3t"(_lj.'_l’u.\did A-\—.JL3.L-\J‘,'-«_ '_,'.' \J‘J-‘\_L‘P\_l_i1
“. ‘1' T "W' r T -‘ "r 0 .\Y"‘7‘| "
.\. --..‘.,_. ' ‘) -L "‘ ‘

 

 

 

 

['21 .3 J :igrwr_ £1; 3 i‘:l
iLife is the result of chance
and evolution rather than
divine purpose. 8‘ 72 10 100

Religion is mostly myth
rather than truth. 15 78 7 100

I often wonder what the
meaning of life really is. 55 31 14 100

 

Everything in life is

relative and there just

aren't enough definite rules

to live by. 40 46 14 100

with so many religions
around, one really doesn't
know which to believe. 45 52 3 100

(Response of students to
the final item 70% 22% 8% 100%)

 

*nesponses which were taken to represent a ienation were
underlined for each item.

c. EDUCATION: SKI; RCJ as A ccmxuqirr CF "DROP curs"

Education is one final, and important, institutional
pattern which will be examined in this study. Formal
education, that is attendance at approved schools through

the early years of life, s a consensually—approved and

U‘

i
legally-enforced asp\ct of American culture. The failure
of persons to follow this pattern, ev:n beyond legal

f“ < . ‘ - .-- —. - ' —. ~ _' ~ - . '— —. va- - f» -- “. . _l': V - —., - .C ‘ ~ ~‘
fcghlffimdnts, lb 0ft H Cluwu as d Culjl CuUnfi UL nhLfl

’ _V " .f‘~ fly, ‘ _‘ . '_ _ _- >_ I .—V ' V_- _o ‘_ _
SCCldi C’L L’1.Il-.;‘l.'-.‘v gas 1. E‘i::~rlC1"1.LdCC allki (Irinltig
.L A. .1
"‘ .. .., _‘ '_ _..!- .. .,. _. ,. _1__ _. -. l _r: _. ,_ ' ,1 , _ ,4 W __ wi‘ _° 14., 1 __ , ,1 v _. ‘
Ucbpitd hLdLVULin: pi skis rovers a: Highly :oUCaCuG

men living in ski} row as a result cf alcoholism or

237

alienation, men of the skid row community have relatively
little education. Bogue reported that, "Although they
appear to have been entirely capable of comp eting high
school, most of these men Lhe found 78 percent7 dropped
out during grammar school or early high school."19
Likewise, this writer, in a small 1963 study, found 61
percent failing to finish high school.‘0

FINDINGS III THIS SEUDY

It should be recalled that skid row at one time
fostored its own distinct kind of education which,
though limited, had a "Hobo College Aproviding7 the
rudiments of natural and social sciences," and a variety
of other forums for the exchange of ideas.21 Today what
formal education there is for skid rowers is completely
under outside auspices and often takes place outside of
skid row. A few of the men take "adult education" classes
run by the city, usually in order to learn various trades.
Various rehabilitation agencies provide even more specific
kinds of training, for example in machine operations.

The Reading Room might be considered the educational
center of skid row today for it is the one place in which
major facilities for reading are provided, but if such is
the case, skid row education would appear to be of an
extremely minimal nature. Few of the men seen in the
Reading Room are engaged in reading or study. Not only
might there be little interest and poor educational
baCkground among the men (as well as poor eyesight), but
the rooms are poorly lit and the materials offered seem
to be inferior by any usual standards. The few hundred

bOOks are cast-offs from other collections and even the

best of these are probably missing. magazines and

9” . ,
Bogue, 22.Clt., pp. 109—110.

20
VanderKooi, 92.git., pp. 13—14.

21 _ , . -
Anderson, on.c1t., pp. 21b—229, 237.

238

newspapers are usually out—of—date, and the writer found
the some popular magazines he contributed were hoarded

by staff members so that skid rowers probably never saw
them. The hotels sometimes provide shelves of novels

nes which some tenants use extensively, and
these, with the Readint Room, seem to provide what
educational facilities skid row has. -Therefore it would
seem that education, even by broad definition, seems of
little importance in the skid row community. whether this
lack of educational and intellectual facilities and
activities indicates any educational alienation among skid
rowers raises certain questions which were briefly in—
vestigated in this study.

Skid rowers, like other Americans, have received an
increasing amount of education in recent decades, but
their education remains less than that of most Americans.
The data here do appear to weaken contemporary beliefs
about education as a means to economic success, since the
education of skid rowers is adequate for better jobs than
they hold. As Table 33 shows, 28 of the men had at least
finished high school and thus could have qualified for
a great many kinds of work which would be superior to those

they held in skid row.

TABLE} 3 3 . RS SF CI‘J 323 FIT S ' FCV RI-EPL J3 DUCATI C‘I‘I

 

E
No education 1
l to 3 years 5
4 to 7 years 27
8 years 24
High school:
1 to 3 years 15
4 years 14
College:
1 to 3 years 10
4 years 1
Graduate or professional school __3

Total 100

 

239

Despite their limite education, 27 men felt that schooling
had done them "much good" and 54, "some good." Cnly four
felt that it had done "little good," and 13 that it had
done them "no good." Thus they expressed little alienation
with regard to their own educational experiences. Like-
wise, as shown in the treatment of lower class values, (p.146)
only about a third showed any disillusionment with
education in agreeing that "people in universities and
colleges don't know what the real world is like." And

less than a fourth disagreed with science as "the best
thing to solve our problems."

Finally, 42 men agreed that ”our public education is
in pretty bad shape," (a sentiment which is probably shared
by many other americans in this era of civil rights and
other educational problems) while 22 disagreed and over
a third could not comment. Only a few of those who
agreed to the statement had personal grievances about
education, and most of the rest made comments typical of
other Americans, about the failure of American education
in maintaining this country in the "arms" and "space"

‘

races with Russia or about "celinauency" and ”drop—out"

. ,. . ‘1 3., r711- -, - , ,— A .. . ‘4. »
L_.rl(,>iilt-.2.-.S. lindy S’.("Iz.l*:‘\_;. u-) may

v raairuyi tirasa arttitnigeys;frcxn
he mass media r th-r than from personal experiences.
rhus, in the consistent Cdtt rn which has characterised
our finding in general and now with regard to education,
skid rowers showed a normative integration into American

culture rather than alienation and isolation from it.

1. Politics

The skid row community, while appearing to be
politically isolated, at least provides for some political
activity and for the interchange of information and
attitudes among its members. Though politics were not
predominantly mentioned among problems and complaints of

skid rowers, a certain degree of powerlessness was mani-

 

1‘ h
l l)

_ 3. _1 '4 21, ,' 'I _ . i . ,. \ .7- -. '_ '1‘ -:- . 2 ,7 .. V."- __ ... ) ., - . _- . -_'. -.~ ,-,
‘ btaz‘Cl. :i-l_LVL-‘_.' It‘d LD‘JL).‘.1¥_1(:J.1 L.) L, :‘qutill LL? .. Ck_,.(.;‘"t VULJ-\,L1 3

240

n I I q ‘ . ‘
.- A - --. . .... . . . V -- .

a. .: I ~(’( . , .’ ’“‘
-.«\-....LL_L _.I_'.-'_ ;.-.ngl.,- '._..o -... L1

‘

is import‘mce of politics and
activity therein, they showed an alienation with regard
to their own influence on politics and politicians. They

showed considerable adherence to consensual politics in

 

J.“ T ' i. .. , -. -. J-’ ‘. . _1l . r .2 _ .-,- .' - -. .
one Jnited States supporting on y Mu two muJUf parties,
.-,: 1:.-.1-‘ - ,.... v “..., ...—‘9 .' , - ..,.-- ,ru- ._.. 1... ,-'_.j,. .-,.1_..-v--'.:-,
'1.Lz-; -‘_..L L L. r 1.1.; :1 -_ _ _1- far-.:.: 3 l.;. L l. l. . c ;. .L -: \.'i r: .. ._,- -- ., 1. .l _ _- luxurl

 

 

or other nonconforming behavior regarding politics.

2. Religion

 

 

kid rowers have a range of religious facilities in E
their communities available, and orthodox religious beliefs ;
were held by most men. They showed little alienation 7
toward religious ideologies or institutions. Though they
did not tend to be active associational members, they did
make extensive use of missions and generally showed their n

 

appreciation for the missions' functions. They accepted

the normative importance of religion in l' e and generally

 

if
felt successful in practicing it. The“ also accepted
the idea of affinitibv in regard to ”oramn;rfixfiit," but

' ‘ 1 - ' . ‘ ‘
'r‘ '~ ' --- n 7‘ —~ -. ' ~- ~ I__. - w a ;. ~ ‘- ' .r ‘ ‘ '_ .- .' ... ~- .r; l -. 1.. '3 - ‘I‘ .'_ _'. "
111C)- 5‘ r": \fl“,j(/‘,..L- Cllb‘: 1-..". I_‘..’b._1&_‘.'u. .,‘(,)1'l.'.».: A C‘ 141- 1'}- -ql-.r;f_) '.J_L1..ll r03) ark}

 

.~_.. . .‘ .x: mu, . . 1.: .. . .. .x__,, .uw ,
Lt) .50 (at/4-4%., _Lle.)LJ.;”Ll sew: Of tux-2 .L.-Lt‘-.th-._.li.c .v t;.u\_"J-::';--L,.:> Llflait

skid ro.ers avoi? missions and religion and other sources
assume that skid row is an escape from moral obligations,

few respondents expressed any retreat, rebellious hostility

 

or other alienation with regard to religious and moral

objects. \

3. Education

Skid rowers come to that community with little formal
education and receive almost none there, although an
important acculturation into life on skid row does occur.
While ascribing to the importance of education, respon-

dents often voluntarily expressed some powerlessness in

 

1, -, .: ,. .:., ' ,1 v 1 ._ -w: . .. ,1» "'1' ,. .‘ .-.. _ .< r - - .-. r: °

navlng lenj-al to ODLtuultfinCUBD. .mlfif ezflznassed ;;Jxaaling
_,-.1_:l ' . ° 1... ' .. J-..:. .w. J- u‘ .. 1'- '1‘..,- --

OI tml.LbflCthJ lrlzravlng CiMALMVflJ‘MHJL they old. .uuay did

not seem to have consciously retreated from educational ex—
periences and certainly were not in rebellion against

the American educational system.

CHAPTER iSLL‘lVJN: SUL~;1*i.-n<Y AND CC‘JCLUfiICNS

The skid rows of America began to develop after the
Civil Jar and soon became clearly—recognizable areas in
most major cities. They served as gathering places for
unattached male workers who contributed much to the
develOpment of the American industrial economy over the
past one hundred years. While skid rows served as

employment centers, they also provided recreational

areas for unattached males, and their drinking and

”red light” activities soon earned skid rows a negative,

 

even notorious definition in the perspective of most
Americans. Since the Great Depression, the large numbers

of mobile workers have not been as much in dem;nd as

 

1- -’: '- - . I" . ~. ,-- . ,-.. ' 1 1 r ,«V‘r . I“. v v -, 3‘» . Ju‘ , -:
lialore cML), COflrmEJuLlCly, :mlv.IxL:S, athJ vnflni their
.: <' .7. <’ o _ _ — L. ‘ v“ ‘ f” 1.- ‘ ‘1‘ P 0 ~ .. _ ’_‘ ‘0 w _ 3“ _1 ‘ ‘ I _ .9, r O _1
influfljltclllufi , L1-‘J‘fifi DECCIMB lnbr‘z‘l‘10Ln‘34y COLLUEIJHEdo )kld

., 1,Vr__,'\._,_,_1 , V .1! J- V, .-:, V ..,. - .. _ 1 .° .—
rOVIIltb sh;wmeo tc 1?;c1nlr.:L1crechmigly nmlflg LlCQiKLLLCb

- .. - I.*. V ~_V J.- . . , ,‘|.‘.... "_V . ° “--,”, ..‘ ..‘.
and U (-.Nz'f !;.-.;'1\_.I_Cr.‘. » W3C}. 5.2531 re: 1. Air C’lumi tin: "f‘uu Jm) ' slul erV:.~\.,‘._-,."'
,1- .C A“! J V v
(“ r». , . J L. l; L ’1. ly ml em.
F1" * ' "w‘ ' J‘ I ‘V '1'“ "‘ r' -‘.' r" " .‘ - - -- 1~r~~ . ,r I: J— v ' < . /
lul‘ study lQVHwtlJmced tn: general Ugllfl; Lhdt skid

row is today populated by men who are alienated or
estranged from American society thus either choosing

skid row as an escape from society and/or being alienated
as a result of their experiences in skid row. fig pervasive

evidences of such a high alienation was found (Hypothesis A).

 

 

Although only limited data could be brought to bear upon
this problem, some comparisons which were made with other
populations, especially students, seemed to show relatively
similar, rather than unique, attitudes for skid rowers.

The reSpondents in this study did express more

alienation regarding certain potential objects than towards

 

others in that they mentioned problems related to work,
the skid row community and alcoholism more often than
other problems (Hypothesis.B). Likewise they tended to

express more powerlessness, as an inability to succeed at

 

certain activities, than normlessness, as a denial of the

 

importance of the goals per pg (Hypothesis C). Since

241

242

normlessness Seems to represent the most basic type of
alienation and powerlessness suggests an actual interest
in the relevant norms, it would seem that this finding
provides added evidence of the lack of a complete skid
row alienation.

The "adaptive behavior" of skid row men as classified

in conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and

 

 

 

 

rebellion received some exploratory considerations and,

 

although many observers claim that retreatism is the
prominent characteristic of modern skid rowers, no evidence
for such an interpretation was obtained in this study
(Hypothesis D). Conformity to major American activity and

attitudinal patterns was evidenced much more often than any ,i

 

‘

of the nonconforming oatterns, and retreatism was no more L]
prominent than rebellion as they were observed here.

A large number of statistical tests were made in
order to observe the relationships between a rather

general "Meaning of Life" alienation and more specific

 

 

 

types of alienation, and of each of these with certain

 

activity patterns and personal attributes of skid rowers.

 

The general alienation was related to the more specific

kinds in about one third of the subhypotheses tested
(Hypothesis G) and to many specific, usually negatively—vmual
activities or personal attributes in about the same
prOportion (Hypothesis 3). Sfecific kinds of alienation

were related to specific, usually negatively-valued,
activities or attributes in a slightly larger proportion

of cases (Hypothesis H). Specific kinds of alienation were

 

 

related to time spent in skid row in a much smaller
proportion of cases (Hypothesis F).
In the body of descriptive findings, Chapters Seven

through Ten, attention was given to various social relation—

 

ships of skid rowers as well as to the institutions of

work, recreation, politics, religion and education. In

 

 

 

 

all of these the respondents in this study exhibited what

appeared to be rather typical American attitudes even

though their circums ances in regard to tEese institutions
xera clearly disadvantaged as compared to the ci rcu wistances

of most Americans. Thes; unfavorable circumstances did

seem to result in some feelings of po WJQKIGCSRGSS as a form
of alienation, as compared with normlessness, i.e. while
the respondents of this study tended to concur with American
norms regarding these institutions, they often admitted
their inability in fulfilling these norms. While some
care must be taken in interpreting these findings, it would
seem that they could be helpful in providing an under—
standing of the skid row comaunity and subculture and tne
functions these serve

Since about l955,american skid rows have been
experiencing increasing change. While the pyrsonal
rehabilitation of its men has received growing atte tntion,
the more important change affecting skid rows has resulted
from the physical destruction of many skid row facilities
and, sometimes, of whole skid row areas. Carried out both
by government (usually urban renewal agencies) and private
enterprise, this destruction has been motivated by the
deteriorating nature of skid row areas and their antici-
pated higher earnings in non-skid row uses.

A common saying that, when ski; rows are jemolished,

-~'-‘-" -"~ -' w’ "*"1' 1‘)" -‘H-.- r - v~ J_-\ r‘ ...- " v- 1 ' 1 .-(~
_. r ., _ A ~_ ~.,.—4‘ ‘ . . ~fi‘ .. _ _‘1 . I..- ‘ '
Liz‘s—_LJ— .LEL.‘1'_L'~.‘_LL.. a, .. blow} 'J !-i\.z‘.’~.. C.J-]. pk: l.U.L.~'-\ L4 1-41". J- .L.-' r0 3‘3
O
I
.. r-s I- “I L t .L. x ,. |_ o .. ‘1' . ‘ .- .~ (_- ‘|__‘_ h ‘ .. .., ‘ ‘
.1. _ J31: J-Y trds. LC L, x : 3 ..-.‘:'-:3 1.1.1". :‘ infinit‘ L}; LAN: :2: :21 '13 ft}

"','.‘. -. ..-,1 2,1-.- -_*-, . .-,.,..t_‘ ,- _ l_?.. ..'.o. - .:- "i.e. ‘ ' _,
oiifusxu late Utufll y;.LQ pf tn; city or to other Cities,

>- ~ 1 m~~ s ~ --r ,- “N t' '7 " ~ “ ”1‘ “W1 ‘\ ~ ,-. —-: ‘1 \ L ’-

a phenomenon not fir tl‘ ; ”r ciatsu ty tn; residents f

(ILL/co x'-‘ l L“ " t T t “Hrs: v "a ‘n ‘ a
llvg’..’ 01.15.}: OCLA L10 .13. Hi 11.1.] a SRO r pluskd ..JOAtlL, vUblI'ILSS"

men decide to cater to these men, converting their lodging

places, tave rns ar1d other service institutions into the

v“

inexpensive, heavily—used asta H3 ishments similar to those
which were found in the original skid rows. while the
original facilities, located near the central business
district, may have been unacceptable to the cities, the
modified versions of them which appear in new areas tend to

be less complete more expensive and less functional.
, L

 

 

244

" r‘ . - . .. L — _ L! a ,_ ,. ... _"
MO lUn:l-.‘r anil. ._: - L. --.-1 k be... Ida ..L _1 VJ. 4-1
7' .. 1.-.”! . C—.—‘.»' . -..: ~- . .:F...* f L_ . -.~J_—». * ‘-
.'-.' xix-1’. (its... \. L ._... .K- i. ;: .:..-- up) (,-_ Lu. ‘ _«i... “2.1 :1» .A ,_1_ .1 LC) LLJCi 1,4... .:.CflEd

men even to such persons as those over 65 and those with

missing limbs.

This study has demonstrated the existence of skid row
as a community, and has suggested that this community is

functional lOf the types of men that inhabit it. It would

I — ..L- t? «. '- 7 . - 7 . J .. l - » JT4 . _",..' " -. . H . L. ....l "
(*1‘ V .-. fl. _ ‘ ‘ _ '\ __ _., .' . -. ' i ‘ ‘ ‘ V'AW ‘~ -' : t ‘ ‘
Dbl: J .1 L- ELL). 2. Lurk)”: .'. 1: “Al.-. we" . an .‘3 .L t. -_ :‘~..'. .. .:_ \. I .17., ‘ .7 -21 L~..’ m kl

b
‘1 .. .'. .1, . -. ., . . i:_ ..' .1.. .:.. r.‘.,‘ ..-.I_: .- 1.3. . 1......
C.J. (at) ..L .11. -:.; .tr .. L ‘. , U- L, '.1.' .L‘ .t (3.? i. VC, 2x-.1-.l\_4: L...'. _' ;. :‘.'l, .'-.."L& L,

alse for a carefully conceived relocation (and considerable
upgrading) of the community. The new community would be
ya voluntary one, just as the old one was; and the agencies
of personal rehabilitation would continue, with increased
effort (and financial backing), in giving alcoholics
and men who are otherwise handicapped the assistance
necessary in routing themselves back into other American
communities.

For those aged men and others who would prefer to re—
main in a skid row or unattached male community, however,

it would be important to provide adequate housing, eating

.J

- .3 ‘ ° -1—' .1... . '1 a A pt ‘.-'I \r-‘ «H- w v F" cm" '7' ”1"." " ' ‘
dnJ Oflllhl..‘~fi L)__r_,‘lC'-_,:_~, »_:..‘.._LC_‘1‘.:.,‘;LV C1515 L-LT;‘:;, uk_)LJt_a_'.lJ; LEA). :3

'7 L. r - '1 ,- _,., .. y ., n I_
CLC)L..1.LLLJ l K u;.. ",1 L‘v‘- Lg, ._ ..t. ‘4, ~ 1.1,“ LL J ‘_ )’.l._. 1
C 1 _- _ ‘ ,- ~_ .9 _ 0 O .:. a y .
{I 3 : 1 L- A C-L ..L W L (...a S , . C) I 1- _L (i L ill—l. ' 1 o i .:2 :31. L‘_ D ‘oL-‘L‘ ‘ f: , t L";

A -a l ,- ~/‘ , ~ .I— 7A ' ‘— - . P1 .-~~ - 'v— - -: (_- - 4 -\ ..- . - A < a L— \ \ ‘ . ,
VII ._ L. r I: ' u. Lil. 2' l-..l f} L. F 1,! i1“. -L‘L 5;. L, i: .Lfl J. C).Cu'l ,‘3 thul \,1..‘.L LL': E» L.) :2

1
established in order to provide basic knowledge (e.g. regard-
ing Medicare as well as information concerning "ways out"
of the skid row community for those who are motivated to
leave it. Considering the governmental "war on poverty"
and the fact that good programs for unattached men can be
profitable for businessmen, there is now considerable
incentive for developing all these facilities in a way
which radically upgrades the skid row community while it

continues to provide the services skid rowers need and want.

.' L. .. ~ ‘5 -1— ._ 1- -.~. "a. ~ ~ ..~---3 1- ‘.- .- - -,- ». -. «,1- . -.:. (.4 .-
AltnC/hdfl which, 114;: 1-28:4 untied: 1 11:.-2r_- L':._.Jx;~.,1-\,-.1_.l', L.-:.IL_J.L.‘;:,'
1 l 1 u. . c - w‘ 0 -. l .
«- I— '~ ‘ ’y‘.‘ ‘ ‘, - u - ,v- -'~ - -~ _- «. ,,— -0\ ‘ -*\‘ -- a A , ~_: - .., - |~‘- . ‘ f“
cm}. L; KC; ‘1. E; ;?.L1C. ELL) J‘: 2....U :1 J 1. -. Lu- J-’:_‘.-.'.‘L f .1111: k.‘ (1]. l 3 (_).LJ\/' L- cly

 

"I C‘—

 

245

supported by the findings ofthis study and is clearly
important--no doubt it is the most important issue facing
skid rows today--it must be admitted that the research
which was done here had important limitations. Our findings
would suggest that further research in certain areas would
have considerable merit, and a few of these areas sh_uld
be briefly treated.

Perhaps the most enlightening findings of this study
concerned certain patterns of social interaction that

characterize skid rowers. In regard to social relation—

 

ships in familie and with friends and also in reference

 

to women (with the related issue of sex) and finally

 

self, this study managed to advance beyond subjective

impressions usually presented in the literature. The é;
evidences that many of these kinds of social relationships

are important to skid rowers certainly should encourage

much more intensive research with regard to such issues

as small group activities within skid row as well as

 

interactions with family members and other persons outside

 

skid row. The evidence should likewise stimulate more

 

careful investigations into the nature of community

 

activities and attitudes in skid row and then hopefully

 

lead to comparable studies in other communities thus
making possible the advancement of a more empirically-based
theory of community EEE se.

Though this study seemed to demonstrate the existence
of skid row as a community, it did not discover a markedly
deviant set of values which distinguish that community.

If skid row can be called a subculture, it would appear to
arise from the fact that age, alcoholism, lack of vocational
skill and other handicaps force the members into the kind

of atypical existence which is found in skid row.

Residents of skid row have become accustomed to life in

a community which outsiders usually label as dirty and
unfriendly; and, finding it tolerant of their personal

habits and handicaps, most skid rowers will probably

246

continue to dosir‘ sue} a community. Moreover, sk'd row

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5:
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will continue to recruit some m-

holism, sQVere unemployment in certain areas of the

country and other social problems. Unless massive and
perhaps undesirable programs are un ertaken to route skid
rowers, man by man, into other American communities, skid
rows will exist for decades to come; and it would seem best
for the agencies concerned to develOp well-planned, human—
itarian programs maintaining at the least, the facilities

and functions which traditional skid rows have provided.

 

Finally, brief attention should be paid here to the

 

. ,. . . . . 3
concept of alienation. while it served as a cruCial 3
measure in this examination of the skid row community, it .
also would seem toteaiuseful ,erspective by which social 5;

scientists can observe many contemporary social systems.

The problems of Operationalising alienation were by no

means fully solved in this study and this task must continue.
The utility of the concept of alienation as an explanatory
tool will be advanced only if many scientists are willing

to experiment with it, while consistently working toward

a common definition. In this study it was found that
alienation could most appropriately be treated as an

object—related phenomenon and that, therefore, more

 

specific kinds of alienation were more meaningful than
any generalized, personality—bound, kind of alienation.
Alienation with regard to various objects could well be

dichotomised into two types: normlessness, constituting

 

a denial of or confusion concerning various institutional—
ized ways of doing things or powerlessness, representing

an inability to fulfill these norms. An examination of

Merton's "modes of adaptation” led this writer to the

 

expectation that alienation would be related to the be—
havioral rejection of institutionalized means and goals

and consequent innovation, ritualism, retreatism or

 

 

 

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r1; Juntlloll, 22.1121, "1.2:- it bulk, ; (.'|_,l.'2,.‘- -. 1-153.: 1' ' L

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o. ‘ - _g
‘l - c I .. , n r‘ I I r... ‘..- '. fl 1" x "‘ fr: - ‘5 1.“ “ ' ' "f "v ‘7‘ v V‘ 4‘ "" C3
C.J.. r -U x -l\ .V--l.l.~-u.. J- . ..é . C-- J)--;1f,-.V4_t«r. .-.C'_ “1.,
a 5

l alienation,

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-. .¢ f the concept and its

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eoients and its relationsiip ta behavior, should
inue to be develooed for the valuable assistance

in hive t, examining significant sociolooical problems.

.J .J

 

 

U)

ti

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v__ A _ \ V” ~ _: .... -' \ : - ., ‘ C IN a-
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Lo

 

 

IS'

 

1'“
K’)
C1

Lerton, Robert,"30cia1 Structure and Anomie," and
"Continuities in .Social Structure and Anomie," in
Merton' 5 Social Theory and Social Structure, Glencoe:
Free Press, 1957.

 

Middleton, Russell, "Alienation, Race and Education,"
American Sociological Review, December, 1963,
pp. 973-977.

 

 

254

 

Mills C. Arioht The lower Elite New York: foord
, . .1 , ’ . ~ 7
univgrsity tress, 1962.

eal, A. and 5.;v1etti51, "Dimensions of Alienation among
Manuel and Aon—minuel Jorkers," American Sociological
heview, August, 1963, pp. 599-608.

 

, and M. Jeeman, "Crganizations and vowerlossn ss,"
mr ricwz1 Sociological Review, April, 1964,

. a" ‘f‘
pp. 216—220.

 

.\

Aettler, Gwynnn, "A
Sociological A0

In easure of Alienation," American 5A
-vi ew, December, 1957, pp. 670-677.

 

 

Nisbet, Robert, Community and Power, (originally ’1he
Qiest for Community) New York: Oxford Univer? ity
Iress, 1962.

 

 

 

 

 

 

" . ' u'. -. 1 .' -,. ~ '. ' 1‘. - --': I" ,1”, '~-. _. ~v .. ‘1'. J-
rajtgeI'IhElfn, 3...; .‘ .‘1_L-_“:-.‘. 1.3.1921. L1- ..C...‘;rl'1 ...;111, 1.1%,: -11V‘1-1~.;
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' , 1 ' A T ...“, :1 1 -7 '- ' .. . ’7 .-. . g .-1- ‘7 .' .
‘ 5.1.1.; , 1.4.fC, 11 L‘-., .11-J.-_L'_'.--l(.‘;1 IrC:.'. NO L-" ..‘1..~’_.r.J_C__T’l
‘1 A - " -' . . 'r. ”('99 ~ . ”'7'" " "7
\ :‘v ‘x. ulL i]-.. L\!.:VJ- ‘3‘64‘, \JLJI-‘L:, .Lu'lkJL— , :JLJ. J IU-‘O7 I .

 

' fl

Aie sman, Lavii, The Lonely Crowd, New York: ooubleday
Anchor books.

 

 

 

Aosen ber rg, lilton, "Fai‘h in People and Success Cri entation,”
in az f-rsfeld anzi Rosenberg's l‘ne panaux =. of Social
Research, Glencoe: Free Eress, 1955, pp. 156-161.

 

1. Serve r and F. Howton, Mass Society in Crisis,

—“— _ m...—

New York: Macmillan, 1964.

 

 

Seeman, Melvin, ”Cn the Ileaning of Aliens tion," America:
C:ci:l.;iC»1 szizw, sec.m4 r, 1959, pp. 733—791.

 

, "Alienation and Learning in a Reformatory,"
American Sociological Review, November, 1963,

 

 

:Srole, Leo, "Socia l Intejra tion and Certain Corm mllaries,"
American 3oC'oloyical Aevi;w, :ecva‘r, 1953,
Fwfi" Py-r‘ —
11° I- —I'J.)o
3.111 I», a: in, ”Hajor V.luo—Crientations in America,”

in Ailliam' 5 Am Society, New York: Alfred Knopf,
1961, pp. 415—470.

 

2'V‘illi‘th, Louis, "Urbanism as a Way of Life," The American
Journal of Sociology, July, 1938, pp. 1—24.

 

.. mr' '
r *‘dgffi! “ PM.“ --"' ’

 

row,

.._.,.

Mn 1’1""! !
CL'meLJllx AA

1‘
a.

In a summary a proach, the question of skid row
retreatism, rebellion and conformity questionnaires were
sent to twelve :rofessional workers and businessmen
(especially mission directors and hotel managers) in skid

r‘.

I
(.1...

' ‘.- -‘ "1‘. . ‘ .‘ ,-‘....' J- . 4.. -. .‘ J..- ..,, .....1.
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cc~ Cor ity and other modes were also suggested. Ahile
they were not asked about ritualism or innovation, it is
eXpected that they would have giveA these only limited

suoport.

).

4‘1.

Eifst they were asked generally about ”ritualism...

. ‘~ .1 ' ~. ~ .:. -,- .C .—: '-‘ r ~ 4 J, . ,r .3—1 .7 ——' .. A -~ L's -
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a

r(v Zeb vior, one argued for conformity and one

that skid ro .ers cannot be ce.te orized.

Q.

Some peonle have written that the average skid row
man is one who has "retreated" from normal society.
Others think that he is in "rebellion" against
society. Still others think that he is simply
onforming to a lower class life not too dii fer-
ent from that in which he was raised and spent
most of 115 life. Ahat is your opinion and
comment with regard to these?

1. He cannot take the wressure s of our moral
standards which are hypocritic and, therefore,
retreats from our double standards.

- - .- 1.. -.1- 1.: -. .. ,~.-: ,7 . _ -° ..
2. .L c1312-: t..C;.L. pile C1\.".:‘f;3_.J-._; f:---'.~‘ run £13111 -LQ (-1153.
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'x‘ c\ 1 \ ~“'- ‘ r "w 1"" " 73 «A. 1 ’3 .1
v ..: _ LIL; \IL'L. 5‘1 _— .4 .1 : bVKL.-Lfl- mfk-llj \Ar .L—O Gr
etc.

3. I dc finit 1y feel the: the anra3e skid row
man is in retreat from norma society. For
various reasons, buried in the past, he feels
ina de:xuate and is not able to cope with the
pressures and resyonsibilities of "norma 1"
society. He is not a "rebel," in the true
sense of the word, as his behavior is not
aggressive; he stands for nothing in parti-
cular and is not truly anti—social. His is
a policy of ”laissez faire.” He wants only
to be left alone and to have nothing expected
of him. He is not simply "conformin " to a

.J
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3.31.; -.g- 1 441:," \. ‘.w".'3 ‘.-.'._.v.n'.:‘;. _'_ {LI-I 6 1111.11. 11 [I 11“]:

.1. . .
.J
strata of =ociacy and even in some cases from

256

i

 

C]

These professionals Jere also asked about particular

257

the professions. in the contrary, he has
”turned his back" on his former environment
and fled into a world where life makes only
very minimal demands Upon him.

we think that he is simply conforming to a
lower class life, not too different from the
environment in which he was raised and spent
most of his life.

I don't think that you can categorize these
men. At this clinic we deal only with alco—
holics. These men we have studied intensively

and find that there is no way you can cate— "9‘

gorize them. .e find neurotics, psychotics

a.d character disorders among them.

The average man has retreated from normal

society but does not rebel against it; he

just refuses to have any responsibilities. ,3
J

 

m ' ': -. ‘- .J-.. 1-: ~ (13.. ..- .- :1 1|-
mones 01 adaptation. naked, "In what ways do you see

the

5.
6.

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C10 I'IC'L. , v9.0.1 C 31c: ‘:~11.D~-er 73c; ; 1.1151 -..‘prc I 1.1.?

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0.»...LU rC) ”:1 11111:]. (.1 Q CL';;.J- (- _- .1‘.‘:..‘L .7; . (1; 1-4.1: .4 '75:.1. ’1‘. ”117;. L Qinl
r 1" ~ :"‘ A-. .— .’~ : - .- --,r .r— , ,‘ ' r '- . . -l< '- V
'- .,/_, Lk.,.>2.i.. LC a CurtuJul fiat. “it, (1.12“. LnC'L. LRBY
3

:q u — 3 _' o v
- .1 , P. K _‘ .-. .. -
1 ‘ .1 L- C’;:t.-_L .1" . \1‘. L ulnkLL U *r 1 AC: "i 1.0
J. .a .1

-' S. .. ._- -' '-. , 7 , -. H 1.1. ., .:.. . . 1- n ‘. .. ' \
a. ¥.L\J )‘ :( ‘v-L ; ... I . —J\r”_—l-1 k)A‘ '\4'l :‘j s Laur— 8‘: ‘4 iii; ( S]_C . I,

. .. _ J. " . . . ..', _--‘ _I-'_,.._ . - - ..—‘ '.. .7 ran . ‘, . ,
.» «-19- £331. ~' J-i‘ ‘. ".-.- -:. L...\.J 1': <_-I_~_.U;l'-.' 11.1-1ll. 4.1116?" fluv":

_ Ln1ir own," upcomplicat d but, in its

own way, gait; rigid. For example, if they

borrow cr lend small sums of money, they expect to
pay or be repaid; if one of their number is
intoxicated, he is protected by his friends from
arrest by concealment from the police. Also, it

is an unwritten law that no one "informs" on another
an; no one inquires into another's past. These

and other "taboos” make for a loose knit type of
conformity on skid row.

'1

he think the average Skid Row man is not satisfied
and would apply himself to better living conditions.

As I understand this question - there isn't any
conscious conformity. There is an acceptance
and respect of each other's anonymity. The men
are aware of living as peOple ordinarily live
but this freedom of not caring or not having any
responsibility out weighs these pleasures.

In order to exist on skid row there have (sic.)
to be a certain amount of conformity to the skid
row mores.

No such thing.

They all have prejudices (sic.).

258

They were asked, "In what ways do you see the skid row
men as conformers in American society?" and three
answered affirmatively, while three did not answer.
One of them expanded as follows.

1. His conformity to American society is minimal.
He usually conforms to and resgects the law,
simply because he wants to stay out of trcuble
and remain anonymous. He works for a dollar
because he knows this is the only safe way to
get it, but he considers himself responsible to
no one but himself and takes little or no interest
in the standards, ideals or expectations of a '
society of which he does not feel himself to be
a part, for reasons known only to himself.

2. He think the average conforms to his limited
concept of American living.

3. Yes Lividently he saw skid rowers as conformers,
though he did not understand the question;/

Asked whether they saw ”scid row men as rebels in
American society," four answered "no" and one did
not answer. Their emphatic denial is revealing
evidence on the issue.

1. I do not consider the average skid-row man to be
a rebel. H is not "fighting" anything or
aggressively scorning society. He knows that he
is a misfit, but simply doesn't care. He is a
man with too little hoge or desire for change to
fit into any sort of "rebel" category.

a. He do not think that he is a "Rebel" to American
society: but was (sic.) dissatisfied with his
former environment and drifted to Skid Row. He
is still dissatisfied on Skid Row.

3. If they cared enough to rebel - they probably
would not live in this manner.

4. The alcoholics are not rebels; they are sick
emotionally.

5. Jone

In connection with this, they were asked why they
thought ”Communism, atheism and socialism (as rebellious
movements) have such little effect on skid row men,"

and of the six who resyonded, three said that these
movements were not meaningful or significant to them,
one that they had no spirit to fight for such causes,
one that they were ”loyal emericans" and one "did't
know."

. Lm‘

 

[‘0
Ln
\0

1. These do not effect him as he feels they do not
concern him and have nothing to offer him. He
sees himself as a sort of ”outcast” of society
and in his depressed state of mind is content to
stay that way He lives from day to da‘, is

O
unconcerned Ath rigolitics or Luerlogi s and wtuld
not make any effort to aff il__st; wii;h any grcup
as this wculd ces' rcy his safe anonymity and make

demands upon him.

2. 5e think Communism, Atheism (sic.), Socialism
etc., have little effect on Skid row man because
he believes they promise no immediate alleviation
of his need.

3. They are just words and as such are intangible
to them and have little effect from any of these
dOgmas.

4. He has lost interest and takes the easy way out.

5. They are all American First and Always.

o. I don't know.

 

Finally, they were asked, ”In what ways are skid row
men retre1tsrs from American society,” and the three
that respolded said:

1. ...He sees himself as adrift from the mainstream,

reduced to merely existing with as little effort
as possible. Due to either tragedy, emotional
problems, alcohol or many other reasons, he has
"given Up." The only way he can live without
overwhelming anxiety is to dodge any and all
responsibility. He works simply for a place to
sleep, a meal ticket, and a bottle and will refuse
a job which entails any permanence or responsi-

bility.

2. Because of feelings of inade uacy and inferiority
the alcoholic retreats from society.

3. we: ttxii‘. tit: L~Vllfd :; gfiii<i rcwd snail ";?:tr iLS” :frcnn
the nmericen 50u:i4';y insofar «s he fi m1 himself

.n '1 J- .
Lgflwgli,‘ LC: CLliLLQ‘L‘ Leo

 

V - . _ ‘5” Q 1 ' w ‘ '_ 1.. _ '7‘ _!_ ‘ 0 "a ._ ‘ _w 0 .—

-=iL‘ -1. k." .7 L‘ C _" t i .‘3‘ 53131.13 ;1J'._'_.zk, L. I .:-; .LC I) Cs: .3 L. ;\_; l [’1 r J :1 31:5-1 CL)

, ,_ _ ~. r . i, w *1 fl in ‘. .- I}. 19y ., .3 , .I- A _ ,9- ° , .—.‘.-.-' -
I..." L‘L.;_‘_‘e:.-_’_'.'j ’ J , J -f LR}. .i ( i-l{;_1_<:i_.g-.:;.:; I. 3.11-91L'3'10.-_L :S

which were f‘wa to be simn’licait at the .05 level thus
supporting resyectively Hypotheses o, G and H and failing
to snu> crt Hygothesis F. In each significant case, the
strengt h of a 3c civtion is also reported in terms of
Pearson's Corrected Coefficent of Contingency.)

l. Hypothesis g: These would express greater "Iieaning of
Life" alienation than others.

Daily Activities

1. Men who had no plans on rising for the previous

day.
rs ‘ — -_~ ‘ _ 7‘ g -1" _ '_ ~ : ~ (‘1 _ o V ' _y ‘ A. A J‘1‘ _Q.'. _r
2. .nen WHO s eat the preVIAUs day in ways Utmtr tnan
v - .'~ a" “ - . -‘ ¢ ‘ . - o -\ -> -? , v n ~ ‘1,-
‘I‘J(J.L.r-l-l‘_" 01. L.';:-;;;t_1_-;g HULK.
f) ’ .— - I“ _ ... .L. '_ -— ' ‘w. -« L .L.‘— ,e v. . _ 3. . A ' .
3. hen who st,-e Hat there was nothing particular

they did on weekends.
"Faith in People”

a. 4. Men who show less of Rosenberg's "Faith in People"
(C' =.48) (This association, a strong one, was
esaecially important in that it was between a

Il‘iE— It€fll sczdg: CCALZtrJlWNT‘tHE sargniffln: at ixssue
.r: ..,- .-41- .. J. .9- ~ .r:' a '. n . - -.— ‘m

C l 'lLl ‘1‘. JILL/1f” ”flu Chg-2 J. th: l t :m :Cc‘rl‘j (.af tue

i; 1 r1": ’1. r; 71/ ,1i; ICU d " v': ' O {‘1' _J: L ' f 1' o u )

a. ---_l\.4_‘v c. 858 1-8d1’111’1g OJ. .1. e 155 e.

Social Class

S. 5. Men who say that their social position is lower
than that of their parents. (C'=.42)

Community Factors
6. Men who have moved more than ten times in the
last two years.

7. Men who reside in public shelters, missions and
Jails, or outside rather than in rented quarters.

8. Men who have been in skid row longer than ten
years.

Community Problems

9. Men who report they have ever been cheated by
employers or businessmen.

260

 

U1
0

U}
o

- .F\ 1 '_ g_ _ a A 1 y‘ ”.1 _3 ,
I ‘ f (fir- ? 3,, 'f
.LU. _ ‘ K ' L. ', '- / _, ... _ _._, _ 4 - ....L...
- w r _ _3.
1—‘0 1 7 r _/*- 45’, I Arr " ..J 7'“ M“ 1",”: I.”
- r 3 - , y , 3 g ---a
.l- ... ‘ “f‘
( 'w I ..o ,'—°jé)
,. .‘ _‘_ ,_ w _ .‘ _I__ 1
7-. w r U11 t':g -« — uf‘r gsrtic. “LfJ in
J- j , <-: A 1/
L .-,LWJ er DUaLrltfob‘LSo
3r;
‘4‘».-
I ., H _ L I ‘- '. x C a“ .
13. -en 0 are not wnite Hmericans 11 race and
nati on nali ity.

The Fa ily

 

l4. Men who left their parents before reaching
17 years. '

15. Ken who left their parents after reaching the
age of 28 exoressed significantly more "Leaning
of Life” alienation than others. (C'=.3S)

16. Men who do not communix2ate with their families
express ed significantly more ""eaning of Life"
aliena ticn than others. (C'= 2)

l7. Len who n3V3r ”lirixo.

‘N . . ~ 0 q q
' ‘ ‘ fl ' I'- r a s V; . i' 7 " 2‘ I- ' :4 a I" T, ' ’ X
lo. neg wnos; mxriii,; has tromeq by

T7,. A"
.'- J ';f_1'--.;2
*m
"X . 1 .. ‘ ‘1 1. a L W - _ " -.,
1:9 i‘.‘.f.r'. ~11“ a i 4L i ’..L L\./ Lil—L.) C.J. CiLj‘l‘CS I l€lldo

L r
20. Hen who had not seen their "closest friend"
within the last month.

21. Men who had known their "closest friend" less
than eight years.

22. Men who claim they did not "have good friends
in life." (C'=.27)

23. Men who claim to spend most of their time
alone. (C'=.36)

24. Ien whose "last time in a group" was more than
a week ago.

fiomen and_3ex

 

25. Men who state that their most recent encounter
with a woman was with a casual or orofess iona a1
prostitute.

)

ON
0

vho claim the‘ have not had sex in the past

Q
.n
A-

 

(I;
O

‘l

27. Lem who are judged by tne interviewer as not
b-Diilg .5911 02113.3" i'n-‘eal thy. (C ' = . 29)

2s. hen whose intelligence is judged as less than
normal.

 

 

 

29. Ken whose appearance is judgecl relatively
distuvelled or irty. (C‘=. 31)
3Q. Len who are olfer than 49 years.
‘( - : C! ‘ lt‘ I’X; Ffi‘h
31. :1 UL?" y’l le's tian $1.:o .Ql xtLr on
t‘CLLr “\wst 1r crryt jChJ.
3”. .e. L-c :LC-’ :03 ’ , -I U1 'lllec Lr eg-l-~k111ei
C'.'3.
“3. u ' - V "-J' Ju‘ l or" is .u :.;:111 w or
‘: ‘- is .1. u .. .;o ...—J
11-0 1 «‘ i Mi (:rliec 1 — L) tn :4 :fculr r luhfi. 1-- L 1»
‘1 ,JLLLM_ six.
" l " 11C :3
35. Je; alt spend less than $12.01 per week. (C'=.24)

30. hen who receive welfare.

7. Ken who have financial resources of less than
$10.00.

Recreation

 

38. Men who state that they used their free time for
nothing, for sitting around, talking, loafing,
or just relaxing. (C'=.28)

39. Men who do not participate in mass leisure of
television and movies. ( '=.26)

40. Men who do not go to the movies. (C'=.3l)

41. Men who do not participate in physical activities
(walking, playing pool).

42. Men who do not participate in mental activities
(reading, playing cards, Che kers and Chess).

43. Men who do participate in certain "negatively
judged" activities (p drinking, gambling).

44. Men who narticipate in fewer of the re creation
activities listed in this study.

.‘

45. Plan who re ad less than an hour per day. (C '=.32)

Drinking

 

45. Ken who are not teetotalers or light drinkers.

47. Men who drank more than moderately the day
before (more than three beers, 2 glasses of wine,
or 1 liquor).

Politics

48. Men who did not vote in the 1960 presidential
elections.

49. Ken who are not Democrats. (C'=.26)

50. Men who knew fewer than three holders of the
following oftices: U.S. President, Governor of
Illinris and one Illinois Senator, and Chicago's
hayor. (C'=.36)

51. Men who did not vote in 1960 and knew fewer than
three of the office—holders. (C'=.37)

Religion

 

52. ken who do not claim to participate in religious
activities.

53. Men who did not attend a mission or church within
the past week.

54. Men who claim no membership in the various
denominations and Christian religions.

Education

 

55. Men who received eight or fewer years of education.
”0..

Hypothesis 3: These will have Spent more time on
Skid Row than others.

lunericens

 

1. Men who judge "average Americans” in negative ways.
American Value—Orienta:ions

2. Men who do not agree that work is a very important
part of life.

3.

b—v

{en who do not agree that if something is not
ractical itshould not be done.

‘

4. Ken who do not agree that man can make this a better
world.

 

 

The

3.

10.

ll.

'- r .‘l . ,.‘, M , . --. ‘ -- ' A , -' . 1 _‘ 1 r- r~~
sen hug do Jut agree tn. oiche is the best

C
thing to so1Ve our grobl

hen who do not agree that they would rather spend
their tine 11 activities rather than in relaxing.

Len who no not agree that one should "do unto
others as he would have others do unto him.”

1- ‘ v ~5—

(D

gree that all men are equal.

I.
a-

.. ,., 1,, -u - .1- °
1. WHO atree Llld 1

'en is better for white children
tC: hth; svxiXLn'
€11

L.
L.
. -. .~ . ~. .C ' ‘ -, '
at gOQlfi oi tneir own.

.,
1';

1
who do not agree that freedom is our most
im ortant goal

Men wno agree that it would be better to nave a
government run by a group of experts rather than
the people. (C'=.32)

Men who do not agree that it is better to go along
witn others and do things the usual way rather
than do things your own way.

Lower Class and its Alleged Values

13.

14.

l5.

16.

18.

19.

20.

Men who agree that poor people are more honest
and better friends than those who have money.

Men who agree that one should share what he has
with others.

Men who agree that they should tolerate those
who are drunk and dirty.

hen who agree that they would rather enjoy the
present pleasures rather than put off for the
future.

hen who agree that strict punishment is the best
thing for those who get out of line.

Ken who agree that people in higher positions
such as fathers and employers should be obeyed
at all times.

Men who agree that we should not put up with
atheists and communists.

Men who agree that people in universities and
colleges don't know what the real world is like.

The Family

 

U1
0

21.
22.

23.

Men who report unhappy childhoods.

Men who agree that they would not marry again if
they had the chance. (C'=.39)

hen who agree that married people lead trapped
lives.

 

U;

U:

Friends

' I
.J

24. Len wne at not a
friends in their

..e til it:

re t they have had gooo
11T*lee.

\

(

LIC‘IY‘MNT and

 

25. men who r: ort that sexual actually is not a
lecessary or helpful oart of life. (C'=.37)

L

C .
\D
H
*‘h

 

hen who engress dissatisfaction in evaluating
themselves.

hi
0‘»
O

27. Ken who consider themselves a failure.

28. Len who think that average Americans have
negative ideas concerning skid row residents.

 

29. Men who list any kind of joo complaints.

free Time

 

0.)
O
o
(D

n who do not agree that they have been able to
e their free time well.

'1

L1

0)

Drinking

 

31. Men who list reasons for drinking other than
sociability or personal prefer nce.

 

W C .
Lolitics
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in local electiozs.

(D

35. hen who agr at politics and government are
too complicated for the average man to under—
stand. (C'=.32)

36. Ken who agree that the average man has little
say in politics. (C'=.37)

 

thew have been sa‘isfiod

J

H :3“
WP}

37. Ken who do not agree t
with their religious 1’

(D (i‘
O

 

(f1
0

3s. Ken who state that they are again
organizations. c =.36

39. hen who agr.e that religion is a
part of life.

40. Hen who agree that life
and evolution r" r "

‘ ,.
S the re:
1 e

 

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I
O
O

(D

fiygothesis

w
w.’
—

P‘ '3
H) (D

(D m

t‘H

Americans

 

1. Ken who jud3e "average Americans”

nmerican Value-Crientations

 

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tractical it hould not be done.

A.

U“

4. hen who do not agree that man can
better world.

5. Men who do not agree that science
thing to solve our problems.

,4.

.D

d"

religious
very important

sult of chance
ourgose.

will express greater "Meaning of
alienation than others.

in negative ways.

.15- .1', i._:- 1L3}:
make this a

is the best

6. Men who do not agree that they would rather
spend their time in activities rather than in

relaxing. (C'=.28)

7. Men who do not agree that one should "do unto

others as he would have others do
8. hen who do not agree that all men

9. Men who do agree that it would be
white children Ead swimming pools
(3.3037)

10. Ken who do not agree that freedzn

im;ort:Wd:'xaal.

h)

unto him."
are equal.

better if
of their own.

is our most

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ratnar than u

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r things the usual way
o things your own way.

(C'=.34)

 

 

267

 

13. Ken who agree that poor oeoqle are more honest
and better friends thin those who have money.
~'=.112)

14. ten who agree that one should share what he has
with others.

15. hen who agree that they should tolerate those who
are drunk and dirty.

l6. hen who agree that they would rather enjoy the
present pleasures rather than out off for the
future.

17. Men who agree that strict punishment is the best
thing for those who get out of line.

 

r“- ‘ . . 1 -‘ - m . - 1-3- - l- A, -4 ' v, ‘. l: . . - :-- i 7.
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.N 1.1,, : ;_ e - .‘~ . J 4. H _ "t- '—
atneists and communists. (t'—.¢3)

20. Ken who agree that people in universities and
colleges don't know what the real world is
like. C'=.53)

The Family

 

21. Men who report unhappy childhoods.

22. Ken who agree that they would not marry again
if they had the Chance.

23. Men who agree that "Married peoole lead trapped
lives.” (C'=o49)

Friends

24. Men who do not agree that they have had oood
friends in their lifetime. (C'=.27)

q

domed and sex

'3

 

fl-
Q)

25. Men who regort that sexual activity is go
necessary or helpful part of life.

 

26. hen who express dissatisfaction in evaluating
themselves.

\]
o

Len who consider themselves a failure.

[U {\J
LL)
0

Ken who think that average Americans have negative
ideas concerning skid row residents.

U)
0

 

 

 

 

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33. Leg Whg r; or; rd in: rest in the 1960 election.

34. Men who state thatihey have not been interested
in local election.

35. Ken who agree that politics and government are
too complex for the average man to understand.

36. Hen wno agree that the average man has little
say in politics.

Religion

 

37. Ken who do not agree that they have been satisfied
with their religious life.

38. Men who state that they were against religious
organizations. (C'=.3l)

39. Men who agree that religion is a very important
part of life.

40. Ken who agree that life is the result of chance
and evolution rather than divine purgose.

Zducation

 

41. Men who state that they had not been satisfied
with (their) education. C'=.29)

Hypothesis fl: These activities or personal attributes
would be directxy related to alienation
in these same soecific institutional
areas.

 

U:
I

U;
C

The Community

 

 

1. Men who have had a shorter stay on skid row
would claim that they were "not used to life
in the Jest Hadison area” more often than others.

2. Men who live in public shelters, i.e. missions
and jails, or outside would claim that they were
”not used to life in the Nest Madison area” more
often than others.

Community Problems

3. Lee who have ever been jackrolled would claim
that they were ”not used to life in the Jest
ladison area' JOTB often than others.

4. hen who claim that they had been cheated by

f-3
33‘
(D

l

employers or businessmen would claim that they
were "not used to life in the West Madison area"
more often than others.

Men who state that they had been arrested by
police more than once would claim that they were
"not used to life in the West Madison area"

more often than others.

l‘Family

Men whose marriage had been broken by divorce
or separation would agree that they would marry

again if they had the chance more o-ten than
Others. (C':.35)

7. Men who had married would agree that married
people lead trapped lives more often than others.
(C‘=o42)

8. Men who left home before 17 years of age would
report that their childhood was unhappy more
often than others. (C'=.30)

"riends

 

10.

ll.

Hen who list no good friends would state that
they had not succeeded "in having friends in
life” more often than others. (C'=.35)

Men who did not see their friends within the past
week would agree that ”they had succeeded in
having good friends" less often than others.

Men who are unable to cite a ”close friend"

st
would score lower (less faith) in Rosenberg's
”Faith in People” scale than others.

 

 

 

U]

r'\
l“

l3.

l4.

1.en wno state that they had no gord friends
would ex ress low “Faith in EeOple” more often

than others. (C'=.27)

hen who report that they swent most of their time
alone would score lower in Rosenberg's "Faith

in People” scale.

hen who re ort that the last time they were in
a groug was at least a week ago would report
lower scores in Rosenberg's "Faith in PeOple”

.,
“f“,

 

 

Men who were not sexually active in the past
month would agree that sexual activity was a
"good idea" less often than others.

 

Self

16. Men who are estimated by the interviewer to be
less than normal in personal adjustment would
describe themselves as less than well-adjusted
more often than others.

17. Men who are older would agree that they "worry
about the idea of getting older more often than
others.” (C'=.26)

Iork and Finances

18. Men who have been employed less in the last six

19.

21.

 

months would agr=e that they had "succeeded in
their work life" less often than others.

hen who report lower pay on their current jobs
would agree that they had "succeeded in their
work life" less often than others.

hen who resnond positively to an inquiry concerning
"complaints about their present jOU'would agree
that they had ”succeeded in their work life" less
often than others.

hen whose "best job ever" had been an unskilled
or semi-skilled one would agree that they had

"succeeded in their work life” less often than

others.
Men who have no ' in savings and material

more than
a

goods would more ofte; that they would

 

rather wrrk just enough t get by than others.
Time
Len who list no recreational uses of free time

 

271

in an onen—end uesti01 would agree with the
statwLent ”r‘ree tirne is a v ry 'mportant part
of life” less often than others

24. 8 who are more active in a list of recreational
actid/ ties would state th.: t they ”would rather be
:ctive than juat relax," ore often than others.
(C': .3=3 )

Politics

 

 

fi“ 7 - 7 ' _ . 4 ea 1‘ - . ’—

45. “ea who state that tney nae oee. inter sten
in the 193u x:,CL_\1 would (gre: tb t “it is
in: t _r': I: ' A ' 1:- ~r-:_- - l 1 ii if: .l ' in
-‘ ‘i—t-.-:‘ 7'. : ‘:—:_ .:. : : Ct":‘ff.o :'=.'\':)/

C: 6 J 1"4.‘ — l. e I k f- l t 2:1qu7. ‘ I f t'\ 4 J (A. Q . Li:L t.... -,
11113 Is' lov:rn\r uni can senator and Chicago's
Us,» .~‘. - J- - J—‘~ « ‘.~ 7 ,2 »-- I.“ -. A» 2
nsyxr) JHLUl re: ta.t tn:y had succeeded and
1"12‘. ._t q ,__‘ “1 I t 0 fl 7'." “‘f‘f. fto, t1
keg imi orm d in ybiltlps more 0 -n nan

' \

others. (C'=.E /

neligion

a7. hen mat “1d not particihst; in religious actiVi—
.-.: . .. ‘ .. .L— . ,- O I 0 ‘
ti would ayr e C.aL "relig lo 13 » vary im;>ortant

th

as n a
part of life less often an others.

Lducation

28. Fen who received less than 9 years of education
would exaress little or no satisfaction with
their education more often than others.

29. Ken who have less than eight years of education
would agree tha "yublic education is i. gretty

.. ,.7 ...! H .\ .. A. L- .‘_W ,. 1-2 .. .- "'__ 4r)
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