The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-14

only homes they knew up to that time
 the necessity aSose for providing other dwelling places for them. More | than $1, 500, 900 has been expended in the putting up of model dwellings for the poor, chiefly in the suburbs. Last | years report shove that 1875 tene- ment houses, in which nearly 5000 peo- | pie were housed. were held under municipal ownership. These dwellings
 are small in the main. but the rentals
 are very low, the smallest of them. the
 one apartment houses. bring s25 a year. After the corporation had exer-
 cised it's arbitrary but beneficial power
 and torn down the crowded city tene-
 ments. the city took over the ground by arbitration and then, forced by the exigencies of the occasion to become
 landlord on vast scale. construct | ed dwellings on sanitary principles. !! which 1t has ever since continued to | own and lease. The houses are all that | was claimed for them-models in every respect, with baths and sanitary ap- | pliances generally fronting on a subur-
 ban park or bit of ground. where sun light and pure air are both available The demand for these houses has | continued greater than the supply, and from a financial point of view the in- vestment has been very profitable.
 From a sanitary standpoint the benefit | to the people, and directly to the city,
 has been inestimable. Not only does the city own and rent a great many | tenements but 1t also owns lodging houses capable of accommodating more than 1000 people. A charge of only 2 | cents per night IS found ,Qulte sufficient for their maintenance. The lodgers are not provided with food, but there are | Kitchens in which those wno wish to do so many prepare their own meals. Many of the tramp lodges have been
 tempted by the increased comfort of clean and pleasant quarters to take an | interest in their own welfare and to en- tireIy reform their modes Of life. It Is gratifying to note that even this form or phiIanthrophy has had a practical
 basis and pays 5 per cent. on the in- vestment. With the money eventually obtained from the rentals of dwellings and the enhanced values of park adjacent properties the city has gone on increas- ing the number of its parks and streets and decreasing the number of its congested tenement districts. It has also created a sinking fund, which is maintained solely from the profits of the investment without dollar being levied upon the people in the nature of taxation. And the good work is still going on. keeping pace with the growth of the sinking fund and increasing in extent as the increment expands. o The corporation has provided for the people vastly more than mere better ment of habitations and immediate en- vironment. The circles of parks it has created around the heart of the city or al an ell 1mtk NA rtEs,. ,.ur people from the congested districts and are highly appreciated. In the parks themselves there are music stands for the dispensing of free music m the summer season. museums and art gall lefies. ponds and lagoonE in which the children, rich and poor, may sail their boats. and in some of which they may bathe in the open air. The most popu- lar features perhaps are the winter gardens in which palms and flowers and all kinds of tropical plants are Eept in vast glass houses, affording interest ing object lessons in botany and horti- culture. They are visited by thou sands and thousands, especially In the short days and long evenings of Glas- gow's severe winter season, when a trip to the winter garden is like transport ing oneself to another land of bloom and flowers. warmth and tropical exu-
 
 berance. g
 But the tenement population problem is not the only one that has been at tackled and successfully solved by the civic corporation. Having removed thousands of poor people from the inn mediate vicinity of their daily labors by taking them out of the city's center and placing them in the suburbs, the city fathers recognized the necessity of oh krox aNr.fa tfn,a f~v. kGA,x as we'll as for others. The street rail- ways of the city had obtained fran chises for terms of years, at the expi- ration of which they were to become the property of the city. The last of the franchises expired several years ago. and as fast as available the cor pOration promptly came into possession. It reduced fares all around, increased and improved the equipment and ex- tended the lines. with the result that many working people who were not al- ready quartered in the suburbs were enabled to remove thither. vastly to their betterment, and eventually large area was added to the city through the increase of population at- tracted there by better facilities for transportation. Glasgow now has prob- ably the best electric street car service in the world. and also the cheapest. The passenger traffic is of enormous volume on account not only of the ex- cellent service, but the low rate Of fare. which for an ordinary ride with in the city limits is only halfpenny, or 1 cents, and for a longer ride, with a transfer. only penny. or cents.
 Although the number of cars in use at the time of taking over the roads was quadrdupled and the lines extend ed almost indefinitely, the profits of the system have been such that the corporation was enabled greatly to re- duce the general tax rate of the city, besides which it had to look about for some manner of spending the income. This led, it is said. to taking over the gas plants, and later on to the install lation of a system of electric lighting. in addition to this, Glasgow has prob ably one of the best water services in the world the purest of water. from historic Lake Katrine, 36 miles distant, which was introduced at a cost of $7,- 50O. 900, being practically free to all. The same may be said of the parks, winter gardens, gas and electric lights. for the people pay for the actual ser vice rendered only. which is actually self supporting. but not a source of profit.
 would like to go into the question further and describe the personnel of this grand civic corporation. which has served in Glasgow so faithfully, with such integrity of purpc and single mindedness. but space fOrbids. Still its members are humans. and very British humans at that. as was evidenced on the visit of the numerous royal family. A that time quite S20 GOO was spent in