Middletown transcript., 1916-01-15


" " from the haunts of civil
lized man, though included
within the geographical confines OF
Greater New York And for the most
part barren are the 1,500 or 1900 in
habitants of civic or national ideals,
even of ambition to better their condl-
tion; to make their days and nights
conform measurably to standards such
as other folk enjoy who are adopted
sons and daughters of Father Knick-
erbocker's great and growing family,
says the New York Sun.
Anyone with the desire to visit for
eign shores, and without travelling
more than an hour or so from City
Hall park, can descend into the sub
way near by the municipal building,
take a train for Canarsie, and at
Canarsie landing step on board 4
steamboat which leaves there at fire.
quent intervals bound Barren island
ward. In an hour, more or less, the
traveller will have arrived at his
destination-at land mass, as Arctic
explorers put it-situate in a general
direction south by east from the main
borough of Brooklyn. Near by, toward
the west, is Sheepshead bay; to the
east is Jamaica bay, and not far off
is the group of Rockaways. Thus it
will be seen that Barren island, while
off the beaten track of travel is by
no means inaccessible Yet when the
traveller sets foot on shore there and
takes one comprehensive glance
around he will realize that in all but
location he is in a foreign land.
The principal center of Barren
island is it's one great industry, that
of handling refuse of the big city Of
which it is humble part. This cen
trail spot is marked by the work of
the reduction company, upon the op-
Grafton of which Barren island and its
inhabitants depend. Eastward from
this great garbage plant stretches the
one main avenue-Broadway it is
called, possibly so named many years
ago by someone with a keen sense of
the ludicrous. For this particular
Broadway is bounded on one side by
a marsh, a good, representative oozy
marsh at that; and along the other
side are perched the one-story homes
of the employees of the garbage plant.
In many of these little shacks it is
said that two and sometimes three
families exist In a majority it IS
alleged that boarders are taken. In
fact, some of those who have been
looking over social conditions at Bar
rem island seem inclined to think that
entirely too many boarders are taken
in some of the tiny shacks that serve |
as dwellings,
Filth and Diamonds.
Not many months ago, two or three |
of Commissioner Goldwater's staff |
journeyed down to Barren island, |
made a careful survey of health condi- |
tions and came back home with re-
port that caused astonishment in the |
health department offices. They found |
a partial supply of good water on the |
island but also found that a large |
proportion of the people were drink |
ing water from surface wells. Further |
more, it was found that modern sani- |
tary conveniences are practically un-
known; that babies and ducks and |
cows and goats wallow side by side in |
the muck of Broadway" that while |
there is a school on the island there is
no truant officer, and that because
of this the children may go to school |
or not just as they choose. Also that
a large majority of them prefer to |
spend their days in rummaging into |
the mountain-high heaps of refuse, |
using strong iron forks and garner
ing therefrom treasures that their |
parents can sell or barter-bits of /
metal, occasionally pieces of gold or |
silver jewelry, now and then a scarf
pin or cuff link, watch charm and |
once in a while a diamond ring or |
stud
1T is hard to believe said one of I
Commissioner Goldwater's men, who |
has been on a trip of investigation,
but down at Barren island almost i