New-York tribune., 1885-01-04
oyERCROWDED TENEMENTS.
WRsToHBD HOMES OF THE POOR.
EFFECTS OF DAMPNEsS. FOUL AIR AND
LACK OF LIGHT.

Tn nv last article / mentioned some OF IL
broader aspects of the tenement-house problem
and tried to estimate the number OF bad tenements,
taxing as standard the deaths per annum in each
house. BY applying this test it wonld seem that
per cent of the whole number. which have yearly
mortality of three or moro deaths per house, must
he rated as very bad" 10 per cent having two
deaths per year. would be rated as bad" and 40
per cent with one death per year, might be coiIea
fair leaving 45 per cent TO he ranked as good.
Tried by the standard Of the proportion OF ar space
and sunlight allotted to each tenant ten houses IN
each hundred would have to he condemned rs abso-
lutely unsanitary, while forty in each hundred
would he found deficient in these vital require
mepts At the conclusion of the detailed survey
made by a SPECIAL corps Of inspectors in ls'"' u
vvas reported that 2,O3S tenement hou es were II!
had condition and 53i2 were in a fair sanitary
state. In this report $3.50 rear tenement-honse
were recorded and as these are usually defective'
the above iatirg of bad tenemcnts must DO con-
sidered rs low. 1t thus appears that from 10 I'D
ur cent will fairly represent the proportion OF very
had tenemepts or say 1900 as maximum. Every
wear must add to this number rs time and neglect
bring ruin upon houses which are now with din'-
Guilty kept in decent repair.
INCREASE OF TENEMENT-HoUsEs.
The extraordinary growth of tenemcnt-honses
IN Nev.York ~ shown by the following figures:
The first tenement was erected about 1888 IN
Chcrry-st. BY 1865. when a sanitary census was
taken there were -, 800 tenements on Mammalian
Island In 1879 their number had increased 70
21 1o3 and in 1882 to 25.6G3. including apartment
houses and fats. Tins IN about twenty years t"c
systcm developed into "1bstantial form. od during
the second decade it has almost doubled IN extent.
TIL, average number of inmates in each tenement Ill
1864 was thirty-6ve Many of the houses now
ever. were small, and contained but thee or four
families or IL persons so that ths larger buildings
~er, occupiea by from sixty 70 one hundred per-
sons IN the 96i housee inspected last summer by
the Tenement-Houso Commission there were
Al, families and 81 perBons, or ali average OF
forty tenants to each house. These, however. were
.h,eav In the downtown sections, below Canal
=, whore small houses abound. IL tLe upper Sec
fiona were included with their numerous double
asckcrs the average would ie much greater. In
1sei Il was estimated that half million persc.is
Evod In tenements To-day the number is not far
t-o,n million. At this rate of increase. what will
ne the total at The beginning of the next century
3esides houses containing more than three
famlies which the law defines as tenemcnts there
arc hundreds of small buildings which possess al
the att butes of tenements and which arc lacking
g.; ,.n;tarv needs There are II .6l5 wooden build
incs ON Manhattan Island occupied as dwellings or
a. lodging-houses The shanty pNpuiaton ais" '','-
prises the came class as those found in the dodbe
aeckers. There are $4,000 buildings used partly
for business PURPOSES and partly as Fesldohces'
OvERCRoWDiNd
The following table shows the number Of houses
and population of different cit'es IN the oaioh III
1850 nth the number of persons to each houss:
in