New-York tribune., 1908-07-12
GERMAN HOUSING
Systematic Efforts for Improving
Homes of Working Glasses.
Darmstadt. July !

a.. --og-ess made in German in rehousing
= r-o-zjng people During the last fifteen
- .he population Of cities like Frankfort-on-
=, Main has doubled, and there have been rapid
- in the values OF building sites. The
--,ir,g of hives Of population and the crea-
-, of new centres of industry have been COM
-osss5 into q short period whereas in England
.ore nrocesses have occupied sixty or seventy
II rents have been kept down 10 the
-,s-tsb level when the towns have been over
--,z,sA5 with workers ana manufacturing has
-, Increasing with extraordinary rapidity, it
= baen because housing ranks IN Importance
..L eronfovr7ent and insurance as supreme
- n social reform. Municipalities. state
srnr7ents philanthropic societies and build
= associations have r1valled one another in en-
,.-girg the housing accommodation OF the work
a. classes. and the landed estates Of the towns
s he resources Of the various insurance ser
-,,.s have been drawn upon in financing build
4ng operations
an old ashioned capital like Darmstadt
-. home Of Princess Alice and the Russian
z--on-ess Industrial progress has been less rapid
~ n tie coal and iron belt Of Westphalia or
= he textile district Of saxony. Yet the popu-
,.ior has run up during fifteen years from 81
90 - a0Dna and there is new quarter where
.--o-ed dwellings for the working people have
-, constructed. AS the capital Of the Grand
- If F9esse II has been the centre Of q sys-
..-,s+i- movement for improving and cheapen-
a. the housing of industrious and thrifty work
state inspector Of dwellings has his office
:. -be town and everything that is done in
&c = -aforr7 in Z long circuit Of prosperous
..-ies * directed by him There is a most rigor-
o,,s svsrern Of compulsory police inspection Of
s-.r1inrs and lodging houses, and these are kept
= .a-++a-z condition at the expense Of the own
7 vas not long before the authorities dis
.s-s5 that the majority Of working families
s-a 100 large for the quarters occupied by
-, and that measures must be adopted for
-u5inr hundreds Of dwellings in the towns
-i-rir -1e borders Of Hesse. Money has been
s,-aroes q low interest from the state treas
- q, ror-nunes. municipalities and building
4+fe~ and small houses have been provided
: -.-,-ab1e rents for the best class Of work
The arrangements for loans have to be
-. ~ The capital and the plans for the cot
.rss are fled in the offices Of the State lnspec-
.4r F,7-eau. There has been a marked improve
-,sr- in the housing Of the poor since the es1ab-
,,srr,er- Of this well directed bureau
Ta--s ~ rhfs comfortable old German town
= fo-.- than in other cities IN the Rhine sec
-, single room costs from SO TO SO a
,os- TIE rent falling as one goes from the olo
- the new quarter. Tenements or mats Win
-,-,s Command bout $40 year in the
the town. ana II ttlV '-Iis--i5
@, s2n n S22- improved dwellings with three
bsa-ahle rooms range from $40 70 Soo IN an
wal rentals according TO locality, and the
h.--as increase as rooms are added These
-s-+ss are lower than those in surrounding
,ov-ns becarse the pressure Of overpopulatlon
has bean less severe and the efforts Tor I'M
,-ova5 housing have been most systematic
Even with minimum payments and maximum
efficiency of inspection the accommodation Is
-,eagre for the requirements OF healtn, ana from
3 sfzrh To q tenth Of the earnings OF z WorAlHs-
nan K expended on rent In Frank1oFls Colos'I7
or Berlin the proportion would be nearer
fourth o- 2 fifth. but in those cities the growth
of population has been abnormal and there mas
bee- continuous speculation in land values Ihe
housing question. serious enough as Il is, would
bzra becorre r1--1anageable If II had not been
taken I'D with strenuous energy and Pracocal
ability fifteen o- twenty years ago, and Il puDhc
oUini.n had not been organized by Imperial con-
r-esses with hundreds Of delegates from the
states and cities of the empire. after ministers
n CAPITALS professors in universities pastors III
churches and Socialist deputies in the German
rarIizr,sr- had advocated drastic measures OF
reform.
improved housing IS greatly facilitated IN the
towns n the Grand Duchy Of Hesse and else
where n Germany by the thoroughness Win
which Official inspections are carried on Inc
<acts are known about every human hapItauoh
IN town ike Darnstadt-how many rooihS
there are and how many sleep in them wnelllel
roofs are leaking. cellars are damp Nehllia'ioi
Is Inadequate OF the conditions are unsanltary III
any particular. The inspectors are constantly
visiting old and new houses, and there Is d Ie0-
ord Of every workers home When repairs az
required there is authority for having Iile
done and when the conditions are hopeless the
- elo17i7r
When the family is too large for the dweIlng
-er,ovaI n 2 he-ter house can be enforced Inc
chief irsrector for the town or for the state can
find ont how everybody lives and what is neces-
sa-y fo- the protection Of the health OF large OF
snail families These continuous processes u
investigation would be disiiked in England OF
n America but in Germany everybody Is aO-
custor1ed 70 them. and they are Jus1lheo 0s inc
generally accepted idea that public health Is III
cispensable TO social welfare
The construction Of scores or hundreds Of new
houses for working people has been prac'icai
undertaking. because nearly ali the towns nave
puhfic land which Is available for building op-
erarjors The snnroDriation Of these estates Tor
this pr,rnose has been unavoidable when lano
Spectators have put up values in SUBURBAN o4s-
t-1cts and building associations nave hoo Sup-
pied houses within the means OF ordinary "oiA-
men. n Frankfort large numbers OF houSe0
have been constructed by the municipality On us
own estates. and these improved dwellings are
iet 70 tenants at rentals which are CONSIDERED
moderate, and the extension Of the tram ser
-1oes has brought remote suburban olslrlc'S
within easy reach OF the heart Of the CITY 1he
same policy viii be adopted on large scale II
Ds-rnstadt Il the capital ever forgets It's traoi-
fonsl dignity So q grand ducal court and be
cones q H-ss+ manufacturing centre, instead or
q comfortable residential city for retired u1er-
chants and officials with the privileges Of the