Mower County transcript., 1903-06-10

T. ut Is none OF yOatr b1sinessp'
teney and debauchery of machine poll
tics. Mr.. Marsh learned afterward that
more than 1.5OO 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 $22.50O,000. (See proceed
ings of regular meeting Of Chicago city
council Jan. s, 19O0.) The children in
the street were playing, quarreling,
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 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 alleyiating
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 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,y Free Vaudeville"
hung out over the entrances.
It has been said that no living being
ever successfully described Bowen
street SO that person who never saw
it could have even the faintest concep-
tion 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 a
part of the terrible significance of it
all. -. ~ -.s@e5
Finally he turned to John Gordon
and said with tone in which irrita-
tion was the dominant note: i, b. S
"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 a playground"
John Gordon looked at Mr.. Marsh at
first with feeling Of Indignation,
which rapidly changed to one of sad
ness Is, i s. ss.3 > So. * .:. y
"How many children can play in a
space shut in and bounded by q lot less
than 80 feet wide and 100 feet long?
1t Is crowded to overfiowing 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
that little play p si=s.
II have no idea. Hadn't we better
60 inside now?" Mr.. Marsh replied
feebly. Let's get through with 1t.
had no idea it was all5so horrible. OF
course this is unusually bad, isn't 1t r.
! ''1'1 .n' tIs'ets as utt0
| e worse WITHIN am TWO miles l OF Hope
house 4 s..=i ss.
EWny don't they get new garbage
boxes at least 2 MI Marsh exclaimed
IN the same iirrftated manner. He had
begun by being sick at the sight.o OF the
FEARFUL conditions. He was now grow.
ing angry.
VINO DO you mean BY they, Mr..
Marsh e :, q John Gordon said. with some
bitterness ..,rha q III ,o,.,, ! /, 1rha ~.
oxdlinance makes 81 .n,li - to,.v -. ~ !.
landlords 70 furnish 5a.,d kaan @;n 'oood
ronoi - - 8, . 49,, ~ sooo
to accom- E;,odate the number 81 = n,
lies in their tenen erts
Mr.. Marsh slookad a IN 5hov I, +,.o,,,