The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1892-07-25
A GREAT HUMAN BEE HIVE.
The Most Thickly Populated District
in the World.

On basis OF the representation OF the
new States, as compared with the num-
ber Of their inha abitsnts, New York city's
most populous square mile should be en-.
titled to eight United States Senators and
four Copgressmen, says-.he New York sun.
IL requires some such comparison as this 10
convey an adequate idea Of the population
crowded into the space east OF the Bowery
and south OF Fourteenth street. The
residents In this territory outnumber the
population OF Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho,
and Montana taken together, with almost
enough surplus to equal the population OF
North Dakota.
One square mile in this district, the
area bounded by fourteenth street, Sec
ond avenue, Houston, the Bowery, Catha-
rine, Cherry, Jackson, Lewis streets, and
Avenue ID, has over 350,00o inhabitants.
This square mile includes Tompkins
square, several smaller squares, and all
the included streets, avenues, factories,
areas, and other uninhabited spaces In
this square milo there are more people
than In any city in this country except
seven-New York, Chicago, Philadelphia,
Brooklyn, st. Louis, Boston and Balti-
more. 1t has q bigger population
than San Francisco, Cincinnati, or
New Orleans, and contains more
people than Albany, Richmond, Atlanta,
Troy and Denver all conb bined. The 249,-
900 Indians of the United States number
100000 less than the population of this
square mile. II has as many inhabitants
as New Hampshire, and more than either
Vermont, Rhode Island, Delaware, the
District of Columbia, North Dakota,
South Dakota, New Mexico, Arizona,
oh
province of New Brunswick, in Canada,
Canada, Manitoba, Assiniboine, Alberta,
Saskatchewan, and British Columbia, all
together, number $4,000 people less than
this East side square mile.
In this little square there may be found
almost every kind of people on the face
OF the globe except persons whose grand
fathers were born In New York city.
Here are the Chinese around Chatham
Square, the Polish, German, Austrian,
and Russian Jews between Canal and
Rivington streets, the children of Irish
immigrants on Cherry Hill, the negro
population back of the Bowery, English,
Swedes and Norwegians in the yards
along the East River, and the iron works
and other manufactures; Germans from
all parts Of the empire, separated from
the Jews by q colony Of Austrians and
Magyars; Italians, Spaniards, Turks,
Egyptians, Arabians, Algerians, and many
other peoples, Americans of the third
generation and the French being the
east numerous.
Except In the police court records, and
the short accounts Of festivities and
other doings in the daily newspapers OF
New York, little information about this
distric. gets to the outside world. The
people live by themselves. The Bowery
is their boundary ard Broadway is the
end Of their world. some OF these people
have relatives on the other side Of Broad
way, and make them monthly or quarter
ly visits, as a son In Denver might visit
his family in New England. Their work
shops are at their doors, for 1t is to be
neer their work that they live packed to-
gether like the stacks OF coats and
trousers they manufacture.
Almost all Of the people Of this square
mile are foreign born, and they all speak
foreign languages, often to the exclusion
of English. There are men In this quar-
ter who have lived twenty and thirty
years In the neighborhood where
they settled when they came out of
Castle Garden and are not able to
speak English yet. Their children,
mixing with the children Of neighbors OF
other nationalities, are evolving a dialect
Of the English language, just as the
minQling and intermarriage Of the races
is producing o people differing In appear
ance from the inhabitants OF the coun-
tries whence they came rs they differ
from those OF the city in general.
The movement Of the population in
this auartei' IL north. Al one time the deni-
gems OF Cherry Hill were largely Ameri-
cans. The descendants OF these Ameri-
cans will be likely to be found up in
Harlem and along the Riverside Drive, or
in the suburbs on Long Island, West
chester, or New Jersey. The Irish immi-
grafton was the first to take possession Of
the north slope Of Cherry Hill, and there
Ia q proportion Of that element there
now. But the Irish now In that neigh
borhood are more recent immigrants than
the descendants Of the original ones, who
bettered themselves and moved away.
The Jews began their calculations at
Canal street, and the Germans near Hous-
ton.
1t Is on this square mile of the East
side that the shifting OF the immigrants
is done. Year by year a certain proper
ton develop and move, IA the early set
tiers did, to the West side, Harlem, and
out OF town; the Irish to the East and
West sides in the better neighborhoods
up town, the Hebrews to Lexington ave-
nue. east OF Central Park, the Germans to
the houses along Park and Lexington
avenues and the cross streets from the
Park, while the other less progressive
ones are left behind.