The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-05-16
July in May.

Science corr0borateS the unScientinc
opinion of the average citizen, that the
present weather is quite unreasonable.
There were five suEstrokes in New York
on Monday and the temperature was still
higher yesterday. The local atmosphere Is
all the more oppressive for following so d.
rectly on the cool weather of the hrst
half of the month; but Washingtontans are
used to sudden changes.
There is one aspect of this tropical in
terlude in what ought to be the balmy eli
mate of spring. which should be instruc-
tive. and that is its relation to the recent
movement of the Ice Trust. II the people
of New York and Washington are not for
chilly impressed now with the injustice Of
raising the price of this commodity.
merely to satisfy the greed of a grasping
corporation, the chances are that nothing
can convince them of it. The average cit
izen, discovering that the ice Is melting
out of his refrigerator three times as fast
as it did last week, and that the butter
is coming on the breakfast table in semi
fluid condition, and that his bottle of beer
is lukewarm instead Of in its proper chilly
and agreeable condition, will realize that
ice In a city is not luxury, but ne
cessity. Let him then reflect on the con-
dition of the poor people in the tene-
ments who have no refrigerators.
These people have to wrap their five
cent lump of ice in a piece Of carpet, or in
newspapers. and keep it in tin pan.
That is the best defence they can make
tpcf fhn oacttn IL In
ments q stove-not gas stove. but
range-1s generally in operation in the
kitchen In New York flats at least two
of the rooms have practically no win
dows. They open either on a shaft in
tended to supply air. or against dead
wall Sometimes there is no window at
ALL Imagine the condition of such an
apartment in July, especially when occu-
pied by at least two adults and several
children, 1t is enough to make the Wash
ington householder realize that his big
house, opening on a wide and breezy
street Swallowed by green trees, is almost
a paradise compared with such den. And
it is this tenement population which is 60
ing TO be mulcted by the Ice Trust. 1t will
be impossible for these people to buy ice
without depriving themselves of food in
order to do it. The little children. the
sick. the aged, will have to endure the
sitting heat as best they may. without the
chance of any cooling drink to assuas.
their thirst. Look at this situation. with
the sharpened Intelligence created by the
present unreasonable hot wave. and see
how well 1t is suited to the conditions OF
Christian civilization.
Washington does not contain many ten
ements, but It has its slum population. The
two, or three. or four-room house, Badly
built and situated in. an alley between
tall buildings. is Washingtons slum
house. AS in New York, the very poor
are the people who are hit by rise in the
price Of ice. 1t should also be remembered
that this city is considerably farther south
than New York, and has not the benefit
OF the sea breeze which, sweeps across the
metropolis now and. then. Every small
city in the United States needs to remem-
Der that big and wicked as New York is
pictured to be. 1t does not by any means
have a monopoly of the slum. The poor
suffer as much in the very hot weather as
in the coolest winter days. 1t is we'll to
remember this, and to see that they do not
suffer unnecessarily.