Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 247, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 October 1916 — HOME TOWN HELPS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HOME TOWN HELPS

BAD HOUSING CAUSES MISERY New York Tenement Expert Describe* _ Evil Conditions —Living in Small Place Best After All. fy-'* The three great scourges of mankind, disease, poverty and crime, are largely due to bad housing, according to John J. Murphy, New York’s Tlfiglsent house commissioner, whoso ofticiul task it Is to' study and remedy as far as possible improper housingconditions York city. Mr. Murphy, who Ts the only tenement house commissioner in the United States, recently hnd published an article on housing conditions, based on his investigations in large centers of population, in which he said: “There can be no question that the three great scourges of mankind, disease. poverty and crime, are In a large measure due to bad housing, in Its broadest sense. Intemperance In many of its most repugnant forms may be traced to the fact that so many citizens are obliged to live in homes in which they can take neither pride nor comfort and which make the saloon . seem desirable by contrast. _ “Bad housing is especially detrimental in its consequences to the childred reared under its influence. In many cases the evil influences of environment can never be eradicated. The need for the erection of institutions for the blind and hospitals for the child victims of tuberculosis, spinal meningitis and other diseases of like character is greatly intensified by bad home conditions. The employee living in a house inadequately lighted and ventilated is unable to perforin his task with proper energy and intelligence. Women compelled to live in such houses develop tendencies to irritability, which frequently lead to family disruption. “Bud housing tends to Increase tho tax burdens of a community by requiring larger expenditures for remedial service, which might otherwise be eliminated. The lack of proper cleanliness and decency in the exterior and interior of houses tends to reduce the selfrespect of the occupants. Note how eagerly the family which has even slightly improved its financial standing seeks buildings with more attractive exteriors and better decorated rooms. It will also be found that as families descend In the social scale one of the pangs most keenly felt Is the necessity for the occupancy of in buildings whose general appearance Indicates that they are occupied by the miserably poor.”