New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-12-17
DISREGARD OF THE POOR
wRErcHED WORK OF HEALTH IN
SPECTORS.
COME FACTS ABOUT TENEMENT HOUSES AND THE
DEATH RATE IN THEM-THE TRINITY
crrrcr,prs-w WORK OF THE TENE-


When the house tumbled about the heads OF sne
unfortunate people who were az WORN d &c" sus
ago in Park Place. in that death'rap whose "as
,ysra found daily to vibra:e violently from 'he ''o
lion OF an overweight of machinery ana sA'H '"
mang.ed victims were taken our oil the rum" n,s
body was anxious TO know the reason WHY ~" ~,
;,c Denar;nent or the agents OF the bui'dlns lie
partu,ent had not done their duty. 'h'V'', ~,
,rb,.h <,uoved bv the newspapers showed 'ha'
,oanv mora structures of the same character "esc
liable to similar accidents. 1; was 'ne" ' ~
dcpartment began to hustle as 'i7 e"'
although the only hustling on the part y, 80
n,anv office-hoder which really dement's the pun
IN any appreciate degree - Mo ~
Office. ,,,,,.a
The Board of Health and its emp'o!'s co"s '".
another department of the municipal so'o'"
which has also been lax in Its ADMINISTRATOR "
certain regulations. and so far az inc WI"
q. ,nsnectors is concerned II appears sadly IN hee'
Of change. , ,1o,ss
The excellent work done by the Tenemen'-iouse
COMMITTEE of which Richard Watson "hosr - ."e
mead attes,s this conclusively TO any one WI" w
Widowed closely the testimony brought OUT al .ne
sessions of tina: body With Mr. Glider an" MS
.co,,eapues IL has been labor OF love- ana ne mas
:.xnressed 20 a Tribune reporter on more than one
asion how astonshed he mas oeeh a' ''e i's
full condition of o"crcrowding anu Oh se"
bealthfu.ness which prevails IN some VI ''0
.,enseIv yopulated sections of the city one Vi INC
,..sa ,onai,iors were found TO exist 1t folio"eu
in some Instances that the LANDLORDS oi suon 'e
ments were living. one m'gnt say WINE"
stones throw Of the place and e'ther o""eu '"e
mouse or else owned the land on when the mouse
,,ood and which had been leased by the builder lot
. torn, of wears We talk" said Mr.. Glider Oh
,hat deplorabc system known as absentee iahu-
1ordism and have poured out our sympathy WIN
the Irish tenant-farmer who mas peen 'ne '
Of this system In Its worst form until -''' >
stone tried to give compromising advan,ase
nv passins his Land bill in 1882. giving Juo'ciai
lease for term of fifteen years 10 all those ho.u-
crs who up TO that time had been tenants a. Ni''
but here at our doors is a system OF 'dHu'o'
which is working misery. disease and even deatn
among many OF the poorer people particularly
among children of tender age.
THE COMMITTEES REPORT.
The committee will no, hold any more sessions.
and the recommendations which it has TO make VIII
no in tho hands of the Legislature when II assem-
hos January The committee had just begun 10
sc, interested and had no more tnan reaCheu "e
edge Of tho appalling condition III "h''h many
thousands Of their fellow-citizens are oohseu ~
live when work had stop. The report hau 20
be really by Years Day. and then the smal'
Gum Of $4,000 which had been SET apart for the
work wes found 10 be exhausted ms money ""S
moi expended in salaries. except what the sVO'e'a''
was paid for ali the members or the coh'h'''ee
marc only Ton wiling TO give their services IN
the general public. and the health OF the cry
&C who.e And this same spirit has proved con-
taciors. FOR The inspectors who were enploH'' "s
the committee and inquired into the condi,'on o.
600 of the wors; tenement-housss. Tor which '"eH
were paid. Of course have formed themselves 'nto
what they call permanent voluntary sA"'''',
aid society to continue their investigations ana
repor, ''ihe most fragrant Violations OF 'hs 4dh'a'S
Code" They will not be paid
The Trinity Cnurch Corporation. with - "n''-
nous income from property in this cl'? amounting
IN all as was testified before the committee 10
something Ike seoOc0 a year, does not come ou'
of This investigation in the most envlape heh'.
This body owns AS tenement houses the greater
number OF which are be found In the Eighth anu
Ninth wards According 10 President "''so"' VI '.e
Heath Board. most of the tenement houses vi"
Trinity church land are SINCE houses. as ais-
,ingu,shed from those known front and rear
tenements: that "a SAY TWO houses on oi't 5o,,
~h. second mouse behind the first and dis1ni from
T. '' on,v = fnw feeI The Board Of Health records
show that 1898 the death rate IN sing tsn'
Ward Was sc6s 10 the t5ousanJ. or about per
cen, less than lhe so-calei Trinity enein@h, tA'e
In the Ninth Ward III death rate IN s'nsie ~
ments not owned by Trinity was S.o; TO NE inoI,
sand which is abou; = per cent isss tna ,sar he
by the corporation.
FIGURES ABOUT DEATH RATES.
II is somewhat curious to ind that asst year the
death rate in the ienament-house Of me ciiy was
only % 10 to the thousand which is 9'5 'ess 'han
Church CORPORATION and, curious stilL -
less than the general dea ,hrate for the whole cy
But another calculation mas to be mace wn,cn
somewhat offsets thts and brings ne tenement
house death up considerably higher j. - as
sumed by the Board OF Heath mat in al the pup
lie institutions the majority q me 'iInates 80
from ienement-hoLses and that me deatns WILL
occur in the public institutions should be aided 70
the deaths which occur IN ire t-nemtn'- ~
This changes the ratio OF the deaih rdte IN .ne
sand a is raised t. so 70 The ihoussnd Even
that figure however: is considerably e's taan ,ns
in the Trinity tenemenis. which were specially n,
spected By the Board Of Hea;h Wa ,ouhd a 10 IN
the CITY is 2i.Ol to the thousand .u-.-,.. 49,.
Coione, Cguger. the controller Of the Trinity Cor
poraton deems this comparison unfair FOR the gen
era city death includes deaths in the best quar-
9 as ba Ws ha as IN nF p aan ia T
ments would be found 70 be less ihan tnos. T.,
the same locality; Bui the faces az already gwen
do no, bear ont this view. ,,.,.s
Sanitary Supcrintenden; Roberts. o. me Health
Department has furnisned iist o. i%e"e 'cn e
neciion with which orders were issued saturday.
The showing made last year in the mortality re-
same number Of houses ali OF the old and
miserable type OF Thien Sompaints haye been e
West sides downtown. In this list Is included
Gotham Court aid Nos Ss ss ~ and 50 % Sca
.ington-st. and No. lG Westinghouse. There are
thirty persons have died there in the hve years W
TO January last When the people VINO have died
oned it will be found that abou, one mali a many
people live In the tenement house in any
one time died there during the last six years.
The reason that these facts came TO b. made pub
llc now is by reason of any extraordinary ac-
t!yity on the part OF the Board Of Health II.
employees. but In answer 10 the demand OF the Tene
nent-House Committee for list, OF houses tina
ought 10 be pulled down. The board well awar,
of the unhealthful condition Of affairs In thes'
houses before the demand was made. and orders
appear TO have been issued in regard to the condi
ton OF these buildings some years ago. bu. tina
the last that was heard OF them. " seems tina
orders" issued by the department when the
district inspectors have found good for com
x.1of, hpffh hat ha fha 1nSf hat ls aye
heard Of these orders In fact 1t n th'
number of orders TO have matters made RICH
have decreased In the proportion the mum
Der OF deaths increased.
In TIE TRINITY TENEMENT-HOL,SI. SIS.