, 1881-06-26

The rights aud privileges Of tenants Uccl1
nyIng anu paying rent for dwellings ant
other premises, which, from faulty eonstrtlc
ton, neglect, accident, Or other cause, hayt
become pestilential and dangerous to thu
| health, not merely Of the occupants OF tht
premises, but generally Of the public, mus
soon receive legislative definition and pro
lection. 4 few days ago Il tenant who liyet
in house so afflicted with faulty sewerage
| rs to be foul with gases from the sewers and
drains, one OF w]lose children died from
blood-poisoning, pronounced to be the result
| Of sewer-sas, and other members Of whose
| family were prostratcd with like disease, and
who was advised by his medical counsel to
| remove from the premises, did so remove be-
| fore the expiration Of his lease. The landlord
sued him for the rent, and one Of our city
Justices rendered Judgment for the claim, dc
| nyllg thai the tenant vas released from pay
ing the rent because compelled to move out
| Of the premises when only one member Of
| the family had been poisoned to death there
| in.
| 1t is now notorious fact that 4 large pro-
portion Of the dWelling-Aouses in this city
have imperfect drainagc,-tllat this drainage
has been badly constructed. or has been dis
turbeI or broken after construction. No
matter what the cause, the stencil and yapor,
be it great or less, is pcriious to health, and
to PERSONS of weak constitution is positively
fatal. We take, for illustration, q few cases,
out Of long lists published weekly, Of prem
1Ses of this kind:
No.-Statc street, t,vo-story and basement
frame. .s@@x10o feet, thirty rooms, occupied BY
ttty-sixs persons. Plumbing and Drainage very
bad: privscs oyeri1owing. Plnec filthy in the OK
treHle. Filth and garbage fill the area under the
Sidewalk. and stagnant water from the waste
pipes under tho hallway OF the basement. The
tc-pfpcs are untruppcd. There Is scarcely
any ventilation for the twenty nine persons who
live in the busc:ucnt. The walls arc blnck us
CIVILIZATION ~ - ''@'~' = '0~ '''>O ~
Nos. : and - Clark street, thrcc-story and
basement frumc rookerlcs, containing twenty
eight rooms, in which live forty-ono persons.
Plumbing work ieaky and untrapned. Drainage
stopped up priylcs ovcriiow!n@, rocking, End
foul yard strcwn with g1rbnxc; roof leAky and
wallis dirty.
Three thrce-story frame dwellings, thirty-four
rooms. occupied oy titty-fonr persons. Water
ovcrilowtng. The wastc-pipcs do not con- on
meet with tho sewer. The waste water spreads
itself over the surface Of tho ground under tho
building, where It remains s. stagnanr emitting
toul md offensive vApor. The yards are full ut
ashes and rarbage. Tho catch-basins have not
been c!eaucd for three years. The walls are
trapped.
Here is the way the Inspector reports
another case, tllrce-story brick, 20 by 50
feet, in which pen there are twenty-thrce
rooms, occupied by twcnty-seyen persons,
eleven Of whom are children under Is years
old:
It IS almost impossible to describe the actual
degree OF tilthincss Of these premises. The
ground flour is ia itself Of re:king, stink
sol;dwth refuse, and the other is IDLY filthy.
Some OF the wsste- pipes do not connect with
the sewer, but empty OIL to tho floor, and the
contents nrc thus allowed to roam around pro-
mfscuously, ut their own sinking will, Until |
they reach the cntcn-bnsiu, If they ever sue
the box IN which 1t is incloscd acts rs n ven
tilator for the cellar, but carries NIL tho foul air
to the rooms above, making the stencil in them !
unbearablc.
There are perhaps 5000 habitatfons in this
city where drainage and other conycniences !
Of the premises are defective, ranging from
extreme cases like those given III the list |
down to cases where there is hole in the |
soil-plpe just large enough to fill tile sleep
with gas from the sewer.
Landlords deny that they are under any
legal obligation to remedy these evils, or to
keep the houses in habitable condition; and
they are now inserting III their leases that the
.enants must protect their premises from any
lcfccts III plumbing or sewerage.
VIC published 4 few weeks ago the report
II trial before an English Court, where a
anant moved oNt Of a dwelling into which
ewergas found its way. Tie Court re-
eased him from paying rent, and required
he landlord to pay some $500 damages, in
udlng doctors bills for attendance on per-
ons supposed to have been made i'll from
ewer~gas.
There does not seem to have been any law
established in this country on this question,
S to whether contract to pay rent for q
Westinghouse SO constructed or so out of
epalr as to be dangerous or fatal to
ealth can be enforced. Is not a cor
'act of renting Il dwelling, no matter
hat Its terms. void when the premises
re unfit, unsafe, for human habitatlon? Is j
not all essential part Of the hiring of
yelling that it shall be habitable; shall be ,
:ee OF avoidab1e dangers to the life and
eaith OF the occupants; and can the lessee