Norwich bulletin., 1920-08-05

De overcome was graphically told at the noon day luncheon of the Norwich Rot ary club on Wednesday at the Waure-
 gan house by BenA4min J. Rosenthab | philanthropist and business man of Chi eago. MT. Rosenthal who is staying at Eastern Point is president of a large mail order house of Chicago, president of the Imporium World Company, pres | ident of the Central Realty Company and | director and packer of the Chicago Housing Association. This association | has just completed a large housing pro- | ject in Chicago in an effort to relieve 1 the situation in that city.
 l In opening his address Mfr. Rosen- | thai said: The world today is beset with
 ills, many of them imaginary while others are real. The greatest percent- 1 age are imaginary but one is very real, | that is the house problem. It has be- | come such a paramount problem that 1 both parties have inserted a plank in | their platforms relative to this subject. | In Chicago my home town, the hous- | ing problem is as great as in any city | in the country, but it is practically no different from any other city only on a much larger scale. Chicago is short about so, ,0o0 homes which means that nearly 560.0 persons and living in
 cramped and unsanitary quarters These l l not live in homes but exist in squalid 1 quarters. In my investigations in Chi cago I have found as many as twelve people living in a single room. They 1 live in basements, cellars and attics and any place in fact that they can get. Take the black belt. the stock yard sec l tion, the west and the north sides of Chicago and you will find these condi- | tions true.
 l In some houses where there were any where from 10 to 12 persons living in a single room it was found that three and four persons were occupying a single bed regardless of sex. The conditions
 were unsanitary and the suffering was horrible.
 Disease the Aftermath.
 What is the aftermath of this crowded
 and unsanitary living? It is tubercu- losis, crime, illegitimacy and anarchy. When one visits the tuberculosis sana- l toriums, Chicago having four, one re- alizes what it means to be housed in such abominahle quarters. One sees
 children, fiat chested and hollow-eyed looking at you and seeming to say, You've come too late" In one of these the cases explained to us were horrible beyond thought. In our visit we saw two children, hopelessly insane. They were the twin children of a brother and sister who had been quartered together 1 in one room. Other cases included a girl just entering her teens who was about to be a mother, several boys with most horrible diseases, and countless cases of
 tuberculosis brought on by undernour- ishment and foul living quarters
 We paid visit to the juvenile deten- tion home where the%a were hundreds of | dali tac af lar case of petty criminals In the juvenile court in single year 17,06e cases were tried. In the boys court on one day 45 youths were tried for gambling.
 Why wonder at crime when society 1 furnishes the implements. Society mur- ders more in single year than all the criminals in tlA country in decade, You men attribute the labor difficulties l to the worknen who you say are inef- ficient. But would you be an efficient worker under such conditions? It is im- possible with the present vicious living conditions. We with our indifference furnish the seeds for bolshevisn, and
 anarchy. If the people owned their
 own homes they would not seek to de- strey but would fight for their homes You ask what is being done about
 this problem? Nothing, practically noth- 1 ing. Some corporations have built homes for their employees but the end- p.oyes are skeptical about this because
 they think there is some ulterior mo- tive. I will tell you what has been done 1 in Chicago to alleviate the suffering. and
 will speak to you as though you were one of those who have to live in the crowded and unsanitary conditions.
 This is the story of what is called the Garden Homes-the story of the @l1@ Icy of the 175 brick, tile and stuccc homes, located between State and In, diana avenue and north of S9th stree on the south side. It NelIs how nine O. Chicagos citizens. who believe in you got together and loaned not only sun
 of money of about million dollars
 to 175 families, but it tells you how they risked their reputations-how they loaned their engineers skilled men. off . ces, automobiles, telephones, their larg'
 purchasing power-how they spent da! : after day and many nights-all to hell these 175 families to own their homes homes that would have cost these tami lies from s7,5e0 to Ss,60o apiece. Ant : these families purchased these IT. homes at $35 to $40 per month, with i; few hundred dollars paid down-ant they only had to pay around s4,500 t 900 for them. These men-these min, individuals, and their associates-knep
 lthat they had the right idea. They hat confidence in the workmen, the wag, earner, the me nand women who are tn, backbone of Chicago. More than thirt, other big, successful business men hay, lately joined the original nine men, ,ant } each day sees new business men joinin, : the group-all giving their time, ant lending the money to help you get home for yourself and family.
 ,i Live For Our Families.
 You naturally ask yourself, What
 behind this great movement" It's a fai 7 question, and should have fair, franl answer There is nothing to hide-so, ; square from the shoulder answer is best Business men know that you do you best work when you are happy-whel your living conditions are good-whel . your family is well fed and well clethet when your life is insured-when yo, have health and accident insurance
 when you know That your family is talk en care of, for all time to come. We ar
 all alike--there is no difference in an, Of us. We all live for our families. All right. 4so,.. Wiltet these men wan Is that you shall have all of tiles , things. They have investigated tn
 housing conditions in thousands of case i and find that tne workngman and tn wage earner is, very often, poorl. housed; that he is paying too mucl
 l rent in many cases, and where he
 paying too much rent, he hasn't enougl
 money for clothes and food and enter
 1 tainment-to say nothing of not beinj able to buy house and have life insur } ance and heqttt @r' accident insIra nee l they learned that the werkingman wa