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come out to see it this afternoon."
"Tomorrow, probably," said the woman, extricating
herself and pursuing the search.
The result was the same on the whole scale of prices
from $75 up and In all parts of the city. In one building In
a desirable location near the park where the flats rented for
$30, an offer was made to rent her two together. On a cor
ner of Astor street an apartment which rents for $2,000 to
$3,000 had a third floor that she could have. It was claimed
that there was not so much objection to children, on account
ot the elevators. It was the same way with many of the
better south Bide apartments.
Roof Garden for Children.
At the Bryson, where the apartments rent for prices
from $1,800 up to $3,000, she found a garden on top of the
house especially for nursemaids and babies. Places for ham
mocks and canopies were arranged purposely, said the Jan
itor, so that the baby could have his morning nap in the
fresh air. There are also quite a number of children In the
apartment. Chambers L. Pierce lives here, who has a child
under 2 years. Judge Jesse Holdom is an Inmate who has
c boy of 3. Howard O. Coles Is also one of the tenants who
has a boy also under 2, while Nelson E. Barker lives hers
wltn his family. In which there are small children. Mrs.
James O. Hubbell also brought her two children, who aro
still small people, through their babyhood here. One of
7
'ft "I
ITfTHE BABIES ROOF (M&Ztfr
iT doesn't make any difference how many chil
dren a woman has, she can get any number
of flats In Chicago If she looks In fashionable
neighborhoods. In fact, those very places from
which children are popularly supposed to be
most strenuously " barred."
This statement Is made by a woman who
looked for a flat, handfeapped by four cherubs,
all boys, and from 7 years down. She was also blessed with
a husband who did not object to putting a hundred or two
a month Into the rent If necessary. She wanted the best for
her money, however, and expected to have to plead for a
place to exist, even with the mitigating circumstance of not
being exactly pinched In the matter of rent.
She discovered that It Is not the exclusive landlord with
perfectly appointed buildings in fashionable localities that
Is the alder and abettor of race suicide. This populttr idea,
according to the real estate men, Is entirely a Action. In
stead, she found that It Is the " would be " swell flat holder
of the middle class apartment who Is actively opposed to
the existence of children, at least on his own premises.
Families with Nursemaids Welcomed.
" It Is In that particular part of society," she was told,
" that knows not governess nor nursemaid, and where the
domestic machinery la divided between mother and the
took, that children are considered as a real menace. It Is
tnly in the happy and easy going family of this kind that
the cherubs can escape to make lovely little sand plies In
the front hall and to smear their faces with beautiful Jam
sandwiches on the front steps.
" In the really best class of apartments in Chicago these
things cannot happen. In the first place, a family who will
rent in this kind of an apartment building has a nursemaid
who knows her business. It also employs a governess who
knows her, or else the children are sent to a fashionable
school and are called for every morning by some kind of a
conveyance, and later In the day as carefully returned and
deposited inside, each before his own entrance.
"There are other things. The people who live In this
kind of an apartment spend long summers away In green
'places. This Is especially on account of the children. Theu
the apartment Is sure to have elevators. This In Itself Is a
great point In favor of the baby, as the question of the ob
jectionable baby carriage, which somehow always gets left
in the front hall. Is done away with. The walls, too, are
deadened, so that If the baby walls at night it doesn't dis
turb anybody, and hs brothers and sisters can even be
spanked without the mother feeling ashamed of herself.
" AJ1 of these things make the way easy for the woman
with the young family who looks for a really choice apart
ment. Perhaps the landlord who asks from $1,000 to $3,600
a year rental thinks it discreet to be conciliating to any sized
family who can pay the price. Perhaps the sight of a fash
ionable woman with a large number of children SO fills him
with astonishment that he can't object."
J J
Theory Proved by Experience.
At any rate, he doesn't. All this Is Just as stated by the
real estate men, and it was proved by the experience of the
woman who looked the other day. She first asked for some
thing out on the lake shore within- near distance of the
elevated.
" Iet's see," said the agent " How many children did
you say?"
" Four," sald4fa woman modestly, hesitating a second.
The .fact was that the family was adopted anyhow, for the
time being, and she didn't quite remember. Pour was
enough, she decided, for a fair experiment, as she announced
that the oldest was 7. ,
" Let's see, 7, 0, and 3, and a baby. I suppose?" said
the agent obligingly.
"Seven, 5, and three, and the youngest twins," remarked
the looker, warming up to the subject and wishing she had
said more. It was so easy. i
"We have something that I think will suit you. I( is
near the lake and three blocks from the L, station, twelve
rooms, on the second floor, and $110. I'll call the landlord
up and see what he says to the children. It's a good many,
you know."
The woman held her breath. It was one of the swellest
apartments on the north side, with two or three baths, and
porches overlooking the lake. She thought of Venice and
cities by the sea. and already saw herself beautifully dom
iciled with the angel babies until she felt vividly what a
Calamity It would be not to get It.
" There Is no objection." said the agent, turning around
at the telephone. " The landlord wants to know tf you can
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the tenants has five boys, and that there are not many mor
such families Is snld to be simply that most applications
come from childless families. In the Raymond on the north
side Mrs. Emmons Blaine and Mrs. Scully both havs chil
dren. Jumping from this class of apartment to these that rent
for an average of $."0 and $00, the rule of " no children " was
frequently met. That this rule could be set aside for a
" consideration," however, was the suggestion made by one
agent.
" If you see a flat that you like and offer $! a month
more for It there is hardly anything In the city that you
can't have," he said. "The trouble is that the people with
children stand on their rights and would think that if they
made such an arrangement as this they were being hold up.
Pay a tax on our children? Indeed not!' the fond parent
will say every time, while the truth is that It 1b no more than
fair that the landlord should have a little extra for the
damage they do. Half of the trouble anyhow comes from
the mothers thinking that no matter what their children
do, they are perfection. It never occurs to them that they
bother anybody else. And Instead of entertaining them they
let them take care of themselves. They all say, the s.ime
thing. ' My children are not a bit of bother," or 4 Mine la
Just such a little baby; you know he couldn't do any harm.' "
J J
Refused in Cheaper Flats.
A look for flats from $30 to $r0 brought forth many com
plaints In the same strain, and In many cases refusals of
entrance. At one place admittance was refused to a flnt
building in which there were already evidences of small
people. The landlady, though fat and good natured, proved
obdurate. ,
" But you have children here already," said the looker.
" Yes. but we are not responsible for that." said the land
lady. " We never Intended to allow a child" in the flat, but
Tommy, the first we had, arrived after his parents had lived
here a year or two, and we couldn't turn them out. We got
used to him, and, although we have never taken any more
children, we got many young couples that came because the
flats were small, and after Tommy we couldn't refuse to let
ether people rerent Just because a baby arrived. And my,
how they came. They have arrived until the building has
a reputation for babies.
' What do they do that makes them such a bother? It
isn't what the babies do. It's what the mothers do. For
Instance, take a new baby the first summer. He is taken
out In the cab by the maid at least oifre and perhaps twice
every day. His mother dresses him up beautifully and puts
a lace umbrella over him and tucks him In with blue silk
things, and he la so sweet that he soon has all (tie children
In the nelghlmrhood after him. Pretty soon the maid gets
tired and draws the perambulator up to the front steps, and
from this time It draws children like flies. They are so
thick In the front door that everybody has to climb over
them. Now, wouldn't you think that mother-would hava
enough sense to tell the maid to go on walking or go over Into
the park? She doesn't. She thinks It's Just the thing to
have all the children In the neighborhood admiring her .
angel. The next year probably she has let her maid go, so
she straps him into a high chair on the back porch with
his playthings. His next move is to throw the things on the
porch floor, and as he has a croquet ball and a fire engine
with wheels, most likely they make some noise. Then, as
nobody comes after him, he reaches and howls. Thn next
summer she ties him up with a clothes line In the back
yard"
JL Jk
Mothers All Think Them Angels.
" But mine are never allowed to behave that way," Inter
rupted the visitor.
" O, I know; that Is what they ail say. They are all
angels, but we won't take any more in, ma'am. We have
enough trouble with those that come."
This, however, is not the spirit In which the babies are
regarded In the higher priced apartments, where provision
Is not only made for the play of the small men and women,
but where they are popular with the older tenants. A visit
to the Bryson disclosed fhe fact that the most popular In
mate of the apartment Just now Is probably the week old
baby of Mrs. Reagan, who, although exceedingly small, al
ready exults In the large name of Chester McArthur Hennn.i.
Over here the provision made for the babies Is not limited
entirely to the roof, for In the basement are also playrooms
for rainy days, some of which are publlo property, and one
or two of which are rented especially for the little ones of a
family.
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