The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-11-27

OF SOCIOLOGICAL INTEREST.
1t is a wonderful story, from a sociolog-
ical standpoint. that Jacob A. Riis tells in
his account of TT Battle with the Slum."
The cleansing and publication of the plague
spots of a great city. the sanitary reforma-
ton of lightless. cramped. iIl-smelling. dis
ease and crime-breeding tenements. while a
J powerful organization like Tammany Hall
is fighting against the reform, is an
| achievement Of incalculable benefit to hu-
mainly.
When the record Of great deeds in mission
work has been made up. when the history
| of the civilization of all the world has been
written. and when the roll Of honor has
been emblazoned on the pages of fame and
time, the names that will shine out most
conspicuously will be those of the self
sacrificing persons who labored in the slums
| of great cities. Full praise will be accord
ed the brave Christian men and women
who clothed and taught the pagans of far
away lands, who persisted at the hands of
the heather they tried to civilize, or who
left their bones to bleach in the desert or
waste in the fever-reeking swamps of At
rican wilds. But though the church has
accomplished much in spreading Christian
ity among the worshipers of idols or
strange gods, and though it's influence has
, been potent even among the jewellers of the
slums, it cannot claim the distinction of
having performed the greatest feats in mis-
sionary work. Outstanding the aboriginal
sayages is a much easier task than re-
claiming the vicious classes OF such cities
as New York and London. The trouble has
been hat the church did not always work
as a unit. There has been unceasing, ag-
gressive denominational effort by the vari-
Gus home mission boards. but no united
fight by Protestant and Catholic. Another
reason why the church did not meet with
complete success Is the fact that, being di-
vided politically, 1t was unable to strike at
the root of the evil.
The church did assist in quickening the
public conscience in New York when the
first crusade against Tammany and its
fostered evils began, but public sentiment
required brave leaders-men who were will
ing to sacrifice time and money and incur
the hatred of amman Theodore Roose-
welt, Senator's Lexow and Mazet, Jacob A.
Riis, DIR. Parkhurst and others came for
ward at the right time, and it is due to
their energy. integrity and philanthropy
that the many landmarks of crime and
misery in New York have disappeared.
The Battle with the Sum-" relates how
Five Points," Deaths Thoroughbred"
Bandits Roost.' Bottle Alley" "Kero-
sene Row. "Helrs Kitchen" Poverty
Cap" Thieves Alley and a host of like
places i'm Hester, Baxter, Mott and other
streets, all with significant and bodeful
names, have disappeared entirely or been
toned into decency. The beginning of the
end is thus described by Mr.. Riis:
81
tories. We challenged the slum to a light to
the finish in 1897 and babe it come on. 1t
came on. On our side fought the bravest
and best. The man who marshaled the
citizen forces for their candidate had been
foremost in building homes, in erecting
baths for the people. in directing the self
sacrificing labors of the oldest and worth
lest of the agencies for improving the con-
dition of the poor. With him battled men
who had given lives of patient study and
effort to the cause of helping their fellow
men. Shoulder to shoulder with them
stood the thoughtful workingman from the
East Side tenement. The slum,
too, marshaled its forces. Tam
many produced it's notes. 1t pointed
to the increased tax rate, showed what it
had cost to build schools and parks and
to clean houses, and called 1T criminal reck-
lessness. The issue was made sharp and
clear. The war cry of the slum was ITO
hell with reform We all remember the
result. Politics interfered and turned
victory into defeat. We were beaten. 1
shall never forget that election night. 1
walked home through the Bowery in the
midnight hour, and saw it gorging itself like
a starved wolf upon the promise of the NOR
row. Drunken men and women sat in every
doorway, bowling ribald songs and curses.
Hard faces 1 had not seen for years showed
themselves about the dives. The mob
made merry after it's fashion. The old
days were coming back. Reform was dead.
and decency with il.
"A year later / passed that way on the
night of election Gin 1898. when Roosevelt
was elected Governor) the scene was
strangely changed. The street was I'M
usually quiet for such a time. Men stood
in groups about the saloons and talked i'm
whispers, with serious faces. The name of
Roosevelt was heard on every hand. The
dives were running, but there was no shout
ing and violence was discouraged. When
on the following day. 1 met the proprietor
of one of the oldest concerns in the Bowery
which. while doing a legitimate business,
caters necessarily to it's crowds. and there
lOTc SUES Will tlcll-ut lOlQ iut, WITH DlI-
ter reproach. how he had been stricken in
pocket"
Continuing, Mr.. Riis says the man be-
walled the fact that gamblers with many
thousands of dollars were seeking other
cities for their business. That's what
you've done" the unhappy Bowery man ex-
claimed. But the great work accomplished
by the reformers was not the lessening of
gambling and accompanying evils. The
destruction Of vile tenements to make room
for modern. sanitary buildings. the erection
of new schoolhouses with Fairgrounds
attached and the laying out of parks in
the crowded districts, where the poor could
get a breath of fresh air, where achieve
ments of lasting benefit to humanity. Mr..
Riis describes all that was done. i'm an en-
tertaining manner. human interest"
stories being worked into his recital of
facts. The Macmillan Company, New
York.
{. The BOOK OF WEDDINGS.
The title OF this book might have many
constructions 1t might be suggestive Of
history, romance. etiquette. the marital
customs of different countries, or the out