Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1906-11-30
J. A. Rils' LECTURE.
One Reason Why slum Worker A.
mIres Roosevelt.


mlres Roosevelt.
Jacob A. Riis, who lectures at the
opera house Dec 8, has been called
New Y0rk's most useful citizen"
what he has accomplished IN the ten.
ement districts OF the great .,lty W Mi
take long to describe, and one of his
early supporters was President ROOse-
welt. The friendship that sprang up
between these men when Roosevelt
was police commissioner and Rl:s
was worker among the poor has
continued ever since. One of the rLl.
sons why Riis Is sucn an admiler Vi
the president is told in brief inter
view in which Riis states why he work.
ed SO long to abJ:sh the old lulice
station sleeping houses, that were, in
fact, Just retreat for tramps and the
criminal classe He ;'.s the story
OF the success of his efforts in that
direction as follows.
One winter night. years ago, when
! was homeless and poor, was driven
ny storm t. scek shelter in the
Church street police station and was
nerded In foul room with other home
less ones. had with me a little
black and tan dog that | had picked
up on the streets homeless and hung.
ry like myself. The dog was not al
lowed to enter. While l slept | was
robbed OF little s.Iu locket fasten-
cd about my neck with a string. It
contained lock of my sweetheart
halr. l complained to the sergeant
In the morning lnat | had been rob-
bed, and he calico me a thief and
threW me out. The little dog was
waiting outside for me. When it saw
me IN the grasp of the policeman it
fastened it's teeth in his leg. The
man seized the dog and heat 1t to
death with his club. The outrage of
that night became the means of put
ting an end to one of the foulest abus-
es that ever disgraced Christian
country. The free lodging house s
were an encouragement to tramps and
CRIMINALS. constant invitation to not
work. A man who will not work must
De deprived OF the means of living
without It, SO began to fight for free
sleeping rooms.
FOR twenty years | wrote, but it
amounted to nothing until Roosevelt
was made president of the police
board and then | took him one night
10 that same police station, showed
him the men sleeping there and told
MIN the story of my experience TWEEN
ty years before
| I've been fighting for twenty wears
ii have these pest holes abolishe ed
told him.
LII smash them tomorrow, saiG
Roosevelt, and he did it,"
One of the great things done by
| or.iu
Mulberry Bend tenement houses and
the making on its site of park.
in my career as a police reporter,
SAID he in his speech last night in
the high school auditorium. Il wrote
accounts that | now recall, of seven
teen murders in those tenements, and
there were probably as many more
mat | have forgotten. 1t cost 81, 500,
900 to pull the tenements down and
put park there. but that was mighty
cheap. Since the sunshine moved in
there not murder has been done III
That neighborhood and the police re
porters are never called ON to &c
there. Not because the people OF
those tenements moved elsewhere. be-
cause crime did not increase else
where, but because the causes of crime
were removed when the sunshine
came in
Mr.. Riis says bay boys and bad girls
are not born, but made. He does moi
believe in the theory of heredity. AL
boys are good boys, all girls are goot
girls, when they begin life. They ars
made bad by environment and train
ing. The children must have room t.
piay.-kansas City Star.