New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-06-09
TILE plSSLNG or rAn REyD.

Mulberry Bend Is no more. lis motley agSre-
cation OF suffering or criminal humanity has
been dispersed It's closely built roOkcrics, rc'k-
ing with physical and moral flth are being
RACED. II will no longer be hdngplace for
crime. n showpacc for morbid sightscers. the
hunting-ground Of the detective police, the Slough
Of Dcspond Of the philanihropsi In its day II
has been notorious. Possibly il may enjoy n
sort Of fame 1t has been fruitful theme TO
writer's Of the humorous and picturesque eSpe-
cay to such as are more imaginative thah ac-
curatc But Il IS more likely 10 be infamous
than famous, remembered II at all truly only
as a hidcous blot upon our civilization. ana as
a damning rcprOlch 10 the social order or the
day
The Bend was not humorous, nor picturesque.
II was 10 every pcrceptlvc sense inirinscaily
and irrcmedilbly vile. Some men have been
able to detect traces Of poetry and romance in
the underworld of some great cities, as In that
of Paris from the Quarter Brcda to Mont
martre The genius Of n Dickens could invest
the dreary slums Of London with vital hu-
man interest But not so with Mulberry Bchd.
Not as old as these in years, II was more sleeper
In sin and more stricken with utter sqiiior-
1t was sordid, loathsomc, rcpcllant. Among the
bcggars and the knavcs of Naples there are a
merry hearted carclcssncss and an almost co'ir'c
ous rascality. But the Bend was grim and grnd
ing The poor suffered necessarily; they knew
they suffered. and they showed II. 1hey never
smiled beneath the weary burden that bore mem
down The vicious were cold, calculating, bi1
tai In their crimes For all the jokes about II
md all the attempt TO make 1t picturesque II was
n ulacc Of horrors. unrcllcvcd by a single AT
tractiye feature.
II was. moreover above all else a monument
NJ "mon's inhumanity 10 man" The Bend cS
listed because men wanted it 10 exist. or were
willing. for the sake Of gain that 1t should. And
these were not the abhorrcnt creatures In scarce
" halfhuman ru,se that inhabited It's dcns
They were others respected, moral, wcll-todo
men Of society. men Of affairs, men Of The world
They owned the wrctched rookcrics and received
rent for them. and Jared sumptuously every LAY
upon the proceeds. They might long ago have
torn down the old novels and put up new. clean
wholesome tcnemcnts driven out the vicious, and
given the homes, poor chance TO live In dccency
Blu, that would have diminished their revenues
a trine 1t was not 10 be thought OF. III the
dcnizens OF the Bend were willing 10 occupy the
place as 1t was. and to pay their rentals for IT,
what more was TO be said!
Well there is this to be said: That tho man VINO
allows his property to be used for immoral oi
for inhuman purposes, or to be in condition OF
unsanitarness that Is menace 10 iis occupants
and neighbours Is assuming fearful response
blliy. His hapless brothers blood may cry t'
Heaven from the foul pavement or from tn
! dcath-haunted cellar, as surely as Abcl's die
| from the ground where 1t was shed II Is mo-
justification that the tenants were content. The
druggist Is not permitted to sell posons indis
| criminately for purposes of suicide, even though
| the would-be purchasers desire them. Wh!