National Affairs: Americana

¶ In Chicago, frugal Anna Cox, 74, a street-corner peddler of notions, disclosed that her address for the past seven years has been the Chicago Transit Authority. When room rents went up, Anna Cox took to the streetcars at night. "A trolley's got a rooming house beat a mile for comfort," she said, "and it's a sight cheaper." She kept a change of clothes in a warehouse, freshened up in public toilets, lived on vegetables and fruit, always paid her full fare ($7.14 a week). "I don't sleep as well in a bed," she explained. "The...

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