"Boss" Tweed : the story of a grim generation / by Denis Tilden Lynch.

168 "Boss" Tweed
Another found solitary shelter in a burned-out safe in the
ruins of a fire in a Wall Street office building.
But there was a brighter side in the lives of these tender
unfortunates. This was night, when the plutocrats sat in
judgment on a performance in the Old Bowery Theater with its
classic Greek facade. Some of the older boys attended the
fights. Some of these were between humans, others between
game cocks. In addition to the cock pits, there were several
rat pits in Water Street and on other riverfront thoroughfares where rodents were readily obtainable. Here wagers were
made on the number of rats a fox terrier could kill in an hour.
A rat pit was usually flanked on either side by two or more
sailor's dance halls where the chief attractions were half-naked
women and drink. A gamin with a passable voice was usually
welcome in these places, and at the end of his concert gathered
up coppers and coins from the floor. He gambled. His favorite
game was policy. His hard-earned pennies thus swelled the
incomes of Mayor Wood and his brother Benjamin.
He loved freedom. He was the first to find shelter for a
slave who decided to abandon his Southern master before the
return trip home.
There was never a good-sized riot in which these street
arabs did not participate. It did not matter on which side
he fought so long as he was permitted to fight.
It was not until 1853 that any systematic attempt was made
to relieve the lot of these miserable children. In that year the
Reverend Charles Loring Brace with a bare handful of coworkers, organized the Children's Aid Society. "The public...
immediately came forward with its subscriptions-the first
large gift (fifty dollars) being from the wife of the principal
property holder in the city, Mrs. William B. Astor." The
quotation is from Brace's story of the founding of the society.
The wealth of the Astors in 1853 is not readily ascertainable.
In 1845 John Jacob Astor was worth $25,000,000, and his
son, William B., had more than $5,000,000 to his credit.
That more than fifty dollars was not donated by the Astors,
who have never been unresponsive to worthy causes, indicates
that Brace was regarded as a well-meaning sort of chap with