The New York herald., 1879-07-30
THE SICK POOR.

SCENES OF POVERTY AMONG THE TENEMENT
PoPULATIoN-wHAT A LANDLORD CONSIDERED
AN IMPROVEMENT.
'Come in here" said DIR. Silver to the HERALD
porter. as they paused before of the tenement
houses in Cherry street. II want to show you the
improvements the landlord has Just made in the
rooms
The two had been toiling through the heat of the
| day on the Doctors regular tour among the sick
poor carrying what relief the Board of Health af-
| fords to those who hardly holp themselves in
health. and who when sickness comes moth
| ing ahead but the poorhouse and burial by the
city Up the long, steep stairs in house after house.
where twenty thirty. forty or sixty families live
under roof. through nosome alleys, flowing
with filth. piled with garbage and reeking with
ten odors. they had walked for two hours, finding
| nothing in all the time that seemed to show
the part of the landlords for anything relating
to the tenants excepting the rental. and it
couragng to learn that one landlord had made I'M
| provements.
| ''Come and the improvements" +" said the Doc
| tor. and he led the way into the house. Through
narrow hail. up narrow stairs. turning half way up
the flight for economy In space back through
another narrow hall he went and knocked at half
| open door. There answer and he passed in
| through the diving room" of the rear suite In
| this room there two windows looking out
WHat passeu Tor tle ydfu. IL was space ABOUT ~
feet by 70. surrounded by the blank walls of
rounding houses. About onethird of it
pied by privy and the rest paved with stone.
BY stretching the neck it could be seen that ther,
space of perhaps six inches between the house
| they were in and the next The next room to
! the Giving room" served a kitchen and store
room and was lighted by window into the Giving
ROOM" Beyond this was the sleeping
MODERN IMPROVEMENTS.
"Here is the improvement" said the Doctor and
the reporter looked he pointed to hole in the
WALL 1t four inches square and about seven
feet from the floor. The view through it was of
small portion OF the wall six inches away. 1t and
the door the only means of lighting and ventl-
lating room where four persons sleep summer
and winter In the winter the tenants will probably
plug it up.
.'Is that tho Improvement p exclaimed the re-
porter.
1T is" replied the Doctor. "The landlord showed
it to with great pride the other day. Before he
had it cut there opening into the room but
the door. He considers the room ventilated now'
"Oh! Doctor. God bless you. thin powders you
gave the other day did my baby a dale O. good"
said pale woman, standing in OF the doors Of
the house at No. 81 Cherry street. the Doctor
came up the alley. .'An there's a poor baby up
stairs here, she continued that's mighty sick an
its mothers dead, Gou rest ner soul. An would
The poor grandmothers dom all she can, but
that's mighty little. sure. Would you go up?'
'.Of course l would, said the Doctor. cheerily.
and getting the direction by which TO lind the
he plunged into the dark hallway and began climbing
the stairs.
Now mind that" said the woman admiriugly.
sure its wonderful dale or good the doctors does
"a goin' round among the poor
THE HARDEST SIDE OF POVERTY.
1t was u sorry signt tnat met of the Doc
tor when he reached the room. a Door baby two
weeks old living swaddIed in the warmost of wnsps
m nj an oil
it, with the impassive face of poverty stricken old
age. and yet touching the little one tenderly
time 10 time, doing next to nothing because she
knew not what to do and had not the means to sum-
mon physician or to buy medicine.
"ies, its my poor dead girls babby," she said
when the Doctor questioned her. ..She died. SIR
giving birth to the child. an her husbands away,
God knows where hope he's in prison. where he
belongs. An Inc an my old man has to take care O.
the little one DO ye think ye can help ty'
And then came u wistful look of appeal into her
honest old eyes that showed more heart than her
betrayed. 1t was her ''dead girls babby" aud
she loved it with grandmothers love. The Doctor
inquired the mptonis ana gave her medicine.
, anu her thanks were painful TO listen to.
.Aow do you ive?" asked the reporter Seer
tainly You can't work mnch.
..On. get along said my old mans
pretty spry and ho gets some work to do"
| Another sick baby found below stairs suffer-
ing from the usual summer trouble of the children
the usual prescription given. but the Doctor
shook his head he turned away. The child won't
DC likely to live" he said
1T didnt look very SICK" said the reporter
"No 1t isn't" was the reply. but the mother
doesn thlhk the trouble ls anything aud it isn't
| likely she Will take care of it."
AN ITALIAN SETTLEMENT
Nos. IL and Is Roosevelt street almost entirely
occupied by Italians and attempt made to es-
innate the number that lodge the two houses but
NO adequate result was obtained. No one was found
who could or would talk English excepting a woman
and the barxeeper III q drinking saloon iul OF de-
NJ And both said they did not know how many
lived III the two houses. There certainly great
many
The large courtyard half full of men and
women, AL OF wnom were idle, excepting a few OF
the women who were knitting. They were swarthy
and nearly all handsome. with bold black
eyes and jet black hair. Some Of the
women were remarkably fine looking and
women. and many of the men wore gold earrings.
and the women had other jeweiry. all of goid.
Strings OF gold beads gold crosses and bro ,ehes
foreign birth not only by their faces but by their
costume. Even those OF the men whose clothing
had apparently been made i'll New York wore 1t IN
some careless way showed some bit of briuht
color that seemed strange. Tho women wore short
skirts and large, their hair WAS
euily dressed.
Two of the wrestling and some were
seated on the pavement playing some incomprehen-
sible game with their fingers. The courtyard looked
as though some festival going on excepting that
great heaps of rags were drying in the hot sun and
sending out stencil that To stranger intoler-
able The Italians did not seem to notice it, and IL
they perceived 1t at all it probably pleasant to
them. for the rags were their merchandise.
door leading from the aleyway OF No. Is, into q
dark room. stood open, and u look within showed a
room perhaps IL feet by Is, with no furniture ex-
cepting benches along the walls aud n beer keg m
one corner. \ tin cup stood under the faucet and
evidently served in lieu of glasses for all cus,omrrs
1t was beer saloon. where the beer that sold con-
ssts of the dregs collected from the discarded kc,s
OF saloons Of higher grade and rctaled at a cent
cupiul. 1t nearly full of customers all Of whom
looked a. II stupeheG with drink. and who around
the room in lence when the reporter looked No
lower form OF the Indulgence OF the drunkard's
thirst could be imagined
In the two houses only one case of sickness could
be found Room after room was visited opcnins
Wuto the pitch dark halls. when flights q; stairs,
thort ANA long. led in every direction without any
Epparent plan. out in every room were half a dozen
kr dozen men and women. sitting Idle. doing moth.
fhy, 1t seemed. excepting to talk Ii scemet like
Holiday but DR.. silver said he always found the
Nane state OF affairs.
IA MARK rApLxN's RIvAI.
"Ah. Dorthor, have anither for We" said the
tecond English speaking person ia the place. She
Nas miodse aged irish woman. whcac jolity under