New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-05-05

veu York tenements has again dur
p me last few months been brought into
y icons Of public attention. Stories Of
.,d,sn hound TO LONG hours Of deadenins
4, tbeir tenement homes, vivid pct
- roritable child slavery, have been
.,,o,sd i'm the testimony given before
jnvestieatnc committee or another
rssult legislators and citizens are
,.-,.rdine laws which will look toward
y. .ho1itior OF the evils newly laid upon
.,hl,c conscience. These facts lend
- significance 10 the report Of the
~ Of the Tribune Fresh Air Fund dur
u, the summer ~ 1912, for it was among
- "bome toHers' OF the crowded tene-
-, houses that It's activities were car
Ion The knowledge OF the conditions
..,,,lv brought to light is not new to the
.,-.srs Of the Tribune Fund. as II Is not
~, 70 social workers iu general
r,,r,pr the season Of 1912 the Tribune
,.,d transported 1857 benefciaries-
~ !, ,hem from tenement homes. thou
.,,ss Of them from scenes Of abject mis-
!, and dire poverty and many Of them
..,,, Toll I'm deplorable home workshops
"a ,be pleasant places Of the country for
..-,,,gbt outings OF the total number
. h,r4fciarics an were children except
"A, These latter were adults. IN most
.,,.s rnotbers who. for special reasons,
vsrs allowed 90 accompany one or more OF
..,ir children on Tribune outings. Prac-
,,suv an OF the children were between
=, age Of I'VE and twelve and half
vars
is necessary only TO place the pictures
az hv side-the crowded tenement
l,mss in cougcsted streets on the one
and and the sunit open country on the
rssr-to at least apprehend what the
r,aning Of the summers work was ior
nose who reaped It's benefits
To nut it briefly. it meant 2l.o74 weeks
= fresh air. sunshine and pleasure let
i,-o the lives Of children for whom, amid
n. odors the murky atmosphere and the
Nil NJ their downtrodden existence fresh
,- bright sunshine and simple pleasure
d. about as nearly unattainable Injuries
as can be imagined.
Bodies Healed and Built Up.
sornethirg more than taste OF luxury
nveyer. accrued to the children through
mar outings In many instances the
,surtrv life supplied an actual physical
rsssssy for the child and became the
rssns Of bodily healing and upbuilding
without which the child must have WaSed
losing fight against the perils of un-
tycsnic Surroundings. Considerable prom
s,ncs has been given lately 10 the fact
that the death rate for New York for
he year 1911. is the lowest on record.
Without intention OF usurping credit Que
70 the health authorities and other agen-
ass contributing TO this achievement and
recognizing. moreover. that some factors
cher than human ones were at work 70
woduce the result. the Tribune Fund may
SIN lay claim 90 having done something
rvard reducing mortality among chill
ersn IN 1912. as in preceding years. Ger
AMY the accomplishment Of this result
ass one OF the ends constantly hello IN
view in making selection Of the children
% Be sent away
Jus, what the total physical gain re-
sitting from the seasons outings was II
would b. impossible accurately TO de-
lsfmine Some attempt was made al the
tsnous Tribune Fresh Air homes 10 record
sci1al Increases in weight among the
hldren entertained AT them. owing 10
ne fact. however. that more than one
alf Of all the benefciaries Of the fund
Ess entertained by country hosts In their
ian homes IL was impossible TO obtain
anplete figures in this one detail even
lad the effort been worth while. II Is
1srssting 10 note. however. that in the
as Of the party OF 20S boys who spent
~ fortnight beginning July J.: al the
Nspherd Knapp Home-a group selected
rurely al random total gain oil oo'
issnds was recorded. This gives an aver
~ rate OF gain a. almost two and three
'zrisr pounds per boy. II these fgures
AZ Indicative Of Tho general average. ana
asy seem conservative enough, il i evil
,'H' that in human svoirdupois alone the
tribune Fund made no inconsideraole
Contribution TO tn assets Of the city. The
'o.s IN question showed an average age
nihe and one-Quarter years.
sunburn Can't Be Weighed.
figures Of This kind are misleading in
aai they do not Al all tell the whole
l'h There exists no method by which
weigh tan and sunburn buoyancy OF
'p'ni or the ring Of a laugh. nor can the
creased sparkle OF the eye the resli-
''ey Of renewed muscle be measured. Yet
'l' Of these IS as reliable sign Of health
Increase in bodily weight, and, rich
: mtse imponderable assets. each boy and
%a siri returned TO take up again the
ls o. the city.
"hhe the happiness and the physical
'o1icing OF the boys and girls II takes
OF are and always have been the
''i am Of the Tribune Fresh Air Fund,
'uhry outings bring with them other
'"e which should go far toward
s better citizens OF these boys and
All the children sent away last
g0e' we're brought into contact with
ss OF life and habits OF living worthier
"shsr than those which prevail. or
s@st seem TO prevail, in their city en-
e'onmen,.
- VI the whole number were given
~ "e care Of generous people OF the
sss.y districts and spent happy fort
-. ~ seeing how the other half-the
Ia wholesome. country half-iives.
n. nVe, ten or fifteen years hence
"a 1hofed or one thousand OF these
-. "cnins pack their meagre worldly
t,Nss and turn their backs on the
~. 'nt districts OF the metropolis to
NE on the farm. probably II will
a,.sse through all those years. they
Az seeh Keeping green the memories Of
"'hers country visit: nor will they
4. nrst thousand who have learned
Ind 4.lr