The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-02-16
"A STORY OF POVERTY AS SEEN
BY TWO LADIES'

w,
"a two ladies OF means and social position, being
.,,re of a charitable disposition and OF an enter
.r,sno turn OF mind DESTROYS OF investigating Tor
snaueeIves the real condition Of the poor OF New
York and of taking the proper steps to amellorate
their condition, visited in person several OF the
poorer wards and soon convinced themselves that
sar from the misery and restitution OF the poor be-
sno exaggerated 1t had really been moderated and
stoned DOWN. in its printed descriptions.
Hearing OF these vlsts-this selfimposed "tour
of inspectionn-a representative OF the HERALD
called upon these ladies after they had completed
,tbeir observations, and obtained from their own
bins she story Of their adventures and investiga-
-tions which story is herein given, and as far as
possible in their own language as though the ladies
were amateur reporters for the HERALD, thus pre-
sentng the restitution Of the poor looked at from
"a womaniy point OF view-a point OF view OF as
much interest as novelty. The two LADIES first
visited some OF the tenement houses in East Elev-
enth street.
ssHerev SAID the elder OF the ladies' to the
HERALD representative, 'in No. 49, in the rear
building, ground floor, We came across family
consisting of German named Gustav Holm
aecker his wife and five children. The father OF
this family is by trade tinsmth an industrious,
good workman, but who has been out Of WORK for
four months and more. The mother does what she
can-whicn is nothing-and the children have been
sick with hunger aud cold and exhaustion. He is
In debt to his landlord, but though he picks up an
odd fifty cents occasionally, he keeps thus w1ndfal
to buy bread for his children; whereat the land
lord complains and says that all the fifty cents
ought to come to him. Gustav's greatest wish,
rafter food and fire, Is to be able to move from his
present room, which is horribly filthy and damp
and unhealthy. In the same house are number
or other cases Of poverty and misery; but as they
are also cases Of dirt" said the ladies, 1--WE did
motive conld not-ieel particularly interested in
them.
TIE AGoNIEs OF SELL. RESPECTING PAuPERs.
s'But the saddest sight we saw on Friday morn
ing" continued the ladies' was that presented IN
two rooms on the front OF the top, fifth. story of
the tenement house No. 49, East Eleventh street,
occupied Dy Mrs. Susan McAuley, who Is by trade
an embroderess, and who lives with her son,
boy OF eighteen years. and daughter OF sixteen.
All three present out Of work. as, In fact,
they have been, Notwithstanding all their efforts
to procure mploymen for the last seven months.
The frst thing that impressed u.s." said the lady
visitors, "was that we must have come to the
wrong place-that there could be but little poverty
there, as everything was so carefully and tldily
clean and so neatly arranged. On little table lay
q scrupulousy white shirt, partly ironed; the
room, at that particular moment, was quite
warm. over the mantepece were some family
pictures which had once been likenesses OF the in
mates. In one corner were few shelves and
fewer disnes. The floor was, OF course, carpetess,
but deciOusly clean; you could have eaten on
it. On couple Of old chairs in corner was
placed washtub, which she removed for our &C
commodaton, wiping as she did so the chairs (her
only ones, by the BY with cloth, the white
ness of which would have done credit to olan-
chisse,Gsse She evidently believed that cleanliness
was next to goodness, and had not yet ceased TO
respect herself in ner surroundings She was
none of your squalid, foul and filthy poor.
ave found the chief occupant OF this paradise Of
cleanliness, Mrs. McAuley, engaged in an attempt
to iron the shirt already alluded to. This gave US
our clew. and we thereupon opened the converse
ton by asking her, DO you take in washiDRH
"'No,' she replied, IN tone OF subdued sadness,
Il arr not able to do any washing. was only try
Ing to do up shirt that my son, who mas been
very sick. may look clean to go to the DOCTOR
zone OF US then abruptly asked, Have you felt
the hard times p Indeed I have, was her In
slant reply. 81 have been widow for eleven
years, and in that time have struggled hard to
raise and educate my two children. nave been
an embroideress; l worked for years for four good
ladies, all OF whom are now dead. would have
done washing perhaps, but my right arm, as you
see. Is deformed, and has never grown any since
and shoulder is drawn up with rheumatism
''She was indeed ptable object. She then con-
tinued the recital OF her history which Is OF the
most wonderful stories OF real life which we have
ever heard. On two occasions she has been turned
out OF her lodgings by landlords Tor non.payment OF
rent-literally into the street. on these occasions
for several days and nights she and her children
ha nothing but
THE PARK BENCHES FOR BEDS AND TIE SKIES FOR
The mother, leaving her two little ones in the
mn bic squares, would 90 round seeking work or
begging bread all day, and then when the dark
came the hen and her chickens would sleep as best
they coud-that is, sleep by turns; generally the
mother standing guard In the open air all night
over her iatheress children.
aFinalIy Mrs. McAuley reached her present quar-
ters. where, Tor a while, she struggled on, but dur
ing the last three weeks has been reduced to the
utmost misery. she HBally lost her reserve as she
talked with us, and told us with illustrations more
eioq uent than words Of her unutteraDle wretched-
ness.
ave had noticed that the room was comparatively
warm. Mrs. McAuley now explained this fact
Some one In the house had gwen her half pail
or coal, the only fuel she had had for week, and
the first use she had made OF this unexpected fire
was TO try to wash and iron her son's only shirt,
that he might see the doctor But the fuel had
not lasted, the fire had gone out and the snrt was
still but hall ironed. Self-respecting poor woman
that she was, she did not seem 10 imagine that it
was possible for her son to visit physician in o
dirty shirt.
1--WE noticed that neither in the front room nor IN
the back were there any signs OF beds or bed
covering there being one thin comforter and
straw mattress on low iron cot. Mrs. McAuley
had sacrificed her
BBDcovERISe FOR THE RENT.
She had pawned the plowca5es, two bedsteads
fhreo blankets and TWO sheets TO keep wretched
rnof over her heao--had for the same purpose
parted with almost all her own clothing, and now
ana and her daughter at night lie in their clothing,
Suoh ~ 1t Ii. on the boards In the front room,