The times., 1897-03-27
RAISING LIES STANDARD
The Sanitary Company and the
Alley DWellers.
A Mass Meeting of Citizens Under
the Auspices of the Board of
Trade.

The public discussion of the object of the
Sanitary Improvement Company attracted
very large number of citizens last night
to the Builders Exchange On the invitation
of the Boardof Trade, under whose auspices
q meeting for the purposes Of that discus
sion was held During the early part Of
the meeting President Woodward was in
the chair, which was assumed later in the
evening by Mr.. 3. T. Janney, the chair
man of the committee of charity and cor
rections Of the board.
= As the hall was filled, it will be seen
that the public not connected with the
board was largely represented, and es-
pecially by ladies', among wnom were Mrs
SUernberser, Mrs. Stabler, Mrs. David,
Mrs. Macfarland, Miss Hosmer, Mrs. Eliza
beth Bryan johnson, Mrs. Dr. T. b. Hood,
Miss SimoDtOn, superintendent the Elmer
Eency Hospital; Mrs. Ellen Spencer Mus
sey Mrs. Ruth Havens and a large number
OF others,
The object of the meeting was principally
to hear from speakers on the subject of
sanitary improvement AMI moral Improve
ment by provision OF better homes for the
poor, and especially as to the alley popu-
Iation These speakers were DR.. A S.
Sternberger, e. S. A; Or. f. R. l.. Gould,
PRESIDENT of the Suburban and City Home
Improvement Company, of New York, and
Rev. b. l. Whitman, D. D., president Of
Columbian University.
The address introducing the subject was
made by President Woodward, in which he
suCCintly stated the various steps taken
during che past two years e. ward reform
OF the general conditions, and which,
t. rough the Central Relief Committee, the
Board OF Trade, and he civic Center, had
resulted in the plan formulated as the Sani-
tary improvement Company.
Previous To taking up this subject favor
able action was had by the board on the
following resolution, offered by Mr.. Dodge:
Resolved by the Board Of Trade, That
Congress he and is hereby respectfully and
urgently requested TO pass the pending
bill at the present session for the compile
tion of the said work the tunneh.
Resolved, That the secretary transmit
a copy Of the foregoing TO the chairmen of
the Committees on Appropriations OF the
House and Senate
The orders Of business OF the meeting re-
lating TO the change of the date OfinaugG-
ration and the increase in the number Of
Commissioners from three to five were
passed over until the next meeting.
DR.. Stcrnberger, the first speaker, prac-
ticaliy made a report Of the Joint commit
tees of the Board of Trade, the Central Re
lief Committee and the Civic Center, which
have had this sanitary improvement idea
under advisement. Dr SternberGer's re-
marks were on the subject OF "ENistin e
Conditions and Their Effects, and were
a practical argument for the formation OF
the company The first part Of mis- address
was devoted to owing the world 5 appre-
citation in comparatively late years OF the
value of sanitary conditions in cities, and
ne read statistics, and commented on them,
showing the gradual decrease of the death
rate III cities which had removed local
causes of disease by drainage and other
means
In general terms he showed that in
the past twenty years alone there had
been a decrease of 33 per cent in death
rates, owing to the attention paid to
these considerations A very interesting
object lesson as to Washington was the
proof that of fifty-fOur large cities IN
the United states there We're only SIX in
a worse sanitary condition than this, and
that WaShington's death ra te from typhoid
fever is double that OF Boston, New York,
Toledo. New Orleans. and many others.
A point was put on his argument by the
statement that while in the clean ana
improved northwest the death rate was
only / II per 600: in the suburbs it
was as high as S.44 per L, geo. Nearly all
of the cause for this, DR.. Sternhcrgef
traced to the bad sanitary condition of
so many Of the houses Of the city, 80 600
OF which were well severed. and as many
as 10000 with 10 sewer connections.
The unsewered houses. he believed, fur
uished more than one-half of the typhoid,
diarrheaf. and diptheretic cases He
also explained how the germs of disease
were carried from one place to another
and especially by flies. There were only
two remedies for these evils, protection
against infection of food, and cleaner city
conditions. on the latter he laid stress
as the more feasible.
Mfr. Janney introduced Dr. Gould, who
spoke of the scheme of better homes for
the poor as involving both philanthropIc
and religious and business considerations.
II was now understood that men cannot
live decent lives unless their homes are
decent There is nothing new in the plan,
and therefore it need not he looked on as
visionary or Cilimerical. He discussed the
economic side of the question as affect
ing the business interests OF the city, and
showed that wherever it had been tried il
had been a good investment for its pro-
moters
DR.. Whitman dealtlargely with the moral
effects of theidea OF the company realized
He referred to the plans of Olivia Hill, the
originator of the fdea, and among other
things said that lone of the cardinal doc
triues of her work was that what the poor
needed was a larger, more rational life.
She sought to elevate them to broader
and more human enjoyment of existence
by furnishing them with artistic and eco
nonic advantages not otherwise within
their reach. Behind the material aspect
of the NOV ement was the idea that what
was necessary was not better houses put
better men and women; not merely tc
achieve a lessening of the death rate, but
to make a new manhood and womanhood;
to make men and women responsive &c
higher things"
There was very little general discus
sion. Mr.. Arthur Keep, of the Federation
| of Labor suggested that better plar
| than building homes to remedy present
| evils would he to reduce rents and permit
| a removal of many worthy people iron
alley homes into eligible parts Of the
city. This, he said, would allow the
| alleys to be closed, and not only ALLEYS
in the remote parts OF the city, but thos'