The sun., 1904-04-08
TIRE The LANDLORDS OUT.
EAST SIDES PLAN or CAMPAIGN
AGAINST HIGH RENTS.
Litigation and Lawyers AMI Bundles Of
Red Tape to Hold Up ENietiOns TIL
the Spectators Come to Ter n,s-2. 900
Cases to Start On-Working Already.

Red Tape to Hold Up ENietiOns TIL
Cases to Start On-Working Already.
To tire the landlords out by fighting
every dispossess case in the courts, and
TO win and hold public sympathy by avoid
ing all forms OF violence. IL the plan for
| mally adopted yesterday by the East Side
Jews, who have organized to fight the 20
per cent. increase in rents demanded by
the landlords and lessees, and to stave of
as many as possible OF the 1000 evictions
threatened for next week
That is the scheme for meeting the imme-
diate emergency but the leaders have plans
reaching further than that If these are
successful, the Jewish tenants will be Or
ganized into one or more great cooperative
societies for the construction OF tenement
houses and renting apartments to them
selves at cost.
Samuel Katz Of II East Third street, who
was elected chairman OF the New York
Rent Protective Society at the Mckinley
Hall meeting on Wednesday night, addressed
a big mass meeting yesterday afternoon
at 88 Essex street. He said:
"We are going to organize an immense
mutual benefit society for the Jewish tenants
of the East Side. II so many go into the
movement that one organization would be
unwieldy we will have two or more, but the
methods of organization and the purpose OF
them all will be the same. Every tenant
will paw dues and the fund SO raised will be
available to pay the rent of any member
OF the association who cannot raise the
money, and to pay lawyer to represent
him in any just quarrel that he may have
with his landlord.
Membership in the organization will
practically amount to insurance against
eviction. or course, proper precautions
will be adopted to protect the fund against
the fraudulent demands of any whose case
ia not one OF &c nuine mist fortune and ina
blity TO paw his own rent. In the second
place. an organization comprising all the
tenants will have sufficient force and in
fuence to keep rents down to a reasonable
and fair amount. because the society will
have the power to boycott the house OF any
landlord who Ia exorbitant.
"The insurance and protection features
OF the plan will be in force from the start.
But they will be only a beginning. The
mutual fund will grow and eventually the
organization will be able to lease the houses
time we will buy and build our own houses.
and 80, by cooperation, put ourselves be-
yond the danger Of such greed and ertor-
ton as we are now confronted with
The plan outlined by Chairman Katz
as the approval Of the rabbis and many
OF the well-to-do and influential Jews Of
the East Side. 1t was received by the Essex
Hall audience with yells Of delight.
They are talking organization all over
tia -East l6ide- e-ta,sL-ass--what Kate and his
associates suggest FOR the entire com-
munity OF Jews Is already being tried on
small scale by the families in hundred
or more big tenements. The tenants in
each OF these houses have formed an anti
rent increase society, made up Of the heads
of the families. They have informed the
landlords that they will submit to per
cent. increase In rent, and no more. They
have also told the landlords that they will
have to deal with all the families together
and that il any attempt Ia made to raise
the rent OF one family beyond the per
cent. limit or to evict any one family
all the families will quit together and boy
colt the emptied house. The plan has al
ready succeeded in scores Of houses. In
some cases the landlords have signed agree
ments not to raise the rent before May 1,
1905.
A landlord Is a very unpopular person
on the East Side just now. He is hooted
and hissed In the streets, and II he ventures
to walk on the sidewalk instead OF in the
middle Of the road something is very likely
to fall on him accidentally from window.
One landlord with lively appreciation
of what public opinion might do for him.
signed a non-increase agreement with
twenty families on the strength Of \their
promise not to give his name to the jewish
newspapers.
The feast OF the Passover. during which
Justices Roesch and Hoffman Of the two
municipal courts on the East Side refused
to evot anybody, came to an end last night
at sundown. The first OF the dispossess
| warrants already issued are returnable
| to-day. The obstruction tactics to tire the
landlords out with legal red tape will begin
with the calling OF the first case. The
plan Of campaign was divulged yesterday
| by Abraham Cohan the editor Of Forpdrd, I,
| Jewish daily newspaper owned jointly by
many OF the Hebrew societies and pub
lished as the official organ Of the Ghetto.
"Our plan is to clog the courts" said
Mr.. Cohan. Each case will be fought
| separately and there are so many OF them
| that the la andlords will have to give in or
else wait 30 long for decision that they
will.lose more rent than they hoped TO gain
| by their exorbitant increase.
I'VE will engage good lawyers, adroit at
obstruction and capable Of taking advan-
tage OF all the little legal technicalities that
cause delay. The Judges have all declared
themselves as sympathzng with the ten
ants, 80 we may depend on them to help
our plan along as much as they can and
still keep within the law. We will all
keep within the law
In addition to the parade and the open
air mass meeting in Seward Park, which
the Jews hope the Mayor will allow them to
hold next week, there is TO be big tenants
meeting in Cooper Union on Monday or
Tuesday night. All the Jewish societies
have voted to contribute money to the
general fund needed to hire halls and re-
tain lawyers.
Police Inspector Schmittberger. whose
district includes the lower East Side, sent
word last night to the commanders Of the
Fifth, Madison, Union Market and Delaney
street precincts to take extra precautions