Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1903-05-14
Some Things as They Are.

Some Things as They Are.
Sunday afternoon, inspired by de-
sire to find out if certain things said
were true, your scribe took a walk
through the West End.
| New Castle street was the first
] thoroughfare traversed 1t IS full OF
| hills and valleys, bumps and ruts. But
| Ter has a street scIaper, but 1t hasn
been used on New Castle street and
never did street need it worse. Inc
same can be said of Pierce Ave. and
other streets in the West End.
! What is our Street Commissioner and
his corps doing2
At the corner of New Castle and Null
berry streets grocery store was en-
countered in active operation on Sun
day afternoon. We stepped in; young
man was buying candy, woman was
posting her account book with the pro
| trietor and settling her grocery bill.
| Three or four men were there, they said
/ something 10 the grocer in Polish and
| he pointed to a back stairway down
which the men disappeared A negro
came in with bucket. We dldn { wait
to see what he got in it; on going out
another boy with a bucket was en-
countered entering the door. Turning
| down Mulberry street we passed the
| side windows of the store basement.
| The room was full of men, one was IN
| the act of drinking as we passed. At
the rear of the building were piled a
| number of barrels. most of them label
ed Refined Sweet Cider" On Pillow
| street at the south end of Mulberry,
| TO11fg1, 90 encountered.
1t is approached by steep and dangerous
| steps. A woman and child proceeded
us up the stairs and were admitted. On
| irving the door it was found locked,
| clerk at once hastened to undo it and
| admit us. but was motioned to desist,
and we went away without entering,
| but glance through the door had
| shown one woman paying her book &C
count. two others buying and several
| standing around. There were dozen
men. woman and children in the store
room. Coming down the steps two men
were met emerging from the back door
of the basement they were both wlplng
their mouths in a significant manner,
| Refined Sweet Cider" barrels were
strewn around this store also. We do
not known what the men we saw drank,
nor what the boys got in their buckets,
but American neighbors say the stores
sell cider all the time and the initiated
can get beer also, especially on Sunday
afternoons. We don't believe dozen
men would sneak into the basement Of
any store to drink sweet cider only
Mulberry street is built up with some
| twenty small houses Of four or FIVE
rooms, few more face on Pillow St
| These houses could not have cost their
| L., GfnOn Ig,f u
of them brings $40 rent every mouth
The one in which the store is brings $25,
that is pretty good interest on the in
vestment. One of the houses has on its
front this sign Money orders TO all
parts of the world" and several other
signs in foreign languages. These
houses are "thicklY populated" An
| American nearby counted twenty-aix
men leave one house with their dinner
pals. The previous Saturday he saw
twenty kegs of beer unloaded at that
house, and by Sunday noon they had all
been tossed into the yard, empty.
! Numerous kegs decorated the street
and back and front yards abuttipg.
AT one house we saw q man force a
woman into a corner Of the porch and
kiss her repeatedly while two other
men, woman and a boy slapped him
ON the back with their hands. They
seemed TO be having lots Of fun.
Midway down the street little ruu
| wends its way across from the north
west. Down this run we walked and
soon discovered that the owner had con
structed private sewers for the houses
| (which are equipped with bath-tub5 and
water closets) and that these sewers
drained into the run. Transforming II
into Shiny gutter of filth aud oifal
Reeking will its foul disease bearing
odors, the run flows down through the
fields Of Shakeley, Pillow and Stamm,
an open sewer close to their doors.
| At Pillows the run is collected
in stagnant, scum covered, foul-smeli-
| ing pool
| A similar sewer empties into the run
| trayersing Duffy's field south Of Mai
| berry street and the two sewer runs
| converge in the clay field of Stamm s
brickyard, converting it into . black,
fever breeding swamp. This polluted
run flows through two big pipes under
| Fair Ground ave on both sides Of which
it Is damned up, staguant, covered with
| green scum and full of rubbish and
| filth. 1t empties into the old channel
which formed Vogeley's island, which
| also has enough garbage in it 10 make
| IL dangerous to health The whole
| ching may be the cause Of an epidemic
! ia the near future.
| At the corner of Pillow St and Pierce
| Ave is set of steps which constantly
| invites the pedestrian TO break his neck
| The Street Car Co. has taken third
| Of Pierce Ave all for itself and the con
stable and district attorney are right in
| going after them for maintaining
nuisance.
At the Red Row on Pierce Ave. we
| found the dirtiest and most reyolJinE
condition Of affairs, considering tho
time it has had to develop. that could
| exist Red Row consists of eleven long
| fiat-roofed, up-and down boarded build
Jugs or more properly shanties
| Each shanty is divided into six
apartments or houses of four rooms
each, which rent for S5 per month. At
| this rate the G6 houses in the row yield
| than the whole row could have cost.
Within, the houses are unpainted and
| the chimneys even are upholstered.
| In the rear for each set Of six houses
there are two big closets without pits.
! Immediately behind each closet is Il big
sink or hole. six or eight feet deep and
| about ten feet across the top. Into these
sinks run the human excrement from
the closets, and into them is thrown all
| the garbage, dish water and refuse from
| the houses What more horried com
| bination could human eyes behold,
| human noses smell or human beings be
| forced to live beside. There the dirt
holes are and there they have been for
| nine months past The ground about
| them is perforated with rat holes like
western prairie-dog mounds. Most of
them are full 10 the brink with the
combination OF surface water and filth.
| topped with fringe Of beer kegs In
| every sink were kegs; in one 10, in
| another 10, others had as few as five on
six. When those kegs are used in the
| future wonder what the flavor OF their
beer will be? Some time ago man fell
into one of these holes and was almost
drowned when fished out Last week
| little girl fell in and on Sunday che was
| reported to be dying ana two doctors
| were trying 10 save her life. One Of
| the Slavs who spoke fairly good
English, said This il terrible stink
| But what can we doY There is no other
place to 20. When hot weather comes
we will all have fever"
Another young fellow said that Satur-
| day night three OF his countrymen had
been robbed by pick pockets and foot
pade, losing sci, $50 and $37, respec-