The sun., 1908-11-22
.Y0TRH VIETERINGIEfEHEs
MOST or BOLTON HALLS COLONF Z
TO STICK 1T OUT. pfseists
Success Of Esis Encampment Near DyeIls
man Street Determines HimltO zzlss
large the Experiment. EeiShs
bors Don't ObJeef-Tenters HaAIflsg.

large the Experiment -Eihe Neigh
bors Don't ObJeet-Tenters TEaaIflEg.
+ When last spring Bolton Hall asked one
and another owner OF unoooupiefh jets
In New York to lend him few On Nhlaaa -
to put up some tents for poor families
with one exception these personsabeeae
to make EXCUSES. OF course none hked =
to refuse Mr.. Hall. Each made thakdulta ~
plain. Each also made 1t plain that in BIZ
opinion. the coveted land being neardEell=
ings Of tho we'll to do twas only ortiiaaEeHf
prudence to keep 1t clear Of objeatioual ~
persons 1t had not been ,proved%tha
poor. tenters on land near. well 20 &dp -
homes necessarily were Objectionable. but
then 1t was best to run no risks. .1ovts 6Tas9
For one thing there was the. sanitexss
question to be considered. To get neissaF
up in a, controversy with the Reard sez sf
Health as we'll as with residents OF fAAaza
neighborhood would be a nuisapoess tess
say the least. one agent pointed cut sss.9i4
The. exception referred to was ,willipR s.
to run a risk. This man had some pninlanz
proved lots near Dyckman street whigh ~
offered space enough for four tents ishsa.E
a strip of garden between and O oppaIdsan
erable plot Of ground between them and e
the street. At the rear high wooded hii
separated the lots from the house, Of ,the6k
owner, but to the north and east 10 ,fnll s6
view were private houses occupied by tfie
sort of folk of Hhom the property, owglagss s {
interviewed by Mr.. Hall seemed to. atspd
in awe. One of the nearest housed n q
clergyman and his family. s,,,.,..s lisss,sz {.
Provided no trees or saplings We're faat -
down or injured the tenters could use ,fha - S
hill. the agent agreed rather dubiousfv 8
Here then was a chance to locate at leaak. Z
four poor families in residential dis1,1
trict of the city instead of in the country ~
and Mr.. Hall seized it. Not till early "a
July was the ground turned over to Mr. x
Hall and the first tent put up. and t T.ass.s
August 1 before the last of the fqlf
tenters took possession of a tent sun
piled, like the others, by the Vacant ~
Lot Gardening Association. |Js - - S
Three families will try to stay aiI 4
winter in the tents. The fourth renter. *
whose family includes a baby, VIII ne az
main until the weather gets stormy
This man, who for the last ten month
has earned only S1.50 week, and glad
to get it too, although he is a good acr
countant, was in wretched health and
worse state of mind when he took to Il " y
bucolc existence in one tent With his
wife and three children last Summer. =
Now there is hue of health on his face Sss
and his courage seems to have Jumped
up apeg or two.
Here is one thing living in a tent 3,
four months has done for me- he told a..
visitor the other day. at spunked ME
up to take an interest in the election
| voted this year for the first time In ten
years and the man laughed pleasant ~
as he walk ed off toward the hill 70 fesuh1e
inkering at a homemade Cupboard
built against tree. -
The other tenters have families or,fs or,ffs5ms 3 Y
three to five adults In one family arS
an aged mo ther, a daughter and a son
physically unable to earn living and IS,
one daughter who is the principal bread " u
winner and, less the rent Is able TO pro-
vide comfortably for the family. m an
other are man and wife, son and daughz
! ter. The former had been out OF work Y
many weeks when he applied FOR tent. s
In this case too the daughter Is the rbain-s
stay of the family. middle aged widow Is
and her family who occupy theA eAfotrflfshl
tent and were the latest comers Ysre
hoping for a renewal OF the tentipg pFiyiee =
lege next spring. In anticipation Of this -
the widow is carefully removing tall weed8'
and bushes from the ground stiProdhdT - I
! ing her tent in order to be all ready to f
plant garden in the spring. Like. tho ssz
others, this tenter came too late TO; 90 ~ s
into gardening this year. The woman Ifs
also planning kitchen extension to the
living tent which will be easier to kesp g
warm in GOLD weather .+ipH : 10 1ei ~
This effort at self-help jostles q bitsthe IA
preconceived notions OF a certain class OK 3
visitors who at first glance put down The
average poor tenter a Thoroughly d
shiftess person. Homemade p2ntriee,
outdoor Kitchens, including tables and
chairs made on the premises, Srd iff giEsy = : :
case rustic walk leading from a tent part
way up the hill give evidence that this
particular quartet of tenters at least
has tried to make the best of things.s sSstss
| There has been no conflict 80 far at AL &
I,x-,th fha onth IA
plants have been received from residents
Of the neighborhood. One Of the tenters
said that two-or three of. their well 70 do r.
neighbors had been very kind. There has "a
been no sickness at all among the oampesp
Of the the three rec children. who are watkifix
9dvesssTsats Tsb 9Ssatmen of Tine pofsS ssGy Ss If
resulted from mode of life which, dis p
counts the stationary range, bOtwatersl
supply and airtight' bedrooms 81 ..ssss
| The Dyckman street tenting experiment. ~
has convinced Mr.. Hall. If he needed cpps
vincing. that an extension OF this expert
ment is to some extent a solution of tlf8 y
problem of how TO help the poor 10 ilelpNk
themselves. In his judgment, Lying, I'M az
tent not only cuts od the rent agony,
but it furnishes an environment boUhd 20 :,
stimulate any latent mechanical talent 3
or talent for self-help. }7sssesr dia
Il am on the lookout for more sapaatsi
lots in New York which may use ,nextss ss
spring" said he. -The other day ] yAs u {
quite eAcioeu az tHe iope u hnluQB t19 "a u.
loan of seventy-five acres in The Bfonkss
but the deal fell through. 'sfo. Al >deS
Visitors to the tents of the poor ara s &
Interiors Rs nc forgetting that t6e Average y.
tenement is always untidy. Some Befssc
SONS put too much stress on reatna3ss
confounding lack of 1t with dirt. ~. 4R A.t q
-Now for instance. take the Dyckman n S
street tenters. Their mode of living III @
probably the same as it would be In Il ~ r.
tenement. The experience presuniibiy
ID IL
1t isn't likely to. But isn't it good deaIsss (
to be able to encourage them to make the 4, a
best of little? To help a family 10 stutiy 81
ever so little ways and means? TO stifndl
late men and women to use their witsas S
to contrive oonveniences they lscS and, ,,s
have no money to buy, is u very ypraptir N q
cal sort of help il seems to me. ~ - 49, is'-t
1T is encouraging to find that nearby
hau "a