Who were generally managers of lodging houses and what happened to a child who did not have the money for lodging?

Lodging house hosts were often women. An eight- or ten-year-old child who did not have two cents to pay for his room that night was sent away with orders not to return until he had stolen something to pay his nightly rent. If the child stole something more valuable, the host would pay a small fraction of its worth and then pawn the item. The very worst low lodging houses were home to thieves and prostitutes. A few were nothing more than brothels, or brothels for children.