﻿HOUSTJ^G CONDITIONS IN INDIANAPOLIS 



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Owing to the fact that it was found by the investigation that 

 only a few families kncAV how much money was spent per week or 

 month for clothing, that item does not appear separately under 

 the head of weekly expense. All money spent for clothing, then, 

 is included in the ''unaccounted for" item. 



Sickness occurs occasionally in every family. Unless some 

 provision made for the payment of medicine and physicians' 

 bills brings them under the head of "other regular items," they 

 are included in "unaccounted for." 



Numerous other things help to make this item large : money 

 spent for beer and liquor, for recreation and amusement, for con- 

 tributions to church and charity, for school books, for all arti- 

 cles used around the home not bought at grocery, or on install- 

 ment. When all these things are taken into consideration one 

 sees that the "unaccounted for" item is not abnormally large. 



If I were asked what is the greatest need of this district, I 

 should answer "Social Workers." If there could be established 

 in this part of the city a settlement which should be the center 

 for the social life of the district much good would result. I be- 

 lieve conditions here are ripe for social betterment work. If 

 the scheme could be properly financed and competent managers 

 put in charge of the work, there is no doubt of its success. 



District Number Five. 



The second district in which our investigation was made lies 

 between Capitol Avenue and White River, from the railroad 

 tracks on the south to New York Street on the north. That part 

 of the district south of Washington Street will be considered by 

 itself under the head of "Foreign District." We noAv turn our 

 attention to the remainder of the district as outlined above. 



Located as it is, very near the heart of the city, we should 

 expect it to be a crowded district. Such is the case. The streets 

 in the southern part of the territory are primarily business 

 streets. Very few real dwelling houses are found on them. By 

 this statement I do not mean to imply that no people live here. 

 On the contrary several hundred of them do ; but their homes 

 are either in the rear of stores and places of business or above 

 them. In some of the buildings along these streets we find real 

 tenement house life with all its evils. The streets running north 

 and south from New York Street to Market Street are primarily 

 residence streets. The houses along them are either single or 



