New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-08-05

heavy air with the DoXiOus gases arising hVu
animal and vegetable decomposition.
In another tenement near the latter, consisting OF
five houses precisely alike, one of the cellars was
found to be filed with very foul air, whlle nm, me
others were entirely free from offensive odors ms
cellar had two windows in the flags of the sidewalk,
but both were covered with trap-dolfs upon when
q grocer was in the hanitot placing his wares; Iw9
circular holes, about an inch In diameter aHOrued
the only means of lngIess for hight ana
air. With the exception of these three houses
an which Dr. Campbell has visited so far have been
found 10 be clean. well-vrntilated and moderately
roOmy. A fault, however which many OF them
have is one which is far too common IN all the sec
tions of the ward, the absence OF vehinhtoL nIo
the water pipes 10 he roof Nearly all me houses
have short pipes extending from i've 70 i1teeh ieet
above the ground but in few cases do they reach 10
the top OF the building.
LANDLORDS WITH CONsCIENCEs.
r. A. johnson. c. E., has finished half Of his sec
ton, the block between East Ninth and Tenth-sts.
and First and Second-aycs The building, Nc. 1ol
First-aye.. at which the reporter found him, was
spacious and well kept Everything was clean and
neat and the women Of tho various households were
proud 10 conduct the visitors through Their doihf-
IONS. The hal floors were covered with on ci95h.
and many of the rooms were carpeted Inc
only rooms which were az all dark were
the bedrooms In the middle of the houst,
and ia these the air was not at all oppressive
as there ventlatOrs over the doors connecting
with the large rooms and windows openng INTO
the hall In the GENRE OF the house was on open
veniiaor about three feet by four, extending from
the basement TO the roof, and aHOrdlng an opporu-
nity for the escape Of confined ar All the sanitary
regulations of the Board OF Health had been CON-
piled with by both owners and tenants,
and the INSPECTOR had no fault 10 find
with the house. In answer to question
in regard 10 the condition OF the remainder OF the
block Mr. Johnson stated that ne had tound lew
houses that were in any marked respect inferior 10
the one he had just visited. it was apparent thaI
nearly all had been built by persons desirous Of con-
forming 10 the laws Of health. The dimensions or
the rooms and yards exceeded, II all cases, the
minimum required by law, and the occupants were
not too numerous. lie had seen no sickness ahd
little drunkenness. The only fault he had 10 ihd
was in tho lack Of yeutIlatos from the Waste-ppcs
in some of the houses
ROOMS WITHOUT AIR.
Mr.. r. Bolton, an Undergraduate in the School
of Mines of Columbia College, is inspector for the
district between East Ninth and Tenth-sts., First
ave. and Avenue-A. lie said he had found the
district IN a much better condition than he had OK
pected, with the exception of one house There his
yvorst lamentations had been more than met. This
was the house No. 40 East Ninth-st, formerly
kuowu as the Cosmopolitan Hotel. There was alb
solutely no ventilation to many of the rooms,
as they had often no WlnuOWs. Inc yard
was not paved, but was blled with de-
cayinu refuse lying upon the ground. The halls
we're lighted only by windows. opening INTO rooms
on the inside of the hOuSe. and the yentlal ION from
the closets was exceedingly poor II III lact ~ conld
be called ventilation lie had round one family NV,
ing in a cellar, but the cellar was well paved ana
contained no offensive odors Proceeding to the
hOuse No 427 East Nlnth-s. hYe closets we're found
| uudcr the sidewalk of the street. They were
i'm very filthy condition, and vile OdOrs arose from
them through gratngs, annoying the p9Sseis-by ana
ascending 10 the front windows of the house and It's
/ nelgbbors. The occupants claimed that these were
empticd into tine sewer every night. ne remainder
! of the house was not clean, ana the occupants
| seemed TO have little regard Tor personal ceanh-
Leaving this building the reporter passed up Ave
nue-A to the next block that extending to First
| ave between Fast Tenth and E.eveuth-Sts. Here
scenes of squalOr and wretchedness almost beyond
description were revealed. he people IN the tene-
| ment-houses had heard of the intended coming
of the inspectors, ana the General opinion
seemed to be that ey had power 10 render assist
ance 10 all that were SICK and needy. One man
very seriously pointed ont fence That needed
mendlng and launched forth into ecoTe OF similar
GOOD REPORTS.
DIR. Valentine Mott, of No. 90 MadlsOn-ave., was
consulted in regard to the result of his work far
He had nearly finished the block between First and
Second-aves., and East Tenth and Eleventh-sts.
and did not consider it in a very bad condition. In
fact its condition was not so bad he had sup
nosed The chef trouble arose from bad cellars and
Closets He had found three or four wlndOwlesS
rooms and some unpayed yards but The houses were
not denseiy crowded, aud the only sickness he had
seen was solitary case Of the measles.
Dr. F. uockheimer, of No. 3l5 East Fourth-st.,
is engaged upon the block extending from First to
SecOnd-aye., between East seventh and Eighth-sts.
He said that he bad been for number of years III
the employ of the Board of Health, and had been
obliged to visit many tenements during that time.
His experience warranted him IN asserting that the
q strict upon which he was AT present engaged was
among the best III the city. Most of the houses
were double, with only family on each
half-hooT. He had found no rooms lower
than seven feet, and each house had at least tive
feet of ward In the And yet to say that this
was one Of the best teuemont-bOuse districts was
saving very lte for he had seen few sewer ventil-
at0rS and III case the sewer was above the level
of the basement. In only one house did he find
shaft Leading from the closets % the roof and in
many cases here there were shafts they tightly
covered He had experienced ONLY one case of dis
| II a a
cred himself the best Judge OF the sanitary con-
dtion of his house and resented what he considered
| the uuwarranted intrusion of the Inspector upon
| the sanctity of his household,
| The block bounded by Fourth and Ffth-sts
| Avenue-A and Avenue-B, is tenanted. mainly by
! Germans The houses are reported by tine Inspector
To be for the most part IN very good repair there be
! inc only two or three that in particularly
d,Ianidated condition In the ward adjoining one of
these tasteful garden of flowers could be from
fine back windows, which helped to relieve the effect
| of the broken floors and crumbng plaStering.
As q rule, there were found to be
about fifteen families in each house, III many cases
| n family occupying suite of only two rooms. At
| No 209 East Fourth-s. there are fifteen families
| forty-elgbt adults and eighteen children. At No.
| DOB fifteen families, numbering thlrty-One adults
| and nine children. The other tenements averaged
ahout the same. Inspector Owen said he had found
| the wards clean in most cases, and the sewerage
| generally in good condition.
The square On Flrst-ave. and Avenue-A, be-
| tween Fourth and Ffth-sts., has not been in
! spected except on the Fifth-st. side. This
| sGuare is also inhabited bv Germans, and Is re-
| ported to he almost unObectIonable. There is no
| oyercrowding, and the houses are clean, in many
| instances displaying much thrift and cleanliness
| as private houses Tho only irregularty so far
found is i'm the escaDepipe of the vaults at No 10
East Fourth-st., which is but three feet high. IN
stead of extending to the roof of the building as
required Icy law. No case of sickness has as vet
been found and the sanitary condition of the block
so far as explored is stated TO be good.
cLEASLY GERMAN HOUSES.
DIR. H. A. Clay was at work Yesterday on the
block included between First and Second-avos, eX-
tending from Third-st. to Fourth-st. He found
everything in good condition. The houses were
chiefly occupied by Germans, whom be pronounced