Bradford opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1874-1881, 1876-03-04
HOW THE POOR LIVE.

A friend lately had a delinquen
washcrwOman, and not finding eX
cuses as satisfactory as shirts, sc
out with me to hunt her up, no
more out Of curiosity to find tn,
clothes, than to see for ourselve
how the poor live. Her address
was u narrow street Of a dOzei
blocks, in the heart of down town
and there was not decent building
in it. The pavements were strewl
with garbage, and the houses stain
ed with Stops thrown from the win
dows. The woman was in a crazy
old wooden tenement in the rear Of
the one fronting Oh the street, and
in consequence had just as little ali
and light as it would do to live. We
found her in a room ten by twelve,
with a bed, wash.tub, cook stove
and boiler in the corners, leaving
Just room to worm ones way be.
tween them. Her grown son and q
little girl sat Oh the bed; there was
no chair, and string of wet clothes
hung above their heads. For this
room and a closet for the boy to
sleep in, she paid eight dollars Il
month rent, her whole means of liv-
ing being her sons wages as boy in
IA grocery store, at four dollars q
week, the washing from one family,
and tri1c of help from her daugh.
ter. who got two dollars and fifty
cents week as waitress in an up.
town house. Instead of making
way with the clothes, us we suppos.
ed, we found her husband had been
sick with fever, and the doctor had
forbidden her to send any clothes
out of the house. The air could not
get through the house, the drains
were out of order, and the stencil
in the entries was so Sickening that
we were not surprised to hear that
there was diphtheria and smallpox
in the block. The man had been
sent to the hospital to die, and the
house cleaned and disintected by
the board Of health, but it could
hardly be kept clean by mortal
bands, and never healthy. Comfort |!
These people never expect that. All
they can hope for is the dearest pos
sible litc-so bare and naked that a
full meal is something dated from,
and the possession of Il dollar mat
ter to be remembered. And the end
Of that life? The hospital first, and
Potter's field afterward. That's all
there is about it.
TIE PROFITS OF TENEMENT PROPERTY.
Passing Il block of ruinous build
ings on Il street by the river, | ask.
ed the owner why he didn't tear it
down, and build something decent.
He told ne, laughing 'the notion to
scorn, that such property was the
most probable in the city. 1t cost
nothing to keep it in repair, for he
never made any repairs, and it was
divided into lodgings, twelve feet
square, or, a few, twelve 10y eigh-
teen, they were always full. There
WAS no loss of rent, for the money,
was always demanded in advanced
and if by the next month the
cnt was unable TO-DAY. the
bundled him out ID tie sire
there wasaIways plenty Il
place. There are tamil
avenue who have inc
thousand a year,
property, and
What a horrid the
fastidious memhoD hable
club who rolls dow office in
his coupe, of Il norm from his
luxurious, .picture-hnng home in the
bright, wide, uptown street, and
the fever-scented dcns where power
ty-stricken wretches toll their lives
away, to earn the price of his luxu-
ries. When will Moody and San.
key labor, that mems hearts may be
softened toward their kind and take
for their text, "Your gold is cor
rupted, and your riches are moth
eaten"
The Moody and Sankey meetings
are no more a success in New York
than they were in Brooklyn. The
numbers in attendance are as great
as ever, but the effect produced is
nothing. And the really religious
people of the city-those who were
instrumental in bringing them here,
are repenting of their bargain
Moody is a coarse man, though earn.
est and honest-and his manner and
method repel rather than attract.
He has trick of familiarity when
he speaks OF the Deity that shocks
the sense of any devOut person, land
he has a bullying, staggering way
with him that is anything but pleas
ant. He is very short, crusty and
dictatoiial in his dealings with the|
clergy, lacking entirely that meek |
ness that is so important an item in /
the Christian makeup. Sankey' 81
singing is delightful for time, but
like everything that lacks the prin-
ciple of true art, it gets fearfully
tiresome in a little while. 1t is a la
mentable fact that ninety nine hun
dredths Of the people in attendance
are religious people-the sinners
stay carefully away and never go.
The revivals in other parts Of the
city are more successful. Dwyer
and Collier are preaching in the
slums of Vandam Street with mark