THE /V\AkG/\kET JOlJlSA HOME 1904 THE YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library THE MARGARET LOUISA HOME OF THE Young Women's Christian Association OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK 14 £*f 16 East Sixteenth Street 6 0* MARGARET LOUISA HOME COMMITTEE Mrs. ELLIOTT F. SH Mrs. R. A. DORMAN, Chairman Mrs. MALCOLM GRAHAM Mrs. E. F. HATFIELD Mrs. ROBERT JAFFRAY, Jr. Mrs. W. C. LYFORD Mrs. R. McNAMEE \RD, Honorary Chairman Mrs. W. H. HUMPHREY, Secretary Mrs. WM. JAY SCHIEFFELIN Mrs. JAS. K. SHAW Mrs. RUSSELL STEBBINS Miss M. A. ST1MSON Mrs. HENRY TALMADGE Report. THIRTEEN YEARS have afforded abundant proof of the value of the Margaret Louisa Home and have won for it an important place in the hearts of women in every part of the world. From North to South, from East to West, from over the Atlantic and beyond the Pacific, from Iceland to the Cape of Good Hope, the Home is known and loved by thou- sands who have enjoyed its comforts. Occupying a vantage ground of peculiar opportunity, on the threshold of the new world, it has extended hospitality to strangers of every nationality and most varied occupations, while thousands, from all parts of the home land, have sought its protection. Many an inexperienced and lonely woman who has found her way to the city to make use of its ad- vantages for study and self-support, ignorant of its temptations and dangers, learns much that safeguards her for the future, while she spends a few days or weeks at the Home. Above all, she goes out conscious that there is a refuge behind her if unforeseen emergencies arise. Although practically a hotel, meeting the varied require- ments of distinctly transient guests, the Margaret Louisa Home combines, in an unusual degree the comfort and protection of a home with the freedom of a hotel. While ready to extend sympathy or counsel to any who may 4 desire it, the needless intrusion of either is carefully avoided. The atmosphere of the Home has, from the out- set, been one of its notable features. The utmost freedom, consistent with a due regard for individual rights, has prevailed and the independence of each guest has been respected wherever it did not interfere with the general welfare. The home feeling is increased by the family prayers held daily in the parlor, and by the observance of the various holiday festivals. While all the national holidays are appropriate!}' celebrated, Thanksgiving and Christmas are the special occasions made memorable by unusual good cheer in both home and restaurant. As many as three hundred and seventy women have dined in the restaurant on Christmas Day; a pathetic fact which marks either the absence of home or social ties, which would naturally claim them at such a time, or the inexor- able necessities of business which make it impossible for them to join the home circle. Remembering this, it is the pleasant privilege of every one connected with the Home to make the day a happy one for every guest, and in His Name who came on Christmas Day, to welcome all who claim our hospitality at that season. At Easter the Home shares in the general rejoicing of the annual Bible Class celebration, and the atmosphere is fragrant with flowers that repeat in silent parable the beautiful lesson of the Resurrection. 5 The religious influences though quiet and unobtrusive are distinctly recognized. In addition to the daily prayer service, a short Bible Class is held on Sunday for those whom we employ, and every week the guests are invited both by announcement in the parlors and by cards placed in the rooms, to the weekly Bible Class of the Association and to the Tuesday evening Devotional Meeting. Access to the Association building on Fifteenth Street, is one of the pleasant features of the Home, making easily avail- able the privileges of the Chapel, Library, Class Rooms and Employment Bureau. For several years a room has been reserved for Travel- lers' Aid guests of the Association, thus obviating the difficulty of securing a room on the short notice usually given in such cases. In every department, the work of the Home has reached the utmost limit of its capacity. The growth in numbers, as shown by the statistical record on page twenty-eight, has been phenomenal during the thirteen years past; but the zenith is reached, except in the number of disap- pointed applicants. These increase with each succeed- ing year, a fact which speaks volumes, both for the successful administration of the Home and the need which exists for more accommodation for the business women who flock in such large numbers to our city. Many of these are foreigners and peculiarly exposed to 6 the dangers which attend disappointed hopes and ex- hausted resources ; cherished dreams must be put aside, and if the process of disillusion is not less painful, it is certainly more safe, amid the comfortable surroundings and Christian atmosphere of the Margaret Louisa Home. A large proportion of the guests are teachers. When thrown out of employment, they naturally come to New York to seek new engagements or to improve their enforced idleness by special studies in music, art, literature or languages. The short vacations at Thanks- giving, Christmas and Easter, bring many whose homes could only be reached by long and expensive journeys, impossible to limited time and purse. Others whose schools are remote from the great centres of culture, need the stimulus of art galleries, libraries and musical opportunities. To them the Margaret Louisa Home has made possible an uplift of great value in their work. Not a few of these are missionary teachers from Southern schools, who come at long intervals for a part of their summer vacation, and find special refreshment in contact with the vital life of a great city, even though it must be seen under all the disadvantages of an August sun. Among our guests are many young physicians coming back to New York after a few years' practice, for special clinical and post-graduate courses. None have expressed a deeper appreciation of the real comforts of the Home 7 and none understand so fully the value of its sanitary appliances, its wholesome meals and the quiet restfulness of all its arrangements. Trained nurses also think there is no place where they can rest so well. Milliners and dressmakers coining to New York for the pattern making of the Spring and Fall openings, have been quick to discover its advantages. While a few of the more prosperous might easily go to hotels, many owe the rising prosperity of a country business to the op- portunity made possible through the Home, of an annual visit to this great centre of trade. Since the opening, Jan. 20th, 1891, over 35,000 differ- ent women have been admitted. The re-admission of those who have returned more or less frequently since their first visit, swells the total number of admissions to over 72,000. Of these more than one-third, over 24,000, are Teachers. The next largest number in the classifica- tion of occupations is represented by nearly 13,000 Dress- makers and Milliners. More than 6,000 Clerks, Bookkeepers and Stenograph- ers, 3,500 Matrons and Housekeepers, about the same number of Trained Nurses, and almost 3,000 Artists have been admitted. The literary profession is represented by 1,000 Authors, Editors and Journalists ; 700 Physicians and an equal number of Missionaries have been among our guests. A s scattering of Ministers, Lawyers, Dentists, Druggists, Musicians and Dramatic Artists, indicates the wide range of professional activities among the women who have come to the Home. Among business women we find an equal variety ; Farmers, Fruit Growers, Florists and Poultry Raisers show the agricultural interests pursued. Manufacture has representatives of nearly every known trade. Science and Art, in addition to the professions quoted above, are represented by Architects, Designers, En- gravers, Electricians, Microscopists, Photographers, Sculptors and Wood Carvers. Since the opening of the house, our accommodations have been somewhat increased by putting double beds into some of the larger rooms. There are now f one hundred beds in the house. As several of these must be reserved for officers and servants, the number of guests can rarely exceed eighty-five; occasionally, by the use of cots and the successful placing of relatives and friends who can share the double beds, this number is increased a little. It speaks well for the kindly spirit of our guests, that they are so often willing to be overcrow T ded in order that others may be accommodated. The aver- age number in the house, per night, during the thirteen years, covers the occupancy of every bed for every night. The largest number of guests for any one night during the MARGARET I^OUISA HOME. 9 past 3 7 ear, was 134 ; the smallest, on a very hot Sunday in July, when every one was out of town who could be, was 93. Even the largest of these figures bears an insignificant proportion to the overwhelming number of applicants refused. No actual records have been kept, but estimates based on the known facts, justify the statement that at least three times the number ad- mitted have been refused. In busiest seasons, when the average admissions reach ten or even twenty per day, the refusals often exceed one hundred, either by letter or in person. Most of these are referred to the Board Directory of the Association, or when that is closed, directed to nearby hotels. This widespread popularity has made a rapid increase in the correspondence which is now fully ten times as large as in earlier years. The same causes operate to tax to the utmost, all our resources in the care of baggage, forwarding of mail and giving of information to multitudes whose names have never been entered upon our register. The crowded condition at most seasons of the year, has permitted but few admissions of women who were not self-supporting, but preferred the Home to a hotel, even at the double rates charged to them. Occasional vacancies and the courtesy of business women, willing to share their rooms with friends, have allowed an average of one such guest per day during these thirteen years. Many IO of these have been officers of Associations doing similar work in other parts of the land; and the stimulus thus afforded and the interest awakened in many, hitherto ignorant of this phase of woman's work for woman, are among the best results of the thirteen years' labor. Statistics, no matter how interesting, do not represent the personal incidents, the joys and sorrows, the heart experiences, of the women who have come in and gone out since our doors were opened thirteen years ago; these are not for the public ear, but God knows, and many grate- ful women know, what the Margaret Louisa Home means in their lives. Those most familiar with the life of the Home, know best the wide reach of interests represented by its guests, and how closely it touches the throbbing life of the world at large. It is a center which feels the thrill of much that is great in achievement, heroic in endurance, brave in undertaking, noble in sacrifice, joyful or tragic in result. The health of the household has been excellent. Few cases of serious illness have occurred and no deaths. Our thanks are due to the physicians who have so cheerfully attended guests at nominal rates, to the trained nurses who have served in times of emergency, often without compensation, and to the hospitals that have admitted such cases as could not be properly cared for here. Grateful appreciation is also accorded to the press, both 1 1 local and general, for the liberal space granted to friend- ly notices of our work. The laundry has been an important item in the comfort of the house and the convenience of guests and enjoys an enviable reputation for the excellent work done in it. During the first years a rate of 50 cents per dozen was charged, but when it was found that the dozens were made up almost entirely of large pieces, that experi- ment was abandoned and a regular though moderate rate of piece prices adopted in this department. The work of the department has increased from 198,653 pieces laun- dered in 1 891 to an average of more than 600,000 pieces for the past five years reaching a total of 844, 730 in 1903. Only once during these thirteen years has the Home closed its doors; for one month in the summer of 1898, while the building was undergoing a thorough renovat- ing and some important improvements were being made. Even then, the restaurant was kept open for a part of the month, so that those who depended upon it might not be deprived of its advantages for a single unnecessary day. Few who are not brought into close contact with the work, can realize what an important part the restaurant plays. The lodger who remains even for the full limit of time allowed, must go elsewhere at the end of a month; but she may still return, day after day for the wholesome and inexpensive meals. The restaurant has thus made 12 it possible for numbers of women to establish cosy homes in rooms or small apartments, without the necessity for individual kitchens and dining rooms. The restaurant was opened to the public in February, 1 89 1, and during that }^ear 171,111 meals were supplied. Since that time the numbers have increased until dur- ing the year 1903, 422,858 meals were served. Two years ago a trifling adjustment of tables enlarged the seating capacity of the room from 100 to 107, and the opening of the restaurant fifteen minutes earlier at the noon hour, has contributed somewhat toward the very large figures recorded during the past year. The largest attendance is always at luncheon, when 600 or more are often served in the short space of two hours. The largest number of meals served in one year was 422,858; in one month 39,742; in one day 1,507; at one meal 759. During the last two years, the average has been 1,232 for week days, and 717 for Sundays and holidays. But one change in the price of meals has ever been made. The price of dinners was increased May 1st, 1895, from 30 to 35 cents. From the beginning the restaurant has been crowded to overflowing. The limited time allowed for a business woman's luncheon and the limited space at our command, are inexorable conditions difficult to harmonize. So, also, is the proportion between the crowds waiting in our 13 small reception room and the 107 seats we have to offer them. The opening of more than a dozen restaurants within as many blocks of the Home, has in no wise lessened the demand upon our resources of space and ventilation. The aim of the restaurant is to provide wholesome, well-cooked meals at moderate prices. Care is taken in the purchase of supplies to secure the best in quality and in their preparation to give variety and nutrition. While the delicacies of the season cannot be offered at the prices charged, all the articles of staple food supply find their place in due succession upon our table. Special attention is paid to the preparation of simple, home-made desserts, and fruit, fresh or home cooked, is available for every meal. For dinner it is included on the bill of fare and for breakfast and luncheon at a small extra charge. For those who do not wish, or cannot afford the full table d'hote meal, many dishes are served a la carte, and meals may be broken as desired and only a portion of the table d' hote meal ordered. Fully one third of the meals served, are thus divided. While this is a painful index of the economies necessary among even the more pros- perous business women, it also affords ample proof that the restaurant ministers in a very large degree to the needs of women who can afford only inexpensive meals. This cutting of meals is one of the most serious prob- lems in making ends meet; frequent rises in the price of provisions, increase this difficulty, which, in our restau- rant, cannot be met by a corresponding increase in charge. During the time when coal and provisions have stood at exceptionally high rates, the question of some advance in the price of meals was frequently considered as a poss- ible necessity, but so far the decision has been in favor of maintaining the present rates. It is matter for congratulation, that, notwithstanding all these difficulties, the records show that for the past four years the restaurant has fully met all its running expenses. During the earlier years this department never quite reached the point of self-support, though for several years previous to 1900 the loss was reduced to so small a sum as to be equalized by a small margin of profit in other de- partments. L,ike the experiment stations established for the prac- ical solution of problems in agriculture, science, or the arts of war, the Margaret Louisa Home has had the pleasure of demonstrating the need which exists for such a transient home for women, and the practical lines along which it could be successfully operated. Alterations and improvements have been generously supplied to perfect the equipment and enlarge the facilities for making the best possible use of every available inch of space in the building. The liberal outlay has done much to overcome many of the difficulties of earlier years, 15 and resulted in such an adjustment of income and outgo, that for more than eight years past, that is, since July ist, 1895, tne Home has met all its running expenses. The high standard of repair thus far maintained, has been made possible only by the generosity of the founder, who, during these thirteen years, has paid all bills for re- pairs and replenishing. To her liberality is due the fact that the Home has never cost the Association a dollar of expense, even for the deficits in running expenses which occurred during the first experimental years. To-day, the Margaret Louisa Home stands as the fitting monu- ment of a great idea, nobly conceived, generously plan- ned, and, by the blessing of God, crowned with unusual success. It is no longer an experiment, but an assured factor in the many sided work of the Young Women's Christian Association. Planted in love and faith, nur- tured in watchfulness and prayer, maintained in liberal generosity, the Home has realized in ever-increasing degree the beneficent purpose of its founder, and proved an incentive to the establishment of other enterprises of similar aim. Far beyond all that is represented by the material prosperity recorded, there lies a quiet accomplishment for good that cannot be expressed in figures or in words, but must gladden the hearts of all who share the privilege of administering the affairs of the Margaret Louisa Home. Historical.— Descriptive. FOR many years the Board Directory of the Young Women's Christian Association has done im- portant work as a bureau of information for women seeking board in hotels, boarding- houses or homes. By careful investigation of the houses offering such accommodation, they were able to recommend safe places to women coming as strangers to this great metropolis. Many difficulties have beset this work, and especially where the stay was to be short. Those who keep board- ing-houses are generally unwilling to receive transient guests, and hotels are far too expensive for the means of the average self-supporting woman. Out of this need grew the desire, on the part of the Young Women's Christian Association, for a home of its own, whick should offer to self-supporting women the accommoda- tion the) 7 so sorely needed. Watered by earnest prayers, and cherished as a far-off hope, the dream of the distant future, this desire lay in the hearts of the managers, until Mrs. Elliott F. Shepard, one of the Vice-Presidents of the Association, con- ceived the generous design of supplying this long-felt r 7 want, and offered to build a lodging-house for women, if the Association would assume its oversight and manage- ment. This offer was gladly accepted, and on January 8th, 1 89 1, the deeds of the property were formally trans- ferred. Questions are often asked as to the cost of the building, but it is part of the exceeding beauty of the gift that it comes unpriced, its intrinsic value being largely enhanced by a bestowal of personal and loving service in its erection, which must forever make it an inspiration to all who share its benefits. Few women would have had " the heart to conceive, the understand- ing to direct, and the hand to execute" such an under- taking, and by the desire of many friends the Home bears the name of its founder. To-day the Margaret 1/misa Home stands a fair reality; so beautiful that it more than fulfills the highest hopes, so blessed in its usefulness that it seems a direct answer to believing prayer. It has been aptly called "at once a sermon and a poem in stone. ' ' The location of the Home, at Nos. 14 and 16 East Sixteenth Street, in the very heart of business, having direct communication with the main building of the Association on Fifteenth Street, possesses every possible advantage. An open court in the rear, with its green grass and flowers, is a perpetual delight, securing abun- i8 dant light and ventilation, and preserving forever to the Fifteenth Street building the same great privileges. The lot is 50 feet front and 190 feet deep. The build- ing is a handsome six story structure, the front of brown stone, in the Romanesque style of architecture. Conspicuous features in the construction of the house are the light and air, admitted to every part of it. No bedroom is dark, each having direct communication with the outside air through a large window. Indeed, one could scarcely believe in the possibility of so much light and sunshine in the heart of a great city. The entire building is strictly fire-proof. The walls, floors, and partitions are filled with fire-proof brick and cement, which have the additional advantage of deaden- ing sound and making the house remarkably quiet, even when every room is occupied. The stairways are of stone with iron balusters. In the restaurant and lower halls the floors are of beautiful marble mosaic, and the wainscoting in tiles of soft, rich coloring. The same tiling extends along the stairway to the second floor. All the wood- work is of hard-finished natural wood. The walls and ceilings are painted in warm, soft colors, which add greatly to the charm of the house. In the parlors, offices and restaurant are tiled fireplaces with handsome andirons, and in the halls and restaurant the rich tints of stained glass increase the beauty of the 19 finish. In the basement are the kitchen, pantries, store- rooms, and a sitting-room for servants employed in the house. On the ground floor are spacious parlors, offices, and the large restaurant, which has a separate entrance for the public, at 16 East Sixteenth Street. A fine corridor connects this floor with the Fifteenth Street building, and with the chapel of the Association. Four floors are devoted entirely to bedrooms, while on the top floor, in addition to bedrooms are the linen-room and cedar closets and a laundry, fitted with all the modern machinery. The roof has a pavement of fire-proof brick, is furnished with chairs and settees, and offers a most attractive resting-place for Summer evenings. The parlors are tastefully furnished. Choice engravings, a piano, book-cases, whose well-filled shelves are at all times open to the guests, magazines, daily and weekly papers, with abundance of low reading lamps, give a peculiar air of home-like comfort to these rooms. Most of the bedrooms are single rooms, not large, but large enough to contain a comfortable bed, wash-stand, bureau, table and two chairs, one of which is a rocker. Each room has an ample closet or wardrobe and a set of book- shelves. The bedsteads and wash-stands are of iron, enameled white, with brass mountings; the furniture of oak, of simplest design, but most excellent quality. The carpets are of the best Brussels, made in rug-shape, so 20 that every advantage of cleanliness is secured. The beds and bedding are of the nicest quality, and in each room, muslin sash curtains, linen toilet covers, a pretty candlestick, an Oxford Bible, and a dainty satin banner with a pleasant greeting to those who may occupy the room, add the touches of cosy homelikeness so rarely seen in a hotel or boarding-house. The house contains seventy -three bedrooms ; thirty - seven are single rooms, twenty-five have two beds, and eleven are single rooms with double beds which can be occupied by two persons, making one hundred beds in all. Some of these are occupied by employees, leaving accom- modation for eighty-five guests. Every room is heated by steam, lighted both by gas and electricity, and is provided with a ventilator connecting with a shaft which supplies fresh air directly from the roof. A transom over each door affords additional ventilation from the halls. The bath-rooms, which are free to guests, are un- usually fine, having floors of white tile and facings of marble. All plumbing is open, thoroughly ventilated and of the latest and most sanitar)^ kind. The halls are carpeted, adding greatly to the quiet of the house, supplied with water-coolers, and furnished with chairs, tables and handsome clocks. A commodious elevator is in constant use, and every effort is made to secure to the HAI,I Y — SECOND FlyUOR. 2 I guests the quiet comfort of a well regulated home, com- bined with the independence and freedom of a hotel. A night-clerk is on dut}' during the entire night, giving a sense of security in case of sudden illness and providing for the admission of belated travelers. Admissions.— Regulations THE Margaret Louisa Home is for the temporary accommodation of Protestant, self-supporting women. Invalids requiring care and children under fifteen cannot be admitted. The limit of time for each guest is four weeks, after which re- admissions are made for a few days only, and no guest is entitled to more than thirty-five days in any current year. Applicants for admission are required to give name and address in full, occupation, church denomination, the name and address of a relative or friend who could be communicated with in case of illness or other emergency, and the name and address of a reliable person, not a re- lative, as reference. Rooms can be reserved in advance, but only when exact date of arrival is given and upon payment of a deposit covering the rent for one night. This deposit will be forfeited if the rooms are not claimed as specified. Such applications must be made sufficiently in advance to allow time for a reply. Rooms cannot be promised unless such particulars are given as will show that the applicant is eligible for 23 admission. When the applicant has not previously been a guest of the Home, sufficient time must be allowed for the usual application blank to be sent and returned. Advance deposits are refunded or credited for later dates if notice of change of plans is received one da} 7 in advance of the date specified. In view of the large numbers applying for rooms at the Margaret Louisa Home during the holiday seasons, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, deposits made to secure rooms for these dates will not be refunded unless notice of change of plans is given at least ten days in advance. When there are vacancies, women who are not self- supporting, but prefer the Home to a hotel, are admitted for short periods not exceeding one week. These guests are required to pay for the rooms double the rates charged to self-supporting women, for whom the Heme is intended, and to whom the preference is always given. As the Home is usually crowded, opportunities for these exceptions rarely occur, and cannot be promised in advance. Guests are not expected to arrive or depart on Sunday, except in cases of emergency. In such emergencies both Saturday and Sunday nights must be paid for. The price of single rooms is 50 cents per day. Rooms with two beds, 80 cents. Rooms with one double bed, 24 75 cents for two persons. 60 cents if occupied by one person. Rooms with one double and one single bed, occupied by three persons, $1.15, by two persons, $1.00 per day. The rent of rooms is always payable in advance. Guests intending to give up their rooms are requested to give notice in the Superintendent's office as early in the day as possible. Rooms must be vacated by 1 2 noon on day of departure. As all payments are in advance, unless notice to the contrary has been given in the office before noon of the day paid for, it will be assumed that the room is to be vacated and may be assigned to another guest. The house is closed at 11 p. m.; those liable to be detained later must report at the Superintendent's office in advance. Electric lights are extinguished at 11 p. m. ; gas burn- ed after midnight will be charged extra. Guests have free use of bath-rooms from 6 A. m. to 10.30 P. M. The elevator runs from 7 A. if to 11 p. m. daily. Family prayers are held daily in the parlors at 7.15 p. M. ; Sundays at 6.45 p.m. All are cordially invited to be present. The entire care of rooms is assumed by the chamber- maids, but guests are requested to air their rooms daily, and to make their beds on Sunday mornings. 25 Guests are earnestly requested to give no fees to ser- vants and to ask no extra service of them. No cooking or washing can be allowed in the rooms. A charge will be made for damage done to furniture and bedding, and for keys lost. Occupants of rooms are desired on leaving them, to lock the doors and leave keys in the office adjoining the parlor. Letters and packages may be inquired for in the same office. Valuables may be left in a safe provided for the purpose. The Home assumes no responsibility for such articles left in rooms. It is suggested that guests coming to the Home should, as far as possible, bring only hand baggage or small trunks, the size of rooms making large trunks a serious discomfort to all concerned. Small trunks are allowed to remain in the rooms; large ones must be unpacked at once and sent to the store-room, where they are accessible at any time during the day; orders for access to store- room may be obtained in the parlor office. Guests bringing more than one trunk will be charged two cents per day or 50 cents per month for each additional piece of baggage. The same rate will be charged for baggage kept on storage after the owner has left the Home. Baggage cannot be stored longer than six months. An expressman calls four times daily, except Sunday, to receive orders for the delivery of arriving and depart- 26 ing baggage. Charge, 25 cents for each piece. All orders for trunks to be taken to or from rooms, and for baggage to or from the house, should be left in the office adjoining the parlor. In this office, which is always open, a District Messenger Call and Telephone Pay Station are at the service of guests at the usual rates. Laundry work is done for guests at moderate rates. All clothing should be plainly marked. The Home as- sumes no responsibility for articles not marked. Laundry bags are collected from the rooms early on Monday and Thursday mornings and will be returned on Wednesdays and Saturdays. When desired earlier, special notice must be given. Whenever possible, laundry work will be done on other than regular days, but only on special ap- plication in the Superintendent's office, and it is earnest- ly requested that guests will, as far as possible, send laundry only on the regular days. The restaurant is open to women only. On account of limited space children cannot be admitted. Hours — Breakfast, 7 to 9 a.m.; Luncheon, 11-45 A - M - to 2 p.m.; Dinner, 5.30 to 7.30 p.m. On Sundays the Breakfast hour is from 8 to 9 A.M.; Dinner, 1 to 2 p.m.; Tea, 6 to 7 p.m. Prices ; Table d'Hote Meals. — Breakfast, Luncheon or Sunday Tea, 20 cents. Dinner, 35 cents. Meals are served in rooms only in case of temporary 27 illness when an extra charge of 20 cents each is made. In such cases notice must be sent to the Superintendent's office. All business is transacted in the Superintendent's office, which is open daily, Sundays excepted, from 7.30 a.m. to 1 p.m., or in the Parlor office when this is closed. Checks and money orders should be made payable to the Margaret Louisa Home. On account of the charges now made for collecting out of town checks, guests are required to remit deposits, whenever possible, by Post-office money orders made payable to The Margaret Louisa Home. If checks are sent, ten cents should be added, to meet cost of collection. All communications in regard to the Home should be addressed to Miss J. P. Cattell, Superintendent, Margaret Louisa Home, 14 Bast Sixteenth Street, New York City. January 1st, 1904. Statistical Record 1891 1 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 Pieces Laundered.. 2,631 4,157 4,144 5,002 5,773 6,057 25,459 34,6n 35,629 35,874 37,6oo 37,498 198,653 404,403 438,331 449,72o 1 r j 1 i 481,526 561,296 37,459 66,829 63,005 62,953 65,272 64,304 88,617 138,465 146,584 146,806 151,806 155,397 45,o35 91,024 98,190 100,670 94,H3 88,477 171,111 296,318 307,779 310,429 311,221 308,178 Statistical Record 1897 1898* 1899 1900 1 901 1902 1903 Totals 6,449 6,141 6,840 7,260 7,224 7,354 7,242 76,274 38,178 35,68i 39.944 40,365 40,235 40,169 4o,977 4S2,220 641,779 635.531 673,075 659,845 683,737 741,703 844.730 7,41=5,^27 63,422 6i.977 68,342 70,021 71,470 75,814 82,608 854,477 161,363 | 156,143 165,387 166,992 169,540 | 186,016 212,170 2,065, 2S6 90,068 91,861 101,693 98,484 100,393 116,681 128,080 1,244,819 3H,853 309.981 335,422 335,497 341,403 j 378,5H 422,858 4,164,582 * House closed one month for repairs. Young Women's Christian Association OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK 7 EAST FIFTEENTH STREET OFFICERS, 1904 President, - - Mrs. Clarence E. Beebe First Vice-President^ Second Vice-President, Miss M. A. Stimson Mrs. Elliott F. Shepard Third Vice-President, - - Mrs. R. A. Dorman Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, Mrs. G. L. Elliott Mrs. G. F. Butterworth Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary, Miss J. F. Bangs Mrs. Robert Jaffray, Jr. The object of this Association is lt to promote the temporal, social, mental, moral and religious ivelfare of young tuomen, particularly of those dependent upon their oivn exertions for support." Annual Dues for Hembership. — Active, not less than $1.00; Associate, $1.00; Sustaining, not less than $5.00; L,ife Membership, $50.00; Honorary. $100.00. Bible Class. — Bible Class meets in the Hall of the Association every Sunday from October 1st to June 1st at 3 P.M. Devotional Meeting every Tuesday at 8 P.M. All women are cordially invited. Chaplain's Office. — Open daily except Sundays, from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. and from 7 to 9.30 P.M. Association Parlor. — Open every day .and evening. On Sunday, from 2 to 9 P.M. Hospitality Committee always in attendance in evening. Summer School, Vacation Circles. — All Women and Girls cordially invited. Admission free. 3i Free Circulating Library. — The Library for the use of women and girls who are self-supporting or preparing for self-support, contains 31,516 volumes. Open every day but Sunday, from 9 A.M. to 9.15 P.M. Employment Bureau.— Office open daily from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. Closed Satur- day at 12, from June to October. Needle Work Department.— Salesrooms open daily from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. except Saturday afternoon during the summer. Fancy articles of all kinds for sale. These articles are the work of self-supporting women and all sales in the Department are for the benefit of the consignors. A commission is charged on all sales. The Order Department, takes orders for ladies' wrappers, shirt waists, sacques and underwear and misses', children's and infants' outfits. Beard Directary. — Office open daily from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. and from 7 to 9 P.M. Desirable boarding places and furnished rooms for women can be secured without charge. The Board Directory also receives all applications for admission to The Seaside Summer Home of the Association, at Asbury Park, N. J. Class Department. — Day and evening classes open only to women studying for self-support. Application for admission to these classes must be made in person to the Clerk of the Class Department. Office hours of Class Department 9 A.M. to 5 P.M., and 7 to 9 P.M., Saturday afternoon and evening excepted. The Department is closed from June 15th to September 1st. Concerts and Entertainment. — These are given on the last Monday evening of each month from November to May, open to self-supporting women only. Admission by ticket. The riargaret Louisa Home.— A Temporary Home for Protestant Self-Support- ing Women, 14 and 16 East 16th Street, New York. West Side Settlement 458 West 44th Street. Boarding home for working women. Prices $3.00 to $5.00 per week. Devotional Exercises and Song Service on Sunday. Free Circulating Library. Afternoon and evening classes in Millinery and Dressmaking with small charge for lessons and materials. m