, 1876-09-17
CORRESPONDENCE.

classes.
A small number Of philanthropic men organ
lied company having for its aim to procure
cheap and con1nodious lodgings for the poor.
They commenced their operations BY building 100
houses in the City Of Mulhouse; in 1859 there
we're 4oS, and in 1868 there we're $50 in that city.
In 1866 the cholera made terrible rayagcs in
Licge, especially among the working popula-
ton inhabting insalubrious houses III narrow
and unhealthy streets. The Mayor Of liegc,
with the other city officers, nominated COM
rnittee to inquire into the best means OF REM
edyipg the existing evils connected with the
dwellings, Of the poor, aud to report the result
Of their investigations. These gentlemen Wis
tied Mulhouse in order to examine into the
system Of building workingmen's cities, which
had rendered that city SO justly famous. The
report of their examinations, brought before the
municipal authorities of Lege, ended in the es-
tablishmcnt of similar company in Liege to
that which had already been formed in Mul-'
house. His Majesty leopold H. became a
shareholder, and the newly-formed company's
capital WAS augmented by numerous public
charitable institutions taking shares as well as
private individuals.
There are now several workingmen's cities
situated in different parts Of Licge and the
NUN u Uuu04Afs IOl1oIAAtA9 VII tAN A44N4 SA1S*
The Company's first care was the choice OF
land,-chcapness was, Of course, an essential
point; but in Licge In other cities, tracts OF
land are found which, from their proximity to
railroad, mandatory, or other causes, are not
generally serviccable for more ambitious build
ings, and fulfill that condition. Two other points
must be observed in order to let or sell these
houses successfully: one, that they are near the
place Of work; the other, that they are not too
Ear removed from the monuments and life OF
h. oi$1~ fr1tt In in
panV now possesses seven tracts Of land in
the City of Liegc, in different parts Of
the city. upon which in all 500 houses may be
b:1ilt~ The houses are built in rows, Is or 20 in
yard behind; low wall separates this court
gard from the ones adjoining: and, as the houses
are back to back, one wall down the centre
seems to separate the yards on either side.
These small paved yards offer many adyan- adl
without being overlooked by their neighbors,
or any other work that brings disorder
and discomfort into small estab-
lishment. They are often rooted over
and serve as carpenters shop, or as q work
or partly SO, at home. Having the garden in
front has been found to be much better system
than in the rear, for they are kept in better or
der, and also pretty garden, with nice green
aspect to house. healthy location. with IA
cifities for water and good drainage are indis-
pensable conditions..f0r the pecuniary success OF
an enterprise like the one which we have now
under consideration, or in order to procure
beneficial result
The houses are built of red brick, wIthe stone
facings, simple but substantial. and with the
concentrations varied as much Us possible
without incurring too great expense, not to give
the buildings the air of being barracks or aims
houses. The foundation-walls are two feet
thick the inner walls about a quarter Of 4 ward
The houses are mostly two stories high, with 4
mansard-roof, though there are some let at a
cheaper rate, consisting Of one story and man
seven metres and half deep, by five and 81 cen
timetres wide. 4 metre is q little over yard.
The interior arrangements consist Of front
and back room on the ground floor, with two
rooms corresponding in the first story, and two
rooms in the attic lighted by windows in the
nansard. Eacn house possesses acellar divided
into two partitions, each having door that can
be locked. This dual arrangement is for the
greater convenience of the occupant in sub
letting; the person who rents a room can have
half tie attic and half the cellar separate from
the occupants.
Before taking into consideration the rents OF
the houses, or their price if bought, we must re-
member that the wages of the laboring classes
US in the United States. The prices Of the two
storied houses, with the land is $500 francs, or
s., 500 in gold The price of the one.storicd ost
houses ~ is 6,ooo francs, or s1,oW I'm in
EUlAs lucy A4C utL pau AOA d11 Ut OilNG. LIZ
occupant pays rent Of 45 francs q
month {S9 il gold) for two-storicd house, with
the privilege Of sub-letting, and in Il years
he becomes the proprietor; for a onc-storicd
house with attic and cellars, II francs q
month, or 81. IS in gold, makes him proprietor
OF house and land iu the same space Of time
At iirst it was difficult to make the laborer un-
dcrstand the advantages OF having house of
his Owl, It was new idea for him to be a
proprietor: but little by little, first in Mul-
ho;1cn afterwards in other cif;nS. thn SyGfAm
found favor, and is perfect success wherever it
has been fairly tried. In Mu}house, OF the $50
houses that we're built in 1863, there were $50
cold. OF course II years seems long time to
wait, but oftentimes lucky stroke Of work,
a small legacy, or great economy enables the
laborcr to become a proprietor much sooner,
aud some Of the more industrious and steady
work'nen have become proprictors at the end Of
korer whom we make 7 proprietor and to whom
We give an interest ir the soil, Of him We make
also soldier Of good order.'' Building these
homes isnot matter that can be ''takenup upon
speculation like the celebrated case of Bardcll
by men anxious for the public good
profits. The houses must be well
built: for among their tenants and
les, masons, and builders,- who know good
work from bad. It has been urged as an OBJ
lection against these houses that their rent
places them out OF the reach Of the very poor,
but even to them they prove an indirect bcne
fit, for the lodgings vacated by the respectable
poor become accessible to those lower in the So
cial scale. Allowing the tenant to become
proprietor has many great and obvious adyal-
tages; they take better care of the houses, they
remain in the same house for years, and they
pay their rent with far greater regularity; for
each payment makes them SO much nearer pro-
prietorship.
The misery Of the homes Of the poor in most
OF these old European cities, as things were
formerly, passes belief. Built up against tile
dark, damp walls Of some church or cloistcr, in
streets so narrow that the fresh air OF heaven
never circulates through them, with tortuous,
break-neck staircases, and low, dark rooms in
such buildings thousands OF human beings were
born, lived, and died.
visited the other day, accompanied bv some
friends, two of these Cites Ouvriercs. They con
sisted Of six rows of houses, about 20 in i row,
back to back, the fronts divided by wide streets,
each possessing its pretty garden filled With
flowers.
A group Of brilliant sun flowers drew our at
tention to cheerful-1ooking house in the cen
tire Of row, and we asked permission to go
over it. gentleman Of our party said
he was sure the house must be in
habited by a railway employe, for he
never knew man employed about railway
who did not have suuflowers IN his garden. To
satisfy ourselves on this mint we manfred and