New-York tribune., 1885-01-11


the children of the poor as scrofulous' Due Di
Kn,obt more correetly calls 1T o scurvy. 1t IS not
ioherited it docs not show itself always at Dirth'
but il deyelopes later and is the result OF bad ar
damnness. confinement within doors. cheeriess
inuc,iye and monotonons living and still more Oh
insufficient aud unyaryinC food. The sy"hp'oniS
are the Same rs those which affect Arctio
and sailors during l0ag voyages. br' h"itii''
cxperienee shows that thcy NAV be eomoaten sue
ccssfully by SIMPLE hygienlc measures, cbeer.
diet enforced exercise and means 10 pfonoe cnIo. n
fulpess Tbis last is an Important iac'ui; "a ~;
Kane fsund that charades, private theatrlcal ann
other mean rs of amusement were necessary 10 ksep
hs ere " in health when in winter quarters wi'hih
the Arctic Circle. The depressing eneci o. t 9n1
ment t-house sulToun tines on the spritS n'.: nu i
70 do with tho health of thsir inmates Ia'ien's IN
sunny hospltal rooms get well first ana even tc
insane are benefited by recreation. one nt OF lug
strongest objections TO many moaei iea'r"on, IN
houses is that they look like barracks ana a'o ho'
In the Hospital for the Rupturod and Cfjpp,ea' az
Lexington-ayc. and Forty-second,sf.: niaiy %.
whose inuates are suffering with Inherited ussisso
and who are mostly from the tenement mouse c,aa,
Infections diseases are almost nnKnoMn: n. ot even
complaint thar scourgc OF children, d,es lio. 80 ,
Gppear and the only deaths, never oxcredins lu,, m
per year ont of four hundred resident patients, are
duo to chronic sickness developer pelfe ,b
10 the bospital These results are ascriped 70 ine
excellent hygiene OF the building. Inc hu'i,tus ..
diet aud the cheerful sarrouhmoi;nsii sarrouhn;nSi deycas
n,aa,nines or surgicai interfcyence. Simple food;
sncioI Measure mental and physical exercise ana
nutritious diet are the chief reliance ana nioio
than 70 per cent of the patients are curen. T., .,
The m0usfoaous confinement In tcnene hts ,e f
to depross the vital cncrgiesand tne arSt" Ir ~ y,
social pleas irc or mental eAercisc niaA'' i'0 IL
Coz, Couid any yth,ns be more pitable than the sight
of children who never smile pnHs'csn ps hsn,rhf to
h"sn;taf Tho cluid's face showed the effect of
its wrefohed life and verfect blank for zen beh
days it did not exhibit sign of ch1crluhcSs ann
hon Mt last n
features the whole household were snrptlssea anI
Their era ped quarters is pleasure 10 the chiden
OF the DOOR. A leading city missionary fenlaihs ,a
that the mass Of immigrants are eager ,oh school
as plaoe of recreation. The snperintenoone ol
an industrial school, says: Children IRON tno "
five crowd the kindergarten even sls nS tS work
npsnn Even this is better than WANDERING aoomI
the streets with older brothers ana SISTERS, i nu,
ths mother returns from h"r work. 1he prhcpal
OF q German industrial school sayo Inc hI ioonis
are full oyon ON stormy evenings. We heausu,n',,J
are obliged to close the gate Ieavlpg from hty 10
hunl lrod hildren outside 1or WHO" We ""'0 Nv
roOui."
PREVENTIVE MEASURES NrCKssAIY
Jbave laid special stress upon the injurious erect
of unsanitary surroundings on the poor Sickness
and death seem to be their most terrible foes Inc
reports of different benefit societies show how the
santary side of their work il taxing precedence,
and that their manage are beginning 10 reai']o
that the health of the poor is OF the hrst import
a,ce Tn the early periods Of charitable efforts the
chief lines OF labor were in the direction Of religious
work through such agencies ~ mission churches,
bhlo raadr rs and tract distributors. The labors
of the benevolent were next tnrned toward building
asvIums hospitals reforuatcries and like instltu-
tj1ns In the course of time marked change mas
taken place. and the tendency ls now oVea' he
religions find that thoy cannot exert moral
influence upon the mass of Ignorant, deoaseh am
degraded humanity IN the crowded ieneinenis uitl
the latter have been renovated. Mission churches
are not patronizod. Tracts are notgcah ana ms
sionaries meet with y snai h.anre. hten ne ne
poorer population 40 largely Roman Calroitc tnit
Protestant efforts To roselytizo them are nnaVai-
ing. -, =, r,,;.,
workers among tho poor have not beon ionla prae-
ticable in Eow-York The tenemout region seems
cirt by a Chinese wall of apathy and stolioity
which ressts all modern Gngnes 01 cttacN. me
popn ,aton concentrated tina We 90 nol re.iE~s
the difficulty OF making any inpresson upon IL a
siagle tenement block VIII contain more peopie
than an ordinary church congregation, ahc ,hons.
aDds of workers are needed 10 90 Insuco W VIC
work of evangoizlng, instead OF the feM hnndIeds
now employed, D to q recent date 1a,oooooo
were spent in benevolent work IA New
York Now The amount il a fOur larger. and yet
the results seem -,ut little greater. 'ur philan-
thropists must concentrate their efforts ana use
preventive measures A6 hremcn have found that
IN dealing with great coniaTations the best results
afo obtained by employing laree ana powerful
masses of water. which crash and smother the
hau,es. rather than greater number OF snail
etreanq which Onlv wet the surface without aiiecf
ing tho smo aldermg Are within; 50 worker among
the poor must learn to pool their issues and labor
in tho same direction. Concentration o. effort
and money iu duplicating measures sAonId be
avoided. whilo above all preventive measures
should have prime consideration.
TIE LESSON or I'll. IAsi EPIDEMIC.
The Dangerous state OF Now-York tenoncnts ia
stfikirgy illustrated by the late outble 'k OF
typhus fever III Wey;-sidc ropkery, resulting in
tbyeo Deaths and dozen more cases OF sickness
In a former article referred 90 the rapidiy ard
msiliousness with whlch typhus fever spreads
when once il gains an entrance into lovcr-nost
Il u q disease charged 10 "crowd poisoning. " and
tine coudtions for.Its devclopemsnt exist to-day IN
hundreds of houses on Manhattan Island. Last
spring thiTty-iyc cases 0i tYphu5 were reported
wItain n Single week. Az the conditions which
foster this dread CIscase are identical with those
vh;cli propagate cholera, itS appearance I'D cpl
Genie form has peculiar significance jnat now:
Hundreds q not thousands OF poTSoHs we've exposed
10 injection during the sickness IN West Ihirty-
second Or al the wakes aud funerals oi the wet
inns while the dssase has already spread 80 BRONX
iyn This Will give sG,ne idea OF what nay DO eX-
pcc.ed il eaoiera shonld break ont IN similar
crowded foyeY-iest and be concealed from tho
au horIties as was tins epi1cInic.
Tie house in question mas been repeatedly com
planned OF TO the Health authol les, ana - said 10
have been III an abomiDaDiy iilthy condition.. In
1878 four deaths occurred there. The building
contains thirty familiee or 1875 prsons. Inc
SANITARY inspector reports that the vault wasn tho
cellar aud - offensive, the soii pipes leaHinc,
ibo walls and ceiling iithy. and general decay pci
vpding the place." The condition OF tho house,
| never good has been aggravated WITHIN the last
| fow months by the fact shat italians have come
| ,nfo possss-,ion This Is only one OF many fever-
| nests which are known to the Health author tics
| icing unit for occupation, vet which for some
| csuss have been allowed Ia remain constant mon-
| acc to the public health.
| The chief inspector of the Tenement House Com
| mission reports finding G3 per cent of the 0GS
houses cyau.insd under his direction TO bo III bad
condition. white ~ of s,em were No h"peicss,y de-
eonsoiItlat cd reports of the sanitary inspectors of
| the Board Of Health 10 the same Comnssjoa con-
| tanned list of moro touelent houses