St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-02-09
NEEDED LEGISLATION,
Which Will Both Compel and
Permit People to Live
Decently.
Avaricious Landlords Who
Lease UnwhoIesome Build
ings for Dwellings.
Statistics Show How Disease
Spreads in the Crowded
Districts.
A Globe Reporters Trip With
A Health Inspect
or.


and unfortunate tenants. The landlord
that would refuse to apply few dollars
in case of necessity to preserve life
and health is a fit subject for the
prison; in fact. he is little better than
cold blooded murderer. Yet, there are
many just such persons in Minneapolis,
and many of their names can be found
on the records of the health depart
ment.
The question that naturally arises is.
"What are you going TO do about it?"
1t looks as though the health depart
ment can do nothing unless the citizens
are willing to lend their aid. The diff
ficuities that confront the poor man are
subject not to evade, but one which in
vites the serious consideration OF all in
telligent citizens. 1t is equally import
ant to the rich and poor that
health should be preserved among
all classes in q community. The
poor should be kept in clean,
well ventilated dwellings. for the
infection once introduced travels rapid
ly, and has nomore sympathy or respect
for the rich than for the poor. 1t is i'm
portant for the poor man. as his health
is his wealth.
IT'S UNIVERSALLY ADMITTED
that there should be some way of pre-
venting unWholesome buildings fr m
being occupied as dwellings. Just how
this is to be prevented is something that
probably can never be agreed upon.
The health department has certain
powers to cause buildings to be kept IN
sanitary condition, but there seems to
be need Of special legislation for the
purpose Of obliging certain buildings to
E1a hnir in fir lanjtaru
condition before they can be occupied.
The idea commendS itself to many as
affording the best solution of the ext
gency.
The buildings that especially should
come under registration enactlng by
the legislature are lodging houses, hos
pitfalls, colleges, hotels, boarding houses
restaurants, school buildings and all
places where food is stored. The licenses
should be issued from the health de-
partment, and every building thus
registered should be Inspected at
least once each month. The object
of the registration law suggested
is easy to explain. There are many
reasons why there should be such law.
The writer, however. will only give a
few illustrations of the many latent
tricks which ale used to pull the wool
over the tenants eyes.
For instance. if person has vacant
house that is in poor sanitary condition,
or is so constructed that it must neces-
sarily become so during wet season,
he will invariably refuse to simply rent
tit must be leased for two years or
more. and the lessee sis to keep the
premises in sanitary condition" This
is delightful dilemma.
The poor man leases the building dur
vpaEos
morning after q heavy storm and finds
water three feet deep in the cellar and
not dry spot in the house.
What then?
The landlord is not responsible; he
has no interest in the premises further
than to make the lessee comply with the
requirements of the lease.
Then again the hOnse is not we'll ven
tilated. The temperature on the ground
floor will 20 deg. and at the roof 40 deg.
This proportion in temperature Is not
an unusual situation of affairs in many
boarding houses and other buildings
that are inhabited by many persons.
PURE AIR IS AS ESSENTIAL
for life and health as pure water and
nutritious food-any one of which once
used or combined with matter of de-
leterious character loses its vita! pro-
priety and becomes almost poison.
Blood poisoning is often caused by in
haling impure air admitted to the house
by defective sanitary arrangements.
The necessity of such law cannot be
to seriously studied by the legislators,
for the landlords of the Nineteenth cen
turv are, with few exceptions. .lOOk-
ing for the best Of it," and will not
spend dollar for sanitary improve
ments unless it is compulsory.
rhn ,n1,,nifina that IN q hod
sanitary state are considerable losers in
many ways. If upon no other but eco
ncmical grounds, it is good economy for
people to expend little money for the
prosecution of sanitary reforms. The
people least able to spend money for
sanitary improvements, unfortunately,
are invariably the ones that have stingy
landlords. The health commissioners
report shows that the deaths in Mime
apolis last year were the. lowest on rec
ord since the health department was
created. In the Second, Third, Fifth,
Eighth and Tenth wards and the upper
part of the Fourth ward the deaths fell
to about ga: but in the Sixth, Seventh
and Eleventh wards, the Impoverished
and overcrOwded portion of the city,
where the people seldom get a breath
of pure air lin their hOmeS), the deaths
rose to II or Is per cent, making the
average deaths of the city trit1e over
II in 1000. Il might not be entirely I'M
Just to say that large number of the
deaths in the last named wards were
directly or Indirectly caused by I'M
wholesome buildings being used as
dwellings.
A GLOBE reporter out of curiosity &C
cepted an invitation to accompany
health inspector on a tour through the
nh rJI y1Cr hn,1cnc n South Minnn-
apolis, and to his establishment many of
the places visited
REsEMBLED PIG PENS
more than dwellings occupied by human
beings. The majority of the houses
were supplied with no ventilating sys-
tenn. and the foul air eXhaled from
breathing could be distinctly seen hug
ging the ceiling. Kilvington'S ash bar
rel inspector was equal to the occasion
and at all places that were considered
bad orders were given to open all the
windows and doors and chase the foul
air out with the assistance of broom.
Then the proprletOrs we're given twenty
four hours to wash and scrub the floors.
At few places the inspector advised
the occupants to burn liberal amount
of sulphur SO as to diSinfect the premi-
ses and kill off the bed bugs and cock
reaches.
There is another important item in
the category of sanitary works for the
promotion and preservation of the
health of cities-that of street and alley
cleaning, and to-day there is no more
Important problem under consideration
by the guardians of health. People liv-
ing among filth, and within the reach of
its polluting influence. succumb to var
ious diseases. which under opposite con-
ditionS are unknown and that filth
makes disease is universally recognized.
A Real Estate Convention.