The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1912-02-03
NO SPACE is WASTED
And People Are Squeezed in
Like Sardines in a
Box.
Troubles Not Noticed
Real Trouble When italian
Tried to Get in.

Its location Is not on the East Side,
with its living tenements, but in the
shadow of New Yorl's newest fashion
able thoroughfare-West End hve-
nue., with its modern palaces and It's
brilliant afternoon procession of gay
equipages.
1t is on the far West Side. i'm sight
of Central Park and the brown stone
dwellings of that vicinity. and almost
in the heart of New York's Dark
town"
1t is a city by itself, with all the
facilities of separate municipality
stores, physicians. newspapers. laun-
dries. saloons, barber shops, coal ana
wood market, employment agencies
and real estate and insurance agen-
cies.
There a dozen languages are spo-
ken, by representatives of 13 ma
tionalities. Natives were sure that
among the nearly 1000 human beings
living in the populous block at least
two or three more nltiOnalitics were
represented.
The block Is long one, nearly
twice as large us some of she crowd
cd blocks of the East side, but not a
foot of space is wasted. Families
are crowded together as thick as
they can live, and moro than half OF
them are without outside rooms.
Poverty and Indifference are the
characteristics of the block, which,
among its other claims to distinction,
is one of the most strenuous, from a
police point of view, in the city.
"a
the blase residents don't trouble to
turn their heads unless the combat
involves some OF the militant factions
of the neghborhood.
one whole house, with It's partl-
tions all kicked down, testified to the
excitement loving disposition of the
occupants. IL Is u house in which
German and Irish families live in
comparative peace ond contentment.
The Irish bartender who presldes
over the gloomy beer counter beneath
this militant household assured the
reporter rhat the only time the peace
of the place was ever really threat
ened was a few weeks ago when an
Italian took lease on the place and
attempted to set himself up as land
lord.
Il guess that Eyetalyan is wlshin'
81. he hadn't a'done IT," commenced
the bartender, with an eloquent grin.
Say. tell yez the Dutch ana the Oir-
ish Is ghrcat team whln they
bitches up together"
The Malian Glanced to be of some
what stalwart resolution, and this
rather enhanced the excitement OF
the neighborhood during the short
time he acted as landlord. The in
cidental arguments resulted In a net
loss Of all the partition walls In the
buildings. The combatants cheerful
ly utilized the debris for fuel.
"Thim Olrlsh and Dutch ain't need
in no partitions in their houses-not
much" the bartender declared. Par
titions is only in the way whln b
comes to fghtin say, If you really
want to see some fun you ought to
drop around here at night whln the
folks Is all at home"
Negroes are largely In the majority
in chis most thlckly populated block
In New York city. They outnumber
the whites three TO one. Three
roufths of the block Is almost cNclu-
sively given over to them. They
gained a race victory only few days
ago when three lighthouses were
| cmptied of whites, representing
three or four nationalities, and Ne
groes moved in.
'Blg Delaware" Is the bully of the
! block. Delaware reigns majestically
over a big double lat-house as janltor
but this Is only a fragment OF his
real domain.
Delaware Is majestic In proper
| tions. His weight Is estimated at 400
those who have engaged In contro-
versies with Delaware say II Is mucn
| greater than that. Delaware Is Nlr-
| ginian, proud of his family, and with
| proper pride I'm his own personl dig
Unity People who make remarks mol
| nattering to Delaware usually choose
the opposite side II the street for
their uttorancc.
| Delaware Is the unofficial Mayor ol
his side of the street, and nudisputeo
social awtocrat and dictator. SoclsI
| lines are closely drawn In Delaware
domain. one teeming tenement J.
p0pulatde entirely by Negroes from
the West Indles who speak French
| Next door Is "A huge tenement hleu
with Negro families from Richmond
and next door to that Is the Geor'
| gia-Alabama" tenement filled viii
families from those two states, Among
the inmates OF all three the s,rictes'
racial lines are drawn, and frequently
| the native pride of the occupants re-
suits in argument which rival th'
feuds OF the Irish-German alliance
and Italians few doors away
A Swede keeps a grocery store
German runs a barber shop an lt1l'
ian conducts a shoe store and a ma
tive-bon American has a coal mar
ket within half a dozen doors Of each
other on west 6lst street. An Aus
trian puryeyor to the mixed popula-
Ition few doors away a fat irish
woman is the ianitress of a huge tene-
ment filled with part Of the Austrian
colony
A small colony Of Roumanlans is a
lfeature OF this most cosmopolitan OF
1 New York city blocks. They are new
A