Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1910-02-17
RATR CONDEMNS
CITY. TENEMENTS
Infant Mortality And
Corruption Due To
OyerCrOwding


tenement question was read by Jas.
A. Rath before the Civic Federation
yesterday afternoon. Much care and
thought had been exercised in COM
piling the statistics with which this
report was repletc. 1t proved one OF
the most interesting and instructive
papers that has been read before the
Civic Federation during the past
year. At the conclusion Of the read
ing Mr.. Rath received the unanimous
thanks of the members.
"Out Of III tenement buildings in
vestigated, found eighty-nine to be
in good condition, seventy-two in an
Indifferent state of preservation, and
ten in poor condition.
at is in the tenements of this city,
that the great white plague is maxi
ing its greatest ravages, and It is
these tenements that are responsible
for the terrible mortality amongst in
fants. In Berlin, London and Paris
the city fathers are just awakening
to the fact that the tenement houses
|of the poor must be properly looked
after II sickness is to be kept in
check and the morals of the occu-
pants be not corrupted by over
SO stated Mr.. Rath.
I'm September, 1909, the Civic
Federation of Honolulu instructed
their committee on education, chari-
ties and public health to make a
study of the tenements of Honolulu
land toward this study appropriated
$50. 1t took some time before re-
liable man could be secured to col
lect the information embodied in
this report. The amount appropri-
ated was far too small to permit OF
the employment Of man who could
give his whole time to the work, and
consequently arrangements had to be
made to have man give his spare
time.
sThere is no need of t9nements in
Honolulu. People are most content
ed and live more healthy and normal
lives in small cottages, especially
where children are concerned.
THE Honolulu tenements-socall-
ed-are nothing more or less than
fire traps. No tenement or rooming
house gilmore than one story high
should be allowed to be built without
an adequate number Of landings and
staircases.
"Tbe investigation includes all
buildings Waikiki of Dowsett Lane,
along Liliha street as far as Vine
yard, taking in the thickly-populated
tenement region In the heart of the
city and those tenements in Kaka-
ako.
"A large number OF the Honolulu
tenements are built of wood and are
therefore great source OF danger,
not only from a sanitary standpoint,
but also from fire. S8
mo one who has lived and work.
ed among the poor classes of COM
munity can fail to be convinced of
the dangers. physical and moral, OF
tenement life.
Where today is the great white
plague making its greatest ravages7
Where are the babies dying in the
greatest numbers? In our tene-
mentA The tenement section with
in half mile radius of King and
Liliha streets accounts for AZ per
cent. Of all those who die from tu-
berculosis. outside of institutions. II
the statistics of our institutions
could be studied they would proba-
bly, tell the same story"
+ In reference to the influence upon
the morals of tenement occupants,
by overcrowding, Mr.. Rath stated
that:
"As for the influence OF the ten
ements upon the morals of those who
are forced to live in them, let all
those who would like to know, see
for themselves. Decency forbids the
publication of the facts as they are
seen from dly to day by those who
Five and work among the jewellers in
the tenepents.
There aye three effective ways OF
dealing with the tenements OF Ho-
nolulu-GD BY law; (2) by remod-
cling and making the most of those
already standing; CD by building
model tenements.
This last metho6 presents
SPLENDID opportunity to those who
have been blessed with large means.
Already London, Berlin and New
York, as we'll as countless smaller
cities, are beginning to grapple with
this problem In practical way. We
have not as yet reached conditions
such as are to be found in any OF
the cities named. but II Honolulu
continues to allow tenements to be
built at the sweet will of all who
desiye to do SO. 1t will not be long
before she reaches conditions such
as forced other places to take vigor-