The Detroit times., 1911-04-28
crowded HOUSES
|DREEDING GROUND
FOR DISEASE
rip Through the Roumanian Settle
ment On Wight-St., Reveals APP
paIling Conditions-ls Sleep
In One Little Cottage.
Filth Abounds and No Attention Is
Paid to sanitation-Housing Com
mission Has Big Problem.

When Rabbi Franklin, of Temple
Beth El, told of the awful conditions
h he had found in Detroits tenement
districts before the Builders and
Traders exchange, Tuesday, he did
not oyerstate thefacts, as an in
yestigation made by The Times re-
yeals.
A Times reporter accompanied Sec
rotary Loyejoy, OF the Detroit Hous-
ing commission, on a tour of one OF
* the Roumanian settlements, Thurs
day, visiting several homes on
8 Wightst, near McDougalLave. The
conditions found there, while not as
bad as in some Of the foreign COZ
0nies, fully substantiated DR.. Frank
Inns assertions as to overcrowding.
In one six-room cottage at No. l59
/ Wightst., within a ston's throw or
the fashionable homes fronting on
Jefferson-ave., were crowded nine dou-
BILE beds and one child's bed, and
here dwell a man, his wife and two
children, and IA male roomers, a to-
tai OF Is. 1t is a foul and forbidding
place. with never a thought given To
sanitation.
The cottage next door, at No. 157
wight, has seven rooms and 10 double
beds The house is in bad repair,
and the floor of the dining room seem
Cd almost ready to fall in. The floor
OF the summer kitchen is lower than
the yard outside. and water was
found standing under II.
The house at No. 1913 Wight,
ntory-and-a-half structure, has eight
rooms and accommodations for no
less than 80 people, though the board
ing boss, who speaks English well
and apparently was next" TO the OBJ
5ect OF the visit, insisted that he has
only i've boarders at this time. One
woman In the neighborhood declared,
however, that this house has at least
- occupants. Many OF the beds are
OF single width, but each Is equipped
with two pillows. In addition to the
16 beds, there was an extra mattress
on the floor Of one small. dark
room. The rent of this place has re-
Gently been boosted from $50 TO SIS
u month.
The double house at Nos. 167-169
Wight has six rooms on each side,
and there are accommodations for
about 80 men in the two places.
At No. 173, which is a seven-room
cottage, the beds are SO close togeth-
er that there is Just about room
enough to pass between them. There
are beds. beds everywhere. The only
room not used for sleeping purposes
IS the dining room. There is filthy
summer kitchen in the rear and In
n stuffy little room on this kitchen,
where there is scarcely room TO turn
around, there is a-other bed. The
front door is never used, for the rea-
son that the dark litde hall into
which IL opens has been converted
into n sleeping chamber. In this mar
row space there is a double bed and
. single bed. and there Is no yenti-
lation whatever, except through the
adjoining- room.
All OF these places lack proper san
|itary facilities, and AFFORD great OPP
portunity for the spread OF typhoio
and other diseases.
In searching for evidences or inns
proper housing 1t is not necessary to
confine ones efforts to the foreign
colonies. You will encounter I'M
healthful tenements in the most I'M
expected places.
Secretary Lovejoy led the way 20
n large brick house on Congress-st.,
east, near st. Antoine, which had
once been very fashionable home.
The front presents rather imposing
6ppearance, but In dark corner or
the basement was found a small,
damp. poorly-lighted room, with low
ceilings, where, until recently, a mar
rieds couple and three children made
their home.
The landlord evidently though he
had put one over on the housing
commission by ordering the family
out OF his own accord, and was in
clined to gloat over the fact.