New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-12-07
Human Rights Disregarded.

FIuWdU FNf9'No S'o' ~Se'
Dark pictures OF greed and total disre-
gard OF the most obvious sanitary regu-
lations, and even OF human rights. were
presented In Mr.. Veiller's paper and In
the discussions which followed II. Four
families living In one room. their allotted
areas defined only by chalk lines on the
floor: whole families with troops Of chill
dren sleeping in the kitchen on old coats
and In their day clothes. In order that
their parents or those who stood In lieu
OF such might add 10 their income by
taking night dodgers: men huddled worse
than beasts In rooms where the air was
an offence TO the nostrils OF decency-
these were some Of the conditions de-
scribed.
Mr. WELLER, after mentioning that no
cities. except New York and Boston. had
attempted TO regulate this overcrowded
lodger evil systematically. proposed that
the following provision be Incorporated
in all housing laws and sanitary codes OF
health departments.
No tenement house. nor any part there
Of. shall be- used for the letting OF lodg-
ings Eor shall any person not a member
OF the family be taken 10 live within an
apartment occupied BY any family with
out The consent I'm Wrlting OF the De-
pdrtm,nt OF Health.
1T f. rather humilisting. after seventy
years Of effort at housing reform In
America. To- confess. as we have TO con-
fess." said Mr.. WELLER. that one Of the
most serious housing evils encountered In
any country has not been grappled with
and that practically no plan for It's solu-
ton has az yet even been proposed" He
added:
Found or tho Prairies
Just how great an evil Is room over
CTowding in America Is IL merely a
New York condition, or do We md n
cities. and has II become serious evll
in those cities? Further, is IL an evil
found only In cities? May we not ind II
even In small towns and villages, anu
possibly even on the open prairie?
All observers are agreed that the EVIL or
room overcrowding exists chiefly among
certain elements OF our alien population.
the Italians. the Poles and Russians ana
the later immigrants OF SlaVonic races.
We near very little OF IL among the
irish. the negro or our own poor whites,
although Individual cases among all these
races have come 10 our attention
NJ solution for TINS eyll is that We
hold the landlord primarily responsible
for the taking OF lodgers into the apart
ments OF families who occupy his build
ing. This Is really no new thing. For
over ten years In New York we have held
the landlord responsible for the moral
character OF his tenants, and we have
done this successfully. In the. New YORK
tenement house law landlord Is re-
sponsible, and with q very serious degree
OF responsibility. for the presence OF I'M
moral women in his tenement house
What / propose now is that we should
apply this same principle 10 the prob.
lem under consideration: that We should
prohibit the taking OF dodgers and board
ers into an apartment without the con.
sent in writing OF our health officials, ana
that we should then hold the owner OF
the house responsible. through heavy
penalty, for any violation OF this pro-
vision.
The conference ended tonight with a
banquet at the Bellevue-Stratford.