Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-03-16
TENEMENT HOUSES.

Sanitary Measures in the Cities Demanding
Attention.
To the Gazette.
IN New York, Brooklyn, Boston, Chi
cago, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, ST. Louis,
San Francisco, and notably in the crest
factory towns such as Lowell, Fall River,
Paterson and Newark, sanitary matters
are demanding attention. Despite our
vast area and scattered population the
same drift from country to city is seen
here as abroad, and with it the massins
of the poorer population in squalid and
unhealthful homes.
In 1890 one-thirtieth Of the American
people were found in cities; now the
number has risen to one-fOurth in the
nation at large, and one-half in New
York state, aud still the current Is stead
lily downward. Our city population Is
largely made up of low class Of immi-
grant, decrepit aud weak, who prefer
the pleasures and excitemeuts Of the
town to the drudgery and quiet OF ms
farm. Their poverty and clannish H.
stincts lead them to herd together II ira-
ements, while their Ignorance and IN
cleanliness, in the lack Of official super
vision, lead them to neglect sanitaT!
rules and so fall easy victims TO disease
- AS the homes, so are the people, anu
where all indictments to decency, order,
comfort and health are lacking, phyacs1
and moral decay must follow.
Statistics may give some idea OF us
harvest of sickness and death chaTgeaD'
to the defective homes of the masses
but no data exists to show, IN all tns"
magnitude, the crime, vice and desr4-
datiOn consequent upon these eoucltlol''
Even in New York city the public IS IL
norsnt of the extent Of the tenement
house evil, because the facts have l0'
been fully published. Mortality sta-.s-
tics are always deceptive, especiSL!
when they deal with averages, or ale
based on incomplete returns
Differences of climate, OF personal
habits and of occupation make compare
sons between the health records OF dH-
ferent cities unreliable. For eXanpI0'
London has few large manufactures
while New York, Philadelphia, Chlca-'
and Brooklyn are hives Of iudus1l!'
New York alone employs over qu"I.g5i
of a million hands in IL 339 factories a--
stores. Again, the population OF Am ,-,.
lean cities is largely made up OF A1e ~.
emigrants, either from foreign counu "a
or from the rural sections, VINO slOL
be better able to resist uufavora0ie eOI
ditions than a population largely ma
up OF children and older people. a '--
gle suit of clothes may serve aI Inc -
round in many European countries
not in our chaugeable climate. 90
sry fogs are the poor man 8 de2uy
in London, while the tOrrid heat OF SUI
mer is most severe upon health ID an.
lea. Despite the common opinion ~
the native American stock Is degeneI,
ing, statistics show that death mus ~.
victims among our emigrant poVuIss ~
Pulmonary disease IS sweeping Oh
AmericaniZed Irish, and amid Inc ~,
ment sections of our great cities 'D'
children die like flies. ...r
The sanitary deficiencies of Amsl,.- =
cities may be charged, first. to l['@ Ed
foresight in planning them, and, Seco seq.
to the want of supervision over thelI -. 80.
struction. Philadelphia and Na'I.l5t
ton illustrate the benefits OF tore'Hou =.
in providing streets and avenues Oh :,
ficient width, in the one case, snI al
supplying abundant shade trees ~
parks, in the other. The cow-palnS "a
narrow lanes of New York anu DOs "A
ought never to have been perml1tt -.
develop into thoroughfares, and VI s,ss
terests of public health should have ~.
considered 10 the extent of restrlc-
as it is now found necessary, the plOFoe
ton of site which each dwelling ga! ,ss
cupv, aud Of prescribing rules l0i
rom afruQff0n NJ 6UaIliuvS
CHARLES F. WINGATEI ~