Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-11
DECLINE OF THE HOME
English Seeking Apartment
Houses and Hotels.
VACANT HOUSES IN LONDON
Rents of Flats Much Lower Than in
Washington.
DECREASE IN THE BIRTH RATE
Growing Intemperance Among Wo-
men-Physical Condition of tho
Young Briton Degenerating.
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS

BY WILLIAM f. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence OF The Star and the Chicago
Reccrd- Herald.
LONDON, June 10. 1906.
| 1t used to be the fashion in England for
everybody to have large family, and home
| life was considered the most precious OF
| all the possessions of the Briton But
people tell me here. and the statistics show
| that such notions are becoming old-fash-
| toned and that order of things is passing
| away Wherever you go in London you
will see a surprising number of houses to
rent in the fashionable quarters and people
| of both large and small incomes are Civ
| ing up their homes and going to the apart
ment houses and hotels they do in New
| York, but It is not good form to call them
apartments here. In the United States
| apartments are suites of rooms in large
| handsome buildings. where families can
| do their own cooking take their meals
in a public restaurant In the United
States flats are apartments in small and
questionable tenement houses In Lon
don no gentleman lady of position would
live in apartments, for that term Is ap-
piled to quarters in boarding houses and
to residences in the questionable quarters
of the city where they rent rooms to
| dodgers Suites of rooms in the large and
expensive apartment houses or mansions
or residential hotels are called flats.
1t Is simply difference in the application
of the English language just as they call
a railway carriage" over here, and
a carriage car
Rents in the big apartment houses in
London are not nearly so high as they are
In New York, Chicago or Washington.
suite of four, five six rooms in con-
venient locality In the best of the modern
residential fats can be had for from
800 to 500. and you can get magniticent
suites of rooms for $1,000 up to 5000 a
year, which would cost fully three Ave
times much in New York. Rents are
much lower than they are in Chicago. both
for houses and for flats, which is largely
due to the popularity of outlying suburbs.
conveniences of transportation and the
late hours which are kept by London bust
ness men. No one thinks of getting to his
Office here before o'clock, so that 1t Is
possible to live in the country. 1t is
waste of time to call upon a business man
before 10, and those who have control of
their own movements seldom get down
town before IL. The man who lives in the
suburbs has a choice of means of trans
portation, which better In London than
any city l know except New York. If he
has plenty of time he can go home by
bus, If he Is In hurry he take the
steamcars, for there Is a splendid suburban
service on every road. and underground
lines ''two-penny tubes are now extend
ing into every direction for five or eight
miles.
Demand for Domestic Servants.
The servant problem has also a good deal
to do with the shutting up OF the homes
The English servants are the best in the
world This Is really the only country In
which there Is distinctive domestic servant
class. men and women whose parents and
grandparents for generations back have been
household servants. and who have been ed
ucated for that occupation. England is the
only country l know in which there
tablished schools for the training of do
mestic servants. buffers. footmen, cooks.
chambermaids laundresses, etc. ETC.; and
they accept position with ambition be-
yond giving satisfaction to their employers.
But the rapid Increase of population, the
demand caused by the large hotels and res
taurants. has been greater than the supply,
and the household servant class has been
demora1Zed very largely by outside in
fiuences. Conditions not nearly SO bad
IN the larger cities of the United States.
but housewives over here will tell you that
there is degeneration among servants of
late years.
The larger number of the vacant houses
such rent from 81 900 to IS 900 year.
The owners or previous tenants have found
that they could live at the large ho-
tells and In flats for less expense. with much
less care and annoyance and be more in
dependent. There has been epidemic of
hotel building here. in America and peo-
pie find 1t cheaper and more convenient to
escape the cares of housekeeping and the
trouble with servants. and take rooms at a
hotel for the winter months and occupy
country homes in the summer.
The question of expense Is a consideration
also, although England is very prosperous.
/ was reading in one of the fashion papers
today that not less than Ave million dollars
has been expended In gowns, hats.
wraps and other feminine preparations for
the Ascot races. These races are the most
fashionable of the season. They last a
week. and everybody in the kingdom who is
interested In sports or fashion and can raise
the price comes to London on that occasion.
Rich people rent houses down in the neigh
borhood of the race course. which Is near
Windsor, and fill them with friends, who
flirt, dance and play bridge at night and
go to the races in the daytime. OF course,
all this requires preparation. Every woman
must have at least one new gown. wrap and
hat, and a different costume for every days
race II she can afford 1t. Hence. 1t is esti
mated that not less than FIVE million dol
lars has been expended this year for cos
TUNES and millinery for this special occa-
sion.