New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-02-06
THE TryFuEyr. HOUSE QUESTION.

ouestion will be of use if they serve to stimulate
the public to renewed interest in the matter
| which certainly is closely concerned with the
general welfare rs we'll rs with the general con-
science. Tenement-h house life ought not to be-
and it is public duty to find the means OF re-
forming if ont of existence But efforts in this
| direction which are made without regard to the
| actual conditions are not likely TO succeed, anu
any theory founded upon partial view must
be insufficient Felix Adler, for example, re-
fuses to admit that any change is needed IN the
ways of life and the habits OF certain classes
| that occupy tencment-houscs. lie insists that
the fault lies in the debased nature OF their en-
vironment. He says: " 1t is not the squalid peO-
Die that make the squalid houses, but the squat
aid houses that make the squaid people, Now
this is 10y no means an accurate generalization,
and It is one. insistance on which may have bad
| and discouragng results. 1t is certain that
| there are in all countries the most as well as
the least civilized, a great many pcople-Whoie
classes in fact-whO are the latest representa-
tives of generations that never knew cleanliness
| or comfort or anything but squalor. 1t would
be most unjust to visit the squalOr OF these poor
people upon them as fault. They cannot help
! il. II is their normal condition. They inherit
acouiescence in it. They do not inherit any
warming after better state Of things. And
| when philanthroplsts build model lodging
houses in cities, or model cottages in the coun-
try. for this kind of people, they do not at once
welcome the change They cannot III fact ap-
preciate it. They really prefer the old ways.
! If left alone they proceed to convert the
new dwellings into SMILES of the old. During
/ g. don, t~ap ~
| of the poor. this truth was brought ont clearly.
1t was shown in detail that there are classes
who simply will not accept improved ways OF
living, doubtless because they know no better.
But Whatever the reason, the fact has to be reck-
/ Oned with.
OF course it is not to be concluded that this
applies to all or to n majority OF the poor, eS-
pecially in this country. But even here there
are thousands of European immigrants who
| have had no experience but of sQualor and these
cannot be expected to change the habits OF a
lifetime at short notice. Squalid surroundings
will not only prevent the adoption Of better
habits. but will in time produce race adapted
to the surroundings; and this is the situation
that has 10 be dealt with. In London, one OF
the hardest problems for landlords is the class
that will not avail itself ofimprOved habitat ons,
but which converts every place into howell 1t
must be realized that this phase OF the question
cannot be ignored, because it will III any event
offer n serious obstacle to reform, and may pre-
vent the free investment of private capital IN
improved dwellings for the poor.
But since the only way to elevate the victims
Of hereditary squalor is to improve their sur
roundings at the same time that they them
selves are carefully taught the superior COM
fort of cleanliness, this situation perhaps opens
the question whether the State might not legltl-
mately assume the function OF reformcr In this
connection. The justification for such method
may be stated thus Private capital cannot be
expected to invest in improved dwellings unless
there is reasonable assurance, either that high
rents can be obtained if the property is illused,
or that the property shall be well-uscd if the
rents are low This conclusion is drawn from
| exnerience. At present the most squalid tene-
ment houses are among the most profitable.
This means that their owners make the tenants
nav high for converting them into pigstyes.
And this must always be the case when private
capital alone is invested OF attainabie. The ten
ants of the Peabody Trust buildings in London
are people who have got above the squalid
stage. and know the value of order and cleanll-
ness. That class can always be trusted, and
there is no difficulty in finding houseroom for it.
But the soualid class Is the one which makes
the real difficulty of tenement-house reform,
and il is this class that the idea of State assist
ance applies to. 1t must be assumed that Ii this
class is moved into better homes, 1t will not at
once reform its habits. On the contrary, it will
deteriorate the new houses. Now, while private
capital will not stand that kind of treatment,
even for the sake of reform, the State might
afford to stand 1t, and it might furnish the
homes which In any case must serve as the in
termediaries between squalOr and cleanliness.
To bridge over this change and to facilitate and
set It going is the central difficulty of the whole
question. II is not the best classes who are an
embarrassment 1t is the most helpless, igno-
rant aud brutalized classes. These, If unre-
formed, will carry their squalor with them
wherever they go. II they could all be enriched
they might be fired with a wholesome ambition.
But il must be remembered that wherever they
live their means will remain about the same as
nj present Ii will still be a constant struggle
with them and the struggle will continue t.
deaden their sensblities and keep them squalid
in mind as well as In body.
The tenement-house question Is serious, but
It must be approached in practical way. The
uroblem is how to bring.about reforms in living
which demand time, patience, the sacrifice oil
capital. 1t is a great field for private philan-
thropy, If private philanthropy stands ready to
venture upon it. But ought the commonwealth