Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1904-12-14
THE PASSING OF rae tlome.
Que of the saddcst Phenomena of Mod.
crn City Life. ~

NE PASSING OF The HOME
One Of the saddcst Phenomena of Mod.
ern City Life. ~
A home is a tract of ground, big or
little, partly occupied by some Kind Of
a dwelling and otherwise filed with
flowers, trees, vegetable gardens the
bric-a-brac of n backyard, or anything
else, so only that some space of moth
er earth may remain whereon the
children of the family may disport
themselves, where the Illusions OF
childhood may transform woodpiles
into great ships, clotheslines into tele-
graphs, beanpoles into armies, old
sticks into horses. and washtubs into
chariots, and in which, as tho tuiKsht
comes on and the shadows deepen,
living forms, to the childish imaglna-
ton, seem to hover and fit in the
gloom from one dark corner to an.
other. Above all, for all purposes OF
enjoyment or occupation, 1t is ones
very own, the one spot, where none
else may come unlimited, but which to
him stands ever open, the scene of his
happiest hours, his refuge in time OF
trouble. Within the memory Of men
still young no family in America, out
side of a few congested districts in
large cities, was without a home of
that kind The dwelling upon it might
be cabin, cottage or a mansion
but such rs 1t was it was the owned
or rented possession Of one family
held sacred to the use Of its members
from the center of the earth to the
clouds above. 1t was the home.
The passing of the home is the sad.
dest phenomena Of modern city lifo.
The tenement house-which we seek
to disguise under the name of fat
is a most wretched substitute for the
humblest of homes. That our people
endure them Is an indication Of de.
generacy, as it will unquesttonably be
the cause of more rapid descent. II
is morally certain that the vigor OF
the race can be maintained only by
personal contact with the mother
earth from which we sprang, which
,nourishes and sustains us while we
live and which receives rs to her
bosom when we die. Why this is per
haps no one knows, but 1t is within
the knowledge Of all that the vigor OF
the city is constantly recruited from
country life. To deprive children OF
daily contact with the soil Is a sin.
The evil of the tenement house wa.
not realized until 1t passed from the
slums, because few Of us know how
the other half lives. It is perhaps not
10 desperate misfortune to- those
who live by manual labor, for they
get their contact with earth In other
ways, and their children, less vexe,l
10y the conventions Of society, find ac-
cess to the soil by some means and
pass, while still young, to the occupa-
lions Of their parents. The most terri
BILE effect OF the tenement house is III
the families Of the "salaried" class az
distinguished from the wage earn
ers," and who fit from fiat to fat, sci.
dom remaining long enough anywhere
for home associations to be formed.
There can perhaps be no home assocI-
ations worthy Of the name which are
not connected with piece Of open
ground In the sole possession of the
family. It would seem that in our
largest cities this privilege can ITO
longer be enjoyed except by the rich.
A recent editorial on the subject in
the New York Times states that dur.
ing the year 1903 but fifty-six single
houses were erected In that city, .'esti-
mated to cost less than $1,000, 900. .
This indicates that the average cost OF
a real home in that city is over $50.
600, and, Of course. out Of reach Of
amy but the very well-to-do. Land has
become too "valunbso', to be devoted
to such purposes To secure an In
come from the land Its rental must be
divided among such q number Of fam
lilies as can carry the load by united
effort, and they are packed in, over
and under each other and side by side
until the requisite force is assembled.
In this city until recently the three
fiat" abomination has been the usual
limit for "genteel" people. Now the
regular tenements are being erected in
the pleasanter parts Of the city, in
which childless couples huddle In four.
room apartments" It ia not good
San Francisco Chronicle.
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