The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1879-03-14
TENEMENT HOUSES IN NEW YORK.

| Nearly every house In the tenement us
trict is five or six stories high. The hall
ways are narrow, and at night are mostly
without lights. Many of the bedrooms nev-
CT have ray of sunlight in them. The
rooms at front and rear, which have win
dows, are used for living rooms. The bed
rooms have windows locking into the mar
row and unlighted halls. At the rear Of
the hall is a window, looking out to another
| tenement house in the rear, whose wall is
twenty-five feet away. This distance of
twenty five feet is required by law, other
wise the whole ground would be built on,
and tenants might seek for light and air rs
they pleased. Family privacy is out of the
reach Of these people. The scenes which
are enacted in the Railways are too abomi-
nablc to put in print. The utter demorali-
zation of every boy or girl who is reared
among such surroundings is matter Of
course. 10 pass along these uieghborhoods
on summer evening, when the dodgers
who have been at work have come homo, is
to see an unpleasant sight. The pavements
will not hold half the people who would
swarm out upon them Gutter and street
are amply occupied. From almost every
window all the way up to tho top men and
women, in ever style Of sloyenly dishabile,
lean out to get the fresh air and chat
Much of what they say is 'uutit for publ
cation" IF that is tie state OF things in
summer, what are these people about in
winter? 4 winter evening in a crowded
| tenement houses present possibilities too dis
gusting and too demoralzng to contemplate
with pleasure. There are hundreds Of these
pest-houses where from twenty to fifty FAM
lilies live and move and have their being
under one roof While some of the expen-
sive families in costly dwellings, mourn the
fact that Providence has vouchsafed them
only one or two children, the tenement
house folks have little oncs born to them as
plentifully as kittens, puppies or rats
| The brutalization of these children is ono
Of the most terrible elements of tenement
house existence. They "go astray as soon
as they arc born" and contribute largely to
the ranks Of the pauperS and the criminal
classes. In some of the lower and vicr
classes of tenement, houses, bcggars and pro-
stitutcs and thieves herd like vermin And
yet these unclcan and bestiaizcd persons
manage to prolong their wretched existence
and seem TO defy the laws Of health with
some degree of impunity. 1t is wonder
that the bad air does not kill them Al
most any respectable and wel-fed Christian
would pronounce the diet of tenement
house family enough to cause death in a
| week. let they manage to stand it
They are not healthy. They arc for
the most part afflicted with consumption
and kindred diseases, whose seeds they
! transmit to the offspring they 50 liber-
ally bring into the world. 1t must be ad.
ded that the denominations to which have
alluded take place in houses which are built
in accordance with the requirements of the
laws Of the city and which are regularly
inspected.
1t may be asked, who are these people
and whence do they come Many of then,
are reduced people, who have seen better
days. Many of them are mechanics, who
work in factories. Some of them carry on
light work iu their rooms. Much of the
cigar.makinS of the city is done IN the
tenement houses. 1t may not be very pleas
ant to think of putting in ones mouth the
end Of cigar which has been rolled to-
gcthcr by fcvcr-strickcn woman with six
unwashcd little children playing about the
floor am)ng the tobacco leaves. But to
tilUSc "ilO nave uOuUtS W lHlS DuSlncSS
many tenemcnt.housc door is open for
free observation. There are many of the
tenants who seem to have no particular trade
or profession, and whose source of income
is mystery 1t is often asked why those
who arc not yet down to the lowest degree
Of degradation do not seek cheap homes in
the country. The answer is two-fold In
the first place, there are no cheap homes to
which they can go. lu the second place
they have lost their ambition. Satisfied
to live from hand to mouth, and having no
money with which to better themselves by
making a move, they have given up any
idea they may once have entertained OF
changing. 1t may be that bcncfcent cap
italiSts will do something fer this class OF
5 people in erecting cheap houses in the re-
gions to be reached by the elevated railroad
Certainly, it is .ggrcatlly to be hoped that
We confess our little faults only TO per.
suade others that we have no great ones.
WhoSoercr would work wisely and with