, 1875-12-05
ABOUT TENEME

biGty Of Democratic reform.
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ABOUT TTENEMRNr.HoUsEs.
Tbs tenement-house is an outrowth o1
what We call civilization, and disgrace to it,
It is only as wealth accumulates, as land
grows. dear, as population is concentrated,
that the tenement-house comes to exist Ths
savage hns his own wigwam or tent; the poor
farmer has his own house; the poor artisan
| occupies one room in crazy building that
rcnrs it's stained aud many-storied front in
deheace Of every law Of health, reason, and
decency. It is not SO very many years since
. regu1nr teuement-house vas much unknown
in Chicago. It is now, unfortunately, one OF
our oonlnonest sights. Tenemonts line miles
of unpaved streets and filthy alloys House
| drains and sewers are either unbuilt or M
used. 'Water-pipes are leaky, and the
! watcr-supply is often tainted with
foul gases from the adjacent vaults
| Doors heng from d single hinge, or do not ex-
| ist. They have been split up into Gre-wood,
sharing the fate Of stair-rails, fences, and
! sheds. Some Of the rooms may, perhaps,
show distant approach to cleanliness, but
the halls, unlighted, unwashed, used by
everybody and cared for By nobody, are in q
simply horrible state. Garbage is scattered
| about them and on the scanty plots Of land in
the rear Of the buildings. Children, :" the
luxury of the poor" swarm in the passages
in numbers great enough to make the shade
Of MAL1Aus sick They are dirty, of course,
vicious, equally Of course The cir they
breathe is linden with curses, and heavy with
foul smells. The "three Ds dirt, dis
ease, and death-are supreme here. It has
been often and eloquently said that
the house is the basis Of civilization,
and that every flower and fruit Of modern
Life has its roots around the hearth-stone.
There are no homes in O teuement-house
the rooms aro hells. The comparative cheap
noss Of land in the outskirts Of Chicago has
partially saved Us from the curse Of over
crowding. Many Of our tenements are one
story shauties, with only two or three rooms,
and throa or four families in them. But
this slight gain is moro than counterbalancod
by the unpleasant faot that these shanties
are often or S feet below the legal loyel of
the street, lifted by rot len bits Of wood O few
inches above the greeu scum that covers the
stagnant pools around them. We arc not
exagserating these vi Nchad details. The
unco1ored report in Tue TRIBUNE of
Saturday of the condition of parts Of
affairs is even worse than this sketch makes
it out to be. And it is easy for the doubter
to satisfy himself. Let him spend morning
in walking through the districts where tene-
ments abound, and eye, esr, and nose will
unite their testimony to support the iudict-
ment against the men who own these wooden
horrors, the city which permits their exist
eace, the religion that bends its energies to
the erection of costly churches for tile few,
and never Lifts finger to save the many from
such want, and wretchedness, and woe.
The recent files Of TEE TRIBUNE contain |
full accounts Of the more notable successes in |
tenement-reform. Sir SYDSEx WA1ERtow's
company has found that it pays, in London,
to pull down pestilence-breeting houses and i
put up clean, light, and airy homes It has
found that, with proper hygienic precautions, a
given amount Of ground can give comforte-
Bile, heo!thful shelter to twice the number of !
persons who starvo, and stea1, and die in
ordinary tenements On the same area This |
has been shown by the PEABODY and the
BuRpE1T-Cou1rs buildings also. single
woman--AIiss FRY-has done a wonderful
work in the worst district Of London, where
aho met with fur more opposition than any
rival Of her good deeds would here. The
State Charities Aid Association of New York
City has republished her papers Oh the sub
ject in 'one substantial pamphlet, which
can bs obtained for 25 cents by writing
to the Association. It ia mine Of
and valuable suggestion. The
recent legislation BY the English Parliament,
the Artisans Dwellings aot,-and the at
tempts by the municipalities Of London and
to use the powers thus conferred
upon them, offer valuable hints a. to the
limits Of law-maing in such matters. The
Society of s'United Workers" in Hartford,
Conn.,, has done something in the way Of
the curse Of tenement-life. ALI
Ehese, and other gallant ehf;1ts, hare been
discussed in TIE TRIBUNE A
paper can do no more. individuals must do
he rest. We hare told the community what
10 do; we have now shown them the urgent
necessity Of doing something. Our task is
1ono. That Of the community, We are sorry
o say, has not yet been begun.
W0IAH IN TIE CENTEHNIAL. i
The President Of the Women's Centennial |
Executive Committee, Mrs. z. D. Gu1zspn, I
las issued a circular setting forth the circum- {
.:anoes under which the Women's Depart I