The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-10-07
THE TENEMENT PROBLEM.
BOstOnians Considering the HOUS-
ing Of the Poor.
work of the Twentieth Century Club
in That Observation-Disclosures to
BE Tied by One Of the Hubs
Leading Business Men.

problems which is studied 10y the Tweuti-
eth Century Club is the housing of the
poor. 4 committee of the club Will have
charge Of this department during the
coming season, and some members are
deeply intert stCd in 1T from philanthropy
ic point of view.
One Of the leading business men of Bos-
ton, who is not yet ready CD pu, his ideas
before the public has had d New York
architect working upon plans for model
tenement blocks and has bought an area
In the West End where he proposes To- put
his theories into practice Great interest
centres in his experiment. for If he can
prove that tonemonts. sanitary and pleas
ant, can be built to rent Cor less than
SO month for the average number OF
rooms. and yet Weld Is To- per cent net
on the investment. there viii Doe plenty ot
money ready TO follow his lead in the ven
ture. But if he fails Co prove the point
then the question viii De forced upon ihe
city whether d must go into the real es-
tate business and become landlord for the
large number of people who must be
housed within the city limits and yet who
cannot afford 20 pay at the rate of
per cent investment upon "A decent tene-
meut house.
The problem is not Yet so acute in Bos-
Board Of Health under power given by
the Legislature, keeps at its duty Of con
demnipg poor houses and having them de-
molieh,d Already this season it has
caused some fortE or fifty houses TO be
torn down. II keeps within the law SO far
that il has never paid any damages, for
ii has taken only the cases Of those dilap-
idated buildings which were so far out Of
repair that # would cost more than they
were worth 70 bring them up TO the legal
standard Of health Il has no, been worth
the owners trouble and risk to bring suit,
and the board has Paid the cost Of de
strUctioR. But it is said at the Twentieth
Century Club that if the legal standard
were forced a great many buildings now
occupied would have 20 DE destroyed.
The Boston Cooperative Building Com
pany is engaged in pioneer work on new
tenement houses. which promises 70 help
I'm the solution Of the problem Of housing
the poor. II has made over some old
houses in Phillips Street in the African
quarter IN the West End. II HIS some
tenement houses at Thatcher and Endi-
colt Streets and on Clark Street al the
North End II has later ones at East
Canton Street and Harrison Avenue. at
the South End. and now il is putting up
new ones, three stories high. at Massa-
I.
which are being watched with interest by
the philanthropists who realize the i'm
portance Of having the poor people hous-
cd in a healthfuI manner.
The building law Of 1897. which gave the
City Board Of Health power to destroy
unSanitary tenements as well as 10 order
them to be vacated and made heathful.
was urged upon the Legislature by the
Twentieth Century Club. and under that
law the board has destroyed over two
hundred houses In all, without paying q
cent for damages. In repeated Instances
the Ealue Of the building has been more
than made good 20 the owner by the ad-
vance IN the value of his property ad-
Joining. due 10 the destruction of the
worst building, and has thus proved that
II is good real estate investment 10
destroy uESauitry buildings. The benefit
goes 70 the entire neighborhood as well
as directly 10 the owner Of the adjoining
property The law II 1897 has been amend
ed so as 70 exempt buildings Of less than
fifty feet in height which would cover
the case Of the average f0Ur-stOry tene-
ment house These houses are not re-
CURED 70 be absolutely frepr0of. as taller
buildings must be. though il is provided
that the piastering must be laid on fire
proof material.
Under this relaxation Of law have
sprung up many tenement houses in the
North and West ends They arr rather
attractive, being built Of yellow brick and
are generally built by Jews. who are en-
tering the real estate business in consid-
cradle numbers These tenement houses
are built as cheaply as possible, and come
Just within the restriction Of the law, But
their attra cttyeness makes them in good
demand, and they are doubtless DrOfita-
bic investments The law says that not
over s. per cent Of the area Of the lot
above the first story, shall be occupied by
the building including in the measure
M nj the land to the middle Of the street.
This Is for the sake Of q large supply Of
fresh air and light. In one case Illus
traung how closely the land owners figure
the percentage was found 10 be between
g and 65 The Jews who build these tene-
ment houses rent them not only TO other
Jews but also 10 Italians and negroes, and
four or nve rooms IN tenement house Of
this class rent for from SO to so a month.
But a great many people are not able
10 pay as much rent as this and they con
stitute the class which raises the problem
Of municipal ownership. BY the destruc-
ton OF tho cheapest buildings. by order
OF u - board Of health. they are fore
9 out Of their old @lOmes. Many families
cannot afford TO pay more than $3.50
week. or SO month. There IS no known
way Of putting up tcnementS which can
be rented for that sum and net the in
vestOrs profit This class OF population
~ the North and West ends is increasing
The census Of 1890 showed that there were
about nine thousand more OF them in
these localities than there were in 1885
Most Of these people are foreigners. and
they viii not move TO the suburbs. even
II they can. and most Of them cannot. be
cause they are too poor TO pay expenses
OF daily travel TO and from work This
has been proved by the Investigations OF
workers ia the department Of charities
The questions 10 be answered are
whether II is possible 20 devise a class Of
tenements which can be built so as 10
rent below $40 month and yield q fair
return. or whether phiianthropists Will in
vest for and per cent dividends as a
matter of charity, OF whether enough Of
the crowded population can be removed
70 the suburbs TO relieve the congestion
and uLhealthfulness permanently. IL IS
argued here that II these questions can
not be answered favOrably. the city must
enter upon system Of municipal owner
ship Of tenements This step has been
taken by London. Glasgow and most Of
the large cities in England. where there is
a genuine tenement house problem. With
IN a few years London has spent more
than 100000 in providing houses for 40
600 OF 5000 persons These houses yield
a return Of OF per cent on the invest
ment. Glasgow has had about the same
experience. SO the burden IS not felt by
the taxpayers, and the poor people enjoy
better houses than they possibly could
under the system Of private landlOrdism.
A question which is raised by this prac-
tice. as an officer Of the Twentieth Centu-
~ Club points out. is whether the en-
will not prevent investors from looking
toward a IN the future and. therefore,
whether the city may not be compelled
70 90 further on the road upon which IL
has entered.
Boston is easily the second city in the
United States where the problem Of h0us-
ing the poor Is pTeSsing-NeW York. Of
hei hs