New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-03-05


stable Bower expressly for this purpose, 10 enaoie
| me to make thorough Investigation.
The centre of Leeds is almost wholly occupied Dy
| the great warehouses end the principa' BUSINESS
| houses. UnquesiOnably the worst part Oh INC cry
| is the Kirk0ate Ward, extending eastward poSo"N
| Richmond Hill. Here live huddled togethoi :"
some of the vilest courts l ever met WIN, 'lS
poorest laboring classes. the Irish eifnio"' 90
most of the thieves. SO bad had this quarter VI w
city become that q few years ago the Doious
bougbt three or four OF the worst streets, puIlou
down all tho houses and scattered the lnmates D"'
there Is yet great room for improvements. i"N1
Cherry Tree Court" aud, though not a ran man,
bad TO bend nearly double in order to get through
! the causrway leading 10 1t. In these courts you
find whole families living in one room. the floor oil
| which is of broken pavng-slones, containing ""l"S
a y.slipe of furniture. Poor red-nosed, pnchea-
faced shoelcss. vretcbed little children, win
hardly rag on their backs greet you on all hahus
| As n rule lam glad to say, the inmates OF tneso
houses belong to class of To be found In nearly
| all largo cities, who do no regular WORK. Dut nFo
| from hand to mouth by odd jobs and proDaoiy
squander half their earnings IN the groggeres 'na'
| occupy almost every corner in this part OF Locus
| Every effort is being made TO improve this melan
cboly condition of affairs. Model lodging-houses
have been erected In tho vicinity and in this way al
| least many of the single men have been rescued
from these polluted dens.
One of these lodging houses Is said to be the larg
est in the Empire, Containing believe, about 400
Iodoera and IA n welI-conducted institution. 1t is
| far ahead OF those found at Bradford. The rooms
| ARE kent clean and vel ventilated, and man may
live at this es ablshment for los. or So 80 week
| He NAYS Id or 3D. "A night for his lodgings and ms
the use of the large kitchen. containing number OF
| ranges hot water in abundance and utensils Tor
! cooking and serving meals. lie, OF course, must
| cook his own vIctuals, and the day visited the
| place "A dozen or more burIy English Aborers aud
some that were skilled artisans stood round these
stoves irving tripe and bacon, scraps OF pork and
scraps of beef and mutton, slices OF buocks heart
| and liver On the table near by, tied mp in clean
blue or wute or red and white spotted handker-
chief was the other part of the repast, pound or
two of bread. So small are the earnings OF these
men that hey cannot afford to rent room, but
must thus live fro day to day. paving each night
at sort of box-oco the fourpeuce or si1pence Tor
the privilege of occupying room which, know. IN
one instance. is capable of accommodating no less
than sixty guests There is also large dining hall in
KIRK gate erected by subscripton,in which IS served
daily large plate of meat. potatoes vegetables
and bread" for eightpence. or sixteen cents Plate
! Of pudding and gravy twOpence. l counted over
| one hundred from the little match boy 10 the IN
| dusfrous mechanic and his wife, enjoying the
various cheap dlsue- at tins place Saturday AFTER
/ noon.
! The manufacturing quarters Of the city are
! or ,de higher tn IA hiTkgate IN the neg lborhoOd
| of the ron works the hands 1--we IN SIN III houses
! consisting OF one general room, sculerF, ana
! couple of bedrooms. for which they pay M least
! oue-sevcnth sometimes one-~iEth. ther weekly
! earnings. / h actual earnings or skilled workman
! rar.ly reach rs 20. aud seldom ever excredpf Do
| lie lives on tn- cOars 81 fool; bacon at slXte N
cents a pound, buIlocks liver or hearl al ten cents
| . 4 nd mt 4
tea. Cabbage IL the only vegetable wlthn Hls
| mrans besides potatoes. After the food has been
bought aud the groceries and the rent pad. ana the
! club dues and The Burial Society and the Trade
Tn on dues paid, h" has hardly anything lett toDuy
clothing. IL matters ittle 10 the woIkmaan ger"
what he prices of clothes are; he cannot AFFORD 10
do any more than keep his family shed, and II lhey
are girl. keep them ~ cotton gowns-both oil when
articles of coi hing cheaper here than IN the
| United states. excepting possibly IN cases mot ln-
| freau utl where Odea shoes are worn.
In ,pcctor iho mas w. Whoatley TOR over fifteen
vars connected with the Leeds police force aud fer
neary eight years OF that tine Inspector Of Indus
| tria and RefoumatOry Schools. and whose duty
during tue whole period Of his service was To ascer
| tain the earnings OF mil operatives ana ot1er
artisans for the of the conrs in ASSESSING what
proper ion the parents should pay for their chdren
-aid tIat IN hls ought Years experience te hlghcst
| average wages he ever met with for skilled laDor
were 60 n manager and foreman Of n glass bottle
| works who received Sos or. say, -, week and
! hons. her-eduivaleni 20 about 81 a we X. This
! man had seven cndreu. age four months, two
years four years six years elght year.. ten years
|
| books contain fai9 samples of what the working
g la sc, actually rrceve for that ~ what construe
WAGES to be. and not the statements OF lnlerestea
| par,irs Will take a few samples all OF winch
| have been obtained with sufficient accuracy to ne
| sworn 20 in court. In each case the statement OF
the artisan mas been corrobOra ell Dy the employer:
| WILLIAM FosiER: Fcltcr. cloth-m average weekly
earnings l6s less than iour dollars; wife, two oh
dren age and seven years pays 2s 3D. week Tor
j MIS- GILL: Cotl. warcLouscman wages 3os., or
seyen dnr. and half week; wife and turee children,
fnres ar al ti = 80 "a
| week rent, snd p. " ck 'or OoS ~ ref0fmatory
| WILLIAM PORTER: Lb1rrf weekly tarnings lss., or
less than Iour 40 lars aud q naf; wife and child
| pad IS. 4d., OT % ceuts ~ week Tor rent.
Inspector Nhratley says that from his experience
of fifteen years he should have no hrsitancy in
swearing that the average actual earnings of labor
ing men in Leeds were lss. week, or less han four
dollars ana u hal that they would unrrr the most
favorable circumstances not work over MY W eks
| in he wear
| JouN kYpAfL: miller; widower, two children earn.
nrs 2Os OF css than iye dollars week lives Ia lodg
ngs al 13s or 80 - we k; both children IN ino"A-
JANIS Wusos engine tender; wife aud four chill
dren weekly 25s.. or about six dollars pays 3d.
Cd or 81 ce Is, aAweek ront
EMMA MILLERe Carp .t-makeri two children nine
aud sixteen ears OF age eae,t gr earns on IyefaGe
less tnnn nyr dollars pays 3. "A week reuL 800
NJ. BARRETT Clothdresseri wife and four children,
a0e 1--WE ak, nine and Twelve ye rs Tho eldest child
earned S. a week; fathers average weekly earnings
los ga total eanngs less than hVe dollars Win Two
PArRIcK CnrLrs: GLACIER wife and FIVE children,
a. geXe
three children wOrklnk earning respectively 81 Cd, IS
and =; fnth earnings uncertain from los to 2Osj
- otnl earnings Oi L.e entire family rarely exceeding
seven dol AIRS and half. four working; tney all lived
together Ia u oor mouse r.nt, 3s 3D. u week ~,
2unMAs UoKsFANN Mason wife aud one child
wages 27s or over SIX dollars, week rent A.
These are samples hundreds Of which could DO
given They were selected at random by he In
soector from his books and represent the real
earnings of the British workman in this thrifty part
OF England.
"In your fifteen years experience said to Inspec
tor Wheatley, " in which your jurisdiction has
tended all over the borough OF Leeds, embracing
il does 800 900 Of the most thr " industrial popu-
| atlon IN England. did you ever know the Ordinary