Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 70, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 March 1913 — BETTER HOMES FOR THE POOR [ARTICLE]

BETTER HOMES FOR THE POOR

Corporation Capitalized at $500,000 Launched in Los Angeles to Erect Homes for Workers.

Los Angeles, Cal. —Based upon the theory of “business philanthropy,” a dorporation capitalized at >500,000, and managed by leading bankers and charity workers, has been launched here to build concrete houses for thq poor and remove the shacks and courts that now thickly dot the slums. According to the plan adopted by the corporation, land available in the so-called slum districts of the city will be used, and the shacks which now harbor numerous poor families will be replaced by sunny, four-room houses of concrete constructed according to plans suggested by Thomas A. Edison. The houses will have all mod- ~ ern conveniences, including baths, the promoters of the plan being convinced that the tubs win be used for bathing instead of containing coal or potatoes, or cradling the babies while the mothers go out to work. These houses will be rented or sold on terms to snlt the means of the families that will occupy them. The corporation is managed by thir-ty-three trustees, among whom are Rev. Dana W. Bartlett, head of Bethlehem institute, and officers of women’s clubs which have been promoting the movement for a number of years.