News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1903-02-04

ut Is none Of yoetr buSincSSW
tency and debauchery of machine poll
tics. Mr. Marsh learned afterward that
more than 1900 suits were pending
against the city for serious injuries
due to the defective sidewalks and that
| the sum total of damages claimed was
more than $22,500,000. (See proceed
ings of regular meeting of Chicago city
council Jan. s, 1907 The children in
the street were playing, quareling,
digging in the garbage boxes, in many
instances picking bits of decayed lem
ons, bananas and oranges out of the
| gutter.
One group of boys was tormenting a
miserable cat. Another group was yell
ing at police officer who had just Or
dered them out of the street. where
! they had been trying to have a game of
| ball. Over the steps of the tenement
entrances, some Of them high enough
| to be designated "stoops." women hold
| ing sick babies or little girls staggering
under the load Of a child two or three
years younger filed up the picture of
sodden, unkempt, disheveled. tired out
| humanity that turned that awful street
into a human hell. where no alternating
bit of cheer or relief was inserted to
| give one ray of hope for the future.
The only buildings in front of which
there were no steps were the saloons.
These averaged five to a block and one
on each corner. The corner saloons.
with a few exceptions, also had at
tached to them vaudeville halls, with
staring lamp signs, Free Vaudeville"
hung out over the entrances.
1t has been said that no living being
ever successfully described Bowen
street so that a person who never saw
it could have even the faintest concep-
ton of it's truth. Mr. Marsh had never
seen anything like it. and all his read
ing had never given him any idea
whatever of the reality. He stared at
it all now in a bewildered, almost
frightened manner that grasped only
part of the terrible significance of it
all.
Finally he turned to John Gordon
and said with Il tone in which irrita-
ton was the dominant note:
"Why don't some of these children
go over and play in the Hope House
Fairgrounds instead of rolling in this
awful filth? / understood you to say
that Hope House had IA playground"
John Gordon looked at Mr.. Marsh at
first with q feeling of indignation.
which rapidly changed to one of sad
ness.
How many children can play in
space shut in and bounded by lot less
than 80 feet wide and 100 feet long?
1t is crowded to overtiowing now. Do
you know how many years Miss An
drews pleaded and begged and prayed
and turned mountains of selfish indif-
ference and commercial greed to get
thatlittle playground"
y have no idea. Hadn't we better
go inside now?" Mr.. Marsh replied
feebly. Let's get through with it.
had no idea it was all so horrible. OF
course this is unusually bad. isn't itF
There are fifty other streets as bad
or worse within two miles Of Hope
House"
why don't they get new garbage
boxes at least" Mr.. Marsh exclaimed
in the same irritated manner He had
begun by being sick at the sight of the
fearful conditions. He was now grow
ing angry.
who do You mean by they. Mr..
Marsh:" John Gordon said, with some
bitterness. "The landlords? The city
ordinance makes it obligatory on the
landlords to furnish and keep in good
repair garbage boxes sufficient in size
to accommodate the number of fami-
lies in their tenements."
Mr.. Marsh looked at the box in front
of his own double decker and said
nothing
1t was a rotten apology for what had
once been small box. 1t had only
three sides and no cover. 1t was flied
to overlooking, and browning the heap
of stencil was a dead chicken swarming
with maggots. 1t was a fair sample of
every other box in Bowen street, and
in It's loathsome and naked uncleanhess
it stood there in the blaze of the pitiless
sun dumb but CHASTITY and over
whelming witness against the cultured
indifference of the men who are not
willing to be their brothers Keepers so
long as they can live luXuriously on
their brothers needs at distance from
all suffering and responsibility.
They went into the narrow court that