Evening star., 1901-08-10
HEAT OF A ! LARGE CITY
PUBLIC rARKsa 4 NECESSITY m
PoPuL9Us cfrrEs.
Relief for the Thousands who Are
CompeIisa 10 oeEndure
m n
tAe City
From the ph,ladelpala' Evening Post.

From the Philadelphia Evening Post
People die faster in cities than In the
country. yet in every part of the world
people are flockingsto the cities more ana
more every year. In New York there are,
on the general average, fourteen persons In
each dwelling house, while the proportion
OF population to the square mile for the
United States Is only about twenty-five.
There are tenements in that city that con-
tain more men, women and children than
an ordinary town which calls itself a city.
Other centers are not so crowded. but the
jam is increasing constantly, and In some
instances where little houses are spread
over a large area the conditions are worse.
because the health officers reach them less
effectively than if they were congregated
in larger structures. To secure the health
of this population there must be many
things. pure water and fresh afr among
them. OF all the great cities of the United
States Philadelphia has the worst water,
and the result Is that its people run con-
slant risks of typhoid and other diseases.
no doubt that, taken together. the water
supplies of the cities are being improved.
Need of Fresh Air.
But the great thing in summer philan-
thropy Is fresh air. First come the public
parks. There are 100 cities In this coun-
try that have over 25,O0O inhabitants. Or
these 122 have public parks. In some
parks are fine play houses for children.
erected at a cost OF thousands OF dollars:
in one or more there are nurseries where
babies may be kept. Then we begin to
count the various enterprises outside the
park systems and the list Is almost end
deSs. Several cities have floating hospita lis !;
others have chartered boats; others give
the use Of their ice boats for free summer
excursions, the expenses in almost every
instance being borne by public contribu-
tions and gifts Of supplies. The aSsiduous
care to keep infection from these he.ero-
geneous crowds the demand for tickets,
the happiness Of the mothers and children
taken from the darkness and foulness CT
alleys and by-streets into the beauty and
freshness Of the open air, makes story
that beggars words.
The Thousands Compelled to Stay.
The pity is that after centuries Of ctvfit-
zation such things should be necessary,
and a worse pity yet is that it seems to be
growing more necessary as the world pro-
crosses. In every part Of the country are
summer homes for the poor women and
children. With scarcely an exception they
are filed and the applications are far be-
yond the accommodations. You who skip
away on the first warm wave seldom pause
to think that for every person who can
escape from a big city in summer four
or five have to remain, and that out OF this
proportion there are literally thousands in
every city who cannot, afford to pay %
cents for days excursion. From that
fact has arisen a most excellent form OF
summer philanthropy-the sending of the
poor. especially the children. to the coun-
try or the seashore, There are various as
sociations for this, sort Of work. and in
many cases the members s-including women
Of wealth and culture4take turns in ac-
companying their guests and in providing
for their wants.