Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1859-06-12
L;go inyeV Yorll-.rhc Poor.

late report Of the SANITARY Association" of
the City of New York makes soma astounding dis
closures in reference to the habits Of living among
the poor Of that city. We subjoin an extract, and
can but remark, how much preferable slavery, at
the Soulh, in lis rorst form, is to the condition.
habits and morality of these people:
.'Dr. Griscon, from the committee to examine
snd report upon tenement houses, asked that tae
COMM. Tee be discharged. Mr. Halliday, from that
committee vas allowed - read fes remarks upon
the sufject Of tenement house,. lie produced the
folio wing Startling stltement Of facts:
"'Tdree years since the whole number Of build
ings of sill descriptions 10 this city was some %, O0O
The city is diviGCd iatO twenty-five Wards In
1856, nineteen Of these Wards contained opuia-
ton OF 53j,0 inh .biLsns, divided iu'O 1883
families, averaging = little less than i've souls in
each family. For the accommodation OF these
lI2 S32 families residing in nineteen Wards, ti.re
wee G,08S dSelliugs, averaging about three and
one-h If families occupying an entire house There
are but Il Il of these families CceUpyic "a entire
house l45 Of these dwellings con ain TWO fam O.,
1 600 contain each thee families THus, while
q 465 Of these dzeiag sheitr 6ui SO 2l5 families,
the remaining 3 623 houses have 10 cover f6,C20
families averagi nearly six antilles 10 eacU house.
Show ng ID t about t1Tet foEgths Of the whole pop
ulation tf New York live. ayersg ng bat fraCt On
less than SIX families in house WbIe olly about
one family 10 ten occupy Hho house.
#" 'Taers are macy single BLOCKS OF dwellings coz
tsininZ twice he number # fam les residing Oh the
whole CT Fifth Avenue, or than a c.niinuous row
Of dwellings sima- Il t1ase or the Fifth Avenue
three or fur miles IN iePgts. Iaere is multitude
OF these sqHlres any tau Of which contain larger
popu alton than the whole city Ct Hartford, which
covers an erea Of several miles La 1850 The eItre
populstoD Of he cty was 5l5,39 Number Of
families 80 Cos Whole number Of dsetl ngs 7,6T.
s.sPhiaielpha, in 1880. con ai5sd 20 ulat on Of
80 T.
mcdlte these families thcre we're GIFTS Dwellings.
With q population of l0I ,0g3 smaller Ihaa New
York P6iladelphil had % COL more dwelliDgs thar
New York
." Baltimore, in 1850, with population Of 2lO-
GAG 3siisd lit s., 92S families, had 1906 dEel
| lpgs.
= Boston, in 1850, had population Of l46 ISL
Chelsea, suburb Of Boston, had popul-ton of
/ : 235 BO-tcn and Chelsea inSudei had y, 4l5
! families ard 10, So dgelIing'" a.-.
The Corpnrcrei1t Aaeeriisr s1ys:
The tenement house system is the result of the
high value of lauf and the rents are snOrmcus in
one case where the establishment is arranged for
the accommodation Of ZIG families the rates chsrg-
ed If the tenemcnis were ali occupied, would not
he less than IS or so per cent on The first cost 50
that some FIVE years would sut lie t. pay principal
AID interest. Ias building stsais n a plo. Of
! ground perhaps 50X2J0 feet. There is an alley on
. each side running the whole deIta, ard b,i1g some
| feet Wluln. Otli' tent mt NJ Dul n
/ most Invariably so cohstrus.sl - 10 MAKE even
to.erable veaiiation entirely out OF he qussji L
A curTent Of fresh air Eever BE passed through
them after they finished. Each ie-caeni very
( generally consists Of room an 3 beiToon The
bui,diggs thTea eiz stories Liga, viht7o or more
| families on each loJr or story. In this ore room
the fsines sit, do ell thsir 10 K coos, wash and
/ eat
Among families thus hudilc together the dsvel-
! opmeut Of disease aud Of wiokeiness is Lot su,-
Irisiug. Mr Halliday gave q detailed account Of
I the arrangement Of the building referred to- IN
| regard TO sewerage ard Closet ooGvrn .enees The
foul matter Of the eutire estabi huent Cxbales It's
perious stencil directly in the rooms Of tae enaLt
| There ia more 'retiraey han upon publc CON-
mon" Hs asks where there are such bsas,ly ar
rag gements as these, bow can they develop other
than beast'y morality Nor netd /; be 4 wonder
that more people die in New York than in almost
cry other city On the face of tIe glabr. Our tens
IneBts for the masses are constructed as to shut
out the light, ard to make vc9,is ton an impossi-
bfiiiy while the surroundings without are made 10
combine the very elements OF death The windows,
cue from each room, and they have bu. two wiz
dove for light aud air, and only one 10 each room;
theae ook ont against solid brick WALL eight feet
from them, and upon this alley -wsy doors arising
from the hoFrid vault beneath mingle with every
baiaton these poor creatures make. Let tais stale
Of things exist in New Orleans or in London, and
the population would be decimstsd.