New-York tribune., 1885-01-04

tsminatlon Of soil, sunlessness and impurities ~
the ar If the last three defects could be remea,eu
the first.named evil would be less potent In its III.
flucnce. The diseases which are most prevalent
among the poor are to be charged either to the IN
fuence of dampness or to foul air. lhereio'e' "a
the site OF the tenement-hous can be made dry ana
Il can be kept free from foul odors OF all KINDS IL
can be made comparatively heathful.
The topography of Manhattan Island Is peculiar.
Throughout the upper portion rock crops out
everywhere and forms huge lodges many ieet aooVe
the street level The cost of removing TINS iock ioi
foundations Is enormous The expense Oh piaS''"s
the foundations of the Central Park Flats ana con
cretinc the cellars is stated to have been $4Ooooo
Many bonses have no cellars and are built on the
rock. These rocky strata are often full OF cracks
or riffs where wate- collects or percoates causing
damn foundations and malaria When water mans'
sewers. or house drains are broken by accident or
through careessness in laying them. the SOIL VIII
be saturated for a long distance around. nd Wills
a new sewer was being made in East f0rty-seconu-
st.. blood flowed into the trench through tne rpcy
strata, and must have come from the slaughter
houses Mt Forty fifth. ST., fifth OF mile distant
The supersttiOus wOrkmen refused to continue dig-
ging until assured by the foreman tnat tne s'rfi %
had perfectly natural source. This Well nus,
trates to what distance sewage OF other 1,1ua 1ta
material NAV be carried underground ana p"'iute
the soil. , ....a
Peari'st on the East River, while the tide level
along the Hudson reaches high as sullyan,st,; as
shown General Veles map line S waOe na Iev'on N
regularly Hooded ut high water. as the Gel ars are
lower than the tide level. The marshy region az
the foot Of Is also mofosG 90 th II East .a' RIVER
from Houston to Fourteenthst. are low lying anu
subject to damp All such areas OF wet SOL arg
noted for their humidity and for the prevalence Oh
also along the line Of the Mnetta water. in the
neghbcrhood Of Beeskers S,an levers are sIamS
marked influence is exerted upon the health Oh per-
sons who dwell near to the old dsnsca water
which nave SeS% but +. are not properly
dr. med One OF these passes down Madson-ave.;
and ugh Twenty-third-st; TO lexington, .;, anu
then t, Oss Gramercy Park. In the latter section
lin. hou ,cs have water constantly standing De-
nea h ner foundations ,,,
Since 1870 the Sewer bureau navs pt"nauru ~. oarr
special drains in the upper part OF the cty 10 carry
of surface water and to take care OF .Do naturai RAJ
water courses Several miles of such drains have
been laid to the great benefit OF these regions put
the older parts of the city. including all OF the
tenement districts. remain as before. san'tarlans
estimate that saving OF one-quarter Oh t,,e ni, @
mortality of cities and towns might be eifecteu Dy
making sure that every house had dry site ana
thorough drainage; and one of the first reforms
needed in the New York tenement houses ~ 10 re-
0uire that their sites should be made dry and their
cellars cOncretcd. Professor Chandler says, tnat
80 per cent of the cellars IN the metropols are
more or less damp. and this Is suhc'ent expiaha-
ton of the A. 900 deaths annually from consump-
t0n.
FOUL AIR AND LACK or SUNLIGHT.
aFonl air slays like a sword" says DIR. Angus
Smith. A man can live for weeks without food. as
DIR. Tanner has shown. but he cannot survive Tor
five minutes without air All diseases are more
potent in their influence in fonl atmosphere.
pure air ia tire most certain security to health.
Physicians find that removing patients from INSIDE
bedrooms in tenements is help toward their re-
covery, In the tenement region it is not merely a
onestion of the amount of air. but also OF its
quality In hundreds of buildings the supply OF
air il FAR less than the minimum needed for health
But even il tie full standard of 600 cubic feet OF
air space was supplied. it would not be enough. II
contaminated by the emanatIons from foul cellars
and cesspools "Stench stencil" is the uni rersal
cry in most tencments. says George c. Booth.
Every visitor is struck with the peculiar odor In
tenements which is Just as distinct az that Of a
iosptai or ships hold. II pure air is food. as is
mos: certainly true. then million people III Ne"-
York endure a slow form Of starvation. ,
Light is only second tO air as an essential OF ire
Every visitor among the tenements must I've struck
with the twilight gloom that prevails within them
The lower halls are always as TSe "ccnnants of
many such rooms bleach right out" as iindiady
remarked dark house 's r always nht;nnae an
want of light stops growth. and promotes scroinla una
ricketts,, etc, among the children People lose Their
health in dark house. and i they get III they can
moi get well again in it," The sick and inhrin VINO
from necessity spend the whole time in dark inner
bedrooms are the greatest sufferers from want OIL
sunlight and the close fetd atmosphere:
1t seems like q satire on human wisdom 10 iean
tbe EXCELLENT advice given by physicians and Others
how to erect hospitals and asylums and to maintain
them 30 as to cure their inmates, and then to see
how every article of their creed is dsobeyed 10 the
homes where these unfortunate persons como from
One sanitary authority dee ares that To insure a
healthful house it should have dry collar; vet
how many of the cellars of New-York houses are not
dampf Another authority observes: No apart
ment can be considered perfectly Wholesome one
which does not enjoy direct sunlight during sone
mart of the day" We know that if We place a plant
IN cellar or deprive il of light it wi wither and
die. Horses and cattle need light and 81 do human
average tenement rOomf
1t would he wise economy to supply pure AR.
abundant sunlight. roum for exercise, and means
for recreation in the homes of the masses in order
20 prese:ye their lives and to ward on sic kness and
thus save the vast expenditure in curative efforts,
"a nf,eu Y ain CHARLES +. WINGATE