New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-04-09
EAST SIDE RENTS.

The rise in tenement house rents which is so
apitatinr the population of the East Side may
prove 10 be a blessing in disguise. Anything
that will force people out Of that congested dis
trict even st the cost OF some hardship. Is in the
end a good thing, provided Industrial conditions
make possible their dwelling elsewhere. Gre
carious habits and the desire Of immigrants to
be with members Of their own race are in con-
siderable measure responsible for the East Side
crorSiing But the necessity for the workers 10
be near their work operates yet more power
fully For those whose incomes are nearest the
line Of possible subsistence daily carfare is an
expense which cannot be afforded, and those
who work long hours in sweatshops cannot
waste time fo- long trips TO the suburbs, where
alone roony houses can be found for the prices
which they can pay.
The present rise in rents may be, as charged,
due in large measure TO the rapacty OF land
lords and sublandlords. These are not absentee
capitalists who live in luxury, careless Of the
misery Of their tenants. They are for the most
mart fellows OF their tenants, OF the same class
and race, who have had q little start in the
race upward from dire poverty and saved
enough TO get possession Of tenement house,
from which the last dollar of possible income is
squeezed They are a notable exception 10 the
rule that the poor are kind and generous to one
another. They and not the great estates are
the oppressive landlords. who seek large in
ferest on their investment. are ruthless in evic-
ton and stubborn in resistance to improved
sanitation and reformed tenement house laws.
Nevertheless. there is something to be said for
their oxaction of increasing rents The building
strikes as often happens with such contests,
have hurt the poor more than the rich The
building Of new tenement houses has been prac-
ticalIy suspended The population continually
increases. and the demand for tenement houses
on the East Side IS ever greater There is
general disposition among the Jews and Italians
to move elsewhere as soon as their circum-
stances and their education permit But their
places are more than filled by newcomers. for
whom almost any room is an improvement on
OLD conditions. and whose principal anxiety is
n be with compatriots and take The first steps
iu New World commerce with the pushcart or
I'm the sweatshop. The new immigrants almost
OF necessity rush TO these quarters. Suburban
residence at first is for them almost impossible.
Only as some padrone with a gang of laborers
IS prepared TO take arriving Italians outside is
there a chance for any considerable number OF
new immigrants to live about New-Hork except
in the congested districts.
Naturally. the landlords make the most of
s1lch conditions. revival of tenement house
huilding in that neighborhood might to n GER
tain extent prevent the rise, but new buildings
taking the place Of old are likely TO house fewer
rather than more tenants and at prices suited
10 the more prosperous. And the tenement
house area is being restricted by the spread or
business. so that any great increase IN the
number of East Side tenement Eouses is not TO
be expected The hope Of the city and OF the
East Siders is in the diffusion of population
Iessenin- the demand and keeping down rents
for those compelled TO remain in the old centres,
and furnishing more healthful homes for others.
That can come only with the decentralization
OF industries If the work of the clothing trade
now done in congested sweatshops could be
transferred TO light, well ventilated factories on
cheap land in the suburbs about which the
workers could gather in small communities,
,roaf reform would be accomplished. Much has
becn hoped in this direction from the introduce
tion OF electricity FOR power and transportation
But the expected diffusion has not taken place