Los Angeles herald., 1908-11-22

staff of from ten to thirty persons mas
been engaged in the field work. includ-
ing physicians, lawyers, sanitarians,
draughtsmen, map Makers detectives,
statisticians, interpreters and profess
sional workers in a score of lines of
social work.
Laboratory Where Work Is Done
1t has been called the Pittsburg sur
vey, not because its findings apply
solely to Pittsburg, but because the
Pennsylvania steel district has been the
laboratory where the work has been
done.
The survey has been carried on by
the national publication committee,
which publishes Charities and the
Commons and it has been financed
by the Russell Sage foundation for the
improvement of living conditions. 1t
has enlisted some of the foremost ma
tional leaders in sanitary and civic
work and has had energetic co-opera-
ton on every hand by progressive men
and women in Pittsburg. The survey Is
the first undertaking of its kind for an
American city.
Robert W. de Forest, ice president
of the Russell Sage foundation, and
former tenement house commissioner
of New York city, presided at the ses-
sion. Robert A. Woods, director of
South End house, Boston, and one of
the foremost civic leaders of New Eng
land, spoke on "Pittsburg's Civic Prob
lem."
Mr.. Woods sketched the marvellous
growth and power of the Pittsburg dis
trict, which has developed under the
"insistent and unceaSing spur of
world demand for two or three of the
fundamental utilities of civilization"
He maintained that the public ply
Eical well-being is coming to the very
front as an issue of patriotic fore
sight
In conclusion Mr.. Woods said: I'VE
all remember how Chicago, on account
of some of the crude moral by-products
of its growth, came to be an object
of scorn from many sources at home
and abroad. By creating the worlds
fair and by the exceptionally intelli-
gent organization of civic and social
betterment, Chicago has compelled the
respect of the country and the world.
"Pittsburg succeeded Chicago as the
chosen example of the cynics; Pitts
burg is substantially taking to heart
these large plans for associated and
public enterprise through which alone
as all the world is finding, a twentieth
century city's prosperity goes hand in
hand with its honor"
Housing Is Discussed
"City Planning and Housing was
discussed by Grosvenor Atterbury of
model tenements, who is carrying on
extensive experiments in new methods
and models for low cost dwellings. He
described the cooperative housing
movement, which is spreading like
wildfire over England and Germany,
under which houses are built in large
numbers and held by joint stock com
panies, in which the tenants, instead
of owning their houses, own stock.
The plan has many advantages in rap
idly shifting Industrial centers.
The function of business. bodies in
improving civic conditions was dis
cussed by II. d. w. English formerly
president of the Pittsburg chamber of
commerce, who has taken the advanced
ground that bad water, bad sewage,
bad housing and bad air are a species
of indirect taxation on business inter-
ests. They not only increase taxes,
but lessen output. Remarkable ad-
vances have been made in the last
three years by the Pittsburg chamber
of commerce and the reform municipal
administration in laying hold of these
problems.
In presenting the facts brought out
by the Pittsburg survey, the director,
Paul u. Kellogg, marked the sharp
contrast between the superb develop
ment along lines of we'll being as a
community. With the merging of AL
legheny city, greater Pittsburg has be-
tween 100000 and 100000 inhabitants.
IN. comparing death rates of 1OO,-
900 for a period of five years. with a
group of other cities comparable in
size-Boston, Baltimore. Cleveland, St.
Louis-he showed that while Pittsburg
ranks fourth in deaths from pulmon-
ary tuberculosis, it ranks highest in
typhoid, highest in diarrhoea and en-
teritis, highest for pneumonia, highest
for bronchitis and other diseases of the
respiratory system, and highest for vio-
lence, excluding suicides
The lack of adequate and sanitary
housing conditions in Pittsburg has a
direct beating on this health showing
During the past year the Pittsburg bu-
reau of health has made complete ten
ement house census of the city. More
than so per cent of the houses used as
multiple dwellings were originally one
family houses, and have neither the
plumbing, the water supply or the ven
filafion for the three, four five and six
families which now inhabit them.
Conditions in many Of the mill towns
equally are bad. Homestead, for in