The herald., 1893-06-12
HOMES FoR WoRkINeMEN.

The Peabody Donation Fund In Great
Observation-Disclosures and Boston.
The question of providing homes for
the workingmen Of Philadelphia has
been largely solved by our building as
sociations. The result is that this city
has the largest number of houses owned
by workingmen in any of the great in
dustrial centers of this country or
abroad. There still remains, however
o large class of men either too poorly
paid or too improvident to own then
own homes or even to rent house for
their families. To meet their case and
TO raise the "slums" from their wretched
condition the Benefcent Building asso-
citation and few good men and women
have been working to supplant novels
and crowded tenements by decent homes
Recently it has been proposed to build a
large apartment house on the plan
adopted in Brooklyn, in which workmen
can rent apartments at moderate rates
and get decent homes for less money
than they pay now for insanitary novels
in the miserable streets and alleys where
they are obliged to live to be near their
work. This plan has naturally attracted
attention to the efforts made in other
cities to find the best solution of the
difficult question of how to provide de-
cent comfortable homes for the poorest
people, within their narrow means, yet
healthy and cheerful.
The largest and most important as
well as the most successful operation of
this kind is that of the Peabody dona-
ton fund. endowed by the late George
Peabody. for London. Begun during his
lifetime in 1865 it has gone steadily on in
it's benefcient work, and from Mr.. Pea.
body's own munificent endowment of
g., 500, 600, with one generous gift of over
$50. 1000 from an anonymous friend and
the increase in the capital, due to its
careful management, the fund at the
close of 1891 represented an expenditure
of over $4,000 ,000 with which the Pea
body trust has provided for the laboring
moor of London II ,273 rooms, besides
bathrooms, laundries and washhouses,
occupied by 20, 269 persons, living in 5,070
separate dwellings SIS Of rooms, 1,7SS
of 8 rooms, 2,402 of 2 rooms and 800 OF
room, at an average rent for each room
of less than % cents a week, for each
dwelling not much over 81 week.
Eighteen sections of London have thus
been provided with homes, and the an
nual reports show the employment of
the COMMISSIONER average weekly earn
ings were less than Stand the increased
birth rate and the decreased death rate
of these well appointed homes
This splendid benefaction is managed
by six trustees, one the United States
minister, the others friends and sons Of
friends and relatives of Mr.. Peabody. A
son-in-law of the late J. s. Morgan sue
ceeded that gentleman, who was Mr.
Peabody's successor in his banking house
An evidence of good management is the
fact that the expenses of caring for this
great fund in 1891 were less than $1,000
while the income was $500, 900, of which
$150. 600 was added to the capital, thus
realizing Mr.. Peabody's hope that his
bounty would grow with the needs OF
the great city of London. The work thus
set on foot by Mr. Peabody has been car
ried on in other parts of London and in
most of the great English and Scotch
|
for 1t IS found thai such investments
prove to DO of the highest value in ele-
waiting the condition of the working pop
ulation and in diminishing the death
rate, sickness and crime and pauperisn
In Boston the Boston Cooperative
Building company has recently issued
It's twenty second annual report, giving
the details Of its so houses in that city
and 10 in the neighborhood, and its new
est operation, hollow square of four
blocks of houses, "a in all, making rs
houses, with $50 rooms, in which there
live 255 families and 100 persons, at week
ly rents varying from 6S cents to $1.16
All this was done with capital of $219,-
000 and loans of $4,000, against which
the assets amount to nearly 1894, 900, and
out of the income Of $34, 900 for 1892 a
dividend Of 6per cent was paid and near
ly $4,000 carried to the surplus. In this
as in London, the best results have been
obtained from buildings that gave the oc-
cupants the nearest approach possible to
independent homes, and here in this city
of homes those who are engaged in the
work of reforming the slums and elevatr
ing their inhabitants will do well to adj
here to the typical Philadelphia homo
Every such plan needs for its success the
aelp of tho city government through al
its various branches-police, health, wa-
ter, paving and other bureaus-and that
once enlisted the slums can in time be
built out of existence Philadelphia
r~1----