The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-12-18

germs. and knowledge Of health laws,
II would seem almost like calling the
owners murderars.
las well send poison through che mail
TO family. as knowingly let them oeou-
py your house filled with deadly disease.
How far are the Board of Health re-
sponsiblef.
Upon this Board Of Health,
city physician aud health In
speetor rests the GREATEST re-
sponsibllity. for the healthy condition Of
the poor tenement houses in Portland.
The city physician should report each
and every case to the board OF health, and
the health inspector can visit the house II
need be, then the Board Of Heath should
enforce the laws which have been enacted
by the city, that Is, summons the owner
to appear beforesit, and IL he IL willing to,
and really does make necessary changes
there would be no need Of further action,
IL not the houses should be closed and
piacarded as declared unhealthy by the
Board OF Health, and kept closed and
placarded until the conditions are
changed. The health board have power
enough under our law to make Portland
houses healthy; they ray there is lack
of funds. Your committee is OF thu opin-
Ion the city fathers do some things they
ought not to do and leave undone things
they ought TO do"
Then the speaker went on to speak of
one family which she had found living
In a stable on Vine street In pitiable cir
cumstano es. Another cass was ON Cen
ter street and In Carleton court, where
the owners had been summoned to appear
before the board of health today. She al
SO spoke of one case In which a little boy
had died ON three ohaiIs, the family hav-
ing no bed in their squalid quarters.
One of the most interesting talks OF the
afternoon was given by Mrs A. u. Cole,
who spoke without notes for sbont half
an hour and who went right to the seat
OF the trouble and emphasized her argu-
ments by many examples and instances
which had come under her personal OBJ
servation.
Mrs. Cole said that rs per cent OF the
tenement housedwellers are foreigners,
the flotsam and Jetsam OF Europe who
come here willing to live by the work of
others. AS rule they are indolent, i'm.
provident and have no trade. They have
no idea of the relative value Of food and
are content to live on bakers bread and
canned goods The women are inefficient
and have no knowledge OF cooking or
sewing and no idea of making their
homes comfortable. she said that the
danger to the community from infectious
disease arising from these people was
great. Thsy have no Idea OF caring for
the sick. They are social animals never
so happy as when sitting at home with
a mug of beer and pipe and dog. The
daughters of the tenem snts make our
streets unpleasant with their obsoenities
and a curfew law is needed for them. The
children from these homes endanger and
contaminate the pnblic schools. What
can be done to lift those psopls upf There
Is no remedy unless the whole social
structure is changed. Rsmoye first the
opportunities to get rum ana prohibit the
marriage OF men and women who have
no means to support family or the hopes
of earning living for them. One Of the
great foes of uplifting these people is she
charity system because every dollar given
without adequate equivalent being de-
manded o. work lessons the self respsnt
of these people The Associated charities
idea is the right one and much conld be
done by establishing manual training
schools in which to give these peopls
some idea OF how to make themselves
comfortable
MIR. e p. Chase, Mrs. Taylor, Mrs.
Lilly and Mrs. Pnelsn also spoke on this
interesting subject.