The times., 1898-02-06
TO BUILD MORE HOUSES
The Plans Of the Sanitary Improve
ment Company.
Mrs. DIR. 1'Brien Advocates Better
Homes Cor the Poor Before the
Anthi opoIocical Society.

The Woman's AntEropoloGical So.
ciety held a largely attended meeting
yesterday afternoon in the lecture nal
at the Columbian University The
| principal topic for consideration was
that of better homes for the poor ot
the city, and an interesting paper
treating the subject very fully was
read by Mrs. DR. E. Y. O'Brien. In in.
troducing her subject, Mrs. O'Brien re-
ferred to the necessity for sewers and
| clean alleys and the water-metering
system iii any city that wanted to give
its residents better physical and social
conditions. Social development must
| also be in accordance with economic
laws, the speaker said, or it would not
| continue for any great length of time
Speaking Of the sanitary homes that
| have been erected on Bates street in
| this city, and in other cities of the
| world, Mrs. O'Brien said that they had
| invariably proven to be successful. In
Boston persons who had lived in houses
/ that were condemned IN 1892 and who
lived in sanitary homes which We're
afterwards erected on the site of the
condemned buildings, found that they
could live under similar conditions u
cents cheaper each month in the model
tenement
In Washington, she said, the land is
not limited as it is in NEST large cities.
and there are therefore excellent on
portunitieS for the erection of model
homes for the poor as we'll as for the
citizens in general, who We're desrors
of living in houses that were healthful
and comfortable. The fictitious value
of land, she said, in the northwest
section of Washington makes more
land available for the erection of sani-
tary homes nearer the center of the
city, thus allowing them to be built
very near the places of business In
New York the land downtown is eX-
ceedingly nigh, and only very eXpen-
sive buildings could be placed upon it.
The same was comparatively true of
the closely-populated sections, where it
was almost impossible to erect sani-
tary homes. Flats with the resultant
infectious diseases were the result
Mrs. o Brien paid a high compliment
to the work of the Sanitary Improve
ment Company, which has been inders-
ed and described heretofore in The
Times. The President of the company.
Surg. Gen. Sternberg. of the Army.
is more than pleased with the sue
cess that has attended the first effort to
build sanitary homes in the city, and
that if the work was continued as it
now seems probable not many wears
would pass before a great step will
have been taken towards the making of
the National Capital one of the most
model cities for the rich and the poor
alike and an exceedingly healthfuf citv
The houses already erected cost Si4.-
600 and the ground $4,000 They are ON
Bates street. between North CAPITOL
and l street and p and Q streets north
west, and are all occupied. The houses
are eight in number. each being divided
so that two families can live comforta-
bly, in the same dwelling, each having
its own yards, cellars. and all the con-
VenienceS of a modern house They
were built from plans drawn by Gen.
Sternhers, who has for long time
made special study of sanitary
dwellings.
months rent is allowed each year
for repairs. and if the house is kept in
such good condition that repairs are
not necessary the sum set aside for re-
pairs is remitted to the tenant The
company has now large number of
persons on the list for the houses al
ready built. and have purchased an
other lot ON Bates street near the pres
ent houses, so that another riw similar
TO those already erected can be put I'D
in the spring.
The plans of the local company. which
was organized at the recommendation
of the Commissioners and the ASso-
ciated Charities, are very similar to
those of the tenement house companies
in other large cities.