New-York tribune., 1906-06-10
PARIS MODEL HOUSES.
TO Be Erected for Workmen in
SotUang Problem of Housing Poor.
Paris, May %

sood intention and theory 1t will be recollected
th2t six years ago the Rothschiid family decided
70 lay out S1o00000 toward building cheap.
healthful homes for workingmen and their fam
mes so far nothing has been actually accom-
plsned In erecting these model houses which in
accordance with the desire of the late Baron Al
phonse de Rothschild. were TO have broad halco-
MES and special accommodation for children and
novel feature was be provided by the stair
ways having two handrails. one at the proper
height for adults and the other. fifteen inches
lower -down, at suitable height TO be grasped
by children. Pfilanthrepic societies were TO fol-
low the example set by the Rothschild family
and in theory these houses of the children"
We're TO spring Up like mushrooms all over the
city. visit to each of the twenty arrondisse-
ments, or wards. of Paris. nevertheless. shows
that almost nothing has been accomplished 1t
is expected. however, that during the month of
June work<wi begin (strikes permtting) and
that the first spadeful of soil will be turned in
the construction of the Rothschild houses Nu-
merous plans have appeared but the adoption
OF the double handrail. one for adults and the
other for children. is still matter of pure spec
uiation Paris remains, in respect to housing Of
her poor, far behind New York, London or Ber-
lin
Here in Paris the great obstacle in the way
OF those interested in the movement has been
the pfactlcai iInpossibiitty of making buildirE
TO be let out at low rentals anything like a
sound fnar:izi undert-k kins in view OF the ener-
nous ground rents which the owners would be
called on TO pay. Six weeks, ago. however the
French Senate passed a Cheap Building act.
| which will greatly facilitate the matter The
new law exempts cheap buildings for workmen
| such as come within the scope of the act from
| Two OF the heaviest taxes, namely. that OF
ground rent and that on doors and windows, the
! exemption TO be for period of twelve years
10 proht by this exemption, the highest rent of
! such dwellings must exceed S11O or If the
dwellings be in tho form of separate houses
! SlS2 In the suburbs of Paris the maximum
! rent is fixed slightly lower-SS0 and 500 a wear
Another clause of the act makes such state pro-
tected dwelling houses a legitimate investment
| Tor the funds of hospitals. benevolent societies
| and the State Poor Relief Department to the
extent of onefifth of the capital of these bodies
Thus in the near future building societies will
| nave no difficulty in raising funds for the pur-
/ pose OF putting up such buildings
resident of one OF the handsome modern
cities OF the United States could hardly imagine
the penury and squalor of some few corners of
Paris, in which a population OF poor ragpick-
ers for instance. are housed These slums are
! usually blind alleys. which are sometimes in
closed behind an iron gateway. a relic of the
times when Paris barricaded her streets as a
precautionary measure aaginst street riots One
such stands not far from the Eastern Railway
Station and rejoices in the name Of the Golden
! CITY, IL consists OF a collection of ramshacRle
buildings standing amid rubbish heaps and un-
| paved footways. innocent of any drainage sys-
| tenn. and inhabited by some of the very poorest
OF the ragpickers' guild In these tumbledown
shanties, with their walls of mud and plaster
the rent of single room is francs go centsl
week
Not far from the Rue vieille du Temple in
what is called the "Marais'' (the quarter which
| boasts the house occupied go years ago by
Nine de SeVagne), there is the same real squalor
with more picturesque exterior There are a
| few narrow alleys lined with houses pierced
mere and there with doerways leading through
| 10 courtyards, around which are seventeenth
| century houses in the last state of dilapidation
| with their queer uncertain angles these houses
| have beneath their dirt and decay preserved a
| certain medieval air not without charm They
| are, however, hotbeds of tuberculosis Airless
| sunless, dirty, they plague spots in the city
| Something'-Ilot much-has been done to rem
| edy this evil Two pllilanthropie societies have
erected groups OF workmen's dwellings in the
| outlying districts OF the capital in which apart
Inents AT low rentals can be had with consid-
erable hygienic and sanitary advantages These
! buildings, however, are sadly lacking in beauty
eral respects. One of these societies Ohe Socie;s
| Philanthropique de Paris has, in addition to its
| seven blocks of worknlens dwellings, recently
| opened house completely furnished and de-
| voted entirely 10 working women and girls.
Better than all these, however, will proba bly, be
| the Rothschd buildings. When the Rothschild
! family of Paris determined 10 lay our two million
francs on model dwellings for Paris poor they
invited architects Of every city in France TO send
! IN plans. Out of the numbers received the COM
mittee appointed 10 examine them selected seven
for prizes, the first prize being awarded 70 NJ.
/ Rey for an ingenious and also artistic building
Building operations will be begun il the month
| of June this year on three plots OF land in the
city. None OF the prize plans will however. be
adopted in its entirety though they viii in COM
| bination form the basis Of the new buildings.
While making hygienic conditions its principal
! consideration, the committee of the Pothschlla
buildings intend their houses TO be az beautiful
as possible. The peTnicious inclosed court viii.
its complicated drafts, its trying acoustic
/ properties and its effectiveness as a sun ex-
| cluder, will be abolished AS far as possible
| every apartment will have its balcony and as
/ far as the space will permit each block will
have its garden. In the first prize plan novel
feature consists in a ceiling sIopiRg downward
toward the back of the room in order that Il
greater extent of white surface may be exposed
TO the vertical rays Of light through the windows.
This innovation. however, does not recommend
Itself 10 the committee Another innovation OF
NJ Rey's which has a good chance Of being
adopted is a staircase in short straight flights.
having shallow steps curving outward. Against
the wall, where the steps are the uarrowest.
and therefore the easiest for children TO climb.
there is low handrail, just within the reach of
,F,sg