The times., 1891-10-09
WITH A HEALTH DOCTOR.
EARLY MORNING SCENES IN TENE-
S.ENT HOUSE DISTRICTS.

Half Starved Babes and Children That
Live on Decayed Fruit and Nourisb-
ment That Is Worse-Deadly Smells
Abound and How They Are Corrected.
Twenty minutes in one of the districts
of the summer corps Of the board of
health will enable any one to obtain an
idea of how the tenement house people
live. Imagine that you have accepted
an invitation to spend twenty minutes
with one of the summer doctors.
1t is hot August day, o'clock in the
morning. The air even at this early hour
is sitting. Are you surprised to find
life astir here? Remember you are in
the midst of the poor people, who begin
their days labor at @ o'clock. Entering
our district, nothing escapes our eyes.
See this stand on the corner piled up
with fruit, beautiful to behold, suggest
ing garden in the tropics. But what
is that odor? And this wee newsboy-
what does he want to buy?
Curiosity to see what the child is go
ing to buy, also our duty impelling us
to discover the cause of the odor, hold
us a moment. We see that he buys two
peaches for a cent, and then for the first
time notice that the luscious heaps con-
sist of piles of decaying fruit thrown
promiscuously together-rotten pears,
bananas and peaches; this rotten fruit
selling at two and three for cent. We
mildly accost the owner and tell him
such fruit is not wholesome; it ought to
be thrown away.
He doesn't care" about the unwhole-
someness of the stuff. We then show
our badge and make him throw it away.
We pass on thinking that we have saved
the lives of many children, an ounce Of
prevention being better than u pound of
cure.
Pushing our way we proceed. 1t is
really pushing our way, for the street is
lined with mothers, each holding q baby
in her arms, with another dragging on
to her skirts. Some are sitting ON the
stoops, some in the areas and others on
the cnrbstones; in fact they are all over.
Suddenly we hear pitiful, wall from Il
little baby. We know what that means
it means that the baby is thirsty. The
mother also thinks she knows. She
gives it the breast. The poor baby, after
clutching it eagerly and taking many
swallows, releases it and again cries that
same pitiful, forlorn wall.
BLESSED WATER.
Can any one be ignorant that nothing
can quench thirst but water! Milk is a
poor substitute. Here is u chance to
give a private lecture, and presently we
are telling the mother that the baby
needs water to quench its thirst: the hot
weather makes it sweat a good deal; it
4 loses great deal OF water and SO needs
a great dead. A passing ice wagon fur
nishes a scrap of ice. 1t does one good
TO see how eagerly baby sucks it. This
mother lives in house where there are
fifteen other mothers, and asking her to
| tell the others, we walk away feeling
sure before night all these babies will be
drinking water. We have told her to
boil the water. put 1t on ice and then
give it tO the baby to drink.
| Looking mp and down the street we
see that it is very dirty Going over to
investigate pile of dirt. we see on its
| uphill side a pool of stagnant water
| which is almost green. Given hot
August day. a peck of garbage and the
universal dust, and we have germ
breeding center. The people inhale this
air all day and all night.
Looking around we see the houses that
need us most--dirty. filthy houses. No
wonder the people camp out in the streets
all day--yes, and all night. We see a
group of mothers and children standing
at IL hall door. They make room for us
to pass. We stop to speak to them.
Noticing weary. white faced girl of
about twenty years. and seeing a child
clinging to her dress, we ask her about
the baby. then about herself. She tells
us that the baby is u year and half old,
still nursing. Asking her if she does not
know that babies should be weaned at
/ nine months, the answer we receive is,
yes, that she knows. but it does not hurt
1t and it saves the cost of buying milk
, for the baby, for they are very poor.
DEATH IN THE CELLAR.
Ont in the yard we notice child about
three years old, with an old mans face
this face being characteristic of rick
etts. that disease now becoming so COM
mon among poor people. This little one
is busy eating an apple skewered on
stick, and eating it as if it were its en-
tire breakfast: not dessert or any relish,
but it's whole meal In contrast to this
one and othe, dirty children, three clean
children attracted attention, and what
contrast!
Our twenty minutes is almost up, but
we can hardly tear ourselves away from
this gypsylike encampment. A last look
ut them forces a smile, as we see Ger
man housefrau with her basket of lunch,
blanket and knitting. She has evidently
come from an upper story to spend the
day on the sidewalk. In the hall we
meet pleasant faced. motherly woman
she is evidently the janitress. We ask
her about the number of families in the
house, children. plumbing, sickness, etc.