The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1913-12-09
Rapid Growth is Causing I'm
healthful Crowding, Declares
New York Expert
LAWRENCE WELLER
TALKS TO COMMISSION
Opposes Building of Apartments
Which Become the Tenements
of Tomorrow

should be discouraged, for the apart.
ment house of today is the tenement
OF tomorrow" said Lawrence WELLER,
secretary OF the National Housing
conference. who came to Detroit,
Monday. at the request Of Health ON.
Ger Price and Tracy w. McGregor. OF
the Detroit Housing commission, to
talk over Detroits housing problems
with about SO representatives OF city
departments and civic associations.
Mr.. WELLER was entertained at q
luncheon in the Hotel Pontchartrain.
and afterwards he told of Detroits
needs. To reporter for The Times.
he said:
Il came to Detroit three years ago
at the request of ]. l.. Hudson. and
looked over the situation. At that
time, the Detroit housing commission
was formed After Mr.. Hudson's
death. It's work seemed to subside
though a great deal OF good has been
accomplished through the efforts OF
Health Officer Kiefer, whom | regard
as very efficient administrators"
Mr.. WELLER is a rapid talker and In
the parlance OF the street Is a live
WIRE" He looks like a Frenchman
and pronounces his name like Z
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS he talks
like an American business man
TO whom time is precious. Yet he Is
not nervous. His blue eyey are quiet
and restful His face Is covered by
a brown beard. closely cropped. Only
HIS language Is energetic, and shows
the forceful character OF the man.
"Detroit's housing problem Is poten
tial rather than actual. In comparison
with that Of New York." Mr. WELLER
continued. II mean that unless some
thing Is done to check the tendency
the same conditions are likely To
arise here as have arisen elsewhere
In very short time. Detroit has riseh
from a--what shall / say?--a small
town?--to a very large city. You
know the figures better than |. This
growth has caused a crowding OF peo
pie and a raising of rents. While
rents have increased, they have not
grown in the same rate as the price
of food and clething-thats an inter
esting fact. and It's true.
while this crowding has not caus
ed the erection OF tenement houses II
Detroit, 1t has brought about othel
evils connected with the tenemen
problem. It has caused many families
TO live together In houses which were
originally intended for a single fam
fly. II has caused families to take ir
boarders, housing them In crowded
quarters. II has caused an increased
fire risk and an increased health risk
IF house liz intended for a single
family, ii doesn't make much diner
ence whether the hall Is dark. But
when this house comes to be occupied
by several families, dark hall means
immortality and 1t means disease. The
same care must be exercised to guar
against dark rooms In small houses
as is used 10 prevent dark rooms IN
tenements.
The use of the outdoors vault Is
another menace. don't suppose
newspapers like to talk about II, but
the vault ought to be considered. In
New York, In few years, We cut the
death rate from 20 to 1000 to IA In
LOCO, largely by the elimination o.
1000 outdoor vaults.
Besides being nuisance, these
vaults are the breeding-places OF flies
and other carriers Of disease. Detroi
Is well-sewered, and there Is no ex
cuse for lack OF the proper sanitary
precautions In the elimination o.
vaults.
1.-THE building of apartment houses
and flats oughI to be discouraged, fol
sooner or later they will become tene
ments. On the other hand III ebuiid
ing OF single and two-family houses
ought to be encouraged. Big houses
always terd to become tenements--tt
be occupied by several families. fol
whose use they are not fitted.
How discourage them? Il. legisla
ton. BY making the fire laws so stric,
that II will be impossible to erect
apartment houses. BY providing, FOL
instance, that such houses must be
made absolutely ireproof II erected
above certain height. by making
very strict laws against all the fca
lures of the tenement evil with which
Detroit Is threatened.
but good laws are useless without
sood administration. and proper ad
ministration requires money. There
should be a housing commission, al
part OF your Board OF Health. with
enough inspectors and enough funds
10 make its work efficient. A poor law
well administered. Is better than
good law. poorly administered. In
New York. we are spending $S0O,Ool
a year on our housing commission. and
II Is doing very effective work"