This song has a faint flavour of Harry Champion about it. I don't know of a 'Ragtime Wash House' (if that's what it wascalled) but Kilgarriff (Sing Us One of the Old Songs, 1998) lists Champion's 'Ragtime Ragshop'. No date is given but I would guess c.1912. Might be worth checking out with a published copy.

'Boys of the Old Brigade' is an internal reference to another popular song of 1900.