New-York tribune., 1919-05-23

range from SO month for three
room flats to SIS for five rooms. These
flats were good enough for the immi-
grants, who formerly came by the
thousands. They didn't know any bet
ter.
THE real exodus came with the war
and war salaries. Wages went up, for
parents and children. Girl stenogra-
piers and stock clerk sons received
from $50 to $35 a week. Families of
three and four children had weekly
incomes of 500 and over. The old
quarters looked cramped. The neces-
sity of sharing a bathroom with an
other family or to go to private or
free baths became distasteful
SIN the outlying boroughs builders
were buying lots for from $3.50 to
$4,000 each. On the East Side lots
cost between $4,000 and $4,000 each.
Buildings, with all Amercanized con-
veniences at fairly moderate rents,
climbed out of the ground like mush-
rooms. To these houses the possible
East Siders thronged. They migrated
by the hundreds. In the summer of
1918 10000 apartments were vacant
here, while in the new sections no
rooms could be had'
Typical of East Side
Typical East Side flats were pointed
out on Cherry, Water, Madison, Mon
roe and Henry Streets by Mr.. German
owsky. They were practically identical
with their accommodations for twenty
fo,, 60,
floor. Two apartments of four rooms
each were in the front part of each
floor, with two other apartments of
three rooms each in the rear. There
were two toilets on floor Gas burned
in the Railways, but at least two of
the rooms of each apartment faced the
street or the yard
According to one real estate dealer,
it is neither feasible nor profitable to
renovate the houses. He said that the
cost Of reconstruction would be pro-
hlbitive. There is no building going on
in any part of the East Side.
Benjamin Hoffman, Municipal Court
Justice of the Second District, 2Ss Mad
ison Street, said that the slightest
prosperity in any family on .the East
Side was signal for a change of resi-
dence. With no immigration, he said.
the apartments probably will remain
vacant
New-Law Houses Filled
Commissioner Mann, in his testimony
yesterday before the Joint Legislative
Committee, declared there are prac
tlcally no vacancies in new-law apart
ments, houses built since 1901. He
estimated that the increase in popula-
tion during the last two years was
about seventy-five or eighty thousand.
and that $4,000 apartments were needed
to take care of the increase. Only
immigrants care to live in the old-law
tenements, he said.
Building operations are Increasing
throughout the city, he said, 189 plans
tor buildings, accommodating 500
families, having been filed with him
this year. He said this would take
care of the normal growth of the citv.
these accommodations being augmented
by almost 1000 one and two family
houses. Plans for these are not filed
with the Tenement House Commits
sioner, he explained
Commissioner Mann testified that
since 1915 there has been an increase
of PIG per cent in rents Expenses
OF maintaining apartment houses have
risen 100 per cent, he said He de-
clared that he does not favor lepisla-
ton to curb profiteers, because he
doesn't believe it is wise to get anv
more advantages for the tenants"
Suggests Rebuilding Plan
President Frank L. Bowling, of Man
haitian, suggested to the committee
that 1T hear the financiers' opinions on
lending money when it is needed for
construction.
Get the big fellows here" he said
What l have in mind is to bring the
Carnegie people, who built so MANY
libraries for the people of the cities
the Morgans, Goulds and Rockefellers
to have blocks of houses torn down and
model tenements put up"
Allen E. Beals, of the A Rools
Rcal Estate Coropration, told the com
mlttee that building material prices
are at their low level now. BUILDING
material stocks are low, common labor
IS departing for Europe and transporta-
ton costs will stay heavy, he said. all
contributing to the high cost of huild-
ing.
The hearing will be resumed to-dav
with James B. Fisher, Of the HOUSING
department Of the Emergency Fleet
corporation, as the first witness.