The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1895-09-27
A TERRIBLE STORY.


Wretchedness Of New York.
Poverty in small city means
IN ,re than temporary want. Here
i'm gieat New York it means such
degradation for humanity that men,
women and children are hardly
more than wild beasts. Here IN a
spot mile square is the eyesore OF
New York-the greatest picture OF
poverty and degradation America
can produce. -
| have wandered through the
streets of the east side for days and
; days without finding an American,
unless he was sailor or vagram.
Among the adults it is hard to lind
one who is American born. In tins
eyesore is represented almost every
nation on the face Of the earth
whose people immigrate. There
are Polanders, Norwegians, Arabs,
Malays, Russian Jews, Italians,
Russians, Chinese ana Egyptians
to be met with on the same block.
In all ases the people are the low.
, est classes, and at home very few oi
them had the comforts OF life. II
. they did not herd together like cat
: tie at home, they seem to have no
objection to doing so here.
: I'm going up stairs to speak to
n man. said an officer to me IN
Hester street the other evening,
.and il YOU want to see how these
people sleep, so long" Ones nose
. told him that scores OF people were
!. herded in that tumbl, down old
house. The windows were scrupu-
!. louslv closed to keep the smells in
: but here and there a door leading
off of some hall was open In such
cases the smell was that OF an i'm,
: migrant car. In nearly every hal
. were men, women and children
asleep. A few had an old piece OF
carpet to lie on, but most of them
: were on the bare and dirty floor
/. and not one in five had any cover
ing. In one hall we stepped ovel
the bodies of woman and little
girl and looked into "suit' OF tive
rooms. The rooms were OF thu
same size-about IL by 14-and
, only one had a window. Although
it was a warm night, this window
Il Il was closed. Asleep on the table
d and on chairs, and on the floor, wer'
re six persons in one room and live u
the other.
= "Human hogs!' said the office
as he turned TO me, "but it's no
bad compared to some. How Ion,
do you suppose dog could breathe
that air and live?'
And yet these people are human
beings !" protested.
ID "Oh, yes, but that was mistake
/. They ought to have been born hog
instead. | was sent here with
health officer to vaccinate the peo
ple, and in almost every case ! ha'
to hold the patient by main strength
:. We found women with dirt caked OF
their bodies, and children who hat
never been washed except by acci
dent. Let's go up one flight NOR
nd and look in on Honest john
At the head Of the n,xt fiigh
were four halls, and | counted !
different people lying on the floor
aslaan When I asked the officer
they were tramps who had take
this method of securing free lodt
ings, he smiled and replied:
"Not much! Your average tram
feels above such cattle, and apple
to the police station or some char
table institution. These people ii,
in these rooms, but get more rool
by sleeping out here. Here is hol
eft John, who is an old ltalial
and he has a family of IL on h
hands. This includes his fathe
mother, sister and brother. All a
bcggars. There were three room
in this "suit, but only one in iron
and consequently only one windo
again. Not one of the rooms VI
more than IL by II. There was
horrible odor Of stale fish, but abo
that the mephitic taint, which ma
- seates the stomach and makes u
ee head swim. Six persons IN OF
room and five apiece in the Other
80. and all doors and windows close
the The outside door was not locke
in and the officer opened it that
,ur- might look in. On an old piece
ss ~. carpet lay Honest John and
to wife, and for covering they hac
ragged quilt. None of the oth'
'aac had bedding Of any sort.