The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1891-10-12
WITH A HEALTH DOCTOR.
EARLY MORNING SCENES IN TENE-
MENT HOUSE DISTRICTS.

LAW oA Gu GAuIt dhu NouT1Sl
ment That Is worse-Deadly Smell
Abound and How They Are Corrected
Twenty minutes in one of the district
Of the summer corps Of the board O.
health will enable any n to obtain al
idea Of how the tenement house people
live. Imagine that you have accepted
an invitation to spend twenty minutes
with one of the sumn1e doctors.
1t is a hot August day, 8 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 6 o'clock. Entering
our district, nothing escapes our eyes.
See this stand on the corner piled up
with fruit, beautiful to behold, suggest
ing a 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 60
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 a 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 a pound of
cure.
PUSHING our way we proceed. 1t is
really pushing our way, for the street is
lined with mothers, each holding a 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 curbstones; in fact they are all over.
Suddenly we hear Il pitiful wall from a
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
pitiful, forlorn wall.
BLESSED WATER.
Can any one be ignorant that nothing
can quench thirst but water? Milk is a
poor substitute. Here is q chance to
give a private lecture, and presently we
telling the mother that the baby
needs water to quench it's thirst; the hot
weather makes it sweat Il good deal; it
loses a great deal Of water and so needs
great deal. A passing ice wagon fur
a scrap of ice. It does one good
to see how eagerly baby sucks it. This
lives in a house where there are
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 it on ice and then
give it to the baby to drink.
Looking up and down the street we
zee that it is very dirty. Going over to
investigate a pile Of dirt, we see on it's
uphill side a pool of stagnant water
which is almost green. Given a hot
August day, a peck Of garbage and the
universal dust, and we have a germ
breeding center. The people inhale this
lir all day and all night.
Looking around We see the houses that
iced us most-dirty, filthy houses. No
wonder the people camp out in the streets
I'll day-yes, and all night. We see a
sroup OF mothers and children standing
1t a hall door. They make room for us
o pass. We stop to speak to them.
Noticing a weary, white faced girl Of I
bout twenty years, and seeing a child \
llnglng to her dress, we ask her about ]
he baby, then about herself. She tells {
Is that the baby is a year and a half old, i
till nursing. Asking her if she does not
now that babies should be weaned at
inc months, the answer we receive is,
es, that she knows, but it does not hurt
3 and it V the cost Of buying milk
or the baby, for they are very poor. {
A IN THE CELLAR.
Out IN the yard we notice a child about
hree years old, with an old mans face
this a C being characteristic of rick
that disease nov becoming S COM r
among poor people. This little one '
busy eating an apple skewered on a
tick, and eating it as if it We're its en- -
re breakfast; not dessert or any relish,
ut its whole meal. In contrast to this
ne and other dirty children, three clean
hildren attracted attention, and what a
Our twenty minutes is almost up, but
o can hardly tear ourselves away from
lis gypSylike encanpment. \ last look
+ them forces a smile, as we see a Ger
ian housefrau with her basket of lunch. -
and knitting. She has evidently
from all upper story to spend the
ay on the sidewalk. In the hall-we =,
leet a pleasant faced, motherly woman: II
he is evidently the janitress. We ask 7
Or about the number Of families in the be
ouse, children, plumbing, sickness, etc. IL
le notice a distinct .odor in the hall.
'e1l try the cellar. She lights Us down =
lere, and answers glibly all u oues-
ons. We are really ashamed to have
lspected anything wrong in the cellar, =.
the odor is a danger signal, which d
.ys,''Take heed; danger!"
We look around the cellar; all clean
Id dry WA ara i,c+ oo;~- w