New-York tribune., 1884-12-28
TENEMENT.HoUsE PROBLEM
yue FACTS BROADLY STATED
oyIR.cRowDINd AND IT'S GFFtuih-"nA'
ppMppiEs ARE PRAcficAhtE,

REMEDIES AXE IhA'li'A"'t'n
\. ,,,e series of descriptive articles wh'h h'''
,eeeniiy. contributed 10 lhH Ihhuhh "' h''omlp
has been ,nada 10 picture ~ their true eo''ts s"n'
=, ,he wofet tenement house seeilnnh hhNe
.te,ehrd la superficial and unsatisfactory inhhh''
a.. mann notable TEXTURES of the Italian end il'pfow
oparlef. mud baya described The more HllR'nR
ehataeterlatiea Of the First nhd lontih "Wu',
which contnin tho oldest tenement houses m'en'
continue these descriptions indefinitely lhn'ou
volume could be- written about The interesting w"
varied features Of metropolitan lic awona WV
Chinese the Bohcmians, IN The French quarter anu
!, Little Africa. But confess TIE task Is not
coneenial one There would of necessity be 700
MANY shadows in the picture and fear my renders
vould grow weary prefer to deal with the tenc'
,nent question ir its broader aspects to consuer
briefly the physical moral and economical results
which may be traced 10 our unfortunate system
of housing the poor and TO show what reforms
are practicable and necessary
Few citizens of New-york have any true concep-
ton ot the tenement question. Their apathy ana
indifference Is largely due to ignorancc and TO
,nis.aten nnton that the sunerngs OF the poor
n,e unavoidable or that they are being a'lctiated,
sn fnr ns is sracticable by existing agencies II is
therefore ail-important Ia covnce the pnblic that
tbs hrlk 81 the 6tef-tfowdiiig, uncleaniness'
s,etness and mortality m tenements Is tot !" pro-,
tiienlias bui Is tue rs inan's neglect crueit5 anu
s.apiitf Bef6fe Initiating iiihrtbteiiieht " ihust
Afs, be sh8wA 70 b. p8ssibls
AAeS,FgDy ay site BsaRttA,
fle ptebieu et ln,prayns the h8Mes ~ the
ygasseS Is ane ei sFeat aaetuhe " Nv
terests ngt NniY tne phlian.hFepst ana ".
iigpus iealher but tha statesman the seS'a'
eeonomist aud the business man, u aipe's hei
merely the poor hut the Whale eommuAtI' "
shoad he studied in scientific spirit, Nlthen' 800
taran HAS or prejudice, lust as palhpiosS' HNes''-
II. nt.F.aaf and
experience and training qualify them Tor tho TASK
As Professor Adler says, We have had too much oJ
the heart and we need moro of the head in CON
s,dering this question. 1horold Rogers, in his
monumental work on Prices and Labor" asorbes
enormous influence upon the public welfare III
Great Britain from the massng OF population IN
cities Everywhere the question OF worKihsmeh
homes is receiving the attention which Its gravity
deserves in London. Liverpool Glasgow, Edin-
burgh and in Paris. NewYork is not the only
American city in which the tenement problem has
presented itself Boston has 5000 tenements and
recent official inspection OF onesixth OF them
showed general sanitary defects; In Chicago the
health authorities report similar conditions Even
Philadelphia has ITS unsanitary Italian quarter,
while in Paterson Lowell, Fall River. Troy and
other factory towns. overcrowding brings It's
inevitable harvest of disease and degradation
Like the terrible genii released by the fisherman
in the Arabian Nights Legend. the tenement-honse
evil in Ntw-York City assumes colossal proportions
when fully revealed TO view. IL is impossible, as IN
the Oriental tale TO reduce tho threatening monster
10 his original dimensions. but he must be assaled
in all his present might. Twenty years ago tho
problem was a small one and might have been sue
cessfully met by prompt and eincieht measures.
Now il has become 10 broad, vast and complicated
as almost 90 defy treatment Future generations
will suffer from the evils consequent upon tho tene
nd
them "The fathers have eaten grapes and the
ehildren's teeth viii be set on edge"
Nevertheless too many sensational ana oxagger-
ntel statements have been published about the
homes of the poor. Due distinction has not been
made between avoidable or rcmediable evils and
those which inevitable. or between those things
which are dangerous 10 health and morals and those
which are merely disaGreeable and unsightly
II is absurd 10 declare that the 5000 tenemcntsin in
New York are all unsanitary and wretchcd The num-
Der OF people living in squaor and filth has been
enormously exaggerated Many buildings occupied
by the most ignorant and degraded class of rag
pickers and bone-gatherers are yet cleanly and
healthul. Besides. every candid observer must
ndmit that even In the worst tenemcnts people
thrveyand are Contcnted. The Polish or Italian
or Irish emigrant Is quito comfortable in Cherry
81 or m BOTTLE Alley rs he would be in better
quarters Their senses are naturally coarse and
have been bunted by habit So long rs they can
have sufficient warmth. 60 od aud drink and the com
pany oi their fellows they VII endure dlf, crowd
inr md lack of dcccncy, Their surroundings are
no WORSE and m many cases are lar better man
fhte thcy have. been accustomed 90 IN inc Old
cleanliness. dcccncy and Other sanitary adyantaPes,
nnd ~ rgtvssnrv, comrciird 20 abandon thrlr ioni
habits of living. lpnmancc ,oi MFrnic iaMs ron
frhntrs to the suffering of the poor no less than M
snnitaiy houscN
innrr ci Assrs or rrnstNs IS trSsnrSrs.
rb,e, rlnasrs ~ r,,stns ate f6rni M tcnchents,
ttfst thr Nlthy. and Ipntnnt, second thc roor MD
s.anlt, sM thiti, tW icappctable well-td d6
susrranie iiAe hishrtidn sh6ula be mAls w
.elfN ,Npvh ~ Wtt shbrlA hb Wast'A ri6n those
Nsa a,e e8nien, t8 te w sdNai6i aNl att anl
sys.f ,hRHsht sheSh M r'ttA w. iMniHtias ,he
eaai,t,sa ei t,ese whN des ~ improvements Nv
sympa,h,as sgo ait visa the Wspeaiapia Wegtpan
Nko b. stgi,ms hpWeyeg yainN sp keep hls wiW and
sn,ligeu "a hpaith. eQmlugt and dpeeael, aAd Whp
ioois koaaly Tho DEGRADING nature at his surround
ings | sh0uIi fool 40 oonpuueuon at seelns tho
.retehal dives and rookeres occupied hy trahps
profossonai heggars aud rOundogs cleared OF their
Inmates or eyelod 80 the ground. Many OF the
tenants of tho worst dwellings earn enough to pay
for better quarters. Indeed the rents OF these
dens equal II not exceed those of better houses,
and II is SIMPLY ignorance or the native desire to
wallow which attracts their inmates. 1t neNeIthe
less remains true that ilthness Is vile and public
nuisance few foul. people will contamlnate
whole community and in the interests OF health ana
deoency tho Augean stables which constitute the
thomes" of many of our poorer population must be
cleaned at any and all hazards.
Many well-meaniDg persons, notably the owners
of tenement property. will say: "A little dirt never
hurt any one the poor thrive on filth" f; and they
think it alsurd to claim that tLeir tenements are
unsanitary even though the roofs leak. the sashes
are broken and stenches prevail II you point 10