The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-04-21


In every city the cry of regret for the mistakes
of the past is heard. But what of city built the
hillsa city of sunshine and sea-given breezes swept
clean by fire, to be built this Twentieth Cen
tury? Surely the builders would grasp their un-
rivalled opportunity. What is San Franciscos reply
"a city of small homes, city of gardens? No A
city of tenements.
Looking back April II, 1906, one sees whole
districts covered with small houses vine clad fragrant
with flowers On April 49, the fire swept the city and
before month had passed the builders at work
Fastthey built. Shelter needed, expediency and
desire for gain paramount and the smoking ruins
covered with poorly structed buildings, sew
eral families crowdng into space adequate for
In less than year Thoughtful men and women
realized that San Francisco was face to face with a
housing problem and that no law existed to check
the increasing abuses In spite of municipal indifer
ence and corruption tenement house ordinance based
on the New York law passed in 1907.
The New York reformers obtained all that was
possible for their city where land values
high and vested interests entrenched but the meager
allowances for light and air conceded for the crowded
metropolis should not have been the model for the
small city accustomed to wide spaces and generous
gardens. Yet these limited restrictions
evaded, and the ordinance fercey opposed by
speculative builders and property holders.
Inflated land values based on the earning capacity
of small lot covered by three-famy building in
place of the former cottage have induced much of the
rapid rebuilding of San Francisco For not alone in the
poorer districts but in every quarter of the city, apart
ment houses flats, multiple buildings of every type
have superseded the single family home
There is a significant relation in the Pennsyl-
vania btminous coal field between efficiency of en-
ployes and the consumption of intoxicans. The use
of alcoholic liquors among recent immigrants is very
extensive and the per capita consumption of beer
cordng to the statements of mining superintend
ents, runs as high two quarts day each, besides
some whiskey.
In the average mining community beer and whs-
key agents constantly soliciting orders. The
southern and eastern Europeans accustomed to
drinking beer and light wines abroad, but in the min
ing industry they tend and more to drink whs-
key to excess. This is due to two They
treat" according to the American custom and they
have decent amusements to patronize any chance
to acquire property and consequence there is a
disposition to spend freely in this way.
Not only is it impossible to recruit the normal
labor forces after day. but in addition to curta-
ment of output the companies sustain loss because
careless mining, increased number of accidents, and
breakage of tools and equipment.
What's the matter with Springfield? From the
standpoint of sanitation scarcely among the ST.
600 people in the capital city of Illinois knew. The
question itself had not been seriously raised one
day plain map of the city-big enough to show some
of the things in everybodys backyardjolted the
muny into realization of the Importance the ques-
ton and at the time furnished the ugly, unvar-
nished truth of the
Springfield has conditions probably unlike those
to be found in many middle western cities which have
not yet thought to ask answer the question. "If
they really undertook to know themselves they might
get just as startling information to Springfield
when her citizens amazed at the disclosures that
5000 out of the 5000 houses in the city did not use
city water and sewers that 5000 homes directly on
sewer and water mains did not utilize them that there
were over 5000 privy vaults and more wells in the
city. That is the municipal expenditure of $4,000 900
for facilities and supply served only thirty
three cent of the population although it
thought that from sixty seventyfve per cent were
served"