Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1906-09-15

q breath Of the sea air In the hot sum-
mer months? Are we going to furnish
them model tenement houses, properly
ventilated and lighted and with healthy
sanitary plumbing? These are vital
questions which the American people
must solve. These are not luxuries
which. the poor are demanding, but
necessities. And II the poor do not
have these physical necessities, then
they will pay Us back in our own coin.
For filth and darkness and yitiated air
always breed crime and drunkenness
and RIGHTEOUSNESS and brutality and
sins Of all sorts AS the black plaques
of Europe always started from the vile,
stenchful quarters Of the congested
cities of the east, SO the plaques Of de-
bauchery and ignorance and crime
thrive best in the filthy quarters Of the
poor Of our large cities, where the sun
light cannot get into the homes and
where the little children have no parks
or Fairgrounds In which they may de-
velop BEAUTIFULLY, as all children should
develop.
Furthermore, was struck with an
other fact when reading about the phys
ical necessities OF the poor The poor
are not paupePs, as We conceive pau
perS The poor are willing and able to
pay q just return for their necessities.
But the trouble Is when a man becomes
poor then he becomes helpless. Then
the capitalist robs him of the little he
has, however small that all may be.
Let me illustrate what mean Here Is
q man sinking In the middle of lake.
Help! H - he cries. Il am drown
ingl Give me helpw With that man
rows up and says: well, my friend,
you are drowning. How much will
you give me If save your "Ten dol
lars" "Oh, no; that Is not enough.
You must give me your all You must
work for me through life, and when
you get through will Ist you be buried
In just the rags you have on your
back" That is the way the capitalist
treats the poor Of our large cities.
When he sells the poor man his coal.
he sells It by the shovelful, and be
sells it at a ruinous price. He charges
the poor man three times the price at
which he sells 1t by the ton to the rich
man When he builds the poor man
his miserable hovel. the capitalist
usually gets 30, 40. 60 and even 100
per cent on his money invested. A dog
or a wild beast would not live In
some of the filthy dens in which
the poor of New York used to be
housed. And yet for every one OF those
dark cellars and back rooms In which
the sunlight never comes the capitalist
would charge the most astounding rent
and. like a modern Shylock demand
his pound of flesh nearest to his vic
TINS heart because the poor man could
not help himself. AS Solomon said
long ago, "The destruction of the poor
Is their poverty" They are kept poor
by being poor.
Good Tenements Wanted.
Has not the state right to step In
and demand that our capitalists shall
not build insanitary tenements for the
poor? "Oh, no." some man says; that
is not right The capitalist is not in
business for his health. He is not q
philanthropist You cannot demand
that he will put up a building which
Is to be q losing investment No, my
| friends: we do not demand that, but
we do demand that the tenement build
ing that the capitalist erects shall be
one with such modern improvements
as the Alfred c. Clark tenements and
the Riverside tenements OF Brooklyn
and the Mills houses of New York.
There must be no more such Jokeries
built as the Mulberry Bends" and the
'Bone Alleys" and the "Cat Alleys"
and Seven Dials" and "Five Points"
And, furthermore, you must remember
that when we stamp out the bad tene-
ments we do not demand charity In
its place. Jacob Riis In one OF bis
books declares that every tenement
house built on the Mills plan or the
Clark plan or the Riverside plan OF
Brooklyn has given a legitimate return
for the Investment from the very start
The city poor are not paupers. They
nav enough taxes for their public
parks, and they should have them
They pay enough money for decent
sanitary homes, and they should have
them also. And 1t Is the business OF
the state to see that the extortioner's
hands should not be reaping an extor-
toners return for the moneys Invest
ed.
But we must give our poor more
than clean cradles and decent homes
and sunlight We must give the chill
dren of our poor neighbors an educa-
ton whereby they shall be able to
work intelligently with their hands, or
else Satan will come in and teach them
how to work In another way. In other
words, the poor must be taught how to
earn their own living. or else they Will
learn how to live upon the moneys
some one else has earned.
But we must not stop here in our
work among the poor We must give
them sunlight We must open their
eyes to see and teach their hands to do.
Why q poor man wants to live In
:ity Is inconceivable to me. Where
there Is work for one man In large
city there are five applicants for the
position. In 1888 there were 79,OOO
deaths in the city of London; 1O,17O
took place In the public warehouses;
lib in public hospitals and $50 In pub
! lie asylums. This made In all 1852
paupers who died that year In Lon
don. In other words, at least one-ifth
Of all the people dying In London In
one year were dependent upon public
rhurlty. The records OF other cities are
| only n little hpttpr There were over