Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-10-21
CRYING NEED Of RICHMOND AT
THE PRESENT TIME.
A COMMUNITY OF BoARDERs.
Home for Young Men, and Men of
Moderate Means, Are LaclinE-Dr.
Stuart McGuIre,s Home for Nurses.
Rueger House to De Sold To-Day.
Home for Young Men. and Men of

OF boarding houses they are sprihsihs
| into existence from every direction, IKE
! mushrooms. and no street can claim
their absence. While these houses are
| excellent institutions so far as they go.
and many a day of great happiness may
/ be traced back to the time when hIe
work was started in some back nan ped
room ant. the entire social horizon was
| confined to the circle of which the gentle
| bred mistress was the centre; yet there
/! is a limit to their acknowledged useful
ness. and there is a sweeter life beyond
their portals. known as home When q
bright, but struggling young man or
woman has the freedom OF single eS-
stence the group about the festal BOARD
genial in many boarding houses, has a
| peculiar charm and is far preferable to
the dccflll chamber and the lonely restau-
| rant dinner The fascination IS not
| ina ginary. but becomes set in memory
so that few people to-day can say thst
the influence is worthless
But when the moreymaker gathers
about himself a family the condltons
| change so that he longs for some place
where there will be seclusion and re-
tircment This longing for home. other
ui;e known as the domestic instinct, IS
the very foundation of strong nations
and has made this great country To-Day
what it is Therefore, this tendency, once
shown in the young. should be developed,
rot retarded, but its growth cannot reach
a successful cuimina ton unless there De
homes as a reward for industry.
This city's population especially that
| part embracing the young men thinking
OF marriage has strongly developed the
characteristic alluded to, but these young
men labor often in vain as the homes are
already filed and the boarding houses
fast filling. What the city needs most is
| homes for it's young men.
MIR. COOPER'S VIEWS.
Mr.. Cooper, manager Of the Real Estate
Depa1 tment Of the Real Estate Trust
Company, said yesterday: Il am more
and more convinced each day tnat "nat
| is most needed in Richmond is better
accommodations. for less money. for
lahoring men, clerks. etc. who have to
| rent a contented man makes a good
citizen and vice versa, and every man to
be content must have some place that
| for the time being at least he can call
home, and the more attractive this home.
the better contented the man. and 1T
| follows. the better citizen he ls
More is the wonder to me. that a
larger number of laboring men and others
| do net spend more of their time in re-
| sorts that have the appearance OF pleas
ule, and more of their earnings for drink
| ETC. than they do. considering the neg
| lected and tumbled-down appearance of
what is all some of them can call home.
"You ask why is this so? Because no
strictly frst-class provisions have been
made in Richmond for this class OF ten
ants Instead of little tumbled-down
frame sharty, built right on some unpav-
| . ed, unkept street with the alley, if there
| happened TO be an alley, full of old tin
| cans trash, etc, if q man who can at
ford to pay only 81. IS, or $40 per month.
! could be given a neat little cottage house.
| on q; building line of not less than twenty
| feet from the street, with nice pa!ing
fence around his front yard painted white,
and a little grass and some flowers in
summer how different the surroundings
would be
Then, for those able to pay $3.50 to SIS
per month, solid rows OF brick could be
! built with nice little front yards; each
r"w Of say eight or ten, could be heated
10y one central heating plant, one janitor
| locking after several rows; them in sum
| yer the janitor could NOW the grass,
| keep the fences painted, and do any little
repair work. In this way homes would
be kept attractive and the general beauty
| CT cur city very much improved.
''In my opinion there is no greater
| philanthropist than he who contributes to
| the comforts of homie and to the work Of
instiling into the minds of children the
! love of home. So If some of our monied
| mentioned, they would not only become
public benefactors, but make a first-class
investment besides.
Yes, we are preparing to do some work
along this line, but for the present our
| plans can not be given out"