The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-03-23


building improved dwellings IN the eiiy of New YORK Tor
All income derived from and other 10 be
reinvested in similar manner. .
the trust nor shall an, trustee receive payment any
or s any res sss or @ trust !" S be
made public every year.
city be substantially built TO be planned TO afford
4 The be subject printed rules aud regua
from among those who Will take real interest in the ten
10 rem, be allowed to fai int" arrears 10 liquor
TO be r ;od on the premises is s,o,s, Of .,o,xr riffs and
EsS asS$S SS4I'sa sA11s'
MI NV A fssH SsTsS %. 1870
THE VARIED GOOD WHICH NAY RESULT.
Since their association together the committee
have worked with the utmost harmony and they
express themselves bound up, heart and soul, in
the success of the scheme for permanent building
fund. ut will do good remarked one of them.
provided with good homes. but examples Of the
proper construction will be set whenever any
viii remain as permanent models before the
eyes of the capitalists. When the people compare
with these the to which they have been accus-
toned they will forsake the latter they
find better quarters, and it will to be profitable
to put up such abomnable dwellings, now dis
grace pretended civilization. A stock company.
too, benevoently directed do vast deal of good.
but only the extent OF its capital, whereas the
proceeds being invested rapidly it The
Peabody Fund in London has already doubled.
believe, since 1862 Ihere is no reason why New
York should not have the manufacture OF all the
articles de Paris which are used here; but some time
ago. when an effort was made to induce number of
artisans ut Worcester, Mass, to come to the city,
they refused because Of their dread of tenement
house life. They said that they could not stand it.
This illustrates the fact that the tenement house
system has driven and kept away from New York
good many extensive anu lucrative manufactures.
We have here all the facilities Tor manufacturing,
la in.
dustry. under the conditions there existing
workmen and workwomen can afford to accept
smaller wages. being assured OF pleasanter homes at
less expense.
II think continued the committeeman. 'that tho
houses OF the fund ought to b, widely separated
as possible. Among other reasons a popular move
ment might render some OF them inferior as prop
same time. Each of them will have front Of 100
feet, it has been conclusively shown that large
tenement house cannot be built to advantage on a
single lot No architectural plans have yet been per-
fected for u.s.
VIEWS OF AN ENGINEER WHO HAS STUDIED THE
SUBJECT OF TENEMENT HOUSE REFoRM-PLAN
OF AN IMPROVED HoUsE-LIGHT, AIR, vENrI-
LATIoN AND PRIVACY SECURED.
At the present time many minds are busy seeking
a solution of the tenement house problem. The
meetings at the Cooper Institute and elsewhere
have aroused public interest in the subject that
promises to be fruitful in good results great deal
of talk and discussion the evil and demoralizng
influences of the tenement house system has been
had yet SO far few really practicable schemes have
been brought forward to remedy the abuses com.
planned Of. No doubt in time these will be forth
coming as the subject is that demands great
deal of time, thought and investigation. 1t Is
topic for twenty years ago the subject Of reforma
ton in the structure OF tenement houses
earnestly agtated it is to-day. All along however
no scientific solution of the question has been
reached General Egbert l.. viele. the engineer has
given the puzzng theme considerable study, and in
a talk yesterday with a HERALD reporter put forth
some points on style OF tenement construc-
ton and method of improving the existing tene-
ments that must prove of interest to all who
themselves in this great social question.
This work of reforming the tenement houses
said General vice, ''was begun far back as the
year 1859. At that time the New York Sanitary AS
ISOLATION was formed, and Professor NJ wetmore
Robert H. McCurdy. Frederick II. Siather. Frederick
s.. winston. stephen Smith and myself were men,
beers of the council We continued labors from
that time until years after when secured the
passage Of by the Legislature constituting
present Board of Health. In the meantime set to
work to thorough inspection Of all the
tenement houses in the city. This long and
laborous undertaking. We employed Mr. Halliday
an earnest and intrepid sanitarian. and corps
Of assistants to visit every house ia the
entire city containing more than one family. and to
report upon the condition architecture and personal
characteristics OF the people residing in them. That
report published about 1860 and contained much
valuable statistical information
''IIavc you observed any improvements since then
in tenement houses"
''Well, the traditional tenement house, lacking
every sanitary safeguard, still abounds, but there
have been many improvements made through tho
efforts of phianthropc and practical men. and in
some instances especially in London, the problem
has met with a successful solution"
.'what do you expect from the present agitation?'
at will undoubtedly help along the work of So
curing the erection of better class of houses for
the poor but it to me very little practical in
formation has been added to the knowledge already
possessed.
A CITY IN WHICH ARCHITECTS ARE NEEDED.
ut is very possible in the popular agitation Of any
subject to exaggeratc unimportant points and
look those that require most and that
appears to have been the difficulty far in the dis
cussion OF this matter. We must not overlook the
fact that the very existence Of large city necessarily
involves a dense population. People come together
in large cities because of the advantages that
to them from the presence Of great numbers. and it
is absolutely necessary to their purposes that they
should be close proximity to their business and
labor as possible. out of this has grown the tenc-
ment house system, which is not really bad in itself.
but only in the way in which it is conducted. The
original fault is with the so-calIed architect Tho
greater portion Of this class mere draughts
men, with lttlo'or knowledge Of their vocation.
few of them have common sense ideas. but most
of them have original conceptions at all. have
very extravagant and oufrt fancies. The whole
chitecturc OF New York shows this. where splendid
opportunities have been literally wasted on every
side. Recently number OF persons we're appointed
to examine and pass upon 300 plans of
as many different architects for a tenement
house TO he built twenty-five foot
lot, and like the three Scotch philosophers
who undertook to determine why fish did not dis
place an amount of water equal to its bulk they
forgot the important factor that 1900 square feet
could not possibly be used a home for four fam
lilies under any circumstances of deccncy