The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-07-11
PROGRESS IN TIE sLUMs.

PROGRESS IN TIE SLUMS.
In the face of Mrs. Booths scathing
indictment, there is good ground for be-
lieving that New York is progressing
both in a moral and a sanitary direction.
In no other city in the union, it may be
granted, is it harder for the philan-
thropist and tho sanitarian to achieve
over a limited measure of success.
Everywhere the slums present the diff
ficult problem Of over-population. with
it's attendant evils Of immortality and I'M
sanitary conditions, of mental and phys
ical degradation. Suburban homes for
laboring geople are far from the centers
OF employment, and their occupation en-
tails expense that cannot well be met.
Small dwellings for people OF moderate
means are almost unattalnable, and the
huge tenement house with it's swarms
of human bees and drones has come to
be for many the one place they can call
home. Emigration every year pours its
tide Of human degradation into the al
legs of the principal port Of debarkation,
and crime and vice Of every kind find
their natural haunts, opportunities and
hiding places in the safety of a great
city.
But legislation has achieved wonders
in spite of all these discouraging sur
roundings. at is not too much to de-
clare" says the secretary of the New
York board of health in Popular Science
for July, "that the improvement in the
plans for light and ventilation, plumb
ing and draining of tenement houses
recently erected, is the great sanitary
achievement of the last quarter of a
century" 1t is we'll that the public
should see the diverse of the terrible
picture presented by Mrs. Booth. Shady
enough IN all truth though it is, it pre-
sents some elements OF hope that re-
deem the situation from the blackness
of utter despair. The writer's position
ought to be sufficient guarantee Of the
reliability of his published statement.
There is, therefore, ground for congrat-
ulation in the assurance that the stan
dard tenement house of the New York
of twenty years ago is fast becoming a
thing of the past. It's description fore
casts it's destiny as a hotbed of crime
and immortality. An oblong brick box
upon the ordinary city lot, four or five
stories high, imperfect]y lighted and
only from front and rear, halls and
sleeping rooms narrow, dark and unven-
tilated, with no bath, washing or other
proper and necessary accommodation
within the building, generally without
water supply--it was primarily respon-
sible for a large proportion of the sui
fering, sin and death that Mrs. Booth
bewails.
The legislature of 1879 took the mi
tiative step for reform in requiring that
plans and specifications for the light and
ventilation of all tenement houses to be
erected should be filed with the health
department Of the city. Before a brick
could be laid or a foundation begun, of
fetal approval had to sanction the work.
Two years later, a further step in the
same wise direction was taken. Details
of plumbing and drainage had to satisfy
WI aiAio 1CHaitOiilCLtS oHIlCIS} Dullu-
ers and plumbers are required to con-
struct buildings in accordance with the
plans approved. ANY violation or devil
alton is met by vigorous prosecution.
Sanitary engineers are detailed to in
spect the work as it progresses, and
their certificate is necessary before the
building can be opened for occupation.
AS a result the tenement house of re-
cent construction promises to be one OF
the most potent factors in the regenera-
ton of the slums. A clear space of ten
feet at the rear of every such house is
matter of necessity. The interior must
show open courts of sufficient size to
afford light and ventilation to every
room. At least one water closet, with
proper appliances for flushing, well
lighted, and ventilated by a separate
air-shaft, must be provided for every tif-
teen residents. Windows opening on
the external air light the cellars, which
have their floors laid with concrete and
their ceilings plastered or ceiled with
boards. Each apartment is supplied
with water, sinks and wash-tubs. Plumb
ing and drainage are both in accordance
with the most improved modern sys-
toms. In every particular, reform is ev-
ident. When it is considered for how
much crime and immortality overcrowd-
ing has been directly responsible, the
efforts of the New York legislators to
ameliorate the condition of the depraved
and unfortunate should meet with the
approval of every thoughtful citizen.
SIMMER SCHOOL