Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-04-05
MRS. WILLIAM q. ABBEY
On Housing In Philadelphia

ShIO HOUSING evils are necessary; none
N need be tolerated. Where they exist
they are always n reflection upon the intel
ligence and moral tone of the community.
This is the statement of Mrs. William b.
Abbey, chairman of the church woman's
housing committee of Philadelphia, VINO
has made a study Of housing conditions here.
She says:
'"roleration Of bad housing in city means
nothing less than consent TO rotten founda-
tions for the whole civic structure. Prcsent-
day agitation for change in this base mat
ter, therefore, means something more than
nltruistic effort to improve living conditions
for large numbers OF citizens; it Is. rather,
born Of the instinct Of selfpreservation, for
the body polite is whole and no part OF
its life can be in state of chronic decay
and the rest thrive. The admonition, Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, is plainly
the expression of universal underlying
economic law, and its fulfllment wi mean
a maximum Of endcavor and attainment
carrying with it in relation to civic matters
monwealth in line with the laws OF that
kingdom for the coming Of which the church
prnys. but seems scarcely 10 expect.
"In considering the subject Of housing in
this city it must be recognized that existing
evils are not of mushroom growth nor re
sultant from the great war, but are the
accumulation of. years of neglect. lack OF
vision on the part Of the builders OF the city,
failure Of property owners to comply with
sanitary regulations secured by legislation
and a confusion Of standards and values
The question was once asked, How much
better is a man than n sheep! 1t we are TO
Judge by the provision We make for hous'
ing the people the answer must be mat the
man Is of negligible value compared to the
animal, for certain it is that no one would
house his creatures as we do our fellow
beings. for il would mean the loss OF all the
potential value Of his property. Jacob klS
says: You cant lct people live like pigs
and expect them TO be- good citizens lthS
before the displacement Of the old 'sty on
model farms by the modern concrete, well
lighted and ventilated structurcl. Yet We
are doing this very thing in Philadelphia
today.
How Does Other Half Live?
On narrow streets, dead-cnd alleys and
rear courts we have population of 35,0OO
souls practically unknown TO the other
half of the world. 10 reverse another saying
of Jacob Riis. but contributing. despite the
fact that the people ar" 100 per cent better
than their surroundings and in many in
stances achieve homes in a very wilderness
Of difficulty their share to the corporate life
Of the community in ghastly quota Of
disease and crime. legitimate product of their
environment, Today in u back street
saw seven small houses of the 'baudboX'
| type which for twenty years have been de-
| pendent for toilet facilities upon two de-
| cayed and tottering closets in the rear Of one
Of them, and this is not an uncommon con
| dition, In kcnsingtOn, where the people
! live upon whose labor the prosperity OF the
| city largely depends there are many streets
| with only surface drainage, where yards and
| pavemcnts arc always wet and Stagnant
water breeds chils and fever, typhoid and
! kindred ills while as many as 5000 out
| houses on severed streets witness TO failure
| on the part of property owners to make con
! neCtions required by law. In passing il may
be worth while to ask whether evasion of
law which imposes hurtful conditions upon
ones neighbor' is not as Culpablc as the
commission of the more familiar crimes
| against society.
"A pampher issued BY the National
| Housing Association. What Bad Housing
Means to tho Community. declares that the
most pitifu victim Of modern city life is not
the sum child who dies, but the sum child
who lives that in every slum child who
lives the nation has a probable consumptive
| and a possible criminal The same pubIira
| ton sums up the loss to the state on ar-
count Of bad housing. loss of property (I
| have by me q list of 800 houses SO ruinous
! as 10 be uninhabitable), loss In property
values, loss in the expense Of crime and de-
pendency, loss in the expense Of disease and
in the deaths of citizens, loss In the eff
ciency of the workingman, loss in homes, a
| loss in citizenship,
Change ID Needed
! "And what is necessary 10 change nil this
! to manr Phiadeiphia in reality. ~ in rep.