The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1909-01-08
TO
CAPACITY
HOUSE
JACOB RlIS AT WEBER ACADEMY
LAST EVENING.
illustrated Lecture, 1.-THE Battle with
the Slums," Presented in Most
Convincing Manner.

Jacob Riis, sunshine worker, news
paper writer. lecturer. and friend eX-
traordinary 10 the child of the slums.
charmed a packed audience at Weber
Academy auditorium last evening
with his illustrated lecture entitled
The Battle With the Sums" Not
only by far the most interesting and
instructive number OF the season
lecture course, Mr.. Rlis' address prob
ably brought home to the minds OF
his Ogden audience, the conditions
existing in the lower strata OF Ameri
can society moro forclbly and effec-
lively than It ever had been their for
tune TO hear.
The pictures used to illustrate the
lecture were from photos taken by Mr.
Klis himself in and around New York
City. more particularly the famous
East Side"
He said that three-fourth's OF New
York's population were toilers; that
they worked with their hands for a
living.
You have no slums out here" he
said. and you don't want them, eth
er. You are already beginning 90
look into the homes of your toilers
and plan for their betterment and tu-
ture, with the idea that an ounce of
preventive is worth a pound OF cure.
That Is the spirit that will prevent
slum life in the years to come and
you are building better than you
Rnow"
In taking up the subject OF slum
life, he said that darkness was char
acteristlc of 1t and the first to be OBJ
served. He showed a view OF single
block in New York in which there
were thousands OF homes into which
the sunlight had never shone. He
said that there were $4,000 window
less homes in New York City. in which
even a plant would not grow, and
added:
IF a plant will not grow in one OF
those frightful places, how in the
name Of God can you expect child
to grow there?"
He showed a view OF a single tene-
ment block in which there were 5000
tenants; an alley 200 feet in depth
and twice the length of a drunken
man in width. where a thousand mis-
cradle specimens of Gods handiworll
existed In places they called home,
Z There were 500 babies In arms in
that one block" he said, land the
death rate was 33 1-3 per cent OF the
| number born"
Mr.. Riis made little mention OF the
liquor question and. In fact, stated
that rather than drink being at the
bottom OF the slum conditions, 1t was
more likely that the conditions were
largely responsible for the drink.
IT'S fresh air they need" he said.
let in the sunlight; give the aching
little feet place to run and romp in
the open; let the little starved souls
drink in the blessings OF Gods pure
atmosphere and those minds will ex-
pand and grow and you will have citl-
zens and patriots-not criminals. In
stead OF being born into the world
the majority of the population of some
OF those districts seem to have been
damned into It,"
He told of the schools and play
grounds that had been provided after
years OF battle with the inertia OF
the rich and the greed OF the grasping
landlords.
He spoke OF Theodore Roosevelt
rs the man who had done such mir
acles for the poor of New York In
the way of bettering their conditions
and helping to mould public opinion
in behalf of the work