The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-11-28
The House In Henry street.

Have yoi ever walked down Henry
stree: on a hot sur.mer night and seen
the sectiiilg human life spread al! over
the sidewalks and out into the streets?
Have you ever threaded your way
through the perambulatcrs and the
children playing hop scotch and the
mothers sewing and knitting and tend
ing the children. and the men lounging
! and smoking? Well. II was down into
this district about twenty-five years
ago that LILLIAN d.. WALp vent with
her friend Mary NJ. Brewster to live
and TO see what they could do about
the maladjustment of our terrible so
cial and economic relations. The story
II told in The House on Henry Street
Holt. They begin by being inmates
II the College Settlement on Rivington
street, out Uefor. September of the
year 1893 they had found a house in
Jefferson street, the only n IN which
a careful search had disclosed a de-
sired bathroom. The top foo OF this
they took: II contained "A sitting room
| with pictures, books and restful chairs,
a small dining room In which family
| mahogany did not look out Of place,
a tiny bedroom which had to ne shared.
and a kitchen. And this constituted
their home for full two years. Their
first visitor was the little boy from the
basement. and when he had had an
appetizing dinner, and for the first
time In his life had seen flowers on the
table, he rushed down to his mother.
saying: "Them two ladies live like
the Queen of England and eat of solid
gold plates The mere fact Of living
In this tenement brought undreamed
of opportunities for widening know.-
edge and extending human relation
ships. All around them were Jews
from Russia or Rumania, Irish,
Scotcll-lrish and Italians.
One thing that Miss Wald vouches
for Is the unfaillng goodness of the
poor Ia each other. The children nurse
each other. the poor share all that they
have with others In distress. and II was
not unusual to flud a case Of one man
who had work taking care of himself
and his children. the widow Of his friend.
a sister her children and other
strangers. The work which began sim
ply as going out to nurse and clean
and help when called on soon became
an established nursing service. with
fees charged when people were able
to pay, and these fees. says Miss Valid,
though nominal in amount. compared
with the cost of the service. repre-
scented n much larger proportion of the
wage in The case Of the ordinary
worker who paid for the hourly SER
vice than did the fee paid by the man
with a salary of $4,000 who engaged
the full time OF Il nurse. For economic
reasons valuable and expensive hos
pital space. Miss Wald realized. should
he saved for those for whom hospital
treatment was necessary: and an OBJ
, vious social consideration was thai
many people. particularly women,
could not leave their homes without
imperilling or perhaps destroying the
home Itself.
We struggle, says Miss Wald, not
only with poverty and disease. but
with the inevitable opposition which
the unusual must always arouse. The
mere nursing service began to 10
supplemented with roof gardens. small
Fairgrounds. fresh air funds. and
finally n department of nursing and
health was created at Teachers Coll
lege, Columbia University. In afllia-
ton with the Settlement. Miss Wa!d
was elected first president of the Ma
tional Organization for Public Health
Nursing. and at their conference. held
in 1913. an assemblage of women gath
cred from all parts Of the country to
seek guidance and inspiration in this
work. with something very like rel!-
yious fervor. The need OF conservation
to the sick and the young seems to
have touched tho community with
new impulse and enthusiasm.
Tho settlement undertook day
parties" for incidental education az
we'll as for pleasure, ana organized
propaganda for outdoor gymnasiums
and Playground. c~rystaliized In 1898
In the formation of tho Outdoor Rec.
creation League. A close relation was