New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-05-31

plants were investigated In that week: 172
were found without basis: in 90 cases the de-
paitment had already acted; in 227 notices of
violations were Issued. When q condition is found
which calls for immediate remedy the department
Issues twenty-four hour notice upon the
proprietor, requiring him Immediately to rem
ecy the conditions II he fails 70 do this the
house is at once vacated. It has required few
examples OF vacating buildings to establish the
point that the word OF the inspector goes" In
former days IL was the universal practice Of The
landlords. through the housekeepers, inrne-
diately to dispossess any tenant who made
complaint. In this manner the tenants were
held In subsection. their poverty compelling
them to stay IN unsanitary tenements because
the rent was cheap.
All this has passed. Now when q tenant com
plains. the inspector instead of carrying the
original letter Of complaint and showing it 10
the housekeeper. arms himself with plain yell
low card. visits the place complained Of and re-
cords his discoveries. To the landlord there is
nothing as evidence of a complaint save the
fatal yellow card, which he has learned to re-
gard with awe
Several weeks ago the figures for six days
Investigations 4,69S tenements IN Manhat-
tan alone. 1t is safe say that not one house
keeper was able to trace TO a poor. long suf-
him and his pitifully few household goods into
the street
The fear of the housekeeper is no small factor
in the life Of the poor. ignorant tenement
dweller There is a characteristic story told Of
applicant for citizenship who, accompanied
by a Tammany politician, went to take out MS
papers. During the examination as to his quail
fcations for citizenship he asked what were
the two legislative bodies Of the country. The
Senate" began the would-be citizen, glibly an
de-de-de hauskeppeT."
To have broken the imperial power OF the
housekeeper and given the tenement sufferers
chance to tell their woes to the proper authorl-
ties without fear Of punishment is no small
achievement in itself.
But there is field of statistics connected with
the tenement house work which is far less dry
and uninteresting than are most fgure-laden
data For instance 1t is distinctly a matter OF
human interest to know how many rooms in TINS
great metropolitan city are absolutely dark
that is, how many thousands of human beings
are condemned to live in hooks into which sun
light never penetrates. Answering this ques-
ton the Tenement House Commission has fouho
at least 800 600 such rooms in the greater city
200 600 in Manhattan alone. In other words, at
the lowest possible average 100000 people live
in rooms which ought 70 be considered alb
solutely uninhabtable, dark and without any
window or ventilation To take a sample
case, in 4 tenement at No. West Third
St an inspector discovered number OF
rooms absolutely without light. To be sure
they had windows: but across these Win
doHs absolutely blocking all sunlight was
nailed q huge sign. The unfortunate inhabi-
tants Of these quarters, SO dark that fashlight
picture could be taken in the day time, paid on
the average Sc month. The sign came down.