, 1885-08-29
R0~OF-SLEEPERS.
THREE GLASSES PALATlAL, COM.
PORTABLE, AND .wRETcHep.


tine Howard In nu~ton Cioh-.
Mellto-do peop'e. who have found II
Just this side OF impossible 10 exist during
The hot nights OF The hcn ed term. have a
very flint conception OF The discomforts,
anno ancc and ositiyc suffered endured
by scores Of thousands of people. to whom
a second room would lie an extra agnnce
and an individual room "A luxury Of
New ork's =. UOO. 600 n large estimate
sends 500 out Of Town. leaving AT A
modest y. int /, 500. 900 Ia the sitting city
=, ( these. scores OF thousands cannot sleep
al all at night and other scores Of thou
sands steal their forty winks nj "A time "
ing on the sidewalk. sitting on the stoop.
resting agninsi garbage boxes or utilizing
wagons b a more unique bed chamber
than my Of these aro the roofs Of houses.
where. II we can credit Che police for "A
general estimate and a personal observa-
lion for incidental discoveries. not less
than 81. 1000 men, women children seek
The repOsc that Is denied them In their
oNerheated and utterly uncomfortable
apartments.
There are three kinds Of roof sleepcrs-
the p%alatial, the comfortable, and the
wretched Certain sections of the me.
tropolis are occupied almost exclusively
by huge warehouses, which stand solitary
In their stupendous proportions. their iron
doors barred, their iron windows close
nh0A nv lothNus u u tlituGt. 50 OD+
pressivc that II can almost be felt. reigns
from early In the evening until stirring
hour on the following morning These
warehouses, like the tremendous build.
ings devoted to oil, es for hire. which are
also silent as the tomb at night, are
guarded by watohmen or j%anitors, well
paid, honest men, who. with their
families occupy the upper portions Of
the buildings. These families are what
may be called the palatial roof sleepers
They may be seen in the early evening.
and indeed far into the middle of the
night, sitting comfortably In chairs on
the vnst tin covered roofs Of these mag.
nificeni archite tural successes. smoking.
drinking beer. chatting with friends aud
n~eighbors, chatting with neighbors on nd
1accnt roofs. the children playing about In
negligo costume. while on the very hot.
test Of hot nights q healthful, invigorating.
delightful breeze fans their feyered brows
and cools their heated blood. Extempor.
aneous beds arc prepared therc-a
simple mattress, with covering; some
times nothing but a pillow, and often.
times easily handled cots but always In
excessively warm weather these people
arc more comfortable than those who own
the buildings on the top Of which they
sleep.
The second class. the Comfortable. So
arc 81 only by comparison. They are the
occupants of houses divided into flats.
where from five TO ten families occupy one
building Persons living in flats are fam
iliar with the fact that while the occu.
pant Of the first floor has exclusive pcs
session OF the yard. the roof is common
property. Sometimes the roof is utilized
for drying clothes. but the better grade of
medium rats use pulley ropes. while the
more expense Q apartment houses have
regular drying rooms attached to the
laundry. II Is obvious that eight or ten
families. averaging five persons in H fam
lily. could very easily kick up a gay and
festive disturbance on a roof when every
member Of each family is d~isgruntled. un-
comfortable, uneasy and In tormenis for
want of sleep. so hat rare diplomacy and
perfect good feeling are essentials to this
comfortable class Of roof-sleepcrs
Oftcntimos in one of these Tat houses
there will be families who could not be
persuaded to 90 upon the roof under any
circumstances. but there are tens OF thou.
sands of people living In that style OF
house-the house not being originally in
tended for t'ats-who make common
cause each with the other and divide the
roof oquitably, so thai all can be compara-
lively comfortable The police regard II
as enc of the mnrvcls OF life that even In
this class Of perfectly reputable and well
meaning citizens so few accidents occur
by reason OF night exposure. AT all events
there they are, each roof having from
twenty to thirty Of the forty or nifty PEG
pie in the house sleeping there night after
night, with the full moon shining rs their
owl light
But the most interesting class. the most
complicated. are the third-the wretched
class Of roof slccpcrs The people OCCUPY
tho lowest grade Of tenement houses,
where not only scores but hundreds are
hudd ed together as sheep were formerly
huddled on cars and wagons before Mr.
Berghs Interference made such outrages
10 four footed animals impossible. There
are tenement houses within n quarter OF a
miles radius OF the city hall whose every
room Accommodates from one to three
families where men and women die and
children are born where beds arc bud
died. meals are cooked, clothes are
washed. dried and ironed. There the
sick toss upon their cots. the young play.
the old drink and smoke. and the whole
panorama of existence. from the first
breath Of puny babyhood to the final CUR
gle Of dying old age. is unveiled in the
presence OF indifferent spectators Of dif-
ferent ages. nationaliiies and sexes
These places are bad enough in the
winter. In the summer. leaving aside all
question of health. decency aud morals.
The utter w~retchednoss physical is some,
thing utterly and absolutely beyond
description or conception TO those who
have MT been an eye witness TO IL That
these people should swarm upon the side
walks, sit uron the curbstones or walk
the streets Is not strange. Who. then.
can wonder that they mu%ltitudinously
rush In hot haste for choice places on the
roof The roof Of a tenement house in
which hundreds swarm Is no larger and
can hold no more people than the roof OF
q house in which one family decorously
lives. OF half n dozen comfortably reside
Nightly squabblcs. fights and disturb
nnces occur. aud why II is the children
are not rccipitaicd TO the pavement. and
that drunken hrawlcrs don't liuri enc or
the other over the gutter. or thnt brutal
assaults. more easily imagined than de
scribcd. are not nightly occurrences Il ono
Of the mysteries Of this peculiar misery.
livery night during the wook these popu
lous districts were noisy with the people
In the streets and noisy with the people
on the roofs. Ii Is a fortunate thing for
New York that In the very hottest nights
there ARE spots were some kind OF q breeze
can be obtained. and these roofs are those
happy places
The Destruction OF the Temple.
ITimrs-Siar1
a very peculiar coincidence, and which