Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-07-14
KEEPING TIRE POOR WELL.
The Problem as Ia Works Out In New
York City.

New York Letter In The Springfield Republican
To make such population live cleaniy
seems scarcely less difficult than the major
necessity OF their keeping alive at all And
Yet 1T has largely been accomplished by the
street cleaning department seconded some
what by the health board and rather re-
luctaniiy 10y ihe police. in the short space
Of three gears. Before that these hived
creatures emptied their garbage and refuse
from the windows into street or yard with
out hindrance Ii was TIE usual thing with
them in the lands they came from. Why
Should they restrict their pleasures i'm .he
iahd OF the free? They ate anything that
Was biiiig ripe, rank rotten. III IL
absolutely deiied their ostrich stomachs IL
was nred into the street. Landlords. ever
greedy. and greedicst with the poor did
rothing to help the tenants. Diphtheria
scarlet fever. dysentery, decimated them
IL was among them that the dreadful ty-
thing. IL vas naturally the home OF the
dirt disease. l knew very well last Satur-
day that IL SIN the danger point for
pestilence. and must be while human be
lngs are so packed together. but | was also
keenly sensible OF the fact that authority
at last was making a tremendous effort TO
pi otect health and mitigate life among the
uweiiefs IN the tenements. The buildings
I'm which they are lodged are changing too
and for the better. In the older dens clean
illness is enforced in stairways and cellars,
out the people huddle in them almost as
c'osely as ever. You see, they have always
huddled so abroad. and think il neither
wrong nor unhealthy here. Many new
buildings are erecting. much better looking
ara better laid out internally than their
predecessors. but the mania for height Is
on them. as well as on the new business
structures, and the new tenements are sell
dcm less than six stories high with four
sets OF rooms on each floor. or housing for
about loo inmates. the tenements run
children. dodgers and all. Sullen and deter
mined was the opposition OF the landlords
10 all the reforms, hut louder. stronger and
more determined still was the opposittou
of the tenants I have laughed almost iii
cried over some of the stories told OF the
horror and CONSERVATION among these peo-
pie at being denied their olden right 10 he
fllthy. The old Italian of Mott street who
ore" dirk upon health officer because
ne Seized tray of clans so rotten that
they poisoned the air was one "Ab pio
ne cried. when finally brought to the sta
uoh mouse, Il no seii-a de clam: / eat him
me- myself The sturdy Bohemian Jewess
OF orchard street. who fought half n day
Tor a head OF rotten cabbage-"cost me Elm
ceht IN Hester street. unit feed me two
days. she cried. wringing her hands when
the posse finally got il. Now they are nat
ernailzed as much circumstances will
permit The health officers peer into their
rooms, pfrmeate their stairways yaccina,a
their children, hunt out contagious dis
eases, tumigating and disinfecting and
making themselves generally disikcd Nor
oiiiy that, but they keep a keen eye on the
mix, the vegetables. the fruit the meat
and. above ALL the fish. on which these
peopIe deiight to feed. Never I'm the OLD
tifnes WAS al: ambellant fish dealer eyer
seen to display his fish i'm th. bot,ast
weather but on a bare board Now they
are seen smothered i'm ice-grcat earn ana
pike, looking quite tempting.