New-York tribune., 1912-01-21
FLATS AS HAPPY HOMES
Chicago Man Who Denounced
EN- Had a Crouch.
MATURE CRY 0vERWORKED
After Summer Discomforts It's @
Joy to Get Back to City Life
and Compact Quarters.

avery now and then there arises a
~ sympathetic cry deploring the un-
IL fortunate condition of those who are
doomed TO spend their days dwelling in fats
mr. apartments. Only recently such a wal
Uas waited 10 us from far-off Chicago
xbere during a discussion as TO the best
way OF making the Windy City the most
beautiful metropolis in the world, the Sec
tetary OF the Board of Health raised his
voice in protest against hathouses as bar
riers 10 goodness and as eyesores to the
esthetic.
Il am thoroughly convinced" said he,
"that an all.wise God never intended hui
man beings 10 live in those nests, where
beople smell their neighbors' meals and live
On the gossip and scandal of those around
Them. a parent who places a child in a
hat endangers its health and robs n Of a
ireal home. Some flats may be better than
bthers. but all are bad"
This is certainly coming out fiat with
what one has TO say. but what remedy
Does the secretary offer for those who are
shlicted with the fat habit? Sorne author
ity on matters Of cuisine not long ago said
slat Of all the benefits that the kitchen con-
fers none is more healthful than the in
halation OF the fumes of succulent edibles
g. oven, steamer or pan; and 10 the man
who comes home hungry from his days
toll what is more appetizing than the crisp
pdor Of roast beef or steaming bread as he
sscends TO his rooms above? Yet, barring
that and the fact that gossip and scandal
are everywhere heard OF outside OF grave
yards and asylums Tor the dumb, the In
ference seems 10 be that II a city man does
-, Co. he 90 he
Try.
And what are the advantages TO be gained
for the fiat dweller through moving TO the
country? During his summer vacation the
city man gets all of the advantages Of the
country In his cottage or in a summer ho-
tel, with all of its attendant discomforts.
He enjoys these. too, and when the follow
inS spring comes around he returns with
all Of the old enthusiasm TO planning out
his holiday away from the city's streets.
Yet bresthes there city man with soul so
dead who, on returning TO his compact, con-
venient, we'll furnished f1at at the sum-
mer's close. as he turns on the hot water
in the spotless bathroom 10 take the first
comfortable shave and bath that he has had
since he left home, does not saY,t his wife:
"Ah Helen. this roughing ii for a summer
Is a mighty fine thing for a man! 1t helps
him TO appreciate home and its comforts
when he returns"
A bas the remark of the Chicagoan that
q fat cannot be made into a,real home.
Home" as one has we'll and wisely writ
ten, isn't what's around you; it's what's
inside you" The city man, educated to city
conveniences, with d heart inside him that
throbs with genuine love for wife and
family, Is happier in the nat that he calls
home than ever he would be I'm the country
cottage, with its unsanitsry sink drain and
Che offal heap behind the barn, with It's
swarming flies and its disagreeable efiu-
Sia.
The lug of wine. a book OF verse. and
fhou," including the wilderness and the
'vine clad cot" ideas, jingle along merrily
enough in rhythmic couplets. but the for
sner is honeymooning impractcability and
the latter suggests TO the practical mind
only the dampness TO which vines on
house are conducive. The Chicago man
rails against fiats-for in Chicago the term
includes apartments and tenements-as II
citv folk were condemned to live in them.
Quite the contrary; people select flats OF
their own volition in preference TO any
,btng else because the conveniences suit
,heno. Flats telescope the troubles or
housekeeping into the least possible COM
PASS they admit of ones reaching his
work without the Inconvenience expert
enced by the commuter, they allow one 10
share many advantages which the city
offers that couldn't otherwise be Srasped.
including superior educational facilities Tor
his children, and they afford numerous
o,bep onnortunities