New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-04-07
BETTER HOMES FOR WORKTNGlEN.

disadvantage.
BETTER HOMES FOR WORKINGMEN.
In gratifying contrast to the nhuman scheme
at Albany for making every tenement house Il
dea tn trap. there are now under way for exc
cution several plans for providing better dwell
in,s for the wage-earncrs Of this city. one con-
templates merely the Improvement OF ordinary
tenement houses. In the direction not only or
safety and increased sanitation. bu, also OF n
certain aesthetic attractiyeness. There Is moth
ing much more dreary and cherries In APP
pearancc than the average tenement-house row.
nor any place much more difficult To make
homelike and beautiful than the interiors or
such buildings. II II shall be possible 10 app!y
t. In. construction Of them some degree OF IN
dlvlduallty and artistic taste the gain for the
whole community will be real and great Tn"
general appearance OF the crowded quarters
81 the city Will be vastly improved. and IN"
direct cultlvailng influence upon tho tenants
Will undoubtedly be marked You cannot al
WAYS make a man refined by housing him IN
palace But u you pcrsstently house people
I'm bare squalld harrack'. ut only for brutes.
the effect IL almost certain to be- hrutalizing.
Another admirable project looks to the build
ing in a suitable part ~ the city. Of great
worhlngInen's hotel. in which safe sanitary ana
comfortable lodging and board may be obtained
M a price within the reach - the sl"ndereSt
pur.e The need OF exactly such an establish
ment has long been felt. and has not yet been
snppllcd I'm New-York Some large cities, 80
r,.ctally In the O,d World. have successfully
trlcd the experiment of conducting muni'Ipai
lodging houses. and there has been tax OF
creating such institutions here. For obvious
reasons however the workingmens h'tel VIII
D.. FAR hotter. The occupants Of 1t Will not be
made t. feel. even In the slightest d"sr"e-as
they almost invariably would in the other
that they are the recipients ~ charity They
VIII no, be. They will be paying their way
lust as truly AS the man who patronizes the
most luxurious and expensive hotel. And they
Will De living Ike clcanly. s"lfr'specting men,
and not like cattle In a pen. ~ Is the case 700
often I'm the cheap lodging houses ut present
existing I'm the slums. There certainly ought
- be a respectable place TO which respect
able wnge-carner could go to live for "A day
ar a week or a month. and have the comforts
of a home al cost within his reach. Just as
much as there should be similar aocommoda-
lions for men Of ampler means Brt II wouii
probably puzzle any one to ind 1t In TINS city
to-day Such an enterprise Will be an inestimh-
bic boon 10 It's patrons. There Is every reason
., hlov. that II will also be n profitable In
..os,u.r, for its founders as II should be. since
4, ia M, to be n charity which would degrade
its occupants To the level Of paupers. but
fair-and-square business concern. In which the
workingman will pay his money. and get his
moneys worth.
stu another plan provides for sort OF cot
tage colony for worklngmen In the outskirts OF
the city or I'm the suburbs JUST p'yohd i's DOT
ders This too Is an excellent ana an eminehtV
nr,c,lcsl MAN There are many workingmcn who
must remain In the city 50 as 10 be close 10 thef
places OF employment But there are multitudes
whose hours - labor are such that-especiaily
with proper means Of transit-they could 60 a
>cw miles away and enjoy the pleasures and
sanitary advantages Of semi-rurai homes There
is NOT another city In the civilized world 50
denscIv popuIated as New-York. There Is not
onother OF It's size that has 80 much unoccupied
land living I'm and close around IT, While people
are being crowded two or three hundred In SIN
gle house there are vast expanses OF vacant
lots right here Manhattan Island. while IN
the wards beyond the Harlem. and In the towns
and cities Immediately bordering upon New
York, thousands Of acres nre lying waste ana
bid fair To DO 30 for years to come. u rev
hundred thousand people could be tsansplarted
from the ovcr-crowded tencment-house regions
10 thes. suburban sites. where each family could
occupy and perhaps possess in freehold Its own
separate cottage and garden. one OF the most
beneficial social and Industrial revolutions
imaginable would be effected.
such schemes commend themselves with
especial force to all who have the welfare Of
the community at heart. For the housing OF the
working people H. now ana has long been dis
creditable 10 the city and to the property owners
Of It. There H. no shifting responsibility. 1t IL
not the tenants fault. but their landlords. that
they are badly housed The wage-earner has to
dlctat" the construction and management of tenc-
mcnt houses nor buy land and build on IL for
himself lie must rent such apartments as
capitalists See 1T 10 build and TO offer 10 him. 1t
is not too harsh thing 10 say that hitherto
many capitalists have thought Of little else than
the profit they were to make In dollars and cents
The culture and comfort Of the tenants their
enjoyment OF their homes. even their safety from
disease and fire. have weighed too lightly I'm the
scale In late years the law has done much for
this last particular. IL requires buildings to be
constructed with some regard for health and
security. But 1t does not and cannot begin to
touch other interests that are scarcely less vital.
They must be attended 10 voluntarily by the
owners Of property. and II Is one OF the most
hopeful signs OF the times that such attention
liz now beginning 10 be paid. Every step taken
toward improved conditions OF life for the work
ingmen, who are not only an essential part OF the
community. but majority Of 1t. Is practical