The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-04-30
American RniIdIng Association.

| The people OF the OnlteQ- SIhIeS nave
the reputation of being the most enter
priSing and successful race of modern
| times. That eexcel in practical talent
is on every hnnd assumed; (; and yet we
have somehow failed to solve the pro-
blem how to live in cities comfortably,
and at the same time cheaplY. The
| most heinous want of the day is houses:
| and houses must somehow be had, or
the wheel of material progress will be-
| fore very long stand still. In New York
City, Cincinnati, st. Louis, Chicago and
| Boston, the cry is torymore house-rootn
and even in Philadelphia, SO lately the
| paradise of the workingman, where
| every man could own his own house,
| or else command u handsome home for
| his family at less than SI50 year, rents
| have more than doubled, and houses
| are no longer to be had. AT the close
| OF the war men focked to the large
| cities, soon eXhausting what little sur
| plus accommodations remained after
| Iour years oE,near1y suspended build
! ing enterprise. .Atithe same time capt.
| talists, cluho might quickly have reliev-
ed the pressure wlthhandsome profit
| to themselves, refFained from invest
! ingitheir means in building, restrained
| partly by the high prices of labor and
materials, and partly by the proverbial
timidity OF capital the grI mischief which
has resulted is great. The populations
| OF our chief cities are squeezeds into7a
narrower Compass of lodgings than is
ut all safe for the public health the
| summer is Iinon- US, u ndthe choleru has
| alread y landed upon our shores. ,tl
Whit is to be done? The surplus
people must either pc got rid of by NIL
grafton, which is opposed to.their ma
| terial interest as well us that of the
| cities which their laborS help to enrich,
| or else they must be provided with
homes in the city or suburbs, where
they can exist without violatinga all SAN
| itary.laws; or rinthe la Z place peStilence
and cholera may beck pected shortly to
| NOV down myriads of read y Hictims.f &
Isit entirely feasible to adopt the SEQ
| ond of these alternatives? Is not the
success of such attempts as have here
! tUforo been made toward supplying
homes for the people, such as TO war
rHnt the inVeStuento of me4hS on much
larger scale, to remedy the present. fear
| full deficiency of shelterS - IS 54'
| I The first record we, find iof associo-
| tions for building model houses. in this
country, dates back to the year 1856 IN
Boston,, In that year, an association
erected two blocks sof,dwellings, of five
stories in height, each block aCcommo-
dating twenty families. The space fur
nishedto each family, in separate tene-
menIS, was n living room, two or three
sleeping rooms, a wusl-rOom, with cup
boards and a wafer closet. The houses
nave Dean 6lhC6 they
were opened; no loss uf rent has occur
red, and they yield clear return of
six per cent on the outlay, nfter all ex-
penses and repuirs have been paid, al
though the price charged for rent is not
| more than tie most inconVentent ana
unhealthy lodgings command. The
stories. are eight feet six inches in
| height, which Is ample for the purpose
| OF ventilation, and i'll their construction
| the most economical Use Ofsa limited
spnce, ,consistent-with the preservation
| OF privacy, cleanliness and light, was
steadily Kept in view. In the base
| mentS are two bathing roolnS,, which
are found of greut use. 81
The cost of these two buildings was
about $4,000 each, uud the lnnd on
which each stands cost $1,000 more.
| The total amount, of rent received ,an-
| nnally had been S2,S53 for each house,
varying from 81 TO 81 81 per week for
| each family, there being. twenty sepa-
! rate tenenents under one roof.
Those who are aware what heavy
| rents are often paid by the poor, for the
| most unhealthy aud incUnveuientlo lodg-
| ings, will appreciate the cheapness OF
| such nice, wholesome and well ventila
ted houses as these.
| The same association caused third
| house, of rather superior character, for
| a class of-tehahts~ above poverty, who
| could afford to puy IL rent of from
| two hundred to three hundred dollars
! a yenr. This building, which comprises
| nine;dwellingS and "a corner shop or
\ store, cost, Including the land, about
S26 900 and these tenements, which
| form not only comfortable but agree
i able houses, have steadily returned to
| the owners agross income of $500 per
| annum. oays II i-fzH = l7.s5s
One OF the trustees of this association
writes: From my experience in the
/ SNf fhiG Kind Of nFnnPFiV
| believe that 1t may III all cases, with
proper care, be made safe and Pernld-
| ae5it for fjiVeStnie ent. But whlt i think
| still better of siS1the good lsuch houses
| do in elevating and making happier
| their tenants, and much rejoice in
having had an opportunity TO test thelr
/ usefulness.
4 In 1855 u society in New York erected
| n building, containing ninety tenements
oftbreei rooms each, UNDER ithe. nun e OF
| the HWorkingmen's 8 Home: Ihis was
1 designed for colOred people, and Is an
enormous building, 100 feet in length
| by 55 feet in breadth, costing over S9O,-
| GOO. We regret to learn that 1t has not
| proved Il pecuninry success, but 1t ap-
| bears the evidence to be owing 10
/ Il want OF good management. Tennnts
have frequently left without paying
| rent, the building has been injured by
1 neglect, and care has been wanting 10
secure u respectable orderly class OF
| tehatitS. But in spite of I'LL these! draw
| backs. and the heavy churges OF two
| per cent municipal taxes. besides the
| bills for gas and wnter, the building hns
pnid an annual net dividend of four per
| cent.
The, effect which the Boston aonses uses
| have had in Misunderstanding that houses
1 for the 1aborer can be ouilt with tne
| best regard to health and comfort, ana
| at the same time be remnnerattve as in-
| vestments of capital, has already been
/ seen in muny private undertakings.
| Several large houses have been Dul!t
| ON similar plans, while nnny old build
| ings have been remodeled anu nm
proved with a view to accommodate
1 comfortably u large number OF tenants.
lNumeroIiS blocks of small dwellings
1 have Ebeen erected, to contain one or
two families each, for the clas who can
afford 10 pay from So to So week for
/ their Accommodation. Still, the more
destitute poor, who cannot afford to pay
such rents, are poorly accommodated,
even in Boston, and live mostly IN low
cellars, whose very atmosphere breeds
disease and death.
lin Boston; to consider the subject OF
honses-for the middling and poorer
Glasses, it WIS stated that there are IN
i BOSTON 20 64a houses and 3SS OIL ifamt-
lies: thatthe houses contain from one
TO twenty-nine persons each; that at
Ileast one thousand houses are now
wanted Immediately, and that unless
they are supplied, the prosperity OF t1e
city is likely to be seriously q atlectso.
plans were submitted, by aiwell y knoW' .,NN,i' !
| architect, for style of houses well
suited to meetthe pressing public want.
These embraeedi blocks OF houses, 10
l f,Aek nv 40 each house containing ~