58 KANSAS UNIVERSITY QUARTERLY. 



Anyone desiring to know more concerning real life in the Bottoms 

 may read a few incidents in a little pamphlet published by the 

 Bethel Evangelization society, of Kansas City, under whose care 

 Bethel church has grown to its present usefulness. 



The slums in the winter time are comparativel}^ clean and free 

 from odors for the simple reason that filth and decaying matter are 

 frozen, but in the summer time the odor from the filth, in connection 

 with that from the packing house, tends to make this locality one 

 frightful stench. 



We shall now briefly state what seems to us most needed by the 

 people of the West Bottoms. In the greater number of cases the 

 many children whose homes are here have no playgrounds save the 

 railroad tracks and public streets. There are vacant lots here 

 which are so situated that at small cost they could be utilized as 

 public play grounds, and managed fn the same way as the Hull 

 House playgrounds in Chicago. There exist in the Bottoms no 

 halls for concerts or entertainments of any better class than that 

 afforded by the dime museum or the phrenological fake. I am sure 

 these people would appreciate some good music — some of the old 

 songs that perhaps they used to know in the days gone by, and the 

 little children would have a bright spot in their owi:\ lives because 

 of this, where they too might hear the songs. Of course Wagner 

 and the highest classical music would not be appreciated, but 

 there is a great amount of music which would be. 



There are no brothels in the Bottoms — there is no need of any — 

 morality is too low. In some sections of the Bottoms night travel 

 is unsafe. One saloon in particular is notorious from the fact that 

 it is the headquarters of a gang of thugs who lie in wait for the 

 working men Saturday nights and relieve them of their hard-earned 

 money. 



One thing that might be of great benefit would be a lodging 

 house for men, in which they might have wholesome food and a 

 place to wash themselves. A dispensary with one or two physicians 

 in charge is another needed improvement. Mr. Fowler has made 

 a financial success of his ten tenements, and it is probable that 

 other tenements could be speedily filled should they be erected. 

 In fact, we may sum up the needs of the Bottoms in the one state- 

 ment that more of institutional church work or applied Christianity 

 is needed. 



There are men in Bethel church who are ashamed to come to 

 Sunday School because they cannot read the Sunday School lesson, 

 and if there could be started in the Bottoms a college settlement 

 with its full equipment of classes, clubs and other lines of work, 



