New-York tribune., 1918-06-23

fined $50. with the admonition thst a.
next time his sentence would be ia,
The personality of this man
whom the success of the strikers' cam.
depends, is certainly favorabl. :.
the opinion Of the police to tha 80
trary. When the town eossins -.
told you their last anecdote abou, !"
rest and eviction, and when dus .r.-.
ance has been made for the natural i.
ritat'on on both sides, you are ham,
to feel that the only salvation for =.
strikers lies in the extent to vA,.s
Leo Gitlin and the league are aba =
bring it to the attention of a lar...
public and agitate for improved l.s;.
lation. England has had to fight IL -.
and only recently decided to curh =.
landlords, making it unlawful to rail-.
rents for the remaining period Of *.
war, and allowing no svictions vs...
rents are paid. The Consumer az
Workingmen's League points out ia,
the Federal government has haa !.
take action against profteerins land.
lords IN Washington.
! That Gitlin is genuinely deyoted :.
this work no one who talks with ii.
can doubt, nor that he is leade, :.
man with power to organize people "a,
their own welfare without the tempt..
ton to use them for his own. Hs i.
greatly loved and respected IN tia A..
tr1ct. and II not exactly beloved h "a.
police, Is respected as at least fouui.
dable.
There is the matter Of his s,,..t
Gossip will tell you that on that S,v
Gttlin did put up q fight, that window
were broken, and that the police shai
to arrest him." but no one can 5.
found who actually saw the fight vhiIs
there are plenty of witnesses who av
Gitlin driving off with the police after
a short conversation with them. calm
on his part and heated on theirs. TIE
fact seems to be that Gitlin was aak.
ing Captain Frank more questions than
the captain could conveniently snsves
Citlin Explains
His Position
Gitlin has this to say: "We-ths
ieague-think the landlords justified
In raising the rent, and in the matter
OF repairs only the most necesssry
ones should be expected at this time.
But we do ask that some guarantee be
given the tenant that he shall have ths
hot water and repairs that are prom.
ised him before he moves in; that 10
shall have them for the next year,
without at any time being called on
, to pay extra for them. This is What
We are fighting for. Here rents are
by the month; but the tenants stay
most of them, for years--they cannot
afford to move around so often. Some
guarantee must be given them that
they shall have this. which they are
willing to pay for, for at least year.
A nat is not like suit of clothes. Ycu
go into shop to look at suit, and II
you don't like it you don't have to pay
$25 to get out. It costs us that much
to get rid of a fat that we have been
fooled on. To dispossess man simply
because he objects to the landlords
withholding the water and repairs thsi
have been promised him is not inst
though under the existing Law The
courts can't do otherwise than decjds
for the landlords"
At present the situation is this: ALI
rent strike signs are down, the Last
stanch defender of his sign evictsd
on Wednesday. The Consumers Leagus
continues to hold its meetings and
prepares its committees to 60 before
the Mayor. The Bronx-whers tho
tenants have also had trouble over tbs
rents-is working with them on peti-
tion to be sent to Congress.
At the last meeting report cane ID
from 3 tenant in Alabama Avenue. fns
rent is raised in his house ss hn
month after raise last month. TIE
tenant who puts in his own coal goes .
the landlord and asks if this 10 ~
last raise, as he wants to know betor
he puts his coal in. "Well. this is M
raise for this month; if you don't Ike
it get out!"
And a dispossess notice is sssssd
on him, with orders to get out the psx'
day.
In Brownsville
You Will Find This