The morning journal-courier. (New Haven, Conn.) 1907-1913, 1908-04-06
A CITY'S SORROWS
Colonel Parker Tells Of the Sal
walton Army Work in
New York.
LIFE IN THE TENEMENTS
Crowded Conditions and the Sins That
Attend Them--NIovlng Pic
lures Depict.

Observation-Disclosures H j dl htlt Va |
the Salvation Army, gave very inter-
csting Illustrated lecture at the Church
of the Redeemer last evening upon the
subject "rho Sorrows of our cities"
The lecture dealt with the tenement
house conditions In New York and the
work Of the Salvation Army In its en-
deavors to make matters better. The
lecture was Illustrated with beautiful
colored views and with moving pictures
of high merit
The colonel came up from New York
especially to give the lecture, but as
he said, he had lost part Of his voice
in the big city just before he left It
and as a result he was somewhat ham
,dlcapped
He began by mentioning the many
different problems that confront the
tenement house worker. Each Of these
problems must be approached different
ly The vicious must not be treated the
same as the weak. the deserving the
same as the undeserving. Throughout
his lecture he spoke of the army work
ers as the "Saly3tlonists," following
the custom of the followers Of Com
mander Booth. The lecture began with
a moving picture OF the general view
OF the city taken from tall building
near the Brooklyn Bridge From that
height he took his hearers right down
Into the heart of the tenements, show
Ing pictures of a district where In fifty
acres there is n population equal to
that Of all Nevada
Colonel Parker said the great tenden-
cy Of the immigrant is toward the city
/ The tenements, he said. are the nurse
ries Of poverty and sin. The saloons
arc at tho very root OF the social evil
He spoke of tenement-house courts too
small to be photographed, of 1900 peo-
pie living in one block, of one family
where In a small room twelve feet
square there were nine people working
and sleeping. He said some of the
| tenements were SO dirty that, as Jacob
Rlis has said, they were fireproof and
could not burn. Pictures were shown
Of families dIspossessed In the height
of winter. all their effects IN the snow
on the sidewalk.
A few minutes was given to n con-
sideration of the problems confront
| ing the authorities at Ellis Island,
whore are made the Americans OF to-
morrow. A moving picture was
shown Of barge, the VIM. Meyers.
bringing the accepted Immigrants 10
| Castle Garden from Ellis Island. Col
onel Parker said he was aware that
the present immigration laws do keep
out undesirable citizens but he thought
the laws could be much improved upon.
A return was then made to the
heart Of the city whore pictures we're
shown of men bent. not with years
but with the weight of crime" as the
lecturer expressed II. One man was
depicted who was so supplied that the
colonel said he did not know whether
II was a camera that was being point
ed AT him or a gun,
The families sleeping on the fire
escapes on the hot summer nights
were shown. He said there were In
New York 100000 rooms in which
people slept without windows, and the
patient mothers who amid the crowd
ed surroundings with their many
temtations did the best to bring up
their children in purity.
A moving picture was shown Of the
push carts offering their wares for sale
on the streets. Colonel Parker de-
cried the practice of buying fruit
from these pedders. He said the men
rlpened the fruit In dirty cellars and
usually slept on their carts at night.
He said there were over 5000 licenses
granted for these carts in Brooklyn
and the number in Manhattan was
much greater than that
But the thing that always affects us
Salvationists most" said the colonel
when we come into contact with this
work, lis the army of the children of
the tenements-the children who can IN
no way be held responsible for their
condition even where their parents
may be :" Many pictures were shown
! OF these wretched little waits, little
pieces of drift-wood cast up on a hum
an sea"
In the most effective words at his
command the colonel decried the exist
ence Of the saloon. In them he said
there was always a personal welcome
for those who came in; in them 1t is
cool In summer and warm in winter;
the attraction is great and the number
that are tempted Is without number.
During the las year the army has
aided over $4,000 families in New
York. About some Of the cases diecov.
cred the colonel told, A moving pict-
uro told the story OF q dying mothe,
and her two children found by two
assics Of the army. Another showed
: one of the army's coal carts distribut.
ing coal free on the streets to tn,
worthy. Other pictures depicted the
children at the country home estab
= lished by the army.
An intermission of few minutes wa
taken during which n large offerint
was taken up for the continuance o
! the army's work,
) Colonel Parker told in the seconc
= part of his lecture of the rcclaimnl
. Of the traInps Of the city, Of the meth
e DDS used to separate the worthy from
G the unworthy and the lettering of tn
c condition Of fallen women.
The lecturer said the great work witt
c the tenement house dwollers is teach
T ing them how to live. To many Of then
9 soap and water are two unknow,
q things He said the people buy every
+ thing AZ the highest possible price
g simply because they live from hand t
0 mouth. AS a rule the pay for thel
8 rents 20 per cent higher than the
y would have to for much better plac
: in the suburbs of the city. Their foo
II and coal Is bought the same way. The
cannot get a chance to save and woul
4 not do so if they had chance. Wit
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