Crime and Moral Degradation

Riis links the tenement environment to the rise of crime, gangs, street Arabs, and moral decay, arguing that poverty and squalor breed lawlessness and corrupt the young.

The chapter references the Swamp Angels using sewers for escape, a murder resulting from a 'can racket' (alcohol-fueled fight), and the pervasive presence of the saloon as a refuge from despair.

The raid itself is a police action against illegal dives, and the chapter describes the moral decay of tramps who steal, beg, and live in filth, as well as the toughs who turn to theft.

The chapter details how cheap lodging-houses function as nurseries of crime, turning young men into thieves and beggars through systematic corruption.

Opium addiction, violent crime, and the exploitation of women are central to the depiction of Chinatown as a source of moral decay.