The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1886-07-15
OUR NEW l0Rk LETTER.
Df->t RtPTfoN OF TIt HORRORS
or Ilff IN FIE TE>IaEN
tth >uca sui tiu- and >Iasrrs IL IL anY
ond#r that asa viii hill aud Unra
To Gel a >qaafc Heait

f t~Harlal Cor STATE CH-0,<sfs r
w, Ya~t HOLY r., 49,.
af,,,aEftr. -5.,,t -,
western h.fo,s,h..rn tstt.. = 49, -
IN Nnsy Yorg. ear - -.
tbs tr.,ull,. J.. .,,.ft- /. =
.,r.. t,.,,....,., t,',.. -
/ a.. ths FAST .i4a III. - -. -
<nffsrsrl,,. r,,l, .f.r,s:,,- -
and l3s<s.-tl ,,,,r. s,,-,..f1,
the 5..,Srsat.h3, ia, .,..T.. ,.,..t..5. s..
r.tp It..t... .,t f,.sfti... r,..a,+.f j..
r.-art4 4. tf z-. 81, -,
- A,u. r..- M f..tl5,, -. a..
| the horrible e,nnlaS.s ~ st.,,..t. "a a.
ease II, all r. J.. r..fh.t tho,,s,,,,ls -
women and cblldr.f u.v.r u,li f.t 49,.
fed now ON H., vho,.,sofnr f'',,d - -, -
Other seasons ,,.x..ra3l, -. -,
be decent nor ~ ~,,> ,.,,,,fort.,It..
more unh+aIthftIl< ,rnx,,{.I ~,
other season. ike many, f,n.,f>
room Il ,orx ut ftnt1i .t.,.. a.,
families. s.sX,.n ,i.tt >tnr,. ltt.h NJ,
fresh breath of AIR n.,..r h,aithfnt
ray of sunshine reaches them Thousands
If Them never saw = Green t;.id nora ,1.,r
n,,vin,, s,rea,n rar . t,lt,.y ,t,n,,,t 80.
Lye almost in sipht aftt.se, Thy,
saw a cl.an he'd nor t.lf The sa,..tio,, ~
clean clothes and as for healthf,,l food IN
he,ltuful .baudance-,hey do NOT tnow
what it i When the sun oo.s an>,n ,h,.,
climb the. roof and look our over th..r
roofs crowded with others sneA as th,.v.
or they rush down to the docks ON the
East river 10 foro.t far a ,nome,t ui,bin
sipht of the wafer the so ,lor thev hax,.
left behind Here they even sin., anil ,}.,v
GOOD cheer exnresse1 il, same fashion
never onita laaving women ,,I ,.L,,I,.,
in their lowest estate The ,;c,urn ~ nj;
cry in great city has been drawn many
a time, and everybody has read the appali
ing story But no description can affect
a man as the sight of it affects him. The
horrors OF it are Unspeakable. Religion
education, cleanliness-these cannot be
thought of there without a shudder: for
none of them touches these people. If "a
man could have the choosing of his birth
right and be born an African savage or in
Il New York tenement of this class. he
would be a fool VINO should not choose to
be a savage. AS for being born slave
what IS slavery if this be freedom. | be.
lieye | was by birth and | know | am by
conviction SO averse to one mans owning
another man that | regard human slavery
us one Of the most horrible of crimes as
Thomas Jefferson believed it to be- But
never saw IN my recollection of slavery in
North Carolina d negro whose lot was not
as much preferable to the lot of these peo-
pier than ours. The slave was fed and
clothed end cared for, and he had per
Sonal master and generally an afectionate,
ut least Il humane, one. These are not fed
nor clothed and their master Is a mercieeo
and lmpersonal master-one to whom there
Is no appeal, or t. " nom II they could ap
peal, coald not and would not near. There
Is no other lite 50 nl-ertbic. 50 hopeless.
What wonder j., il there are Anarchists
in New York What wonder woGld il be
if there were were n4urtltrerS and ,luud.r-
els of such desperation ..ni Of such mum
bers as should sack tae wno'e : q. tlty 10
get for once in their lives Il belly :uil OF
good food Yet there MAS lever 80 m,ch
wealth anv where at any time IN America
as there is on this selfsanr isl:lni today
There never has been a time or Il t,l,,,.
where such magnificent charities were
maintained where so much WAS done for
the poor, where they were so much prayed
for and preached about, An idioiic and
dishonest and decrepit negro in RaIejgh i
better housed. better fed. better condition.
ed in life than many A child of these
spite of the prayers and aims and prosper
lty of the city, their number increases
every year and the horrible depths to
which they SINK becomes deeper. If God
ciLICS III lIltSc idSS IOI tiic SiltS
that doomed Sodom and Gomorrah, New
York would sink in the sea or 90 up i'll
smoke before morning; and many
wretched being would find utterable relief
in death, whatever be the tortures that
death should bring or lead to.
And, of course, as this wretchedness
grows wider and grows worse, men become
the more accustomed to it, and reconcile
themselves to it as a necessity of ciyilIza-
tion' 1t III no way eNcites the average
New York mans or woman 5 surprise to
look from an excursion boat any evening
when they are on a pleasant trip and see
a hundred pale faced women sitting Oh the
docks nursing weak children at breasts
that cannot give nourshment for lack of
food Such weather as this, with many of
them it is only a question of days when
they will find place in the potter's field
and give worms better fare than they them
selves ever had above ground They, too
with the love Of life wherewith We are all
born, look with horror on death; but would
not any of them do themselves a Kindness
by leaping into the stream
such is the constantly increasing pres
sure on the life of our great metroDolifan
eivilization-the pressure that is felt the
more heavily the bigger every city grows
ro speak of il as slavery * an insult 10
r.,-ar,-. for i i iufinitalv worse than any