New-York tribune., 1897-01-31

q
81 and 81 80 for Novembers rent December
is still due. and January will be due in few
days. Here is another" and all along the line
names and figures were pointed .. out to show .Sv
that part payment for back rent was the
rule and not the exception.
THE PUIssANT JANITOR.
YES" said tenant "but there is a third
element In the tenement-house combination
which you have overlooked. and without which
no true calculation to the tenants comfort
can be made-the janitor. II the janitor Is
good man the tenant has nothing to do but
mind his business ana pay his rent to be
sure of decent treatment and all the comforts
which he is entitled to- But II the janitor Is
not satisfied with the pay which he receives
from the landlord. usually a free apartment
and about SO a month"; then the tenant must
buy his goodwill to make life under the same
roof possible. OF course. the price Is not high'
and ranges from occasional can of beer to
trade with his favorite butcher or grocer; but
the janitor is exacting and. without saying so
in words he makes the tenant understand that
he Is king"
It is said that in some instances. where
tradespeople work in conjunction with the 5ani-
tors the tenants are greatly abused, ana, not
knowing how much worse the condition might
be in some other house, they submit. and then
try to get even with the landlord by abusing
the premises.
Nathaniel s. Rosenau. manager OF the United
Hebrew Charities. said that all the talk about
lords is exaggerated and sensational.
IT know" he said, that rents have been re-
duced in most places. but whether the reduction
was due TO competition to depreciation IN values
or to the hard times l cannot judge. The fact
remains that rents are lower than they were and
that the landlords have been exceedingly lenient
with the worthy class OF their tenants. know
Of instances where tenants have beer behind In
their rent for months. but have not been dis
turbed, and fear no dispossess proceedings In
fact | believe that only the people who do not
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no way to evade it. are the ones who are evicted
There are stories Of distress and sunerng
brought here every day which dwnde into
fraud and deception on investigation. and many
of the sensational yarns about evicted people
from the poor tenement-houses would share a
like fate If the proper person probed them.
PEOPLE IGNORANT OF HOME.
"Tbere Is a large class in the Russian district
which is positively incapable Of appreciating the
comforts of a good home. They will not keep
clean nor obey the sanitary regulations unless
they are forced to do so. ana model house
would degenerate in their hands. to the level or
the lowest howell They are the people who COM
plain about the cruel landlord. and when their
furniture is put on the street they take good
care to have a plate on 1t and leave the coppers
in sight. but quickly extract any silver coin
which may be dropped In the receptacle"
TO demonstrate the lack of appreciation on the
part OF this ignorant class. Mr. Rosenau said !
have known people Of that kind to wrench brass
faucet from the water pipes and destroy or sell
H. and then they were compelled to carry all the
water for the household five stories. They are
I'm a strange element when surrounded by clean
Iiness and comfort and will not be able to appre-
ciate either or to be good tenants until they nave
been educated.
Jacob A. Riis said: Landlords are business
men. and doubt very much whether they would
evict worthy people because they happened to be
In Temporary distress. They would certainly
ra her have their houses occupied by good people
who they knew would pay when their incomes
became better and when they had more work.
than allow the apartments to remain vacant or
TO rent them to tenants who are no better OF
than the present occupants. have heard OF
very few evictions, and in forty cases Of desttu-
tion which / investigated recently. and all OF
which were genuine and worthy cases. In no in
stance had the landlord threatened to dspossess
the poor people"