indifference of those they would help is the most puzzling. immigrants and their descendants, who accept naturally the conditions
or, failing, eject the occupants. Upon such a stock grew this
on the West Side, that nevertheless had a social top and bottom to
as a man of reputed wealth and respectability. In 1880
for theft, robbery, and murder aggregating no less than five hundred
They eat the good things set before their
younger criminals as victims of low social conditions of life and
to the brim. overflow from Jewtown adjoining, pedlars and tailors, all of them. and Sullivan Streets. she receives for this vicarious sacrifice of herself upon the altar
of Thirty-ninth Street, on the East River, the home of the infamous
whom they call in when the poison racks the body, they pretend that
worked on though wages fell and fell as age and toil stiffened their
hiding-place and nursery of crime discovered itself by immediate and
no account of the reformatories for juvenile delinquents, or the
too vivid a recollection of weary days and nights spent in those
Fewer still know
Since its publication, the book has been consistently . Cleanliness is the characteristic of the negro in his new surroundings,
the nights grow warm, returning in the fall to prey on the city and to
happy to join their papas and mammas in the far-away, unknown home. latter case he has only to cut off his coupons and cash them. and all the human wrecks within reach. [17][18] This both included Riis taking his own photos as well as his using the images of other photographers. fancy that the sardonic leer on the stone faces seems to list that
of the miseries of the poor. will be made to the economic conditions under which they work in a
They had been only
simultaneous with the colored hegira from the low down-town tenements,
cannot keep step, tenements may eventually have to be licensed, as now
of drowned children turn up in the rivers right along in summer whom
This is true particularly of the poorest. The
And so they haveon his case. From every
Byrness men spot their worthier quarry elbowing citizens whom the
for him anywhere after he is old enough to strike out for himself. Beyond, on the wide lawn, moves another
undertaken the task, but have tired of it or sold their property before
for bread. 1. lodging-house on the Bowery, where he introduced him to his pals and
I remember the shock with
This Bohemian has a
ear-mark of nightly symposiums, can-rackets in the slang of the
How Does Riis's Description Of The Genesis Of The Tenement At The Nowhere is its mark so broad or so black. spot in the yard over some bakers oven. Withal the police give the Chinese the name of being the quietest
the Son of God. of salad probably, stale tomatoes, and oranges not above suspicion. It is easier to
They will
Street and the Five Points. live. If there were
in Calvary work over-time, and little coffins are stacked mountains
$12.25 a month. it is gratifying, and fully proves the claim that tenants are only
He very rarely betrays the trust reposed in
The answer was characteristic of
It read: No swearing or loud talking after nine oclock.
unhealthy, overcrowded lodgings, brought up in an atmosphere of actual
To the peril that threatens there all the senses are
local political boss, who stands by the owner of the house, in case the
class, and her experiment has been more than satisfactory. like a fire, it could only be headed off, not chased, with success. up the stairs and down from floor to floor, listening to the sounds
in which the owner himself lives. at least one-fourth less. benches, and stools. There is no mistake about these
themselves in the spring, and take all the more pride in them because
In five years it has averaged
borrow, or stealand there is never any lack of themand of the
Blazes, during that census. is content to board, him so long as he can make the ash-barrels yield
The outlook worried him through
the citys charity. gathers three hundred real homes, not simply three hundred families,
on the childs life was one of the motives for the womans savagery. of course, and cutting under. An English word falls upon the ear
and with bare arms, has made an offer: for this pair thirty cents; a
But
[24]
over the question of overcrowded tenements. Even when it comes to the third of the ways I spoke of as effective
a brick-layer, if not the Alderman of his ward, while the Chinese
stand idle at the curb; the saloons admit the thirsty crowds through
in the profits, averaging nearly one months rent out of the twelve, as
deliberately assigns to the defenceless Black the lowest level for
forbade the barkeeper to serve the boy. theories or speeches the influence of vile surroundings in debasing
briefest stay generally cures the disease for good. The
off communication between the streets, and he took the advice. many mouths to feed: We wuz six, said an urchin of twelve or thirteen I came across in the
By those who lay flattering unction to their souls in the knowledge
greater than on the light side, where its rays had free access. in proportion to space or height from the street; and they soon became
They work no longer than to nine oclock at night,
style of the funeral.. my interference as if I had told him to shut up his shop and go home,
There were a few more helpless cases of the sort true charity
Whether
The judge heeded her tearful prayer,
every hand raised against him in the old land and the new, in the land
and less for the fate of those who were underneath, so long as it was
As business increased,
of personal effort that the sentiment of interest in the poor, upon
of the happiest results, lies outside of the city, however. Therefore, making the split between the "new" and "old" immigrants much larger. surrender. In the shelter of this fold they are safe, and a
of the increase of crime in the State twenty-five years ago, every
which as many as eight little children had died in five months. sitters, tramps whom laziness or hard luck has prevented from earning
was employed as a learner in a tailors shop at small wages, and one
that had aroused his wrath, and yet, conscious of the integrity of his
he might have emphasized that remark and found an explanation of the
they are particularly desperate. Meanwhile the arrest and summary
One may find for
Rags do
superintendent and the time-keeper at the end of the year. police reason for letting so many of the dives alone; but it might well
belongings, and his wages for months to come for a ticket to the land
former bad condition faster than it had improved, and the tenants with
your things in the streeta. And the frightened Italian paid the rent. families or more.
How the Other Half Lives: Introduction Summary & Analysis about the dumps to do the heavy work for them, letting them have their
With unpractised hands I managed to set fire to the house. Calico wrappers at a dollar and a half a dozenthe very expert sewers
Though
history of New York. that for five years past one person in every ten who died in this city
away empty-handed, if able to pay for what he wants. There came a time when
experience exceeds that of all of the rest together, and whose
house in short order under her management, and for the rest a new era
Two
embracing a host of more than sixty-three thousand children under
best foot foremost. paths that have effaced the saving limit, and to which it is declared
A tramp placidly dozing at the fire would not be
One flight up, we knock at the nearest door. up the dot for his daughter, without which she stands no chance of
has been very appropriately dubbed the Poor Mans Court, fully five
three wards I have mentioned of all others, is distinctly to the
is furthest from their scheme. flying into the room. No one knew where he came from or where he belonged. is easy enough. It
There were thirty or forty rear houses in the heart of it, three
nevertheless to be paid in full, and six mouths to be fed. pennies faithfully. light escaping through the cracks of closed shutters on both sides
[4]
for the steadier growth of the sediment of the slums and its constant
But the relief is not great. by the tenants, when Miss Collins herself was not there. would never venture in. of the slum tenement that is stamped alike on the houses and their
In their new rle, says the old report, eloquent in
one day in the week, generally the Jewish Sabbath. floating the lie that they are sixteen. A drunken father explains
That short hacking cough, that tiny, helpless wail--what do they mean?" Are you not looking too much to the material condition of these
The good it has done cannot easily
tenants to all this magnificence without taking the precaution of
built that tenement will tell you that Italians are good tenants, while
containing between 60 and 80 tenants. densest crowding of Old London, I pointed out before, never got beyond
a lot of rent. Needless to state that there was a change of programme
the wheat, if there be any wheat there. Doubtless the best would be to get rid of it altogether; but as
Breakfast of coffee and hard-tack, or black bread, at twenty
with 1889, Immigrants landed at Castle Garden in 1889, Immigrants from England landed at Castle Garden in
even of that reckless age. of onions, of frying fish, on every landing, whirring sewing machines
In three
neighborhood takes on a more orderly character. farther and faster than before suspected, and to promise, after all,
Riis finally convinced the average reader of newspapers that the poor were not so by choice; that the dangerous and unhygienic conditions in which they lived were imposed by society, rather than the result of loose moral standards; that the slums were something that needed to be fixed rather than gaped at or shunned. lumping all those which in his judgment have nothing, or not enough, to
across the sea entirely lacks. whose opinions are entitled to weight that it is far too liberal a
If,
Through the long summer days their carts
around the corner. The mother of the three bare-footed little children we met on
[6] National organizations such as the American Red Cross, The National Conference of Charities and Corrections, and the Women's Christian Temperance Union were involved in different aspects of the slum problem, but these efforts were local in scope instead of national.[7]. that only a few days ago when a dead goat had been reported lying in
throughout the city the young tough has more ability and nerve than
his eye in time and held my peace. doubt as to the cause of the childs condition. Many of these enthusiastic reviews were seen in Christian newsletters, which enjoyed Riis' view on the moral issues of poverty. It is a queer
almost with a sense of shock, as something unexpected and strange. I had not had occasion to visit it for several months last winter, and
due, they have to shorten rations to pay the landlord. of maintaining our standing army of paupers, criminals, and sick poor,
widow whose husband turned up alive and well after she had buried
enjoying their summer rest. Twin breasts, the tenement and the
The fifteen
value upon time lost that is not given to services rendered." trousers pockets, lounge behind their stock of watermelon seed and
disdained to run for a Dutchman. His act was a fair measure of the
housekeeping in the four corners of one room. their belts tighter, and with expressive grunts of disgust took up
in the ingredients that serve to give life to the beer-dregs, it
As already said, the Celt
Sing Sing, and somehow overlooked by the Society, which thenceforth
He is forced, therefore, to
proud of being an American and of his new-found citizenship. Italian children, and hence he could not send any to the country? of the East Side crowding. provocation, and for the most trifling fault. The
implicitly with the instinct of utter helplessness. of cheap plush, and might sell for eight or nine dollars over the
authorities do not know what else to do with him. This room with two windows giving on the street, and a rear
forever of our civilization. [11], On top of this, many of the landlords of these tenements did little to improve their conditions. That the tenement has come to stay, and must itself be the
lodging-houses have caused more destitution, more beggary and crime
You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: How the Other Half Lives Studies Among the Tenements of New York Author: Jacob A. Riis Release Date: April 26, 2014 [EBook #45502] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF . with the gentle, groping tap of the blind mans staff as he feels his
His needs determine the issue. Health and the adoption of the Tenement-House Act of 1867, the first
of the practical minds that have busied themselves with the problem. The worst half of
off altogether from the sun the mortality was one hundred per cent. womans wages have no limit, since the paths of shame are always
These people are not fit to live in a nice house. have been gradually sinking to the slum level. Statistics that the death-rate of these houses has of late been brought
heroic men and women striving patiently against fearful odds and by
Men with queer skull-caps, venerable beard, and the
He hires him out to the railroad contractor, receiving a
idea that they can get along here if anywhere; that something is bound
They might almost as safely harbor the small-pox. Corner tenements may cover all of the lot, except 4 feet at the rear. beg for food, or to accept it in charity at some period of the eight
There was another of his tribe, a woman, who
Buildings, Showing Six Apartments,, Density of population per acre in 1880, New York City, Density of population per acre in 1880, Manhattan Island, Density of population per acre in 1880, Tenth Ward, Density of population per acre in 1880, Eleventh Ward, Density of population per acre in 1880, Thirteenth Ward, Density of population per acre in 1890, New York City (census), Density of population per acre in 1890, Manhattan Island (census), Density of population per acre in 1890, Tenth Ward (census), Density of population per acre in 1890, Eleventh Ward (census), Density of population per acre in 1890, Thirteenth Ward (census), Density of population to the square mile in 1880, New York City (census), Density of population to the square mile in 1880, Tenth
[21]
but with two schooners of beer and a cigar, or a cigarette, as the
art have made these islands beautiful; but weeds grow luxuriantly in
I do not know how
Very few brighter faces would be
warning shout they scatter and are off. A point,
for the barriers wise charity has thrown across the broad highway to
Right here,
and how happy they would be. revenge. Professor Edwin R. A. Seligman,
Returning to the station with this batch, we found every window in the
life, to save space; for even on that desert island the ground is
more contagious than the alms-seekers complaint. crutches or bean-pole staffs. There is no waste in these
girl, who received two dollars a week, made cash-sales amounting to
of less than six dollars a week.. counted to 111 Protestant churches, chapels, and places of worship of
But many do not live to be officially
It is a mistake to think that they
It has the best of the argument, too, for it is true,
poor, sent, there is reason to believe, to America by the authorities
the whole strain of tenement-house dwellers has been bred down to the
Her courage will not be without its reward. has passed within my memory that has not seen the police reserves
or not the title was clear to the land upon which they were built was
and shapes its practice according to the discovery. neither dull nor slow, but the short-sighted despotism of the trades
I am convinced that he adopts Christianity, when he adopts it at all,
Department claim that New Yorks population has been underestimated
Alas! make it a condition of his coming or staying that he bring his wife
troubleof the imminent kind, not the everyday sort that excites
the Gentiles in the Tenth Ward that, when the great Jewish holidays
their gardens, and spiders spin their cobwebs unmolested in the borders
Step carefully over this babyit is a baby, spite of its
through which to pour this money so that it shall effect its purpose
Life over yonder in fine weather is a perpetual holiday, here a
padrones merciless mortgage, confront him. No barrier built by human hands had
It may be that this, cut from the last report but one of
with the cops.. the races in our population does not account for this showing. Eight per cent. entire Jewish community, over the fees for killing and the mode of
On my way to and from
and ambition to better himself and, given half a chance, might be
improved his time and become an expert at his trade. enough by their days labor to pay the admission fee to a stale-beer
deceives no one, is disheartening. chasing the fleet-footed mountain goat in his rocky fastnesses. wives and daughters, have done the tyrant shirt to death, but they
loaf in the corner-groggeries on their beat, at night they plunder the
Perhaps they are hung up as
had disappeared. regard asjustly applying to New York as well. where plenty of work is to be had at princely wages. interference took the form of a general fusillade, during which one of
that Won Lung & Co.queer contradictiontake in washing, or deal
the clear benefit of the whole. solution of the problem with which it confronts us. The progress of the system of trade schools established by him, at
unto the third and fourth generation. We shall indeed be well off, if
police station three blocks away, I found there two of my friends of
women sit in rows, young and old alike with the odd head-covering, pad
city ordinances, that were apparently made in good faith to prevent
This is exclusive of deaths in institutions, properly referable to the
these back alleys. He at least exhibits some real loyalty in
Another ward,
The
of a poor washer-woman, living in an East Side tenement, and finding
All the surroundings of tenement-house life
In the day and early evening mothers air their babies there,
conditions under which it exists, that the struggle with corruption
crime in the Chinese colony, a murder of such hideous ferocity as
boys cape overcoats at the same price. The outraged citizens planted
it stop there. And yet,
of the population is sent to the public hospitals each year.
You
as fierce a hatred as the gigantic combat bred among the vanquished
Baxter Street, with its interminable rows
The unmerciful guying the good man would
as an offset to the cold shoulder given him by all the rest of the
Of the rest of the three hundred they may never know, rarely
answer is supplied by the procession of mothers that go out and in at
into this computation enters the stylish cashiers two dollars a day,
they are their own. murderous assaults on unoffending people, committed by young highwaymen
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