Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1867-11-26
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CROWDED

by-places, where men, women and
children are crowded together, besides
large lodging and tenement
houses, constantly filed with all sorts
of specimens of humanity, yet no spe-
cifc degree Of i'll health appears to re-
suit from it. In New York, Phila-
delphia, and other Eastern cities, the
evil effects of an o~ver-crowded popula-
ton are more apparent. Boston, pre-
vious TO its recent enlargement, was the
most crowded city in the United States.
Yet every fifty-nine of its inhabitants
possessed on an average, one square
acre of land. New York averages fifty
six persons to the square acre, while
Philadelphia averages less than twenty.
Taking the area of all the States, and
app~ortioning it out to the population
thereof, it appears that every seventeen
inhabitants have one square mile at
their disposal, while in the Territories
there are four square miles to each in-
habitant.
Most American cities excel those Of
England in their sanitary provisions, so
far us the overcrowding Of buildings is
concerned. Many portions of London
and Liverpool, for instance, in the
hands of land owners, have been
closely built up, containing immense
tenement houses, separated by dirty lit
tie thoroughfares, with very little re-
gard to comfort, health and deceucy.
The consequence of this Jumping to-
gethcr of humanity in its sheltering
places, is seen in the frightful rates Of
mortality in the crowded districts. 1t
is not q little curious that to the munii-
ceuce Of Peabody, the well known
American banker residing there, the
poor of London are indebted for the
erection of buildings that are fit homes
for human beings, while all the evils Of
narrow streets and lanes, shallow build
ing lots, and uuwholesome dwellings,
are an inheritance that we have re-
ceived direct from our English ances-
tors. New York not only outdoes Lon
don in the quality and style of its tene-
ment houses, but also in domestic misery
and social Generalization. London
overcrowded as it is considered, appor-
tons one square acre Of land to every
forty of it's inhabitants. In the year
1865, Belgium, England and Wales, and
France, had three hundred and ninety
seven, three hundred and sixty-seven,
and one hundred and seveuty-six inhab-
itauts to the square mile, respectively.
In the majority Of American cities, par
ticularly those of recent growth, the
experience of the past has induced the
adoption of wide, airy, straight streets.
The older portions of the principal cities
retain their ancient characteristics, but
the more modern portions are possessed
of all the latest improvements in having
broad, roomy thoroughfares, allowing
of free light and ventilation, so essen
tial to the w~ell-being of all. Most of
the principal streets of San Francisco
are of a proper width, and some of the
narrowest will doubtless eventually be
wideued to suit the requirements of that
vigorously growing city, destined, per-
haps, one day to be the queen city Of
the world. Sacramento and Stockton
were well laid out in the start, there
fore they never can partake of the OBJ
j~ectional points in that respect peculiar
to the older cities we have mentioned.
Carson, too, is very creditably planned,
and its inhabitants will never suffer
from the lack of light and air. Virginia
| city can hardly be considered a model
city in every respect, unless it may be
in the general status and character of
her inhabitants. But Gold Hill-ah /!
there's where we come to the real bed
rock of the subjec. under consideration.
We have sometimes been so vicious as
to suppose that if q surveyor ever run
out the lines in the original making OF
Main street, he must have done it in the
night time, and must have been very
drunk at that. That, however, would
be a SANDER. Our streets were laid out
in accordance with the principles of
nature, gracefully m%eandering hither
and thithcr, to suit the requirements Of
trade and convenience. No arbitrary
lines or angular corners interfere to
mar their Arcadian beauties, but reclin-
ing in all her noisy gorgeousness in the
broad lap of mountains, Gold Hill
proudly runs herself on her w rcspon-
sibility.
No pent up Utica contracts our powers.