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A study of housing problems of the unskilled worker with tentative remedial plan

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A study of housing problems of the unskilled worker with tentative remedial plan

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Content A STUDY OP
HOUSING PROBLEMS OP THE UNSKILLED ^DRKPR
IVITH
TENTATIVE REMEDIAL PLAN
A Thesis
Presented to the Department of Sociology
University of Southern Californio
In partial fulfillment
of the
Requirements for tho
Denrco of Vaster of Arts
Dr.S. I. De man
192G
UMI Number: EP68053
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This thesis, having been approved by the
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Date
CONTENTS
Introduction ........... v
Chapter Page
I. Home and Heredity...... 1
* The ”twin-ship**of Nature and Nurture........ 4
Relative value of heredity and environ
ment as a socializing influence...... 5
II, Home and Physical Well-being...... 8
Relation of Housing to infantile mortality.. 9
Relation of housing to Health............... 11
Relation of housing to general mortality,... 13
Relation of housing to stature,weight,etc*.,16a
III. Home and Anti-social Attitudes.................. 21
Bad housing in relation to rapid
growth of crime...... 25
Elimination of bad housing a most impor
tant corrective measure for checking crime.. 27
Bad housing most impressive potential
of criminal tendencies...................... 30
IV. Housing Movements and Progress in Western Europe, 34
Housing plans in Western Europe........... 35
Progress in England..........................38
Progress in Belgium..... 41
progress in France........................... 42
Progress in Holland..........................43
Progress in Germany.......................... 44
Co-operative movements........................46
i i
C O N T E N T S ,c o n ttd .
Chapter Page
IV. Garden-cities and industrial projects...... 49
V, Housing Conditions in the United States;
Movements and progress. .................. 58
Nev; York City................... 59
Phi lade Iphi a............................... 61
Chicago ........................... 62
1
Classification of projects................. 63
Massachusetts Homestead Commission........ 64
Riverview Co-operative Apartments......... 65
Industrial projects in America............ 66
Philanthropic and Semi-philanthropic....... 68
Los Angeles................................ 72
VI, Reflections; Social Aspects and Individual Aspects83
Better home environment as a preventive
measure for crime ............ ..85
Education as a socializing influence and
its relation to home influence.,...........,85
Discussion of methods for improving
bad housing. ...............................87
Theoretical discussion of elementary
principals,involving the individual's
responsibility,and Society's obligations....93
Objections to proposed plan of amelioration
and individual discussion of each...........94
VII. Housing Plan for Families of Small Incomes.......103
The plan........................... 106
Ground plan and location................... 106
I l l
C O N T E N T S ,c o n t'd .
Chapter
VII. Tennis dourts...............................108
Architecture...... .108
Educational center......... .110
, Business center,churches,parks.............Ill
Community activities,...................... 112
Financing................................... 117
Cost of development............... 126a
Tables
Table Page
Physical Development and Overcrowding. . ...... 16a
Dr .Arkle ’ s Report........... . 16b
Reduction in Death Rate During the Decade,According
to the Size of the House.................17a
Criminal Reports-Engl and and Wales......... 30a
Influence of Pood Prices on Crime-Prance.......... 30b
Statistics of Recidivists in Sweden.....................31a
Criminal and Non-criminal Delinquents ........... 31b
Housing Conditions-Cleanliness.......................... 78a
Crowding in Beds----- Incomes. . 78b
Rentals,Persons per Room,Lodgers,Entrances............. 78c
Rooms.................................... 78d
Estimated Cost of Development of Author's Plan.........126a
Exhibits
The Housing Problem in War and peace,Exhibit 1.........127
Nuisances Abated,Exhibit II.......................... .130
IV
C 0 N T E N T 8,cont'd.
Exhibits Page
Improvements installed,Exhibit III......... .131
Los Angeles Photographs,Exhibits IV,V,VI,VII and VIII.132
Bungalow No .1,Exhibit IX. ...... .............. . . . 131
Bi1 galow No.2,Exhibit X .......................... 138
Bungalow No.3,Exhibit XI............................ ..139
Bungalow Vo, 4, Exh ibit XII.............. ............ . .140
Thesis Bibliography.......... 141
Plan of Model Community......... 154
INTRODUCTION
Bad housing is the principal causal factor of anti
social tendencies and behavior. It is primary in its
character,as it affects the parents who foreshadow the
delinquent child. Steady increment in immorality,law- ,
1
iBssness,delinquency and-crime,and a mounting percentage
of social disease,feeble-mindedness and the manias,consti
tute the. great soqial problem of today. Palliative and
other remedial and preventive measures have no>t been suf-
2
ficient to stem the rising tide of crime. In spite of
the enormous increase of social agencies and the expendi
ture of vast sums of money,crime is becoming increasingly
frequent. We are wondering wherein w© h!kve failed. An
examination will show that all social efforts in this di-
,rection have been applied to the individual offender or
those associated with him; and practically nothing has
been done to change the home from which these emanate.
One heeds only to study a few case-histories to be con
vinced of the sinister influences of early home environ
ment .
If it were feasible for every person in our country
to own his own home, and such home contained reasonable
minimum standards of physical and aesthetic requirements,
the crime wave would soon show material reduction.
r
s.S,McClure in McClure's Magazine,Jan.1904,163-171. (1^
statistics he uses Wéhe gathered“l)y the Chicago Tribune),
2
Raymond Fosdick,American Police Systerns,9-27.
"U.S.Crime Tendency Declared Apalling'",Detroit Free Press,
April 9,1926. ^
Literary Digest,Dec.27,1919,p 14.
The New Repub'lTc, Jan 5.1921, p 156.
'Mi
While there is diversity of opinion as to what extent
bad housing is the causal factor of anti-social behavior,
there is common agreement that it is one of the major con
tributing elements; and the trend of recent opinion is
showing marked tendency in favor of the postulate that
dys-social^behavior is directly proportional to home en
vironment.
Europe is far in advance in its efforts to meet the
problem of bad housing. Over twenty years ago, first
England,then Prance,Germany,Belgium and other countries
passed necessary legislation which initiated various
housing schemes for the low wage earner.
The World War and the pro-urban migration of the
post-war period acted as a serious check to housing re
form,but work is now going forward at a very hopeful pace.
In our country practically nothing has been done in
this direction. The three great obstacles to any forward
movement have been,respectively :(a)politieal,(b)commercial
and (c)scientific.
(a) It has been persistently argued that it is not
within the province of the National,State or City govern
ments to render financial aid to any particular group of
its constituency; that such an act would be pure paternal-
.lsm,and repugnant to American ideals of citizenship; that
the low-wage earning class would object strenuously to
being stigmatized by government subsidy,and would frustrate
Author has coined this word as he feels that it expresses
his meaning much more precisely than "anti-social".
v i l
any effort to Improve their living conditions,
(h)Commerce and feal estate hoards have used every
means of propaganda in two directions: the former to
attract industries and the latter to develop and enhance
real estate values. As members of these two boards large
ly interlock,there has been created a strong public opin
ion, and the catch word "paternalism" has been used as a
smoke screen to prevent any interference with their own
speculative projects. Their slogan is:" We want less
government in business and more business in government"
Chapter VI will deal with this question and endeavor
to show that their fears are groundless,and that govern
ment subsidy would help rather than hinder their individ
ual interests.
For nearly tv/o generations biologists and geneticists
have maintained that bad heredity is the principal cause of
anti-social behavior,and that improved housing would not
solve the problem. "Let them perish",they said,"in their
filth and squalor,that they may not reproduce their kind"
Biologic and sociologie research of the last decade
has had a profound effect in modifying this point of view;
and,in Chapter I,we endeavor to show the favorable trend
of today. In Chapters II and III we further emphasize
the close relationship between bad housing and bad heredity;
and Chapter V gives more concrete details of present hous
ing conditions,and the crying need of an active,telic
program.
V 1.11
It wss deemed advisable to discuss the relation of
heredity,physical well-being,vice,delinquency and crime to
home environment,thus presenting a fairly complete picture
of the problem and the urgent need of remedial measures
if we are to succeed in stemming the rising tide of self-
destraction.
An effort is made to present a remedial suggestion
which may be helpful. It is not a panacea; but has con
structive value,and may serve as a ray of light to illu
mine the dark and gloomy spots of our modern industrial
cities.
CHAPTER I
Home and Heredity
"There are two factors, it must
be remembered, in criminal her
edity..There is the innate dis
position, and there is the ele
ment of contagion from social
environment."
Havelock Ellis.
Concensus of opinion among outstanding men in the
genetic field is quite uniform in its attitude on the
value of home environment as a socializing influence,ir-
1
respective of heredity. H.P.Osborne is of the opinion,
in which biologists thoroughly agree,that
the causes of germ evolution are internal-
external, rather than purely internal,- in
other words, that some kind of relation
exists between the actions,reactions and
interactions of the germ of the organism,
and of the environment.
2
This is amply supported by Robert Heath Lock,who says
it is certain that the qualities of any
person,-health,character,efficiency,
etc., depend upon his environment and
upbringing,as well as upon his heredi
tary endowments.
5
The great biologist and mathematician,Karl Pearson,
says
We cannot reform the criminal,nor qure the
insane from the standpoint of heredity.
Education for the criminal,fresh air for
1 ----- -----------------
Richard Swann Lull,The Ways of Life,90,
2 ' ^ ^
Robert Heath Lock,Recent Progress in the Study of Varia-
tions,Heredity and ÜEv'ulùt"l'on,297. ^
3
Ibid.,297,298.
the tuberculars,these are excellent.
Although this does not save the off
spring from need of like treatment,
our human sympathy will no longer
allow us to watch the State purify
itself by aid of cruel natural selec
tion, No man is responsible for his
own being, and nature and nurture,
over which he has no control,have
made him the being he is,good or evil.
1
Popenoe and Johnson say:
To ask whether nature in general con
tributes more to a man than nurture
is futile; but it is not at all futile
to ask whether the differences in a
given human trait are more affected
by differences in nature than by
differences in nurture. It is easy to
see that a verdict may be sometimes given
to one side,sometimes to the other.
This principle is supported by William Cecil Damphîer
2
Whethara and Catherine Burning Whetham,
The improvement of the environment is
always worthy of effort,not only for
its immediate effect,but also for its
influence on coming generations. Acquir
ed characters may not be transmitted by
animals,or plants,but,in the social or
ganism, a character impressed by the
action of one generation,will,without
doubt,modify profoundly the qualities
of the next.
The broad views of such hereditarians as Henry B.Orr
3
and William E.Kennicott,quoted respectively, are splen
did examples of unbiased appraisal of the coordinate val
ue of our physical and social heritage:
The development of organisms,and even
life itself,is dependent upon and caused
1 ------ --------------
Popenoe and Johnson,Applied Eugenics,3,4,
2 '
W.C.D.Whetham and Catherine Burning Whethara,The Family
and the Nation,ggg^
3
Henry B.Orr,A Theory of Bevelopment and Heredity,58.
by the never-ceasing action of the forces
of their environment*
1
As with other species of animals
each of us comes into the world
equipped with a physical constitution
and a few simple fundamental instincts.
But the possession of these alone does
not enable us to take and maintain our
positions in the community of life, Man's
life today is subject to a great social
heritage which,unlike his natural heri
tage, can be realized only as a result of
his own activity and acquisition* Civil
ized man is the result of Nature plus Nurtur®.
To this may be added the clear statements of Edwin
2 3
Grant Conklin and Charles Benedict Davenport, quoted
respectively:
All theories as to the cause of evolution
agree in ascribing more or less importance
to the influence of environment* The mu
tation theory of de Vries teaches that
variations are of two distinct kinds;
first,fluctuations which are changes in
the developed organism,and are not in
herited; and second, mutations which are
changes in the germ plasm and are inherited*
Fluctuations are caused chiefly,if not
entirely,by changes in environment,and
while the causes of mutations are not" known
with certainty it seems most probable that
they also are found in environmental in
fluences- meaning by environment everything
which surrounds the inheritance units of the
germ-plasra* These mutations appear without
reference to whether they are valuable or
injurious,but the latter are eliminated by
environment. Consequently,the direction
of evolution has to a certain extent been
determined by the environmental conditions.
Environment thus plays a very important
part in evolution,and any hypothesis that
wholly discards or disregards this factor
can have no standing in science.
1------------
William L.Kennieott,Social Direction of Human Evolution,17
2 ' ^
Edwin Grant Conklin,Direction of Human Evolution,11,12,
3 ' '
Charles Benedict Davehport,Heredity in Relation to
Eugenie8,253,268♦
With few exceptions,the principle that the
biological and pathological history of a
child is determined both by the nature of
the environment and the nature of the
protoplasm may be applied generally.
In general,the causes of disease as given
in the pathologies are not the real causes.
They are due to inciting conditions acting
on a susceptible protoplasm.•So long as we
regard heredity and environment as opposed,
so long will we experience endless contra
dictions in interpreting any trait,behavior
or disease.
It has been clearly indicated in the excerpts quoted
that heredity and environment act in unison in producing
man and society; that certain adjustments are imperative
before an individual can enter the threshold of socletary
life. Why not adopt Nature's guidance,and accept the
"twin-ship"of Nature and Nurture, and apply this concept
in our daily work?
1
George Howard Parker gives an excellent word-picture
of his conviction;
We have seen how iramensly powerful and
compelling the forces of organic inheri
tance are,..but we have also Seen that
what we call ourselves Is a growth built
up in our nervous organization,in part
directly by daily experience,and in part
indirectly by what I have called social
inheritance..The personality thus devel
oped, though it must feed upon a certain
organically inherited soil,and cannot
rightly flourish unless this is wholesome,
is in itself no whit less important a
factor in the evolution of man than that
of inheritance through the substance of
the egg.
1
George Howard Parker,Biology and Social Problems,125,128.
In substantial accord with the above are such
1 2
eminent men as David Starr Jordan and Havelock Ellis,
whose acceptance of the "twin-ship" of Nature and Nurture
is clearly evident from the excerpts that follow;
When Nature and Nurture work together
we are well on our way to ideal conditions.
But Nurture will do nothing unless Nature
is first. Nature indicates possibilities.
It is for Nurture to make them good. To
be well born but brought up in the slums
means to be born to premature death.
To assume that social reform is unnecessary
because it is not inherited,is altogether
absurd. Nor,again,must it be said that
social reform destroys the beneficial
results of natural selection.
3
Even Lombroso admits that environment is capable of
modifying heredity under favorable conditions. According
to the latter,
..as the child in its organic development in
the womb presents soraatologic characters
which in the adult would appear as monstros
ities, so in the first years of life he goes
through a period of initial perversity,-an
ontogenetic relic of the primitive immoral
ity of the species,which is overcome or not
afterwards,according to the education received.
4
De Qulros,commenting further says;
It is a case of economic misery resolving
itself into physiological misery and degen
eration. Interuterine life,even when
suspended in fecundation,is equivalent,from
1-------------------
David Starr Jordan,Heredity of Richard Roe,34,35.
2
Havelock Ellis,Task of Social Hygiene,13.
3
DeQuiros,Modern Theories on Criminality,25&
4 ------------------------------
Ibid., 26.
this standpoint,to a first acceptance
of quintessential and refined social en
vironment,the same as in the reverse and
analogous sense anthropologists say that
education is the prolongation or the con
tinuation of heredity. It is a question,
then,of anthropological states,with so
cial bases,or,if preferred,of individual
marks of the social state.
The long mooted question as to the hereditary bâêis
of alcohol,and the gradually changing point of view,-
first, that alcoholism is a hereditary trait; second,
that only the tendency is inherited,and finally that
it is produced by environment,indicates the trend of
the times. It is the authpr's belief that miserable home
environment and poverty are the main factors in producing
alcoholism,aided by a vitiated emotional constitution
induced by the environment of the present or a pre
ceding generation. In support of this we may summarize
1
a discussion of this subject by Calaganni;
..that drunkenness is not the cause of poverty
(anthropological factor producing a social
condition),but that poverty is a cause of
drunkenness (social factor converting itself
into anthropological state or mark) "for
workers,through lack of means to nourish body
and mind,are obliged to recur to alcohol,
which serves physiologically and psychologically
as a substitute."
It may be seen from this rather short outline that
many scientific men in the genetic field are nearing
"rapproachment" with their former adversary,the Euthenist;
and that we may soon hope to see a working basis of common
r “------------- —
DeQuiros,Modern Theories on Criminality,25.
agreement,in which each can contribute his ‘ best with
out sacrifice,and each can still retain his pet men
tal reservations.
Accepting environment as à living entity acting
and interacting upon and with the human organism,it
must be admitted that the home is the most primary and
essential environmental influence in our lives. Here
the earliest impressions are made on a claybed yielding
to the slightest pressure,and leaving ineffaceable im
prints, that follow us through our days.
Repeatedly we have heard the statement attributed
to the Catholic Church,"Give us the child until it is
seven years of age,and then you can do what you please
with it," This is vitally true; and is borne out with
experiences probably longer than those of any other
institution.
8
CHAPTER II
Home and Physical Well-being
"There is no place too beautiful to be the
workshop of a human being. Our ideal for
the future must be for every man to have
a little plot of ground and to live and
work where he can say;
'I'm glad the sky is painted blue.
And the Earth ii painted green.
With such a lot of nice fresh air
All sandwiched in between.' "
Caroline Hunt,
The physical basis of every individual has its root-
origin in the home. Some of these roots may extend to
«
the parental soil-bed; 'others may be traced to the homes
of earlier progenitors. In the main,however,it may be
stated that the physical well-being of any individual is
largely determined within the confines of his own habitat.
The correlation of sanitary and hygienic home en-
vironment to the health of the child is so universally ac
cepted that it requires but little emphasis.
1
The medical survey of the city of Berlin, Germany,
made prior to the World War,revealed the connection be
tween health and housing. "In Berlin,the people living
in one-room tenements had the appalling death rate of 163.5
per 1,000. The rate of those living in two rooms was 22.5,
for those in three rooms 7.5,while for those living in four
or more rooms,it was only 5.4."
i ; --------—
Albèrt Shaw,MunicipâliGovernment ih Continental Europe,
355-361. '
9
The essential importance of the home as the basis of
physical well-being cannot be overstated; and its influ
ence begins with the father .and mother,prior to concep
tion, and continues during the period of gestation,and
broadens materially after birth. The susceptibility of
the tender babe to the slightest environal pressure may
be compared to the aspen leaf in its response to the
gentlest of breezes. The slightest material indisposi
tion affects the chemistry of the lacteal secretions,and
may induce serious digestive disturbances in the nursing
child. This maternal indisposition may be traced to a
multitude of causes ; the father's irritable temper, the
lack of proper food,over-work,insufficient rest and
quiet,or general discontent.
The modern tendencies to artificial feeding add great
ly to the burdens of the child and mother; and render sur
vival more difficult.
A study of the infant mortality tables shows the
great value of hygienic measures within the home. Death
takes the greatest toll in the first,-the most suscepti
ble year of life.
In New York City the application of hygienic care in
establishing milk depots had remarkable effect in reducing
infant mortality. In fact,the infant mortality of the
United States was reduced in one decade over five per
cent,an enormous saving of life. This was accomplished
by improved hygienic measures.
10
1
Charles Richmond Henderson says;
Degeneration often begins in fairly good
family stock,with malnutrition,disease,vice
and among the low paid and casual workers,
with hunger,cold,unwholesome dwellings and
unhygienic customs. This physical retrogres
sion issues either in passion,which yields
eâsily to vicious indulgence,or in active
and'aggressive revolt against the order of
society,and the institutions of marriage
and property.
We need only to visualize an average home of the
undesirable type to understand the raison d'etre of many
of our social ills.
Man and wife must have a reasonably inviting home
environment to make life stable and permanent. With the
advent of children,this becomes mandatory,and a minimum
of space,sunshine,and a garden spot are as essential as
the very food they consume. A minimum of home comforts is
Just as necessary for the parents as for the childrenA
happy and wholesome childhood is the precursor of a well-
balanced adulthood. "Mens sana in corpore sano."
You cannot hope to grow good fruit from poor seed,or
in unfavorable soil. The comfort and well-being of the
parents is essential to the health of the offspring.
2
The New York Tenement Commission Report states:
Crowded together in dark,ill ventilated rooms,
in many of which the sunlight never enters,
and in most of which fresh air is unknown..
They are centers of disease,poverty,vipe and
crime,whwre it is a marvel not that some chil
dren grow up to be thieves,drunkards and
prostitutes,but that so many should ever grow
up to be decent and self respecting. All the
conditions which surround childhood,youth and
womanhood in New York's crowded tenement
2 ____
Charles RTcbmbnd Henderson,Preventative Agencies and Methods,68
^New York Tenement Commission report,1900.
11
quarters make for unrighteousness. They
also make for disease.
1
Jacob Riis says;
It is the tenement that gives up the child
to the street in tender years to find there
the home it denied him.. Its power to per
vert and corrupt has always to be considered^.
From the tenement the street was until the
kindergarten came not long ago,and is still
for the great mass of the children,the one
escape,a Hobson's choice,for it is hard to
say which is the most corrupting. .With the
disappearancé of the shanties-homesteads in
effect,however humble-and the coming of the
tenement crowds,there has been a distinct
descent in the scale of refinement among the
children.
These statements apply with equal force to undesirable
housing conditions in practically every city in the United
States. They are merely accentuated in New York City;
but are present everywhere. On every side we find houses
which are a disgrace to Christian civilization. Thousands
of would-be useful citizens are destroyed annually, and
millions are robbed of their inalienable right to health
and happiness by preventable diseases,which originated
within the confines of ah unsanitary environment. Our
physical demands are primary. We are animals first. As
2
Herbert Spencer stated;
To be a good animal is the first requisite
to success in life, and to be a nation of
good animals is the first condition of
national prosperity.
1-------------------
Jacob Riis ln:Charles Richmond Henderson,Preventative
Agencies and Methods,68-75,
2
Herbert Spencer,quoted by Charles A.Hlwood, The Social
Problem,98.
12
The persistence of life and character traits,and sur
vival in spite of destructive environment will emphasize
the latent power of human potentials ;and what may he hoped
I
for under favorable conditions. G.Aschaffenburg says;
Every measure that helps to make the people
physically and economically healthier is
a weapon in the struggle against the world
of crime.
The United States Public Health Service,according
to Public Health Reports,states that :
Since we know that the mortality from contagious
diseases increases in proportion to the number
of inmates of the rooms,hygiene requires that
even the most modest dwellings should afford
sufficient room to prevent over-crowding.
The Panama Health Report in Public Health Reports of
September 6,1918,states ;
The negro laborers on the Isthmus of Panama
suffered very greatly from diseases of the
respiratory organs,especially pneumonia,
amounting at times to an epidemic. General
Gorgas scattered men from large and over
crowded barracks into single huts,and small
rooms,with not less than fifty feet of floor
space for each person,and reduced the pneu
monia rate in a single ye^r from 18.4 per
1,000 éo 2 per 1,000.
3
Irving Fisher has shown that the annual loss to the
United States through preventable dJ^ea^s and deaths is
#1,500,000,000.
1--- --------- --------
G.Aschaff enburg. Crime and Its Repression, 228>
2 ^ --
U.S.Public Health Reports,Se’ ^t,6,1918.
3
Irving Fisher,National Vitality,Its Waites and Conserva-
tion,Senate DoGlW:^TS',pp^34'yV4H------------------------
13
1
Professor Rudolph M.Binder points out that;
Not many years ago death was considered a
matter beyond man's control. Now we know
that thousands of deaths may be avoided*.
England and Wales had a death rate of 21.2
per 1,000 from 1866-1870; it dropped to
.13.5 from 1910-1914. This means a differ-
. ence of 7.7 per 1,000,or 77,000 per
1,000,000,or about 3,500,000 for the
United Kingdom.. New measures for avoiding
disease and lengthening life are discoverable
almost daily. What is needed is to lay
emphasis on health as a social factor.
But our guilt is. still greater. Death is not so ter
rible. By our indolence and apathy we permit the surviving
millions of children to grow up in an atmosphere which
either permanently stunts their finer or aesthetic senses,
or condemns them to a life of mental anguish and deep
2
bitterness of soul,so well expressed by Jane Addams :
We must bear in mind that the senses of youth
are singularly acute and ready to respond to
every vivid appeal...If the imagination is re
tarded while the senses remain awake,we have
a state of aesthetic insensibility...An English
moralist has lately asserted that much of the
evil of the time may be traced to outraged im
agination. .. It is neither a short nor an easy
undertaking to substitute the'love of beauty
for mere desire,to place the mind above the
senses; but is not this the sum of the immemor
ial obligation which rests upon the adults of
each generation, if-they would nurture and
restrain the youth,..We are sc# timid and incon
sistent that although we declare the home to be
the foundation of Society,we do nothing to direct
the fôrce upon which the continuity of the home
depends...
That we have failed miserably in our duty to the less
1 ' " " ' " '
Professor Rudolph M,Binder,quoted by C.M.Gase in Outlines
of Introductory Psychology,648....
2
Jane Addams,Spirit of Youth and the City Streets,27-51.
14
fortunate members of society is due primarily to pure self-
isjbmess,-to utter disregard of signs of distress about us.
Shielding ourselves with the age-old cry:"Am I my brother's
keeper?" we go on our way complacently,hoping against hope
that somehow,some time,that anguished voice will cease to
1
hound us. As Jane Addams poetically expresses it:
It is as if we ignored a wistful,over-confident
creature v/ho walked through our city streets,
calling out *I am the spirit of youthI With me
all things' are possible!, * We fail to under
stand what he wants,or even to see what he is
doing,although his acts are pregnant with mean
ing, and v/e may either translate them into a
social chronicle of vice or turn them into
a solemn school for civic righteousness,
2
E.E.Wood states that one third of our people are liv
ing under subnormal housing conditions,-conditions which
tend to lower rather than raise the physical,mental and
moral stamina of all the persons,but especially the chil
dren, who are subject to them. And about ten per cent are
living under conditions so bad that the toleration of them
by the community would justify an indictment for man-
3
slaughter. In a previous publication, she states that
there are 2,000,000 unsanitary homes in this country.
This is a severe indictment;but it is borne out by the
evidence available from other sourees. This condition
exists in most Industrial towns and cities in the United
States,as shown by the comparative mortality tables of
4 >
thirty-seven states, Edward T.Divine points out that in
the figures of the reports for the year 1900, cities
r
-Jane Addams,Spirit of Youth and the City Streets,161.
^E.E.Wood,Housing of Æe~ ühskllled Wage Earner,5D".
xE.E.Wood,The Housing Famine,Tliird Argument,'254.
Edward T.Devine,Principles of Relief,67-33.
15
with populations from 50,000 to 100,000 had a death rate
very little below the six cities with 500,000 inhabitants
and over. ^The death rate from consumption*,Dr.Devine
1
said, *is even closer,being 21.9 per 10,000 population
compared with 22.5 for the larger cities. Both the death
rate from consumption and the general death rate are ac
tually greater in these smaller cities which have 100,000
to 500,000 inhabitants. Evidently the smaller city is
not without its grave sanitary problems.*
2
E.E.Wood said; ”In Manchester,in the Oldham Road
area,where the death rate during the period 1887-1889
had been 49.2 per 1,000,after a slum clearance and re
housing scheme had been carried out it had fallen to 27.7.
In the Pollard Street area the fall had been from 51.4
to 52,7...The results of better housing as shown in lower
death rates and higher physical developments are vary
striking. In the year ending March,1912,the death rate
in London County'Council*s dwellings was 8.5 per 1,000
while for the whole of London in 1911 it was 15 per 1,000.
The Glasgow statistics of the Scotch Educational
3
Department definitely show the marked relation of over-
*
crowding to the attributes of children.
Edward T.Devine,Principles of Relief,67,68.
2
E.E.Wood,Housing of the Unskilled Wage Earner,158,157.
3 ^ ^ ~
W.Thompson,Housing TJp to Date,4. (These statistics: ap
peared in a Blue Book issued by the Scotch Educational
Department in 1907).
Dr.A.K.Chslmer’s table,page 17a,this thesis,is further
evidence on this point*
16
They found a "difference of about 5 inches in
height and 12 to 14 pounds in weight was averaged between
*
children living in 1 room and those in four rooms." These
Glasgow figures related to 72,857 children between the
ages of five and eighteen years,and classified according
to the number of rooms occupied by their families.
Dr Arkle*s report to the Liverpool Education Com
mittee gave comparisons between children who attended
different classes of schools in Liverpool,and the schools
in the industrial village of Port Sunlight . Class B
schools of Liverpool were selected as they were more
nearly comparable in type. A study of the table will re
veal that Port Sunlight children have distanced the most
favored city class; and at 14 their lead is still great
er, amounting in the matter of weight to 13^ pounds.
These figures certainly tend to prove that the much dis
cussed difference in physique between the upper classes
in England is not a matter of heredity, but of environ
ment, That physical well-being is so largely dependent
upon the sanitary and healthful condition of the home is
2
best focalized by W.Thompson*s summary:
In Glasgow.,no less than l/5 of the people live
in one room dwellings...more than half of the
people have houses with not more than 2 rooms;
87 per cent have 3 rooms and less,while 90 per
cent of the new houses built during the last
' three years have not more than three rooms.
-Glasgow Chart shown herewith,comprising page 16(a).
aÿE.E.Wood,Housing of the Unskilled Wage Earper,160.
Port Sunlight is described in Chapter IV. Dr.Arkle's
^Chart comprises page 16 (b),this thesis,
. Thomp son. Housing up to Da te, 4 " ^ .
1 6 a
TABLE I6a
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT AND OVERCROWDING
GLASGOW,SCOTLAND,1907.
1-Room Apt. 2-Roo® Apt.
Av.HVight Av.Weight Av".Heighi Av.Wei'ght
Boys 46.4 52.6 48.1 56.1
Girls 46.3 51.2 47.8 54.8
3-Room Apt. 4-Room Apt*
Av.Height Av.Weight Av.Height Av.Weight
‘ X.-
Boys 50.0 60.6 51.3 54.3
Girls 49.6 50.1 51.6 65.5
* W. Thompson, Housing Up to Date^4.
1Gb
TABLE I6b
DR,ARKLE*S REPORT TO THE LIVERPOOL EDUCATION COMMITTEE*
***
BOYS*AGE 7 BOYS-AGE 11 BOYS-AGE 14
Height
Inches
Weight
Pounds
Height
Inches
Weight
Pounds Height Weight
44.3 43.0 53.8 59.0 56.2 75.8
47.0 50.5 57.0 79.5 62.2 108.0
2.7 ’T.5 6.2 20.6 6.2 32.2
*
Thompson,Housing up to Date,quoted by E.E.Wood-
Housing of the Unskilled Wage Earner,160
**
Liverpool schools,Class B
* * *
Port Sunlight,
17
1
In Edinburgh..more than half the ”homes*consist
of one and two rooms..while in some districts
such as Canongate andSt.Giles,this proportion
is as high as 70 per cent.
It is not to be wondered at,therefore,that some
of these towns were among those having the high
est death rates in the country,varying from 22.5
per 1,000 for the whole of Sunderland to 36 for
the slums of that town; similarly for Liverpool,
from 23.9 to even 60 per 1,000;and for Manehes-
ter from 21.8 to 49,2 per 1,000. In the light
of these facts and figures we can realize why
people in the central districts of London as a
whole die at the rate of from 26 to 30 per 1,000,
while in the slum districts the death rate is as
high as 40 to 50 per 1,000,as compared with a
death rate of 13.5 in the adjacent codnties of
Surrey and Middlesex,.We see Glasgow with a death
rate of 21.6 per 1,000,Edinburgh with 19.7,Liv-
erpool(with its 12,000 cellar dwellings) from
22.7 in 1896 to 26.4 in 1899...
Manchester having 8,000 men rejected out of 11,000
intending recruits,on the ground of physical un
fitness for serving in the army; Durham,the most
overcrowded county in England,at the head of the
list for drunkenness; Sheffield,with a death rate
of 4.39 from zymotic diseases,nearly double the
average of the whole country,and five times that
of Hempstead; Birmingham,with eleven streets
showing a death rate of from 33 to 42 per 1,000,
equal to that of our army in South Africa from
all causes,including battle,disease,privation
and accident..
Intemperance,loss of vitality,mental and physical
weakness,disease,and death,have all been shown
over and over again to be directly due and pro
portionate to the extent of overcrowding..
What injures,debases and kills the body,debases,
injures and destroys the mind. There were 72,007
pauper lunatics in England costing £1,748,558,
in 1899,and the increase during the last ten
years was 18,735 (2S per cent) costing an extra
£536,939. Lancashire aloné spent £265,426 in
two years building new lunatic asylums.
I-------------- -
W.Thompson,The Housing Handbook,4-7,
^Apparently a survey of a district comprising eleven streets.
17a
TABLE I7a
REDUCTICm IN DEATH RATE DURING THE DECADE
ACCORDING TO THE SIZE OP HOUSE *
Death Rat® From All Causes in Houses
of Several Sizes*
Census Popu- Deaths Death rate Per cent
y 1ation decrease
1901 1911 1901 1909-12*1901 1909-12* 1911
1 Apt. 104,128 104,641 3,401 8,161 32*7 25.9 20.8
2 Apts.348,731 367,341 7,418 18,287 21.3 16.5 22*5
3 Apt 3*151,754 160,083 2,081 5,515 13.7 11.5 16.0
4 Apts.136,511
and up
127,549 1,533 4,119 11.2 10.8 3.6
Institutions 20,588
and Harbor
24,882 . 1,072 2,942 52.3 89.3 24.9
761,712 784,496 15,716 39,024 20.6 16.6 19.4
NOTE* Fourth quarter, 1909, and first
three quarters, 1912#
Dr. A. K, Chalmers, Medical Officer of
Health of Glasgow, “yhe House as a
Contributing Factor in the Death Rat®.
# #
18
There seems complete unanimity that a minimum standard
of home environment is the most urgent need of modern times.
Modern industrialism and pro-urban migration have created
a repidly growing menace which demands our immediate and
continued attention. Crowded and unsanitary housing will
break down the morals of the average human being. As
Charles A.Ellwood,quoting an eminent American physician
1
said:
The progressive civilization of the last
hundred years has worked terribly against
the health and perpetuity of the whole race.
This is shown in the reduced vitality of the
multitude that inhabit closely built cities,
in the diminished size of families, in the
capacity of many women to bear and nurse
children,in the disproportionate increase
of the insane,defectives and criminally in
clined. Such cities as London,Paris,Berlin,
New York and Chicago bear witness that modern
civilization is all the time preparing and
promoting its own destruction.
At the time the writer was studying medicine,a
lady graduate from Johns Hopkins, after devoting three
years to a study of housing conditions in Baltimore,pub-
*
lished a survey map showing areas of the city continuously
Infected with tuberculosis,and indicated &hat certain
houses were permanently infected,and had proven a suitable
nidus for infecting consecutive tenants of the same house.
In one instance five different families consecutively oc
cupied the same house,over a period of years,and one or
more members of each of the five families wore infected.
1--------------
Charles A.Ellwood,A Social Problem,98,99.
*
Unfortunately this map is not available.
19
This alone is not positive proof,but occurrences of this
character,repeated in many instances,would be corroborat
ive that the houses were responsible for the infection.
A mother must have sunlight,cheer,cleanliness,a
garden-plot,an outlook,-something worth while in life to
live with from day to day. Some cheer must come from with
out,if we are to have it within. The father,after cease
less toil from day to day, must have something to look
forward to,-something to yearn for; a place of restful
ness and repose,a cheerful break in the monotony of his
daily existence. A home with a pleasing exterior,in an
inviting,natural setting of trees,shrubs,flowers,is an
essential prerequisite,if we are to have normal,healthy
parenthood,so necessary and basic to the growth of the
coming offspring. ■
There is more than mere physical value in the home
of minimum standards. A poverty-stricken home has far
reaching influences,not only on the physical,but on the
mental,psychical and social sides of our nature. Shame,
degradation and mental anguish debase a man’s soul; and
they stunt or destroy the finer,aesthetic and ethical
qualities to vital to parenthood.
1
As Cornelia Stratton Parker says:
No one likes to be hungry,to be weary,to be
sick,to be worried over the future,to be
lonely,to have his feelings hurt,to lose those
Cornelia Stratton Parker,Working With the Working Woman,78.
20
near and dear to him...the people of the
so-called working class are more apt to
be hungry,weary and sick than the "educa
ted* and cultured well-to-do...the condition
of the bedding,of the clothing,the pictures
on the walls; the smells in the kitchen.,
and beyond; the food on the table,have so
much to do with happiness.
Most normal lives function in an atmosphere of vanity.
Without vanity there would be no pride. Without pride we
would still be in our primitive state# Pride motivates our
very existence;and is the driving cower behind our progress#
1
As David Humé aptly puts it:
But though PRIDE and HUMILITY have the qualities
of our mind and body,that is SELF..we find by
experience that there are many other objects
which produce these affections..We found a vanity
upon houses,gardens,equipages,as well as upon
personal merit and accomplishments..As we are
proud of riches in ourselves,so,to satisfy our
vanity we desire that anyone who has any connec
tion with us,should likewise be possessed of
them, and are ASHAMED OP ANYONE that is mean
OR POOR among our friends and relations.. For
this reason we remove the poor as far from us
as possible.
Every man seeks satisfaction in life. No matter how
humble his origin or position,there is always the %ill "
to do,to carry on,to accomplish. The first goal,and with
many the final one,is the home,the family,the neighbor
hood. The home is the pivotal center of his life’s acti-
2
vities; and,as George Van Ness Dearborn puts it:
Of all biological principles,scarcely any
is more universal than that every animal,
be it worm or man,seeks satisfaction and .
avoids dissatisfaction,seeks pleasantness
and shuns unpleasantness,strives after
pleasures and evades pain in all its normal
inclinations.
David Hume,A Treatise of Human Nature,Book 11,28-32.
2 ^ ^
George Van Ness Dearborn,Influence of Joy,25.
21
CHAPTER III
*
Home and Anti-social Attitudes.
"Each crime reveals factors that belong to
the individuals and influences coming
from environment?
Constantino Bernaldo de ^uiros.
Crime statistics in the United States are extremely un
reliable, and little dependency can be placed upon them,as
such;yet certain correlative data are obtainable;and,while
not conclusive,are sufficient to indicate certain trends
and causal facto&s. Authorities generally are agreed that
hème environment is the greatest single contributing ele-
ment;and statistics of delinquency show home defection in
the majority of cases. Further,we have at*our command
European statistics,which are more dependable. While
their conditions and social standards are entirely differ
ent, and must be allowed for,yet we are able to draw fair
ly scientific conclusions,in so far as they apply to the
relation of home environment to criminality.
We must also bear in mind that bad housing and poverty
go hand in hand. Almost invariably we will find one where
we find the other. Hence,all referehce to poverty may be
construed,a priori,as co-equivalent with bad housing. The
large majority of offenders in every civilized country
come from the homes of the poorer classes. Available
statistics of practically every civilized country show
I------------: --
pBonger tables offered herewith,page 31a.
'NOTE-Undesirable play and school attitudes,delinquency
and crime are closely related,and a discussion of
this had best be combined in one chapter under the
caption ANTI-SOCIAL ATTITUDES.
22
that the majority of moral derelicts,delinquents and
criminals come from the poor,or lower,classes;and the
same applies to physically normal persons as to those
with hereditary taints of the central nervous system.
Thus had housing,-bad homes-is not only a potential
force in criminal tendencies; but it fosters and encour
ages perpetuation of contaminated blood-streams.
. 1
Recent studies have shown that a large majority of
crimes against property are committed by the youth between
16 and 25 years of age,-still under the shadow*of their
home environment. Most delinquent cases begin with a
breach of school discipline; and most crimes are pre
ceded by a record of delinquency.
The influence of bad housing tends to stunt the fin
er social senses. Pride of self,of family,of home,the
senses of honor and social decency are materially depre
ciated. Life becomes a mere monotony of work and food;
and the sex impulse becomes the play-outlet of its den
izens. Thus,poverty and a crowded home make a decent mor
ality almost impossible. Clarence Darrow,though scoffed
at by many scientists,must be given credit for sincerity
and a deep knowledge of human nature;and we must agree
2
with him that the problem of the future with regard to
crime will be adjusting environment to heredity,and that
any condition which improves the living for the common
Edwin H.Sutherland,Criminology,34.
Clarence Darrow,Crime,Its Cause and Treatment,277.
25
man will save many from crime. Grime,indeed,to those pov
erty stricken souls,is the only outlet for a break in the
drab monotony of their lives. Some turn to alcoholism,as
a sort of"temporary suicide",reluctant to face the color-
1
less drudgery of the morrow. Darrow says, "The laws of
trade and commerce give most men food,clothing and shel-
terjbut nothing more. There is no beauty in their homes
or surroundings ; no music or art; no adventure or specu
lation. Existence is a dead thing,a dreary round..To
many people crime furnishes the only chance for adventure."
Sutherland emphasizes the value of home environment
when he points out that the average ehild spends about 12%
of his time in school,and unless the home and neighborhood
environment are right,there is very little hope that the
school will succeed in re-forming and re—Aligning unde-
2
sirable tendencies instilled at the fire-side.
3
«Clara A.Laughlin has earned the right to speak,-her
judgment being well matured by long experience and close
contact with delinquency. She refers to the report of the
Government investigators,clearly emphasizing that not in
dustrialism,but the slip-shod home,is the chief contrib
uting cause of delinquency.
1---------- -------------
Clarence Darrow,Crime,Its Cause and Treatment,268.
2
Edwin Sutherland,Criminology,228.
3
Clara A.Laughlin,The Work-a-day Girl,15.
24
This leads to a careful investigation of home conditions;
and the conclusion is that most of the homes from which
delinquents come are the last places in the world to which
children should be remanded with any hope of their re
form.
1 2
Mabel R.Pernald and Maurice Parmelee fully support
the contention that home environment is most potent and
momentous in shaping the life of our youth. Robert G.
3
Ingersoll,a generation ago,boldly stated the facts as they
were then,are today and will probably be tomorrow. His
clear and prophetic vision,and his deep understanding of
the human emotions,clothe his .statement with a sort of
final authority;and we can do no better than to accept
this as a dictum,which will stand the test of the coming
generation,as it did of the present* He says:"lf we are
to change the conduct of men,we must change their condi
tions. Extreme poverty and crime go hand in hand...If we
expect a prosperous and peaceful country,the citizens
must have homes; the more homes,the more patriots,the
more virtue,the more security for all that gives worth
to life."
1---------------------
Mabel R.Pernald,A Study of Women Delinquents in New York
State,525.
2
Maurice Parmelee,Criminology,219.
3
Robert G.Ingersoll,quoted by Charles Richmond Henderson,
Preventive Agencies and Methods,68-70.
25
’ ' 3 /hen we contemplate the^rapid and enormous rise in
crime between 1916 and 1921, nearly seven times as great as
the increase in population for.the same period,we begin
to realize the great urge of the crisis,and the necessity
for immediate action. Since population tends to increase
by geometrical ratio,we must expect that crime will do
likewise,if unchecked. As crime has risen seven-fold as
tb population within five'years,what may not happen a
generation hence?
In the same report we are told that fully seventy-
five percent of criminals suffer from mental or physical
handicaps, Further,that two out of every three children
cited for delinquency,or 66 percent,likewise showed some
mental or physical defect.
We indicated in the proceeding chapter that bad hous
ing is responsible for ibany of the ills of childhood; and
it will be readily seen that we cannot hope for a marked'
reduction in crime unless we improve the physical and men
tal well-being of our youth; and this can only be hoped
for by setting ourselves seriàusly to the task of "PUTTING
OUR HOUSE IN ORDER."
As may be expected,increment in delinquency in this
country has kept pace with the increase of crime. Partial
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology,May,1925; Report
of DeparKent State Capitol,Atlanta,
de or g la;
26
1
statistics of delinquency in the United. States for 1901
show that in that year over 25,000 were cited;in 1911,
51,387;but for 1918,63,782,which would yield,if con
tinued, a total of approximately 70,000 in 1923,or about
2 •
65% increase over 1901. Mangold concludes that "the homes
of many prospective delinquents are so disreputable,and
their parents so degraded and incompetent,that various
activities must be introduced to give the boy an opportun
ity?
For a time Lombroso and his followers held sway. His
unselfish devotion to his work and the theories promul
gated by him have had some very beneficial effects; but
these, are far outweighed by the harmful results that fol
lowed. We have learned a great deal about the influences
of heredity; and we must take full cognizance of its im
port in relation to crime. Fortunately there is mow
common accord among students of criminology,that environ
ment,and particularly home environment,is acknowledged
as the core of the problem.
Psychiatrists usually stress heredity,and it is
3
refreshing to quote John F,Meager,of St.Mary’s Hospital,
Brooklyn,on this score,who says "When you consider that
1------- '
U.S.Bureau of Education,1901.
2
George B.Mangold,Problems of Child Welfare,47.
3
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology,Nov.1925, Dr.
John F'.¥eager, Pbycliiatr 1 st, S’ t'Mary ’ s Hospital, Brooklyn,
"A Discussion on Some Modern Radical Theories."
27
a few hundred years hack,each one of us had a quarter of
a million ancestors,one wonders whether anybody’s heredity
is perfect."
1
Case studies show conclusively that juvenile delin
quents will invariably show improvement in social behavior
when removed to favorable environment. As Henry Herbert
Goddard concludes ; "He was placed in an environment suit
able to his condition,and was happy and got along nicely."
One need only to spend a single day in the homes of
the poor of any city,be it small or large,to realize the
2
truth of James Hinton’s statement that "Our happy Christ
ian homes are the real dark places of the earth."
3
Prof.Francis Peabody says that "the chief peril of a
child is not his bad companions,or his bad books,or his
bad habits; it is homelessness. A good home has but few
essentials. These are not riches,or culture,or leisure.
The shelter must have some room and planning for children."
Housing is the dominant question of the day. To it
we must turn for the solution of many of our social pro
blems, Squalid hovels and crowded tenements are the
culture media of vice and crime. The criminal is but a
4
microbe,and can grow only in a suitable medium.
Henry Herbert Goddard,Juvenile Delinquency,Case V.
2
James Hinton, source unknov/n.
5
William Byron Forbush,The Coming Generation,70-71.
4 “
Henrich Oppenheiraer,The Rationale of Punishment,314,
quoting Lacassagne.
28
We must stop our bickering and splitting of fine hairs,
Most of us agree that there is a definite and concrete
source of many of our social ills;and we must set our
selves seriously and unitedly to the task of correcting
it. You may call it paternalism or socialism. There may be
a statute in this state,or that, which may prohibit,or
restrain us. There may be vested interests of one kind
or another standing in the way; but we must not stop. Wp'
know that our society is being poisoned by the venom of
the snake-bad housing; let us kill the snake first,and
analyze the poison later.
1
We must agree with Mangold that environment is the
most dominating factor of human development,and that the
home is the most important of all environmental influences.
Here you have a period of influences extending over many
years,and at a time when it can do its best work,-the
earliest years of life.
2
P.Hirsch,a German student of note,insists that "a
lodging fit for a human being is the first requirement
for the bodily and mental welfare of the family; it is the
prerequisite for a well regulated family life,and for the
rearing of the children to be moral men and women. The
improprieties resulting from the exigencies of insufficient
lodgings are innumerable,and this condition is an inexhaus
tible source of crime,prostitution,and vice of every kind."
1----------------------
Mangold,problems of Child Welfare,417.
2
William Adrian Songer,Criminality and Economic Conditions,
608,quoting P.Hirsch,VeiAprechen und Prostitutioru
29
1
Songer strongly supports Hirsch when he says,"All the
data prove that the proletariat,who,of all classes pay
the highest rent,are the most miserably housed..The dis
advantages of sub-letting (due to high rents) are obvious.
Children of both sexes have to sleep with their parents,
and often with strangers in the same room,often in the
same bed.. It is the bad housing conditions that are the
cause of increasing alcoholism,of the break-up of the
family life,and the lack of education for the youth." ,
Bad housing is closely related to sex vice,probably
more so than crimes against property and person. It has
2
been shown by Italian and Austrian statistics that sex
vice is most common among the illiterate; and illiteracy
is co-existant largely with poverty and bad housing. In
Italy 92.1 per cent are indigent or have only the strict
necessities of life,and in Austria 91.2 per cent are in
a similar condition,and only 2 per cent are well-to-do.
*
In relation to illiteracy it is shown that the vast
majority of sex crimes are committed by those who know
only how to read and write. On this basis Bonger concludes
that this fact destroys the theory that the "human beast*
exists independent of environment.."for,if such were the
case,this crime would be relatively as frequent among the
more highly developed persons,.a man becomes a brute only
under certain fixed circumstances,and commits then acts
% ! --- — : - —
William Adrian Bonger,Criminality and Economic Condi-
tions,608.
2
Ibid.,611.
pÿj^/,617,618.
*fbïd.,Illiteracy Tables,pp 107,130,131,
30
that would be repugnant to him if he lived in a different
environment." Bonger continues,"What is the environment in
which the children of the lowest classes grow up,and what
is the sexual morality that they derive from it? The sim
ple truth is that there is no sexual morality for them. In
consequence of the detestable housing conditions,the chil
dren are thoroughly conversant with the sexual life, in
its most bestial manifestations..Living conditions must
become better,and some sanitary improvements made,and
1
work must be better paid."
Statistics in practically every civilized country in
dicate a close correlation between ecomoraic waves and
crime. Granted the fact that unemployment and actual need
may drive many to crime,even though a favorable home envir
onment existed,we must also admit that economic cycles
will affect the indigent much more than it will those of
the scale above them. The pressure of need and of actual
want of common necessities of life is much greater in the
2
indigent class. The appended tables,first show the rela
tion of crime to property ownership,and the relation of
3
property crime to economic curves.
4
* * In 1870 and 1871%Bonger states,*there were among the
prisoners of Neufchatel,10 per cent who had some proper-
ty and 89 per cent who had only their work for support.
Bonger,Criminality and Economic Conditions,196.
2
Bonger,Ibid.,43,46.(Tables offered herewitb,pages 30a,30b).
3
Bonger,Ibid.,68.
4
Bonger,Ibld.,225.
30a
TABLE 3Qa
ENGLAND AND WAÎES
Number and kind of cases tried by Jury*
Years Offen Offen•Offen For Vio Other TOTAL
ses ses ses gery lent Offen
vs. vs. vs. and At- ses
Per prop Pro Coun-•tacks
sons erty perty ter- vs.
with with feit-•Pro
Vio out ing perty
lence Vio
lence
rS58 14 ' 29 233 13 2.5 4.5 296
1859 13 22 209 11 3 5 263
1860 11 20 207 8.5 2.5 4 253
1861 12 25 200 8i5 3 4 252
1862 12.5 28 203 9/5 3 6 262
1863 1*.6 26 194 9 3.5 7 254
1864 15 24 190 6.5 3.5 7 246
13 T5 2ÔS 9 8 F 26b
Year price of ?/heat(quarter ) Number of Vagrants.
T5"58 ■ 44 sh 2d 22,559
1859 43 10 23,353
I860 53 3 22,666
1861 55 4 24,001
1862 55 29,504
1868 44 9 ^3,182
1864 40 2 31,932
* Bonger,OrImlnality, and Economic Conditions,43.
"Here the influence or '13ae rail of prices is '
distinctly seen; offenses against property
have decreased,those against persons,on the
contrary,have increased,"
TABLE 30b
PRANCE *
30b
Years Arrests in Dept,
of Seine to
100,000 popula
tion#
Average prices
of grain per
hectolitre^
1855
1856
1857
1858
1859
1860
1861
1862
1863
1864
1222
1170
1169
1154
1008
1074
1128
1250
1133
1158
29.37
30.22
23.83
16.44
16.69
20.41
24.25
23.24
19.78
17.58
*Bonggr.^#..,g.rlmin41ite,ancl»Econo^ic Conditions,46.
Here also the influence of price
makes itself felt#
31
According to the data of Stevens,the prisoners in Bel^
gium,1870,1871,were divided as follows: 1 per cent
were of the well-to-do,11 per cent were persons with
1
some income,and 88 per cent were indigent. In Sweden
from 1870 to 1872 the percentage of well-to-do was .64
per cent|those with sufficient means of subsistence 10.08
per cent; those with insufficient means 43.54 oer cent,
2
and those who were miserable,45.63 per cent, Marro
classed delinquents under two headings,criminal and non-
*
criminal, and shows that between the years 1870 and 1871,
of the criminal class of delinquents 79,6 per cent were
without property,and those with a little property,6.7
per cent.
It will be seen from this short summary that vice,
delinquency and crime are but a natural outgrowth of our
modern social conditions; and that bad housing and un
favorable home environment are the principal contributory
factors. The wonder is how such a substantial percentage
of our youth grow up and develop into law-abiding citizens,
in spite of their environment. This may be credited to the
wholesome and favorable influences of our educational sys
tem, and other social institutions,as the church,settlement
houses,social welfare activities,etc. Some are inclined
to blame our modern educational system for increase in crime.
1------------- —
Bonger,Criminality and Economic Conditions,225.
2 '
See appended table from "I caratteri del delinguenti"{Msrro).
*
Bonger,Criminality and Economic Conditions,225,226* See
table 31a,page 31a,this thesis.
31a
TABLE 31a(Bonger)
STATISTICS (F RECIDIVISTS IN SWEDEN
PROM 1870 to 1872,*
Bonger * s Table
Well-to do................ 0.
With sufficient
means of subsistence..... 10.08%
With insuff.means
of subsistence.. 43.54%
With miserable
means of subsistence..... 45*63%
TABLE 'Sla (Marro)
CRIMINAL AND NONrCRIMINAL DELINQbENTS
Marro*s Table
Criminals Non-Criminals
without prop.rty 79.^ 43.4^
Minor children
Of well-to-do
parents 4.1% 18.4%
With a little property.. 6*7% 10.5%
With considerable property... 9.4% 18.4%
*NOTE- These tables illustrate Bonger*s
interest in "the economic condition of
criminals** as related to crime#
William Adrian Bonger, Criminal,and.Economic
Conditions,225.
32
This,in the author’s judgment,is fallacious. It is true
that modern education teaches the youth to think; that
thinking develops a contemplative attitude. Let us for
à moment put ourselves in the place of the youth horn and
reared in an environment of squalor and misery. So long
as he is confined to his own home and neighborhood, he
does not sense the great divide separating his social caste.
As he enters public school,he begins tp observe his envir
onment. Certain definite forms are projected into his
mental horizon. He begins to sense a difference between
himself and others about him. He sees many happy faces
of well dressed boys and girls,full of hope and assurance.
He daily returns to the dingy atmosphere of his home en
vironment; and day by day the sense of inferiority be
comes a dominant factor in his life* As time progresses,
he begins to reason and analyze. He sees his mother in*
daily drudgery,slaving for the bare necessities of life.
He sees his father coming home from work,day by day,worn
out,gruff and despondent,-or possibly worse. His love for
his father and mother,and his yearnings for abundance of
food and the good things of life are as feal and dear to
him as are the sentiments of the more fortunate. Is it
any wonder that a youth,under these conditions,should de
velop an antipathy for those responsible for his home en
vironment, -a bitterness of soul against the social condi
tions that will permit such unfair economic maladjustment?
33
Thus it is true that modern education may be re
sponsible for engendering and maturing a sense of social
consciousness of broad,democratic proportions,embracing
every stratum of society. Further, modern education
has served to emphasize the concept of social injus
tice,and vitalized the dormant senses of its victims
to vigorous reaction which,in the end,is bound to be
socially helpful. Modern education has forced the
"rubbing of elbows" and "comparing of notes";and the
increment of delinquency and crime may be looked upon as
an index of social temperature; the more virulent the
infection,the greater the fever. If we are to reduce the
feverish unrest of our nation,we must attack,not the
fever,but the source of the infection.
34
CHAPTER IV
Housing Movements and progress
in Western Europe
"The Goths end the Vandals of Rome came
from without,but yours (in America)
will come from within?
Lord MaCauley,
Western Europe has made great strides in its various
housing programs,initiated over a generation ago. Its mo
mentum suffered a serious check during the World War, hut
has since regained its velocity and is progressing very
actively.
Most Americans are inclined to boast about theirs
being a country of homes. This is only partly true,and
applies only to the people of the middle and upper
classes. Considering the general wealth of our nation,
its resources,its educational institutions,its vast areas
of agricultural lands,its expenditures on luxuries and
the great abundance of food,clothing,automobiles and
what-not,the housing conditions of the low wage-earner
stand out in bold contrast to the lovely garden-spots
but a stone *s throw away.
C ont emp late war -tor#, oa@WWidden%m#d*W:"#burdened
Europe going ahead courageously with its progressive
35
program of home-building,and extending every possible aid,
encouragement and subsidy to individuals,societies and
companies. Then compare this with efforts in our own
country, -there are no efforts to compare,as practically
none have been made. We are prone to flaunt the great
blessings of our American institutions;our universities
and hospitals; ohr charitable and scientific foundations ;
our humanitarian attitudes; yet we permit from twenty to
thirty per cent, of our fellow men and women,and helpless
children,to live and grow up in filth,squalor and destitu
tion, without so much as a scrap of legislation- local,
state or national,- to remedy this great evil.
First let us disabuse the mind of the average Amer
ican that the poor in Europe are much worse off than our
own. A brief summary of housing progress abroad will be
helpful to emphasize our own dilatoriness and apathy con
cerning a crying need. The low wage-earner of practically
every country in western Europe is better housed than
those of the same class in our industrial centers. Prac
tically all countries in western Europe,even poor Roumania,
have adopted definite constructive programs of home-build
ing, These efforts have been backed by legislative meas
ures and statutes,and have three objectives: restrictive,
constructive and transformative or rehabilitative.
Restrictive. Measures to restrict further construc
tion of undesirable buildings and certain restrictions
36
applied to buildings already in existence,insisting on
practical changes to meet urgent needs, as light,sanita
tion and ventilation.
. Constructive;'
(a) Specific building programs including,in some
countries,mandatory requirements to municipal,provincial
and communal authorities for a minimum constructive pro
gram covering a period of years,
(b) Subsidies of cash payments— an outright gift .
(c) Making ample loans direct to individuals at a
very low rate of interest,2 to 4 per cent,,and extending
over a period of twenty to sixty years for repayment.
(d) Making loans to limited dividend companies at
a rate of interest as low as the government is able to
Obtain on its own credit,and in some instances consider
ably lower.
(e) Making the homes tax-free for a number of years,
thus stimulating such projects.
(f) Building direct by the government and either
selling or renting direct to Individuals,
Transformative or Rehabilitative ;
(a)In England and other countries entire areas ofthe
slum districts are being condemned and demolished,and
modern buildings constructed in their stead. These are
37
rented or sold direct to individuals. It is intended to
continue this practice until the slums are eliminated.
(b) Many undesirable tenement houses are being re
modeled and more or less modern improvements installed,
making them more habitable. This type of work is probab
ly not as constructive as it might be, but the large cost
of condemnation prohibits revolutionary procedure.
In order to show the great earnestness and sincerity,
and the public spirit that dominate the housing situation
in western Europe,we have attached a report ( & lypagb 1 2 # W
the General Council of the British Worker's League,which
speaks for itself. England serves as the best example for
comparison with our own national make-up. With nearly a
million-and-a-half unemployed,which Would be equivalent
to four and a half millions in our country,burdened heavi
ly with war debts,England meets a public necessity with
grim determination. The same applies to France,Belgium,
Holland,Germany and other countries. A cursory examina
tion of the salient features of the housing situation will
be helpful in contrasting our own efforts in the United
States. Exhibit 1 is sufficiently complete as to future
activities,and we need only give a bird*s-eye-view of the
present accomplishments.
If .L.Ackerman,Housing Progress in War and Peace, 34,36.
38
ENGLAND
Between 1890 and 1900,outside of London,thirteen local
authorities(one of them rural)had obtained twenty-two loans
from the national government for building working-class
dwellings. Between 1900 and 1910 seventy-four new local
authorities started work and obtained one hundred and
sixty-two loans. Prom the passage of the Act of 1909 to
1915(when war checked the movement)four hundred and thirty-
five housing loans had been sanctioned to local authorities,
of which one hundred and fifty-seven were to rural councils,
A real cabinet portfolio was created known as the
"Ministry of Health",and legislation enacted which made
it mandatory upon all district authorities to present a
definite housing program within a limited time. Specific
instructions were included to municipalities and counties
for definite expenditures,and the national government
guaranteed to make up the shortages.
Actual loans were provided at very low rates and ex
tending over a long period of time,thus enabling the low
wage-earher,unable to make an initial payment, to pur
chase his home on terms equivalent to,or even below,the
ordinary rental basis. It must be borne in mind that
all homes built,leased and sold by the government are con
tracted for on a quantity basis and the lowest margin of
profit allowed the contractor. Further,in case of limited
39
dividend companies,the profit is restricted to an equiva
lent of five per cent.per annum on the capital invested.
In reality the profit is never that high,as a building is
completed within sixty to ninety days,and the full amount
of the capital is not tied up for even that period of
time; hence the actual profit would not exceed one per
cent.
The program included the construction of five hundred
thousand buildings in three years. The actual results
show about half that number completed, but this accomplish*
ment exceeds that of any other country,and augurs well for
the future of the English program.
Recently a fixed national subsidy of six pounds per
house has been made,no matter where located,and in soipe
instances a fifty per cent, subsidy has been given for
slum clearances.
Up to the out-break of the war,London's County Coun
cil had built accommodations for fifty nine thousand peo
ple in ten thousand lettings. Of these six thousand,five
hundred and forty-three were tenement houses of three or
four room apartments; three hundred and twenty-seven were
cottage flats and three thousand,one hundred and twenty-
one were single family cottages built on cottage estates.
In July,1919,the council decided to erect within
five years hot less than twenty-nine thousand dwellings
40
for a population of about one hundred and forty-five thou
sand. The cost of these houses,when constructed by the
government,were not to exceed $960 each.' Prices rose dur
ing 1920 to $1100, but Dr.Addison,of the Ministry of Health,
caused them to be reduced to $800 by refusing to permit con-
2
tinuance of construction until the prices came down.
When we consider that England almost invariably builds
of brick,with the idea of solidity and permanence,and that
these little homes are provided with a land space of one
twelfth of an acre each in urban areas and one eighth of
an acre on rural sites; and that their minimum room sizes
are one hundred and eighty square feet for the living room,
not less than sixty-five square feet for the smaller,and
one hundred and one hundred and fifty square feet respect
ively for the other two bed-rooms,we find that the British
standard compares very favorably indeed with the homes in
this country costing three or four times as much.
Lettings or rentals,particularly as applied to the
city of London,and other large industrial centers,vary
from seven shillings to twelve shillings,sixpence weekly,
and in Birmingham ten shillings is the maximum,an extremely
low rental when compared with those paid by the same class
of workers in our country.
The average wage of the unskilled laborer living in
2
Edith E.Wood,Housing Progress in Western Europe, 53.
* E.E.^ood gives this in English pounds,obviously an errop
Author’s personal knowledge of building values: in En|
and th, Welwyn prices quoted on page 53,cheok this item.
41
these homes is approximately one pound,ten shillings to
two pounds per week,as estimated by the author from his
own experience,and,taking the lower figure of one pound,
ten shillings as an example,it will be seen that only one
sixth is required for rental,and probably more often the
expenditure for shelter does not exceed one seventh.
BELGIUM
The work completed since the war,and the program for
the future,ia made more clear by the statement that during
1920 and 1922 the government expended and loaned one hun
dred and seventy-five million francs, and included one hun
dred million francs in its budget for 1923. The national
policy of subsidy is only temporary and will be discontin
ued when the need for it no longer exists. At present the
subsidy amounts to twenty-five per cent.of the actual cost
of the home. This is an outright gift,and the balance is
loanéd at low rates of interest. Other national means of
stimulation will be continued unremittingly. It will be
noted that prior to the war,and since,except for rehabilita
tion, the Belgian housing activities, have been carried on by pub
lic spirited private enterprise,supported,stimulated and
helped by the national government. The tenant class is
the one largely benefited by these housing schemes,and
definite limitations are prescribed regarding the income
and financial condition of the proposed beneficiary»under
the plan.
42
PRANCE
Here it is largely a national movement operating
through internal loan companies or limited dividend com
panies. Tax exemption is provided under certain condi
tions and,further,loans are made at two per cent. In
view of the high interest rates that Prance is compelled
to pay since the war,the loss is distributed in the an
nual budget and absorbed by the general tax levy. Various
legislative enactments have been made with the principal
objective of increasing the birth-rate under most favor
able and sanitary conditions,and of decreasing disease
and infant and general mortality. Compulsory legislation
was passed March 14.1914,which required every town of
one hundred thousand inhabitants,or more,to present speci
fic housing plans not later than 1926. A number of philan
thropic housing foundations,which were legally designated
as public utilities,were permitted to borrow from the gov
ernment at low rates of interest,and were entitled to pub
lic loans and exemption from taxes for a period of five
years. The true patriotic character of these foundations
is shown by the fact that they have not taken advantage
of the loans,and during the war two thirds of their ren
tals remained unpaid.
There are actually four hundred and eighty-seven
housing societies in Prance,which evidences that nation's
great interest and progress in solving this great problem.
43
HOLLAND
Holland,in 1901,passed the most complete and all-
embracing legislative program of any country in the world.
It is ideal in many ways and especially so in that it in
volves no subsidy and no tax exemptions or remissions. It
would serve as a splendid model for our own country as it
eliminates the common criticism of paternàlism. The gov
ernment simply lends its credit,for the full amount,if
necessary,of the cost of building,and thus makes it possi
ble for anyone to build a home,paying for it in small in
stallments spread over a period of fifty years,with a low
interest rate. Holland's system is undoubtedly the most
economical of any yet in force,as is clearly shown in the
report of the year 1922,when that country built somewhat
more than twice as many homes as Italy with practically
the same expenditure,figuring the Italian cost on a gold
basis. If such a program were adopted here it would mean
that land could be provided and buildings erected at a
cost of one third to one half what the working-man is
obliged to pay at present. Further,town planning and pro
jects for the elimination of all slum districts in Holland,
and the building up of new sections,is mandatory upon all
cities of one hundred thousand inhabitants and over*
Holland has two classes of building societies: philan
thropic (these homes are for rental purposes only) and co
operative. Rents are figured on a basis of one sixth to
one seventh of the family income.
44
That country constructed during the period from 1915
to 1921,inclusive,an average of one hundred and twenty-
nine thousand,forty-two homes per year. Comparing its
population with that of the United States,we would have
to build five hundred and thirty-three thousand annually,
whereas we not only fall far short of this figure every
year,constantly losing ground in the struggle to house our
people,but those that we do build are erected on a commer
cial basis,and carry an inordinately high profit for con
tractor, supplies ,material and financing.
GERMANY
After the law of 1895 matters in Germany were inactive
for a considerable period, but by October 1911 a total of
forty-two thousand,four hundred and fifty seven houses had
been built,sheltering the employees of forty-two cities
having over fifty thousand inhabitants each. There were
also twenty-six cities of over fifty thousand inhabitants,
and seven smaller ones,which aided through communal loans..
In 1911 about one half of the Prussian Housing Fund had
been invested in these forty-two thousand,four hundred
and fifty-seven apartment dwellings,fifteen thousand,seven
hundred and seventy-three being those the government had
constructed,twenty-five thousand,one hundred and fifty-
seven those built by associations and fifteen hundred and
twenty-seven by individuals.
1
' Wood,E.E.,Housing of the Unskilled Wage Earner,174.
45
This means the housing of two hundred thousand to two hun-
a
dred and fifty thousand persons. The .buildings were
mainly for rental purposes and rents were intended to cover
only maintenance,administration,interest and sinking fund,
making it possible to let these buildings at very low
rates.
Public aid in housing began in 1888,for municipal em
ployees. Dr.VonWagner,the Oberburgermeister of Ulm,and
father of municipal housing in Germany,developed in con
junction with housing for municipal employees,the policy
of extensive land purchases by the city. Later he extend
ed these benefits to all working men. His first ventures
were tenements,but later he became convinced of the advan
tages of the individual cottage-and-garden type of dwell
ing. One mark per day over a period of about twenty-five
years covered the purchase price and interest of a fifteen
hundred dollar brick, %#Wry-and-a-half cottage and gar
den. The city has the right to repurchase if certain con
ditions relating to use and maintenance are not complied
2
with.
In 1912 there were twelve hundred and seventy-one
public welfare building associations in Germany,of which
the' seven hundred and sixteen reporting had built fifteen
thousand,seven hundred and eighty-four houses at a cost ef
^Wood,E.E.,Housing of the Unskilled Wage Earner,172, 173.
Ibid,177,178.
46
one hundred and three million,four hundred and twenty-six
thousand and twenty—three dollars, A French official pub
lication, the Bulletin Du Ministaire Du Travaille,for August
1913,estimates that as early as 1909 about tv/enty-five
thousand houses containing about one hundred thousand apart
ments had been built by German housing associations. Assum
ing the accuracy of this estimate,it would mean the housing
of about half a million people; and propably the states and
cities have done as much more directly. Clearly there is
no other country which has gone into housing in such a sys
tematic way and on so large a scale.
CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENTS
The co-operative movements abroad,which differ con
siderably from other housing schemes so far discussed,pre
sent the following principal points:
1. Every member must have a certain amount of cash,usual
ly about five to fifteen per cent.of the total cost of the
home.
\
2. Legal title is always in the name of the society.
3 . Co-operative members have permanent lease-hold at a
specified rate which is gradually reduced with the age of
the tenure until cost of membership is liquidated by:(a)
principal payments made upon the debt due on the balance
of each member; and (b). excess earnings,which are distri
buted pro-rata in accordance with the payments made by
each tenant,regardless of the amount of the original
holding.
47
These co-operative movements have become quite com
mon in many of the cities of Europe and are becoming more
and more popular as greater experience is gained in plan
ning, financing and managing these quasi-public institutions.
*
Cities which have made real progress in this direction in
clude Copenhagen,Vienna,Berlin,Hamburg,Brussels,Christiana,
Preidorf,in Switzerland,and Helsingfors in Finland. Copen
hagen will serve as a good example. In that city the
structures growing out of this co-operative enterprise are
largely apartment houses,though all classes of buildings
are represented. They are usually built around a hollow
square so that every room has light and ventilation,and
offers a view of the enclosed area,which is invariably
beautified as a small garden or park,and used as a play
ground for the children. The apartments contain from
four to six rooms each,and rent at fourteen dollars to
thirty-seven and a half dollars per month,which rates
are gradually reduced by proportionate amortization of
the principal. The original cost is met with money ob
tained from initial payments of co-operative members
equivalent to one year's rent,upon which they receive
four per cent, interest; twenty per cent.granted by the
city for twenty years without interest,and twenty per
cent, on like terms by the district. This forty per
cent, is cancelled at the end of the period if the co
operative association has adhered to the terms of its
agreements and met the requirements prescribed by the
48
local government with regard to maintenance and manage
ment. All surplus earnings of the association are applied:
1. Toward beautifying the buildings and grounds.
2. In creating piay-grounds and garden-spots.
3. For building and maintaining plants in which they
fabricate their own materials,such as brick,tile and
cement.
4. For financing and managing their own labor crews.
In Vienna co-operative tenants are permitted to
contribute sixty per cent, of the first payment in labor,
and this they may perform evenings,Saturday afternoons and
Sundays. If a tenant desires to make a change of resi
dence,he must resell his holdings of stock to the society,
and receives for it exactly what he paid; any unearned
increment goes to the society as a whole.
In this brief resume the author has selected but a
few of the more highly industrialized countries,but sim
ilar progress is being made in nearly every European na
tion. Italy,Spain and Switzerland,Denmark,Norway and
Sweden,and even little Roumania,have legislative enact
ments providing for assistance and subsidies in housing
schemes. This unanimity is sufficient to show that these
old countries,with centuries of experience from which to
draw their conclusions,have realized the seriousness of
the situation and the necessity of adopting proper
measures for meeting and dealing with the problem. The
49
European efforts in this direction cover a period of
twenty-five to fifty years,and thus far we in the United
States have failed to take cognizance of the housing
stress in our own land,and profit by our neighbors' exper
ience. We are permitting the fagots of discontent to
smoulder unchecked and if we persist in our laxity the
time may come when it is too late to prevent a conflagra
tion.
Before concluding this section it may be well to
instance and describe briefly some of the garden city pro
jects in England and eiswhere,and some of the large indus
trial housing schemes of European countries,undertaken
and continued either by individual industries or groups
of industries. Some of these efforts have been brilliant
ly successful and are outstanding examples of what can be
accomplished if the right spirit and the will to do are
back of the enterprise.
GARDEN CITIES AND INDUSTRIAL HOUSING MOVEMENTS
Garden city-This name is applied to a civic unit which
has independent origin and is complete in itself. It is
not developed by industries from the outside,nor is it an
appendage of a city. Its industrial and cultural endow
ments are complete in itself. Its population is as var -
ied as that of a city,but it lacks the urban congestion,
nbise and confusion,and the helter-skelter architecture
and:Atreet lay-outs. It provides for all classes of res-
50
Idences and all classes of industries. Lastly,it is
defined and circumscribed by a belt of Oped land,so that
its expansion is self limited. The garden city of Letch-
worth is a perfect example.
Garden suburb-This is a satellite city,laid out pure
ly for residential purposes. The residents go back and
forth between it and their neighboring city for their
occupational requirements.
Garden village-This is a more rustic community,gener
ally more distant from the city,composed of residences
only,laid out in advance,and so planned as to offer econ
omically the maximum of cheerful,healthy living conditions
and to preclude expansion or congestion in such a way as
to encroach upon these desirable features.
Under the above definition,the garden cities of
Letchworth and Welwyn,both in England,are the only com
munities embracing all of the features as yet built or
planned in the world. The idea was born in the brain of
an obscure short-hand writer in an office in London,and
after studying the subject for many years he at last
wrote a little book setting forth his views and showing
the plausibility of a plan to make life pleasanter and
more healthful for. thousands of human beings. That man
was Mr.Ebenezer Howard,and while he had neither wealth
nor influence,his appeal was so human and his conception
so simply clear that the vision conjured in the mind of
the reader of his book was in such sharp contrast with
51
existing home conditions among the city workers that it
aroused the enthusiasm of men of wealth and power. The
little volume,the title of which was Tomorrow(Garden Cities
of Tomorrow,in the later editions),came out in 1898,and
the hext year the first steps were taken toward the ful
filment of his dream. An association was formed to
further the scheme and interest was kept alive and fos
tered by it until July,1902,when a company,of which Lord
Northcliffe was one of the principal subscribers,was or
ganized to choose and purchase a site. The beautiful
#
city of Letchworth now stands on the spot selected,which
is situated thirty four miles out of London,on the Great
Northern Railroad, About forty five hundred acres of
land was secured altogether,and the purchase price
averaged about two hundred dollars per acre. The land
and the project were taken over in September,1903,by
"First Garden City,Ltd,",an association organized for
the purpose of carrying the scheme to completion,and
building operations were soon under way. The city now
has over twelve thousand people,and only two fifths of
its area is planned for urban development,the balance
being reserved for agricultural purposes. In 1921 it
embraced forty-three public buildings,eighty-three stores,
one hundred and forty-one factories and work-shops and
two thousand,six hundred and ninety-six dwellings. Aside
from the one sternly insistent rule that all roofs be of
52
red tile,much freedom was permitted in the m atter of
#
taste in architecture,and the result is a pleasing varie-
1
ty of color,type and style of housing.
One of the basic concepts on which garden cities are
built is that unearned increment,accruing by the creation
of a city upon agricultural land,is to be used for the
good pf the people in general,and not go into the pockets
of real estate speculators. Accordingly the articles of
association of First Garden City Ltd.limit dividends to
five per cent.,cumulative. The authorized capital was
three hundred thousand pounds of which eighty-four thou
sand pounds were subscribed at the start. The balance
had to be borrowed at a relatively high rate of Interest.
The first year showed a deficit,but after the war divi
dends of one and a half per cent, were declared until 1922,
when four per cent, was paid,and it was expected that five
per cent, would be attained in 1923, This association
does not build houses,but is a developing and holding com
pany, It operates public service utilities,but the de
partments of education,police and public health function
under control of the municipal authorities,as does also
the department of highways,after the roads have been
constructed by the company. With the exception of sites
for schools,churches and municipal buildings,which must
of necessity be free-holds,no land is sold,but is all held
I------------
Wood,E.E.,Housing Progress in Western Europe,25, 26,
53
on leases of ninety-nine and of nine hundred and ninety-
1
nine years.
Welwyn is twenty-one miles from King's Cross Station,
in the same direction from London as Letchworth. In 1922
it had a good lay-out of streets,sewers,water mains and
electrical construction,over two hundred dwellings hous
ing a thousand inhabitants,and several hundred more under
construction. The building of one hundred houses for the
working class under the pre-war housing act of 1899 has
been undertaken and they expect to meet all costs with
the returns from payments of ten shillings per week. The
average cost of these homes will be two hundred and
eighty-four pounds each,making the price,including the
land and its developments three hundred and twenty-eight
pounds. The law above referred to provides for govern
ment loans but no subsidies.
Port Sunlight is an industrial garden suburb on the
outskirts of Liverpool,created by Sir William Lever(Lord
Leverhulme),the soap manufacturer. There are one hundred
and forty acres in the site and ninety more reserved for
the factory. The village has six hundred cottages,each
containing five rooms and a bath. These dwellings are
very attractive and comfortable,and rent for five shill
ings a week. The interest on the three hundred and
fifty thousand pounds invested in the village costs the
firm about ten thousand pounds a year,and this is regarded
I
Wood,E.E,,Housing Progress in Western Europe,29,
54
a legitimate business expense.
Bournville was founded by George Cadbury,the cocoa
manufacturer of Birmingham,with the idea of making the
enterprise pay a four per cent, return,to the end that
it would be widely copied. These profits,however,are all
turned in to the trust fund and applied to public pur
poses. This city is not purely an employer's enterprise
as less than half of the dwellings are occupied by Mr.
Cadbury's workmen. Building on a large scale here com
menced in 1895,and in 1900 the manufacturer turned the
property over to a trust which he organized for that
purpose. In 1910 there were seven hundred and fopty-seven
cottages on the five hundred acres of land that comprise
the site,the rents of which were rather high as compared
to those in Port Sunlight,and probably beyond the means
of the average unskilled worker.
The most outstanding movement of this nature in
I
France, and indeed one of the most extensive in the world,
is represented by the activities of the Railroad Company
of the North. Their line runs through the devastated
region and their property loss amounted to more than
one billion,three hundred million francs,exclusive of
damage to machinery and rolling stock. In order to re
pair and operate their road it was necessary to erect
at least temporary shelter for their workmen,as all
housing facilities along their right-of-way were in
ruins, and they at once inaugurated a housing scheme
that resulted^^s quickly as was possible,in the reunion
55
of the scattered families and a permanent resumption of
normal home life.
By the end of 1921 the Company had erected cottages
in individual gardens for sixty thousand people. Most of
these contain a living-room and three bedrooms,with a
toilet,porch and cellar. Two in each twenty were some
what larger to accommodate the occasional big family.
These houses comprise thirty-two cites-jardins (garden
cities) of from fifty to over thirteen hundred dwellings
each,and eighty groups of less than fifty each. In
eight of the communities which have over two hundred
houses each the Company built complete sewer systems,and
in many instances provided buildings for purposes of
1
education,amusement,trade and medical aid.
The largest city built by this Company is Tergnier,
with thirteen hundred and twenty-six dwellings,nine hun
dred and twenty of which are of concrete construction.
There are over eight hundred at Lille and at Lens,and
2
over seven hundred each at Bethune and Arras. These
are all communities of the garden suburb type.
An example of what has been done in Prance on pri
vate initiative is furnished by the work of the Caisse
foncière de credit pour l'amélioration du logement dans
1'industrie,and is very interesting. In 1918 a group of
1
Wood,E.E.,Housing Progress in Western Europe,105,106,107.
2 ^ ^
Ibid.,107,108.
56
industrial leaders subscribed five million francs to tarn
a stock-company to furnish employers in their particular
industries (metal and mining) with credit for the carrying
out of housing operations. This was later increased to
twenty million francs, . Funds were obtained by a bond
issue of twenty-five million francs at five and one half
per cent, and another at six per cent, for seventy-five
million francs. Loans are made to a housing society nom
inated by the employer,who guarantees the repayment of
the principal with interest. Eight per cent, is charged
on these loans,which leaves a dividend of over five per
cent, after all expenses are paid.
Some of the buildings growing out of this scheme
were not of a very high standard and,also,as a result of
the ever increasing cost of construction,the movement
began to lag; so the same group founded another stock-
company (Comptoir generale du logement économique) to
standardize the dwellings in order to buy materials in
great quantities,reducing the costs;âctually to do the
building if desired and to furnish house plans and ad
vice free of charge,with the view of raising the gener
al standard of buildings and discouraging the construction
1
of undesireable types.
1
Wood,E.E.,Housing Progress in Western Europe,109,110.
57
Margerethenîiohe,on the outskirts of Essen,is a
beautiful example of the German conception of an indus
trial garden suburb. It was made possible by the foun
dation of an endowment fund by one of the Krupps in honor
of his daughter,and now houses more than forty-four
thousand people. Fredereich A.Krupp also set aside
a fund of a half million marks,in 1899,to provide for
loans to employees of the great works at Essen who prefer
red to do their own building.
This rapid survey of housing abroad will serve as
a suitable introduction for the discussion in the next
chapter, dealing with conditions in our own country.
58
CHAPTER V
Housing Conditions in the United States
Movements and Progress
"I am certain that I speak the truth,
and a truth that can be confirmed by the
testimony of all experienced persons,
clergy,medical men,and all who.are con
versant with the working class,that until
their housing conditions are Christianized
(I can use no less forcible terms) all
hope of moral or social improvement is
utterly in vain?
Lord Shaftsbury
A casual perusal of any text on American housing
conditions will convince the most skeptical of the ser
iousness and the injustice of the situation which con
fronts that class of our people who,through lack of spe
cial training,must toil for a meagre wage.
New York City,with its tenement house district,is
probably our bitterest indictment,but there is not a large
city in the United States that does not furnish a vicious
example of our laxity in the matter of adjusting a heavy
debt to humanity,-and to the country at large; for the
welfare of a nation most certainly rests in a very large
degree upon the welfare of its citizens. In all the
large industrial centers the condition is so pitiful as
to be almost unbelievable,yet very few of our more for
tunate members of society ever glimpse the dreary misery
59
in the low wage-earner’s home,or realize the withering,
soul-warping nature of the atmosphere in which thousands
upon thousands of children are supposed to grow up and
develop into good citizens. Realization has come to
a few of the larger industrial concerns and they have
taken steps to better the home conditions of their em
ployees. The wise men at the heads of these industries
well know that the instinct of emulation,-the boy’s
natural bent to "follow in the furrow of the sire* will,
with a congenial home life to hold the family together,
furnish them with competent,dependable labor for the
future. This much of care do they bestow upon their in
dustrial personnel,while we as a nation are content to
sit with folded arms while millions of our future citi
zens are being shaped in the most undesirable of molds.
Housing surveys have been made in a number of cities
in this country and always,proportionate to the size of
the community,the picture is the same. Brevity demands
that references be limited to a few of the more salient
points in various sections. We must refer searchers for
further facts to texts mentioned in the bibliography.
Hew York City!-The"Memorandum prepared for the Spe
cial Session of the New York Legislature".published by
the City Club of New York, opens with the following
statemënt^l
The New York City Club,The Housing Crisis,1,Sept.,1920,
Charles P.Young Co.,printers,l9o Williams St•,N.Y.
60
It is universally admitted that
Governor Smith is right in his judgment
that the housing situation,while particularly
acute in New York City,presents a serious
problem throughout the State. As short a
time ago as January men of ability and ex
perience in housing matters confidently stat
ed it as their belief that housing conditions
would soon change of themselves for the
better,and opposed what they characterized
as radical suggestions for their improvement.
Instead of improving,housing conditions have
grown steadily worse; and few if any men of
reputation in housing matters now venture to
predict a speedy return to better conditions.
The New York Evening World,commenting upon a pro-
1
posed housing bill of Governor Smith’s,aptly states that
"the only question is whether interests of society and
humanity are to be served at all; that the conditions in
the slums of the city are those of savagery,making for
disease,crime and the radicalism born of suffering."
The Sun,in discussing the Governor’s proposed pro-
2
gram,declares :
It is the first one that has pointed
the way to decent living quarters for the wage-
and salary-earners who have not more than $2500
,a year with which to support their families....
IAdvantages would accrue from the)tearing down
of rookeries.The disappearance of ancient
tenement houses,some of them under official con
demnation for forty years,but still occupied,
would mean the disappearance of hotbeds of dis
ease... the tenements of lower Manhattan had be
come unbearable to persons desiring the American
standards of living.
Literary Digest,March 13,1926,p 6.
2
Ibid.p 6.
61
Edith Elmer Wood comments upon city housing condi-
1
tions in the country at large as follows:
Windowless bedrooms,heavy with the odor of
underbathed,overcrowded humanity,cellar homes
where babies dwindle and tubercle bacilli
thrive,suggest great cities. New York probab
ly has half a million people sleeping in rooms
without windows to the outer air in the old
tenement houses built before 1879,and a mil
lion and a half more in the dumb-bell tene
ments built between 1879 and 1901,and in other
old houses with utterly inadequate ventilation.
Boston has 132 streets less than 14 feet wide.
One populous North End thoroughfare,Webster
Avenue,built up solidly with four-and five-story
tenements,varies in width from 4 to 9 feet.
Board Alley is only 2 feet wide. Philadelphia
has 165 miles of unsewered streets and approxim
ately 30,000 privy vaults. St. Louis has nearly
as many and Baltimore probably more. But smaller
cities sometimes have even worse conditions for
want of any restraining law. And dilapidation,
overcrowding,lack of sanitation,can lay their
blight even on a rural community .
Philadelphia:- Regarding conditions in Philadelphia,we
can do no better than quote from the reoort of an investi-
2
gation made by Emily W.Dinwiddie under the direction of
the committee of the Octavia Hill Association:
The selfishness which refuses to be its
brother’s keeper brings its punishment with es
pecial swiftness in such a city as Philadelphia
where wretched,unhealthful alleys are found near
the business streets or just back of handsome
residences,as well as in the so-called slums...
The complacency which prevails here is danger
ous; and the conditions are generally unknown.
Those who discuss Philadelphia’s housing problems
are often met by the surprised exclamation ’I
thought Philadelphia had no bad conditions;that it
was a city of homes’* Yet the intricate net-work
of courts and alleys with which the interior of
the blocks are covered is a conspicuous feature • .
Ventilation through the houses is impossible....
There are a few large tenements nearly all of
which were built before the passage of the tene-
^____ ment house act of 1895 and are of bad types,but
E.E.Wood,The Housing Famine,10.
2 “ ~
E.W.Dinwiddie,Housing Conditions in Philadelphia.1,2.
62
far more Important are the numbers of
small houses not built for tenements and
not containing accommodations for more
than one family which are occupied by
three,four,five,six or more separate
households.
Chicago:- A survey of 1526 apartments in Chicago gives
a fair picture of conditions which are a disgrace to our
nation. Of the above number 976 contain one or more per
sons to the room. Taking into account a kitchen and pro
bably a dining- and living-room combination,it would mean
approximately two persons to each bedroom,as a minimum;
242 cases would average about three,522 cases,four,and 163
apartments are harboring between five and six persons
1
to each sleeping room. When we consider that in many
cases there are no windows or ventilation,and combine
noxious odors,dirt and filth which are a concomitant,it
does not require any vivid imagination to visualize the
living conditions in these quarters. Be it remembered
that the spread of tuberculosis and other diseases is
easily brought about by frequent contact with these
people in the schôols,theaters,churches,street-cars,buses
and what-not.
Conditions in the smaller cities are the same in: a
proportionate degree and we need only cite the housing
survey of the city of Lexington,Kentucky,made in 1924
I----------------
E.A.Hughes,Living Conditions for Small-Wage Earners in
Chicago, 18 , l9,2C,2l,W.
»
63
1
by Madge Headley for the Board of Health of that city,from
which we quote:
A serious problem developes in the old and
new three-room houses and shacks. They line
alleys and back streets,they cluster together
in well known notorious neighborhoods and invade
the sparsely built districts along the city
lines...In these houses and districts problems
of health and sanitation become acute. The death-
rate of babies and children runs high. * Home
conditions bring many families to charitable
organizations asking for help. It is necessary
only to mention the names of some streets to
bring out stories of disease and destitution,
of need and suffering,of delinquency and crime.
This paper will not permit a full discussion of hous
ing conditions in the various cities where reports are
available,but,after digressing a moment to outline what
efforts have been made in this country*toward the solu
tion of the problem, this chapter will be fittingly con
cluded with a detailed treatment of the situation in Los
Angeles,which city,it should be borne in mind,affords a
very mild example of the offending conditions and is
probably the last community in the United States in which
an investigator would expect to find a large population
living amidst sordid and undesirable surroundings.
Housing projects in the United States may be
classified under five general heads: (1)Commercial; (2)
Municipal; (3)Co-operative;(4)Industrial;and(5) Philanthrop
ie. and Semi-philanthropic. ^
1. Commercial. Many handsome developments of the gar-
den city type have been successfully launched in various
Report of Housing Survey of the City of Lexington,Ken
tucky, January to April,1924,p 6.
64
parts of the country,but all of them are away beyond the
reach of the laboring class,and,as they contribute nothing
toward the solution of the problem with which this
paper deals,no space will be given them.
2, Municipal- We have no instance of municipal housing
as yet in this country, Massachusetts is carrying out a
small experiment in state housing. The Massachusetts
Homestead Commission,with a” munificent’appropriation of
$50,000,bought and laid out seven acres of land in Lowell
and built twelve houses which it is selling at cost on
the installment plan,giving twenty-seven years as the
maximum time in which to complete payments,and charging
1
an interest rate of five per cent.
^3 . Co-operative: Very little of consequence has been
undertaken in this country along co-operative lines.
There is an association in New York known as the Co-opera
tive League,the governing principles of which are the
same as those in effect in Europe,the main points being
2
as follows:
(a) One vote only for each member,regardless
of amount of stock owned.
(T^) Invested capital to receive fixed interest
never to exceed current market rate.
(c) Legal ownership of property to remain vested,
in the society.
(d) Shares in the Society’s capital stock should
be non-transferable except with the con
sent of three fourths of the members
1 --------
E.E.Wood,The Housing Famine,76.
2 , :
A.D.Warbasse,The A B C of Co-operative Housing,1-20,
65
of the society and not for profit.
(e) Surplus savings accruing from the so
ciety’s operations,not used for expansion
or other collective purposes,should he re
turned to the tenant members in proportion
to the amount of their patronage.
(f) Democratic control;full responsibility for
administration resting with the board of
directors elected by the tenant owners.
There has been but one housing scheme undertaken,known
as the Riverview Co-operative Apartments^and located at
41st and 7th streets,New York City. It was organized in
1923 and has built one apartment building for thirty-
two families. Other co-operative activities are of a
commercial nature and hence receive no consideration here.
4» Industrial; In projects of this type a large in
dustry desiring to j5rovide for the housing needs of its
employees,lays out a village or city adjacent to the
scene of its business activities,builds homes of various
types and either sells or rents them,in some instances
at,or even below,cost. Many such communities have been
successfully developed. The measure of success is usually
contingent on the spirit and humanitarian attitude of
the founders. Such promotions,while praiseworthy,and serv
ing to relieve the distress in their immediate vicinity,
do not,and cannot,solve the housing problem,because aside
from the fact that only a relatively small percentage of
the people who need relief are in the employ of such large
concerns,the scheme is subject to the following draw
backs; (1)Such projects almost always smack strongly of
" ■— — — —' " ■ —• I — - ^
, J.P.Warbasse,Co-operative Housing: in Co-ooeretion
April,1925,pp 64.ëS. P ^ -
66
paternalism,and in some instances even of charity; (2)
they are usually laid out too close to the work-shop,and
do not offer the. change of environment which is so help
ful in rejuvenating the spirit and energy for the task
of tomorrow; (3)in nearly all cases a down cash payment
is required which puts the benefits beyond the reach of
the unskilled workers.
Among the industrial housing movements that have
been projected in this country some of the more import
ant are Lackawanna,New York,Morgan Park,Minnesota,Gary,
Indiana,Fairfield,Alabama,Argo,Illinois,Eclipse Park,
Wisconsin,Longview,Washington and Goodyear Heights,Ohio.
The latter is the development of the Goodyear Tire and
Rubber Company near Akron, and is an outstanding ex
ample.
A tract of 400 acres of land adjoining Akron was
selected. Any part of the site can be reached on foot from
the Goodyear plant in about fifteen minutes. The land
is gently rolling and rich in natpral beauty which has
been carefully preserved. Certain sections are timbered
with great oaks and other specimens three feet thick,and
through these street openings were cut as in » primeval
forest. Many single trees are scattered throughout the
tract,offering both beauty and shade. The hôuses are all
of artistic design and of many types,substantially built
of rough brick with wide joints or stucco. The roofs are
67
of slate and the porch floors of cement. They have large
living-rooms,attractive fire-places,french glass doors,
large kitchen cupboards,hard wood trim and double floors
on the ground floor,and are strictly modern as to heating,
lighting and plumbing.
The company sells these homes to its employees at.
cost,but payments for the first five years are based on
a cost value plus 25^,after which time,if the payments
have been kept up and the purchaser is still in the
employ of the company,the excess and the interest paid
thereon are returned to him by crediting same on his
balancé due,and all payments thereafter are made on a cost
price basis. Homes there were selling in 1918 from
$2500 to $8,000 With a small cash down payment. Payments
were due semi-monthly and arrangements were made for de
ducting them from the wages of the employee. Material
is purchased by the trainload,but each house has an
individual design and receives careful consideration
as to appearance and arrangement.
The average cost to the company of the land was ^
slightly over $300 per acre and this is used for the basis
of the valuation placed upon the lots.
In their booklet number 1,issued in 1918,we find
the following:
When the space necessary for the laying out
of streets and sidewalks,parks and playgrounds
is provided for,it is found that only four lots
can be laid out to the acre,which would make
each lot value $75.00, The construction of
the necessary cuts and fills for the streets,
the construction of sidewalks,curbs and
68
gutters,sewers and railfoad 'bridge,the lay
ing of water-pipes,drains,etc.,and the pav
ing,bring this amount up to an average of
about $500,00 per lot. Location,view etc. are
taken into consideration in fixing prices,
with the result that lots sell for from $240
to $760 each.
The selling plan is simple and so arranged that,
barring disabling illness,any employee of the company can
within a reasonable time become the owner of his own home.
Two mortgages may be placed upon the property,the first
one being for one half oi? the cost value,and carried by
the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company of New York,with
whom arrangements have been made so that the payments
due them are made to the Goodyear Company, The Good
year carries the second mortgage for the balance of the
purchase price. The semi-monthly payments will pay off
the second mortgage in ten years and the first in ten
years more,the rate of interest being six per cent, per
annum. Taxes are taken care of as they fall due by
the semi-monthly deductions by the company from the
purchaser’s earnings at the factory.
Edith Elmer Wood,after classifying the rubber worker
as intermediate between mechanics and unskilled workers,
1
informs us that:
The Goodyear Company,in filling out
the National Housing Association questionnaire
in 1916,placed their average wages at $22,
and said that the payments on their houses
average 33^ of their income,an extremely
high proportion. Of course,such a develop
ment as this does not get within speaking
distance of the problem of housing un
skilled workers,
5.^ Philanthropic and serai-philanthropic: There are
E.E.Wopd,Housing of the Unskilled Wage Earner,120
69
to be found in all the housing history of the United
States but two instances of pure philanthropy,-a trust
fund established;no stock-holders and no dividends,how
ever limited. One of these,the Charleston Bank Homes,of
Boston,founded by Edwin Ginn in 1911,is represented by
a single five-story building containing 103 two-,three-
and four-room,moderp apartments,and the other is the
Mulanphy Apartments in St.Louis. This building was built
by the Mulanphy Emigrant and Travelers’ Relief Fund,and
contains 36 two-,three- and four-room apartments with
basement baths and laundries.
These monuments of generosity,while magnificent in
themselves as the achievements of public spirited indi
viduals, shrink to insignificance when considered in the
light of an answer to the housing problem.
Sunnyside,a community at Long Island City,New York,
is a semi-philanthropic project designed to house 1500
families. Here a four-room apartment costs four thousand,
eight hundred dollars,with a four hundred and eighty dollar
cash down payment. Monthly payments of a little over
twelve dollars per room then take care of heat,light,
repairs,interest,taxes,insurance and amortization. A
9
single family house of six rooms sells for eight thousand,
seven hundred and fifty dollars,and the cash down payments
and monthly installments vary. While this development
is bringing relief to many families of moderate means,
these prices are obviously too high and the monthly pay-
70
mente too heavy to be of any benefit to the submerged
thousands that stew in New York’s "old-law" tene
ments.
The slogan of the City Housing Corporation,the
limited dividend company that developed Sunnyside,is
"six per cent,Safety and Social Service". Its dividends
are limited to six per cent.and it presents one of the
best examples of the semi-philanthropic housing movement.
On its Board of Directors and Advisory Board are several
men who have devoted many years of unselfish efforts to
the betterment of the housing conditions of the poor. It
does not seem possible that any semi-commercial enter
prise can ever be expected to do more than these men are
doing.
Mariemont,lying just outside of Cincinnatti,Ohio,is
another development of this class that has behind it a
spirit of philanthropy and lofty motives,though the
founders insist that it is purely a business proposi
tion. Their concept of the town Is that it is in the
nature of a public service enterprise,adding to gas,
light,water,etc.dwellings and other things that make up
a healthful and attractive community. Everything is
furnished at a little above cost,and the success of the
town will be shared with those who live there. Its nine
or ten thousand inhabitants will enjoy fifty acres of
parks,playgDOudds and village greens. The Stadium,
Recreation Field and parks will provide every kind 6f
amusement and outdoor exercise free,as the gift to her
71
fellow-citizens of Mrs. Mary M. Emory, v/ho Is the city’s
projector and sponsor,as well as the sole stock-holder
of the Mariemont Company,which was organized to carry
out the plan she had conceived.
Their claim is that Mariemont is not a rich man’s
suburb,nor is it for the very poor alone,but thàt it offers
sanctuary to a wide range of workers of various classes.
Realizing that not everyone can buy a home,or even start
paying for one,at once,the Company stands ready to en
courage and assist by loans,by selling lots on time,by
erecting homes for applicants (only on approved plans,
however) and by renting houses on a cost basis. While
there are,and can be,no slum districts,there will natur
ally be a choice of lots varying in price according to
the neighborhood as in any other normal real estate devel
opment. The tract comprises 420 acres,with about seven
families to the acre. Eventually all the buildings will
have been sold with the exception of some of the business
blocks which will be held as an investment.or as security
against an issue of preferred stock to those who wish to
share in the enterprise. Thus finally Mariemont will
be owned by its citizens and the Company will with
draw and,perhaps,repeat the experiment elsewhere.
Mrs.Emery and the Mariemont Company are doing a
real service and,while they disclaim any charitable mo
tives, the nature and volume of service rendered,and the
fact that they are taking only a small part of the
profit they could demand,isolates them from the vast
72
majority of real estate operators,and so the project
offers no encouragement as to the country at large,except
In the manner of the example it sets. Further,while the
booklets issued by the Company do not state details as
to the financing of individual sales,author received a
reply to a letter of enquiry on the subject saying that
a down payment is required amounting to approximately
10^ of the purchase price. This,of course,lifts the
opportunity of home ownership beyond the reach of the
class under consideration,limiting their participation
in the benefits to the enjoyment of the houses built for
rental purposes.
Housing Conditions in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles has been selected for individual discus
sion for the following feasons: (1) It is not an indus
trial center and hence is likely to present a minimum of
undesirable housing conditions,emphasizing the still
greater needs in other centers more industrially devel-
opedj (2) it is one of the garden spots of our country
and is pointed to with pride,by visitors as well as
residents as a model city of homes) (3) it is known as
one of the experimental centers of civic ideals; (4) its
major development has taken place within the last decade
and there has been full opportunity of adopting and
applying modern concepts of city planning from an aesthetic
and utilitarian point of view; (5) this thesis is being
75
presented to the University of Southern California,which
is located at Los Angeles.
Residents of Los Angeles were greatly surprised
and shocked when Jacob Riis,visiting their pity,made a
public statement that Los Angeles really had a slum
district,and the result was a survey which brought to
light the fact's and conditions as here presented.
Considerable difficulty was encountered in getting
information from the police and juvenilé departments.
This was probably due to a desire on the part of the city
authorities to avoid adverse criticism. Los Angeles has
had a number of set-backs in the past few years,and it is
only natural that they should endeavor to shield the city
from further unfavorable publicity.A Housing Commission
was created some two years ago,but Chairman Mead was
spending the winter at Pound Springs and was not avail
able, and his secretary was unable to give the desired
information. Another member of the Board advised that
the first step considered was a city bond issue. This
question is being litigated and is now up to the Supreme
Court for decision. It is hoped that the bond question
will be settled within the next six months. No other
important step has thus far been taken. Mention is made
of this because important data were expected from this
source.
.The Housing and General Social Survey of Macy Street
School District,including Chinatown, the Community Survey
74
by the Commission of Immigration and Housing of Cali
fornia,and the Annual Reports of the Department of
Health,City of Los Angeles,for the years ending June 50,
1924 and 1925,are the main sources of the details that
follow. While the survey is rather old,conditions have
not changed materially as will be seen by the reports of
1924-25.
There are many sections in Los Angeles which contain
small areas of undesirable housing conditions. This paper
cannot go into a complete survey and we must limit our
selves to a discussion of the larger and more important
areas where poverty and filth,immorality and disease are
conspicuous.
The following statements regarding conditions in
what is known as the Macy School District are based
on investigations made there during December,1914 and
January,February and March,1915.,
This district,formerly known as the Eighth Ward,is
located in an industrial center of Los Angeles and is a
part of the oldest section of the city. At the end of
the district lies Chinatown,near the old Plaza,once the
trading center of 10,000 or more Chinese residents, where
opium and gambling dens and lotteries thrive unmolested..
For twenty years this district had all the brothels and
one third of the saloons of the city. In the midst of
r
Second Annual Report of the Commission of Immigration and
Heufllng,of California, January 2,1916.Office of the Commis-
Sion,Underwood Building,8an Francisco,California.
75
Chinatown the crib district still stands,partly demolished,
doors gone,windows broken and boarded up; but about half
of the remaining 140 apartments are still occupied by the
Chinese,and occasionally by Mexicans during the winter
months,
Macy Street district with its saloons,its gambling
houses and prize-fights,its red-light section and its
ward politics gave but little opportunity for a whélesome
and peaceful neighborhood. Its young people filled the
juvenile courts and reformatories; the older ones the
jails and state prisons. Up to three years ago it
seemed hardly safe to go through the streets at night on
account of the drunken gangs and other disorderly groups
of men...Gradually the movements toward civic betterment
have had their effect here, but the most constructive
factor has been the Macy Street School.
The district is located on a low,flat area of land
adjoining the Los Angeles River and includes a large
territory,but only part of it is devoted to homes. There
are here two distinct housing problems: The tenements and
lodging houses in Chinatown,and the single dwellings and
courts in the remainder of the district. We quote from
the Report:
Families are for the most part lodged
separately in frame dwellings. The tenements
here are principally old two story resi
dences occupied by several family groups.
Land is evidently being held for future
speculation,as industrial property. Land
lords, in meantime,making no improvements,
or repairs,but collect rentals for payment
of taxes. As a result the families,with the
exception of those owning their own homes.
76
live in old,tumble-down,dilapidated,in
sanitary buildings; consequently native
American families have moved away and
foreigners crowded in. In fact,at the
time of the investigation one house,
just outside the district,collapsed.
Within the Macy Street district there
are a great many other houses in a similar
condition. In spite of the regulations
of the City Housing Commission,there are
rear apartments in house-courts,which
present some of the worst housing evils.
The central court serves as the front
yard and laundry and is the only place in
which the children can play. Here are
the water faucets and toilets for the entire
court,making privacy impossible.
Out of 241 families paying rent, 108 were living
in houses in a bad state of repair. Defective plumbing
was found in 53 out of 334 homes. Rain beats in through
the broken windows,and the tenants complain of bed-bugs,
cockroaches and rats. In one court a toilet on a rear
porch of the front house intended for the use of the two
families living there,is used by the people of the four
teen apartments in the rear.
Garbage: 197 families had tin,or metal,garbage cans,many
of them without lids,and 118 families threw their gar
bage to the chickens and rabbits,or into open pits,where
it remained for days breeding flies and giving out
noxious odors.
The.numerous stables in the district add to the
general insanitation. These are kept as a rule in a
filthy condition. Several instances were found where
stables adjoined houses and were within two or three feet
of kitchen or bedroom windows.
77
Many of the yards are filthy and contain stagnant pools
into which rubbish and garbage are thrown for lack of
receptacles.
Congestion: The rule requiring 500 cubic feet of air
space per adult person is being constantly violated
and 156 cases of bad overcrowding of sleeping rooms were
found. Four,five and even seven persons were found
sleeping in one bed,and in 14 bedrooms there were no
#
beds and the forty persons occupying them slept on the
floor. Many others sleep on the floor,but families do
not like to have it known,and so state that they all
occupy one bed. This overcrowding will persist as long
as families have such low incomes that they are compelled
to keep lodgers to contribute toward the rent.
#
Rentals: For these shabby rooms the average rental was
$9.30 per month,while the average income was $36.85,
allowing very little for food,clothing and other expen
ditures. The average income for a family of five per
sons was less that $450 per year,over a quarter of which
was spent for rent. Of the 146.families whose incomes
were ascertained,62 percent were below $60 per month.
Most of the men work outside of the district,but live
there because they cannot afford to pay the rents
charged elsewhere.
In the Chinatown section of the district the in
habitants are permitted to live in dark,squalid,unsani
tary suroundings. Their children mingle with the-other
children and the men supply practically all of the homes
78
of LOS Angeles with vegetables,and come in still closer
contact as the community laundrymen. Thus contagion
may be carried to the best sections of the city. Tene-
»
ments and lodging houses cover whole blocks and the few
vacant spaces are littered with chicken-coops and
rubbish.
The little Chinese shop in front is the entrance
to the living quarters in the rear. Only 56 out of
252 apartments opened directly on the street. The
street door and one window are the only means of ventila
tion. Of the 1572 rooms investigated,including kitchens,
878 were totally dark and windowless,lighted by a candle
or a gas jet. Stuffy rooms were built in mezzanine floors
reached by ladders which hang on the wall when not in use,
and in some of these the ceilings were less than four
feet high,-seldom over six,and here dust,dirt and filth
accumulates undisturbed. The most overcrowded sleeping
rooms are often used as kitchens. Bunks are everywhere.
Kitchens are in a filthy condition and vermin thrives in
the rotting floor-boards beneath leaky sinks; cellars
stand full of stagnant water and rubbish; five instances
were noted where the sink was not connected with the
sewer at all and most of the toilets open directly into
the kitchens.
*
Thé appeadad charts and reports furnish a graphic pic
ture of conditions in various sections of the city
*Tables 78a,78b,78c,pages 78a,78b,78c,78d,this thesis.
78a
T a b le 7 8 a .
1
Housing Conditions.
Repair.
Number apartments in good repair.................... 161
" f f w fair repair......................15
" f f f f poor repair..,............... ..110
No report......................... 48
Sanitation.
Number apartments with no bath........ 201
Number with bath.....................................125
No report. ................... .8
Number of bathtubs (enamel).............. 87
Number zinc tubs. ..... .38
Number apartments using toilet in yard..............117
" " f f I f f f bouse ...........#.65
" " " " o n porch,............138
No report. ....... 14
Number toilets ventilated.......... ...251
" " not ventilated......... 63
Number apartments where toilets used by one family..161
Number apartments toilets used by two families.. 91
3.......... 28
4................ .21
5....... 5
ditto 6....... 1
7................. 11
8 2
9.................. 1
No report....... 13
Total number families sharing toilets with
other families . .159
Number apartments using toilets in clean condition..226
" " " " in filthy condition...93
No report.............................. . .15
Number apartments with enamel sinks. ...........244
Number with iron sinks................. IB
Number with zinc sinks.................. 4
Number with no sinks. ...................... .50
No report.................................... 18
Number apartments having no garbage cans.............56
Number having metal or tin cans.................. 197
Number where garbage fed to chickens ...... .62
No report......... 19
Cleanliness of Building.
Number apartments in clean condition....... .238
" f t I f filthy condition................83
No report........... 13
1 ----------
Second Annual Report of the Com.of Immigration and
liT-CaT^ . 247.248.--------------^
78b
T a b le 7 8 b .
i
Table showing crowding in beds.'
Clara Street...1.bed.
Clara Street...1..V..
Clara Street.
Vignes " .
Vignes " ...2.."..
.4
.5
.4
.5
.8
Queirollo St...2..".....2
Augusta St. . .....9
Date Street....1..".....6
^ueirollo St...l.,".....5
Queirollo St...2,.".....7
Date Street.. , . 1 . , 4
Date Street....1..".... 4
Date Street... .1.. ".....5
Ogier Street...1..".....4
Ogier Street.. . 1 . . 3
Avilla St.....1 . . 4
St. 1..".....7
St 1..".... 4
St......1.. .....7
St......1.. .....4
St 1..".... 7
St... . 1 . .....5
St....I..”.....6
Avilla
Avilla
Avilla
Avilla
Avilla
Bauchett
Bauchett
" .... .4
".....6
« 7
. . . . . I
..... 2
« 6
Lyon Street....1.
Lyon Street....1.
Lyon Street....0.
Lyon Street....1.
Howard St..... 2.
Howard S t . . ....4
Howard St......1.,".... 3
Ramirez.St.....1..".....6
Ramirez St.....1.. .....4
Macy Street....1..".....4
Macy Street....1..".... 5
Macy Street... .1 .7
Macy S t r e e t . . .... 4
Macy Street....!..".... 4
persons
ff
ff
f f
f f
ff
"(a cot-several sleeo on floor)
ff
ff
ff
f f
ft
«
ft
ff
ff
ff
ff
f f
ff
ff
f f
ff
ff
ff
" sleep on floor.
"(This is a cot)
"(These two are a bed and a cot)
f f
"(This is
f f
cot)
Table showing incomes during regular employment.
Number men receiving under $40 a month. ........16
Number receiving
Number receiving
Number receiving
Number receiving
Number receiving
Number receiving
Number receiving
>40 to
>50 to
>60 to
>70 to
>80 to
>50.
J60.
>70.
>80.
19
56
20
14
.8
>90 to $100..................... 4
1100 and over................. . .9
Number receiving no income............ 228
^Second An.Rep.of Com.of Im.and H’s’g;of Cal.Jan.2,1916,
p ' 25o; —
^ i b i d . , 2 5 4 .
78o
Table 78c.
Table showing average rentals and income of families?
Total income per month for 272 families.......$10,436.60
Total rental per month for 256 families.........2,629.00
Average income per month per family.................36.85
Average rental per month per family.......... .9.30
Average yearly income per family..................442.20
Average rental per room................ .2.86
Table showing rentals paid?
Number families paying under $5 per month..........27
66
,40
,69
,47
,36
.10
,11
, .3
,.4
Number paying S5 to
Number paying !>7 to
Number paying i>9 to
Number paying 5 >12 to
Number paying ( >15 to
Number paying I >18 to
Number paying 5 >20 to
Number paying 2 >25 to
Number paying {130 to
Number paying $40.................................... 2
1
Average number of persons per room.
Total number of persons..........................1,866
Total number of rooms............................1,264
Total number of bedrooms » . .715
Total number of beds...............................915
Average number of persons to a bedroom..............2.06
Average number of persons to a bed,,........ ..2.03
Number of bedrooms with no bed.......... ....14
(These last occupied by 40 persons sleeping on floor)
Families keeping lodgers.^
Number of families keeping 1 lodger........
2 lodgers......
3
I f
4
f t
5
I f
6
«
7
f t
8
f t
19
f t
2
Entrance to apartments.
Number of apartments in rear of stores. .....134
Number opening on street...........................53
Number of lodging houses... ..................... .23
± : -----------
2nd An.Rep,Com.of Im.and H’s’g.of Cal,Jan.2,1916,251.
ibid.,265.
78d
Table 7Bc cont’d.
Number apartments in rear of r e s t a u r a n t s ,10
Number in rear of barber shops..... 11
Number in rear of butcher shops......................5
Number locked........................................ 16
Rooms.^
Number investigated.............................. 1,572
Number of inside rooms.............................878
Number of bunks ............... 1^237
Number rooms in "built-in" or false floors.........235
Entrance to false floors by stairs........ .........64
Entrance to false floors by ladders.................50
Stairs lighted,............................. ;........ 5
Stairs not lighted................................. 109
Number bunks on false floors.....................274
Number cellars used for living purposes............ 10
^2nd.An.Rep.of Com.of Im.and H's'g.of Cal.Jan.2,1916,265
79
1
In a community survey of eleven districts a system
was employed which utilized the co-operation of all the
social agencies. In every district covered,the committee
in charge called to its aid the Charities Visitor,City
Nurse,School Nurse,Housing Inspector,Probation Officer,Mis
sion,priests,ministers,School and Playground Superinten
dents, Librarian, day nurseries,factory superintendents,fore
men of railroad camps,employers,settlements and clinics,
consult,editors and police.
The districts covered by this survey are enumerated
below in order to indicate the widespread existence of
areas of bad housing and unfavorable environment. There
are many other foul spots in the city,and these have
undoubtedly increased in number in proportion to the
growth of the city.
Districts covered by community survey:
District No. Area included.
1. District including Temple,Fremont,Alpine,and Califor
nia schools;includes small tradesmen,shifting popula
tion and poorer class Jews.
2. Castelar,Palo Verde and Ann Street Schools,Mexicans
and Italians.
3. Pasadena Avenue,Griffen and Albion Schools,Italians
and poor Americans.
4. Cornwell and Bridge Street Schools,Russian Jews and
many other nationalities.
5. Utah and Second Street Schools,Armenians and 12 or
more other nationalities.
6. District including Belvedere and First Street Schools,
Mexicans,Negroes,Russian Jews.
7. Euclid Avenue,Boyle Heights Intermediate,and Hostet
ter Street Schools,Mexicans and Russian Molokans.
8. Including Seventh and Ninth Street Schools,Mexicans,
Report of Commission of Immigration and Housing of Cali-
fornia,on cummunlty Survey of Los Angeles,T917-8
80
and Italians predominate.
9. Sante Pa and Staunton Street Schools,Negroes,Mexicans,
and Italians.
10 and 11. Boyd,Hewitt,Amelia and Macy Street Schools,
very few Americans. Includes the largest Japanese
colony and Chinatown. Bad housing,frightful over
crowding and congestion.
Many tables are presented giving detailed figures,
but as these are practically a repetition of what have
already been given in the description of the Macy Street
district, we shall confine ourselves tC presenting a few
photographs (Exhibits pp'13§-136 ) which give a more vivid
picture of the conditions in the various sections indi
cated. While these pictures were taken in 1908-9,the
areas represented remain practically the same today,
except as altered by the demolition and alteration in
cident to the out-break of Pneumonic Plague in 1925.
Annual Report of the Department of Health:
This report tends to substantiate the preceding state
ments regarding conditions in these areas. As our inter
ests are mainly with the housing question we. have contented
ourselves with choosing some figures here and there that
may serve to bring out the conditions directly affecting.
home and neighborhood environment.
Exhibit 2,showing nuisances abated will convey some
*
idea of existing conditions,and Exhibit 3 ,showing im
provements installed,will serve to indicate the type and
character of the insidious cancer-spots which are con
tinually threatening the health and welfare of the whole
I-----------
Annual Report of the Department of Health,City of Los
AiTgeite's, f or”~the~y7grsQ7' •gndring' ~ Jtxrre" "30'^T92^---— -------
^Exhibits on pages 130,151,this thesis.
81
city.
It must be remembered that whatever dangers lurk in
the bad areas of Los Angeles are a constant menace to
the health and life of all its citizens,be they domiciled
in ordinary homes or in mansions. Bubonic Plague,Pneu
monic Plague,Pneumonia,Tuberculosis and the contagious
diseases of infancy and childhood are easily carried by
the denizens of the slum areas to the homes of the best.
Thus we are confronted with a problem not only of gross
injustice to the families of the small wage earners,but
our own lives and future are actually threatened by
contacts which are constant and unavoidable.
We quote the following from the report of P.D.
Sweager,Chief Health Inspector,for the fiscal year
1
ending June 30,1925.
The accommodations for unskilled wage earners
constitutes the one deficiency in the adequate
housing of our people.
The recent outbreak of Plague resulted in more
than one thousand old homes and shacks,housing
Mexican wage earners,mostly,being condemned and
demolished. These houses were in the infected or
suspected areas of Macy Street and Anderson Street
districts,and in the vicinity of New High Street
and Lemon and Damon Streets.
No nev/ construction has been undertaken to
house the people thus dispossessed,but they have
been scattered to other parts of the city and
county,many of them into other houses or ^quarters
that are unfit for human habitation,a menace to the
city at large and a barrier to the progress of the
life and character of the persons living in them.
I---------; ----- —
Annual Report of Department of Health,City of Los Angeles,
for %he3 eaT eh^^ -------- ------ ----
82
The housing background of this situation and
its deadly toll is little known because bad housing
kills slowly. It destroys health,morals,self res
pect and ideals. The fact that it takes more
time to kill in no sense lessens its deadliness.
Thus it will be seen that the statements regarding
bad conditions in the ”City of the Angels” are not in the
least harsh,wild or over-drawn,as evidenced by its own
official acknowledgment in the latest available report
affecting the issue. How dark must be the shadow that
hovers over our older,larger,denser,more thoroughly
industrialized and,above all,less prideful cities,we
leave to the imagination of those who live in,or know,
Los Angeles.
83
CHAPTER VI
Reflections
Social Aspects and Individual Aspects
”The home is the crystal of society— the nucleus of
national character; and from that source,be it pure
or tainted,issue the habits,principles,and maxims
which govern public as well as private life; the
nation comes from the nursery..”
S. Smiles.
Sociologists and criminologists generally agree that
prevention is the logical cure for crime. We are expend
ing millions of dollars and tremendous energy and time
studying ways and means for the treatment of criminals,
either reformatory,punitive or educational. Success in
these directions would aid mainly our present generation,
and would require continued repetition. If the same amount
of money were expended for the study and application of
measures of prevention,it would have a definite tendency
for the reduction of crime in future generations,and thus
would reduce maintenance and upkeep,as well as eliminate
our crime problems. Science,industry,finance and even
education are not content with the mere acceptance of phe
nomena without careful study and analysis as to causes.
A scientist',and even an ordinary business manager,would
be considered unfit for his position if he were not con
versant with causes and effects and their true co-ordina
tion. Crime has been rampant the world over since his
tory began;yet no scientific measures of a constructive
nature have been developed until the last century. Only
in the last generation have scientific measures been ap
plied,i.e.,the study of the real underlying causes of
crime. Generally our governments,federal,state and municipal.
84
have been very backward in undertaking such studies.
Most humanitarian movements are initiated by public-
spirited men,who are willing to give of their time and
fortune unstintingly for the betterment of humanity*
When such movements are successfully demonstrated,it is
less difficult to obtain necessary governmental aid for
widening and promoting such activities.
The Rockefellar,Russell Sage,Carnegie and other
foundations have devoted considerable thought to pre
vention of crime,and,from a superficial examination of
available material,no gfeat progress has been made. Ju
venile courts,juvenile detention and other social agen
cies are doing a splendid work in this direction; but
these alone cannot hope to reach the source of the ”great
evil”.
It seems to the writer that our hopes must be center
ed upon the two great outstanding influences,involving
radical changes in; first,our educational system and
second,the home and neighborhood environment.
We can be justly proud of our splendid democratic
educational system. It is composed of high-minded men
and women,self-sacrificing,loyal and whole-heartedly de
voted to their profession. Education is undergoing a
panoramic metamorphosis,and improved scientific methods
are being so repidly adopted that it is difficult to
keep abreast of the times.
85
The American public has great faith in education as
the safest and sanest remedial agent for most of the evils,
inherent in our body politic. Unfortunately,no matter
how great the advance may be in education,and how much of
fortune,skill and loyalty may be expended,it cannot reduce
crime in any substantial measure,unless we go further,-to
the real fountain-head- the home and the neighborhood.
What hope is there for education to succeed if the
child is returned, daily to the home or neighborhood envir
onment which breeds the tendency to crime? Picture if
you will a child surrounded by all the evil influences
of a slum district. Here is a piece of Human clay ready
for the mold of American citizenship. The molding begins
in the home,and even a child*of six has already received
the imprint of certain social habits which are detrimen
tal to its future development. It comes to our schools
day by day,and our great unselfish body of teachers is
bending its best efforts to instil into these children
a correct conception of our American institutions,
ideals and concepts. But of what avail,when these same
children are returned day by day to thO name neighbor
hood from which they came? Is it any wonder that we have
not succeeded? The child*s life becomes a daily battle
of social and mental concepts,each at variance with the
other,and there is set up a social tension which can only
terminate in one of two wavs. In a minority of cases
86
education may win the battle; in a large majority the
”environment”comes out triumphant,and you have,first,
truancy;next,delinquency,and finally a full-fledged
recidivist.
It would seem not far from the truth to say that,
sociologically,hereditary anti-social tendencies and
traits are nurtured and developed in direct proportion
to the home and neighborhood environment.
That bad home and neighborhood environment are fav
orable to the development of criminal tendencies,is gen
erally accepted by most writers whose treatises author
has had occasion to examine. The same conviction is
reached by judges and other social workers connected
with juvenile delinquency. But there seems to be a lack
of appreciation of the outstanding fact that it is more
than one of the contributing causes of crime; it is the
main source of delinquency,and is the one which we can
best influence,modify and control for the betterment of
coming generations. Given our modern school system,and
a bettered home and neighborhood environment,both co
ordinated and harmonized for the one great purpose,-the
making of an ideal American citizen-and you have a so
cial machine that will fit into and function with our
modern' needs.
Our educational system has received a wonderful
impetus during the past generation,and is going ahead by
leaps and bounds to a lofty and worthy idealism. The home
87
and neighborhood environment of the slums are still
practically the same as they were a generation ago. Here
is where our blows must be struck,and these must be of
the sledge-hammer type,backed by the strong arm of the
public-spirited men and women of our day,who must insti
tute the new movement#
With this idea in mind,author has worked out a method
of procedure which he trusts may prove practical in appli
cation. It is not economically feasible to raze the unde
sirable neighborhoods and build a Utopia in their place.
We must approach the problem in a logical,sane and busi
ness like manner. Here is a mass of humanity,eking out
a mere existence; struggling,battling like so many bees
in a hivel You cannot destroy them; you cannot move
them; you cannot stir them. You must work out a tempt
ing,alluring alternative,to which they may be attracted.
It is not expected that all will respond at once, but it
is confidently hoped that many will, and,in time, all must.
Author has planned a modern suburban community to
serve as a bait which will entice these unfortunates to
a new vista upon life.
«
This model community takes full cognizance of the
requirements of the American standard of living,and is
worked out in such a way as to meet those essentials at
no greater cost than is now borne by the denizens of the
undesirable neighborhoods.
In the proceeding chapters author endeavored to show
the basic value and essential importance of a home environ-
88
ment commensurate with American standards of living. It
has been shown further that we cannot hope to reduce crime
and improve our social conditions unless we purify the
main source from which these evils emanate.
In approaching the question of remedial measures it
is necessary to apply rigid analysis to any proposal, and
cross-examine ourselves upon all phases of the problem.
At all times we must carry our objective before us,
or we shall fail of meeting with even partial success.
Application of a remedial agent to a problem so
complex and vast as the housing question,must take cog
nizance of the following salient points:
(a)Study of the element of our population for whom
the remedy is intended.
(b)Will the proposed reform measure be readily and
heartily accepted by its proposed beneficiaries?
(c)Will it receive a reasonable measure of support
from'the seventy- to eighty per cent of the population
who will not be directly affected by its provisions?
(d)The principal objections that have been,or might
be raised against the proposed measure of relief.
(a) It is estimated that 15-30^ of all those engaged
in gainful occupations or professions constitute the class
known as unskilled workers,or the lowest wage-earners.
To this class should be ddded a large contingent of clerks
and commercial helpers,whose salaries often do not exceed
$25 to $30 per week. All these may be classified as fol
89
lows î-
1. Those able and willing to work.
2. Those willing,but unable to work,
3. Those able ,but not willing to work.
This chapter will deal only with those in class 1,
as the latter two divisions properly belong to adminis
trative governmental agencies,either as wards of the state
or as requiring special consideration.
This class of workers is endowed with the same human
attributes as ourselves. The main difference lies in
early environment and opportunity. They are dominated
by the same emotions and sentiments. They are just as
responsive to the stimuli of kindness,helpfulness and
suggestion.
Their seeming lack of appreciation of the finer
things of life is merely due to stunted sensibilities,
and not to the absence of them.
We may partially fail in our efforts to regenerate
the adult,but our concern is mainly with the younger gen
eration, still capable of accepting newer, and better im
pulses, and being modified by an improved environment.
No one will question the resultant good that must
come from changing the environment of a two- or three-room
tenement to that of a home and garden in a quiet and
peaceful garden suburb,
(b) The question of ready acceptance by the portion of
the population for whom this plan is proposed,is largely
dependent upon the modus operandi of its execution.
90
Opposition will naturally develop from the more enlight
ened class of workers if the plan is offered as a gift,
or construed as an act of charity.
On the other hand if we enter upon the premises with
the conviction that a gross injustice has been committed
and that we are repentent and earnestly desirous of
applying immediate corrective measures,the workers will
accept their just due without opposition,and look upon
such efforts as a ”balm in Gilead”,rather tardy,but wel
come nevertheless.
Without citing authorities,and basing the statement
on his own experiences,author feels a deep sense of assur
ance that a proposal for home ownership,properly pres
ented to the workers,will not only receive hearty accep
tance, but will derve to deepen the sense of civic re
sponsibility and national patriotism and,further,to re
kindle the long dormant emotions of human love and
brotherhood*
It is difficult for the average person to sense o&-
measure the depth and breadth of happiness and comfort
that ownership of a little give# humblG Wenkee,
Author*s contact in medical practice with the mountain
eers of Pennsylvania,and the humble folk of industrial
Detroit has taught him, and made him understand what
the word ”home” means to the worker. The home,to them,
comphehends and embraces all,-the garden,the flowers,th e
rœkery,the few tufts of grass,the window box,the work
shop in the basement,the small additions here and there
91
made by his or her own hands during the spare moments of
the day,are each and every one full of meaning. Here,in
deed, is the cradle of our civilization,and here lies our
opportunity for socialization.
Finally,there is no question of the enthusiastic
acceptance of author * s plan by the rank and file of the
working class,provided it is given as a just compensation
for services rendered,and not offered as a sop to mollify
our. own conscience.
(c) Author has presented his plan to two city planners
of national reputation,Mrs.Edith Elmer Wood,author of a
number of books on the”Housing Problem” and,during the
war,one of the government experts on housing at Washington,
D.C., two bankers,two architects,and a number of public
spirited men who are in close contact with social wel
fare work. In addition to the above,a rough outline of
the plan has been submitted to many individuals in var
ious walks of life. In every instance efforts were made
to elicit any possible objections to author's plan of
amelioration,and in every case it'received either approval
or hearty support and commendation.
Numerous possible obstacles were cited,that might
prevent the successful issue of the plan proposed, but
at no time was there a single dissenting voice as to its
need and its fairness.
This plan must not be misinterpreted as advancing a
socialistic idea in a political sense. Author has been a
92
Republican all his life,and has strong faith in a purely
democratic form of government; and this proposal is in
tended to* function adjustably with our present political
system.
No matter what may be the faults or shortcomings of
our political constitution, we must grant that the Ameri
can public is ever seeking justice and fairness as its
ultimate goal. We may deride the tyranny of our system
of justice; we may scoff at some of our laws,and their
administrators; we may jeer at our politics and our poli
ticians; but no public anywhere is more frank and de
termined in its desire for equity and fairness as soon
as any injustice is made clearly manifest#
The old adages ”The world owes me a living” and
”The laborer is worthy of his hire”,interpreted in the
light of modern sociology,would appeal to every fair-
minded American citizen. It requires but a casual
reference to the multitude of philanthropic movements
in our country to convince one of the favorable attitude
of the American people on matters of social betterment.
No one will deny the verity of the truism that
whatever tends to improve the mind and body of any portion
of our citizenry,must in a measure add to the betterment
of society as a whole. To replace filthy and unsanitary
domiciles and the noise and tumult of urban congestion
with individual homes and the peace and quiCt #f a garden
93
suburb,must inevitably add to the comfort and happiness
of the parents and the physical and mental well-being of
the offspring.
On the other hand a democratic form of government
is based upon the principle of equal opportunity for all.
It follows,logically,that it is the duty of the govern
ment to use every means at its command to make that op
portunity as nearly equal as possible.
We must grant that every man giving to his com
munity a reasonable days work is entitled to a return
commensurate with his primary needs,-shelter,food,clo
thing, education and recreation.
Education and recreation are now practically free;
food and clothing the average willing worker is usually
able to get in return for his labor, but the ownership
of a home by the unskilled worker is still a rarity in
the midst of our abundance and luxury.
Has our government^national,state or local-made any
real efforts toward the equalization.of opportunities in
this direction?
Since a worker parts with his only asset--his time—
irretrievably,a community should part in a similar manner
with those things which constitute the necessities of
the worker. Since the community becomesHthe actual
owner or possessor of the time of the worker,after the
services have been rendered, so should the worker in re
turn become the real owner and possessor of a minimum of
living requirements in accordance with American standards.
94
Since our political constitution will not permit in
terference with property rights as they now exist,there
is but one way of meeting the problem--co-ordinating the
public mind with its conscience by every legitimate
means,and creating a public opinion which will force the
government to use every legal means to enable the wor.ker
to own his home.
Home ownership by this class of workers will do
more as a socialising element than any other single mea
sure. The sense of home ownership alone will tend to
raise the worker to a higher social level,and at once
change his position from a negligible appendage to a .
real part and parcel^, of our social organization.
This conception of justice to the worker will be
acceptable to all thinking people,and this conclusion has
been checked up favorably by discussions with people in
divers vocational activities.
(d) Author has endeavored,as previously stated,to elicit
criticisms from persons in all walks of life,and below
is given a brief summary of such objections,and each is
taken up and discussed separately.
1. 70 to 80 per cent of the people who would not be bene-
fitted by this plan would immediately raise the cry of
"paternalism”,which is the unwritten sMbbôléth of the
upper stratum of society.
The term "paternalism” has been grossly misinter
preted and misapplied. A democratic form of government
95
is of the people,and its purpose is to serve,as far as
possible,the interests of all. A worker'paying his just
taxes,either through the purchase of his commodities or
by the payment of rental,is as fully entitled to reasonable
protection from his government as he would be from his
insurance company in return for his premiums. The same
paternalism is now extended to the wealthy manufacturers
through our tariff system,and to the farmer through our
Department of Agriculture; our scientist^ through the
Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress, The
revolving fund of the Govérnment for the benefit of rail
roads, and the guarantee of a minimum rate of interest
ofi the capital stock for a number of years,is surely
paternalism. Further,the provisions of the Esch-Cummings
bill contains many elements of a paternalistic nature.
The splendid boulevards maintained by the cities for the
benefit of the well-to-do belong to the same class of
paternalism, Thousands of homes today in many cities
have no city improvements,-paving,lights,sewers-yet they
pay their full proportion of taxes for these utilities,
the benefits of which they do not receive.
Institutions are maintained at enormous public
expense for the deaf and blind,the insane,the feeble
and aged,but no one looks upon these as paternalism.
They are merely a public necessity. Enormous expense
is incurred maintaining extensive police systems to pro
tect the wealthier classes; the poor do not need such pro
tection; yet they pay their full share of taxes. State
96
universities are maintained everywhere,and probably a
very small number of the sons of the low wage earners
ever see the portals of these institutions. It is safe
to assume that the average university contains but a
very small percentage of youths whose parents belong to
the unskilled labor class,earning an average wage of
$15 to $20 per week.
The federal and state governments are spending hun
dreds of millions of dollars upon improvements of high
ways, largely instigated by pleasure loving autoists,though
admittedly of utilitarian value. The low wage earner
must content himself generally with street-cars for
his transportation,and does not enjoy in full measure the
value of such improvements,though he is taxed his pro
portionate share.
2. That cities are overburdened with debt,and the
states likewise,and would not undertake the flotation of
their proportion of a bond issue,even though it is in
tended only as a temporary loan.
It is quite true,as far as the average industrial
city is concerned,that it is alfeady bonded to its full
limit,or nearly so. On the other hand,cities are given
special permission to invest in utilities,such as water,
light,etc.,and in such instances they are permitted to
issue additional bonds,irrespective of the legal limit
placed upon the general debt. Again, a state constitution
is subject to amendment,and can be changed to meet this
necessity. The main difficulty lies with the practice
and dictation of Wall Street,which considers all city debts
97
for utilities as part of the general debt,in spite of the
fact that these utilities are invariably self-supporting,
and have a separate earning power aside from the general
tax levy. Thus a city,bonding itself for home building
purposesywould reduce the market for its securities,and
be obliged to pay much hi^er rates of interest. To
meet this contingency a city could apportion at least a
part of its expenditures for home building purposes. Last
year Detroit placed a levy of $1.00 per $1,000.00 of
valuation for widening its main thoroughfares, the cost
of which is estimated, at from $15,000,000,00 to $50,000,
000.00. This is a real expenditure and the city will not
get any immediate return therefor. On the other hand a
bond issue for the purpose of loaning money for building
homes is not an expense,as the city will be fully reim
bursed, It is undeniable that the latter need is much
more urgent than the former; would require bnt a small
part of the outlay,and even that would be returned in
full. Most important is the fact that the National and
State governments are not hamstrung by these limitations,
and are able to issue additional bonds for housing purpos
es without deteriorating their credit,or in any way increas-
1
ing the debt burden of the country or state.
I------- -
Method of financing housing programs is fully discussed
in a succeeding chapter,and is based upon the Government
extending credit only,but no actual subsidies.
98
3. That real estate boards,contractors and builders
.associations,banks,trust companies.,mortgage companies and
other financial institutions,including chambers of com
merce,would fight a proposal of-this kind as a serious
menace to their own interests*
This is probably the most potent force opposing
governmental assistance; their premises are reasonably
just*f Self preservation is a basic human instinct and
we all subject to its influences* Their logic,
however,has been conclusively proven erroneous. The
class of people that would be aided by governmental
assistance can hardly hope to build or buy a home of
their own. They are fortunate,indeed, if they are able
to keep body and soul together. To assist this class to
the level of home ownership would have no serious com
mercial effect upon builders or real estate operators.
Per contra,it would tend to stimulate building among the
classes immediately above the level of the unskilled
worker. It is true that it would reduce building of
cheap tenements, but this would be fully compensated
for by the increased activities in other classes of build
ings, We are all born imitators,and vie with each other,
and if the unskilled worker becomes a home owner,it
will stimulate many others of the higher levels to do
likewise, and thus increase building operations in a
wholesome and constructive manner.
In England it has been conclusively proven that
government assistance has in no way ,retarded building
operations,and in many instances has materially stimu-
99
lated that industry. On the other hand,even if these
arguments were not true,we cannot permit a comparatively
small group of people to interfere with our social pro
gress.
Every measure of social reform requires a certain
amount of readjustment in one group or another,and it is
reasonable to expect that the element in the building
industry would prove true to their" fâith in American
justice and fairness.
4. The conservative wing of society would look upon the
proposal as radical and socialistic.
There is nothing in this proposal that could be
construed as socialistic. As stated in a previous chap
ter , government assistance,and even subsidies,have been
in common practice with many monarchical governments in
Europe,and this practice has been going on for more
than fifty years, and is constantly increasing in mo
mentum, No subsidy is proposed, and no charity is to
be given. Simply a means of helping the worker to help
himself. It may be truly stated that the proposal is
but £ s i restitution to the worker of a right he has been
deprived of,contrary to the intent of constitutional
provisions «
5. A home purchased at half market price would quickly
change hands for anticipated profit,and the plan would
utterly fail of its objective.
It is argued that no provisions included in a deed
100
to property which limits the price at which the owner may
dispose of same,would be legally binding. This is pro
bably correct,but can be met and overcome in any one of
several ways* First,by a continuous and permanent
leasehold,instead of an actual deed in fee simple; second,
by forming a community corporation,and issuing stock
therein in proportion to the value of the home pur
chased, the stock being re-saleable only to the community
corporation,and upon specific terms; third,as regards
communities it is quite safe to assume that restrictions
can be included which will permit transfer of the property
only upon the consent of the community; and,finally,
legislative measures may be enacted in particular states
to meet this contingency,or,if necessary,a constitutional
amendment would overcome the difficulty.
The state has the full right and jurisdiction to so
amend its constitution as to meet any "public policy”
requirements,so long as such do not contravene Federal
statutes,or existing treaties,
6. It will be necessary to restrict the privelege of
purchase to individuals of limited income,and this would
be a clear case of clâss legislation,and Unconstitutional.
Practically all state institutions for the insane,
homes for the feeble-minded,state general hospitals,county
homes for the aged,county asylums,county and city hos
pitals, legally restrict acceptance of patients other
than indigents.. Public charities and community funds
are similarly restricted. Since garden suburb commun-
101
ities are intended to be corporate entiti.es, they can
exercise their discretion as to the class of people
they desire as vendees. Even assuming that there are
laws in some states which would legally prohibit them
from doing so,%hey could not be technically applied.
A corporation can refuse to sell its property without
assigning any particular reason for such refusal.
When it comes to the question of government loans
for such projects,the argument of "class legislation" is
quite £ propos. Since a government must specify the
class for which such loans are intended, as well as
include all limitations and restrictions,it is quite ne
cessary to give this matter further study and research.
Author believes that this can be readily overcome,and
cites the instance of the Federal Farm Loan Board,which
is sponsored by,but is not an Instrumentality of the
Government, Also the State of Louisiana Pott Cormission
1
bond issue, which was sponsored in much the same manner
as the former,but is now construed by some prominent
legal authorities as a true instrumentality of the
Government. Further,Governor Smith's recent bill,pro
posing state assistance for the working classes for home-
I----------------
Author had occasion to investigate both issues some years
ago,and obtained his information from circulars from
certain bond houses. The facts can be verified by
reference to The National City Company,Los Angeles,Cal.
102
building purposes,would indicate that such measures are
legal. It is assuraed that the Governor was fully ad
vised in the matter by the Attorney General of the State
of New York, but,not having seen the text of the pro
posed bill,author is unable to cite this as evidential.
7. It is argued that many brain and manual workers in
clerical occupations are as poorly paid and needy as the
industrial worker, and should receive equal if not
preferential consideration.
There is no objection at all to including any and
all classes of brain or manual workers,so long as their
income is not above a specified amount— for instance,
$1,800.00 per year,preference being given to those of
lower incomes.
105
CHAPTER VII
Housing Plan for Families of Small Incomes,
"The domestic relations precede,and in our present
existence,are worth more than all our other so-,
cial ties; they give the first throb to the heart,
and unseal the deep fountains of its love. Home
is the chief school of human virtue; its respon
sibilities,joys,sorrows ,smiles,tears,hopes and
solicitudes form the chief interest of human life."
Channing.
The proposed plan is not intended as a panacea for
all of our social ills. Its aim is primarily to meet a
public necessity,and it is hoped that it will prove to
be a most potent socializing influence.
The plan is all-embracing and provides not only mere
shelter from the elements,but a social nucleus--a real
community home--in which our best impulses may be nurtured
to their fullest development.
The essential feature of the plan is a model suburban
community,or garden suburb,embracing the following feat
ures :
(a)A complete change of environment for the worker
at the end of his day's toil,replacing the din and noisy
tumult of the day with the restful peace of a quièt
suburb•
The location of the model community should be suf
ficiently removed from urban congestion to insure quietude,
and yet involve no hardship in transportabion. Such gar
den suburbs,or satellite c:’ties,have been successfully
launched and completed on a commercial basis,and it is
only necessary to apply the same principles to the plan
under discussion. The principle of isolating the suburb
from the city proper,and thus de-centralizlng pro-urban
104
migration is most vital to the success of the plan.
Merely supplying better home facilities,within the confines
of a city already congested,will not serve the purpose
intended. We must momentarily live the worker's life,and
actually visualize and sense his predicament,-spending a
day of eight hours in the midst of the grind of machinery,
rush and bustle of the modern piece-system of mass-pro-
duct ion, and th= grit and odors in the atmosphere,with a
half hour and the lunch-box as the only bfeak in the day's
monotony, and,remembering that this is repeated day by day
and week by week,we can begin to realize and appreciate
the blessings of a home in the suburb. .
(b)Of greater import is the isolation of the younger
generation. Only by this means is it possible to separ
ate the younger element from the great temptations of a
modern city,and direct their growth along natural lines,
thus stimulating the ideal of community pride,and a sense
of community ownership. Further,a close neighborly con
tact is established,which is bound to engender a deeper
harmony of common interests,and a more intimate fellowship.
Again,community social concepts,built up with painstaking
efforts,will not be subjected to the destructive influ
ences of urban sophistry. Life in a garden suburb is
bound to stimulate the ideal of simplicity and candor,
and add immeasurably to self- and parental respect.
(c)Comprehensive plan for directing the energies
of youth into healthful and normal channels.
This point is fully covered in a later paragraph,
dealing with the plan for recreation.
105
(d)Means and efforts for instilling a higher sense of
civic pride and responsibility,and developing a real com
munity spirit.
All community activities include an element of com
petition,with the object of fostering a real community
esprit de corps. This principle is old,but is ever new.
Even a reform institution,as the Whittier State School,
at Whittier,California,has been successful in developing
just such a spirit among the youngsters,and many of them
return to Whittier for their week-ends of oleasure. If
this can be accomplished with a delinquent and criminal
# 4
class,what may we not hope for in a normal,law-abiding
community?
(e)Stimulating the principle of self-control and
self government.
Self-government is the desideratum in community
life. This may not be reached,but we may approach it.
Self-control is the basis of societary life,and
must needs picoede self-government.
The principle of self-government is applied in all
community interests,as ,vill hv. evident from later discus
sion.
(f)Community education,embracing the best in our
modern school system,and applying the principle that
the school exists for the children,and not the children
for the school. Also including educational advantages
for the parents.
(g)Music and Art--utilizing the great value of their
10 G
Indirect end subtle influences to the fullest extent.
(h)Kecreation for both old and young--sufficiently
varied to avoid monotony,and more or less competitive,to
add vigor and zest,thus stimulating the sentiments of
loyalty and sportsmanship.
PROPOSED PLAN FOR MODEL SUBURBAN COMMUNITY
The plan is divided into the following sections:
1. Ground plan,
2. Architecture.
5. Educational center.
4. Business center.
5. Park system.
6. Community activities--&ducation,entertainment and
recreation.
7. Policing~-Transportation.
8. Administrative management.
9. Proposed method of financing proposition.
1. Ground plan,
Photostat (Exdl5,p 1 ^ ) shows .plat of proposed com
munity. This plan cannot be completed in every detail
until the actual land is surveyed and levels obtained.
Location,
Within sixteen miles of the center of Jos Angeles.
In making selection of site it is proposed to util
ize any natural vantage points that will add beauty to
the approaches and other parts of the community.
A number of constructive criticisms have been-made
of this plan, and it would be well to mention the essen
tial ones 5-changing the street plan to the rustic type
with windings and unexpected turns,rather than the straight
conventional type; lengthening the blocks and widening
8treec approaches to permit ornamental islands.
10'
It is not intended to undertake a complete discussion
and portrayal of all ground and architectural details,and
we must content ourselves with presenting a plan which,
though complete, is only tentative,and hut loosely thrown
together*
It was thought advisable to model this community on
a moderate financial scale,in order to avoid unexpected
complications; hence,a piece of ground of 160 acres has
been selected as the total area. Of this about 130
acres will be devoted to residential purposes,about 20
acres to parks,and about 10 acres will be used for
schools and churches. There will be 604 residence lots
and 40 business lots, the backs of the lots abutting
without alleys. An easement of 2-| feet off the rear of
each lot is provided permitting a five-foot space for
laying gas,water and sewer pipes,and other utilities,
Poles for electric light to be placed on the lot lines
so they will not come on the lot itself. The lots are to
be 50 by 150 feet for residence,and 25 by 130 feet for
business purposes ; streets from 50 to 100 f eet wide,with
parkage between curb and sidewalk,and between sidewalk
and house. Two trees will be set out for each lot,be
tween curb and sidewalk. This will give abundance of
shade and add beauty.
All streets will be mecadamized,curbing and sidewalks
completed and all trees set out as stated. Water,light
108
and sewers will be provided. If too far from the city,a
common septic tank will be installed for the entire
community,to be used in place of sewers,and a common
water tower or pumping system.
Tennis courts i
Double tennis courts,40 X 100 feet, are provided for
within the center of each block,with exits on two sides.
The Idea of having a double tennis court buried with
in the center of each block,and equal approaches from each
side of the block,is unique,and nothing else of this kind
has ever been proposed,as far as the author is aware.
Its importance is much greater than would seem at first
glance,and this will be treated in a later paragraph.
2. Architecture :
It is most important that the architecture be suffi
ciently varied to avoid monotony. This is always a rather
difficult problem,and a great deal of thought and care
will be required to avoid the usâal drab sameness so
common to communities of this type.
Selection has been made of a series of bungalows
which will meet minimum requirements,and have at least
two bed-rooms. In looking over various plans and speci
fications, great difficulty was encountered in getting at
actual costs. Almost invariably,estimates only were
given. To make this part more practical in its applica
tion, it was thought best to select plans and specifications
where costs were definite,and hence bungalows were selected
where sepcifications are fairly complete and the' prices
109
for materials are given. The labor cost is the only
estimated item,and that is based on many years^ experience.
It is usually 75^ of the material cost.
In figuring labor cost we must remember that this
estimate will be much reduced on a quantity basis,and
60% would be a fair allowance. Further, it is not in
tended to purchase materials at retail, as is contem
plated in the case of the bungalows herein presented.
The figures given are used merely as a basis of compu
tation. We are safe in stating that the community can
purchase direct from the mills and do its own cutting to
sizes at least as cheaply as any company dealing in such
supplies, as such company must take care of overhead
operations and pay a substantial commission to its sales
men. Much more substantial types of bungalows may be
built by the purchasing of materials direct from the
mills and handling construction on a quantity basis*
No two-story houses were included on account of the
excessive cost. Further,an additional bed-room can be
readily provided by utilizing one of the porches as a
sleeping porch,or by actual addition,either of a sleeping
porch or a bed-room.
All bungalows will be of the stucco type,and color
ing matter included for variegation. All modern improve
ments are provided for.
Bungalow No.l shows a practical plan,containing liv
ing-room, two bed-rooms,kitchen and breakfast-nook and bath.
110
The price of all materials required to build this bungalow,
ready for plaster,is $774.00, Price including plaster
board instead of plaster,$872.00. To this should be
added 60^ of the above figure for labor cost.
Bungalow No.2 is somewhat similar,and contains the
same number of rooms. The price,ready for plaster is
$694,and with plaster board,$797, Add 60^ for labor
cost*
Bungalow No.3 contains three bed-rooms,full dining
room, living-room,kitchen and bath. Price,ready for plaster,
$948.00; with plaster board,$1,099.00. Add 60^ for labor.
Bungalow No 4 Includes two bed-rooms,full dining
room, living-room, kitchen and bath. It is more spacious'
than the others and is intended for those who can afford
a somewhat more expensive type of building. Price,ready
for plaster,$1165;with plaster board,$1316.
/
These four bungalows are shown with all details in
exhibits and XITGarranged in the order. that they
appear above^on pages 132-136,this thesis.
Educational center ;
The plat provides sufficient area for large modern
school building ,and,in addition to its own playground,
there are near it two small parks which may be used for
inter-session play,or for games,as desired; one for the
younger and the other for older children. School house
will be built by the county,school district or city, and
will contain all modern facilities,including gymnasium,
swimming-pool,dining-room,and an auditorium,convertible
I l l
into a dance hall.
Site for school buildings selected in a quiet,resi
dential section,to obviate the necessity of children
crossing the main thoroughfare.
Further, the school center should be some distance
away from the business section,in order to eliminate
daily and intimate contact between the school element and
that usually found in the business portion of a commun
ity.
4. Business centeri
This will be a portion of the east and west main
ttreet,leading to the Administration Building. Adminis
tration Building will contain a fire-department below and
a meeting hall upstairs. It is intended to give this lot
to the community,and the building will be eonstructed by
the suitable authority,either city or county.
There are a total of 40 business lots,which will
be ample to supply the needs of the community,approx
imating about 8000 people*
The location of the main parks around the Adminis
tration Building,separate most of the residential from
the business section.
Churches|
Four large corners are set aside for churches. The
*
four proposed churches could also be used for social
community work,but the school building is to be the main
meeting center of ail community activities.
5. Park system?
112
This consists of four sections about the Administra
tion Building, and serves to separate the business from
the residential portion. In addition thereto there are
small parks or playgrounds distributed through the main
residential section. A revision of this plan would
include a larger space for park purposes. It is possible,
by lengthening the bloçks as previously stated,to obtain
a larger margin for that purpose. In any case, the park
system around the Administration Building will remain the
same,and serve as such for general public use, while the
smaller parks could be applied to special uses, as separ
ate playgrounds for children of different ages.
6. Community activities:
Assuming that this community will be within the
jurisdiction of the city of Los Angeles,it will,of
course,be subject to the regulations of that city. It is
possible to arrange for independent supervision,co-oper
ating with the established city government.
In order to encourage the development of a high
degree of civic spirit,it is proposed to have all control
within the community itself. For this purpose the follow
ing arrangement is suggested: A board of directors,con
sisting of a chairman and one director for each of the
following departments ;
1.Education.
2.Recreation.
3.Entertainment.
4.Supervision and Policing.
5.Welfare and Charity.
6.Transportation.
Each director will in turn nominate a sufficient
I
113
number of directors to assist him in his work.
Education.
Assuming that the school witl be under either the
city or the county supervision,a local director could only
co-ordinate helpful activities for the good of the
community and the school. The school should consist of
four departments :-Grades,Junior High,High School and
a Pre-vocational Department. The director should in
clude in his committee the superintendent and the prin
cipal of each school department.
To facilitate the use of one large school for an estim
ated student body of 1000 or more children,the Wirt method
of using the school all day,and all the year,should be
adopted. The school building should also be used for
educational purposes of the adults of the community.
This can be accomplished by day lectures for women,and
evening lectures for both men and women.
A program could be worked out very satisfactorily,
and without cost,as most states and cities will supply the
necessary teachers and lecturers.
If proper stimulus is supplied,a renewed desire for
further study may be developed with comparative ease.
These studies may be the simplest,or of the more advanced
type,as the needs of the community may indicate.
The ground allotted for school purposes should be
sufficient in area to maintain a garden-plot,to interest
the children in floral and garden work.
Entertainment
1 1 4
The director of this department would have the re
sponsibility of developing a community chorus,an or
chestra and a band. These could be created and encouraged
through co-operation with the school board. The same ap
plies to other entertainment,which would necessarily have
to be produced largely from the school population. Lectures
on popular subjects could be arranged through univer
sity extension,and otherwise. A monthly or semi-monthly
dance should be given in the school house. To this can
be added many diversions for both adults and youth,in
cluding school plays,school debates and exhibits,cinema,
and musical entertainments.
Recreation.
This director will assist the coach in his athletic
programs and schedules. Practice can be carried on
either in one of the smaller parks or in a portion of the
larger parks. To these sports can be added hiking parties,
field sports,bov/ling-on-the-green and others.
All sports must be on t ± competitive basis between
two' halves of the community. Competition adds zest to
the game and maintains continued interest.
Tennis ;
Author desires to place particular emphasis on the
tennis-court arrangement in this plan. During numerous
visits in England he has notined the great interest shown
by the English in this simple sport,and the idea developed
of having such » court in every block,in order to permit
quick access to a most stimulating exercise,which requires
115
no expensive outlay or any special preparation.
Tennis is the only game possessing all the essen
tial elements requisite for successful contests and
practical results. It involves direct action of two or
more people. It is made quickly accessible,requires a
minimum of time for its execution,practically no mainten
ance cost,no special apparatus or habiliments outside of
racket and ball.
Tennis would be most helpful to maintain the health
and vigor of the community,and will give more exercise in
half an hour than half a day at golf or some other sport*
It is full of interest and snap,and develops alertness,
agility and a good appetite* It can be played practically
any time,day or night,and it can be enjoyed by old and
young,providing a favorable opportunity for the father
and mother to play with or against their own children.
Having a tennis-court in each block,it is feasible
to arrange tournaments between blocks,and a final match
between the champions of both halves of the community. -
With proper management,the entire population could be
stimulated to a live and active interest in this great,
simple,healthful game.
Supervision and Policing;
This director would be known as the Supervis or of
Order”^ ^Policing” is too official. Each adult resident
of the community should give one or two days and evenings
per year to this service.,the idea being not to permit
a few men to become too officious in that position. As
there will be approximately 600 families,all the adult
116
males in the community should be used for occasional duty,
and the required complement of women enlisted.
To make a community of this character function suc
cessfully requires the enlistment of real enthusiasm by
all. To this end nothing is more helpful than the actual
participation,of each and every one capable of doing so,
in some community service. If proper apportionment is
made,it would not be difficult to find occasional com
munity work for almost every adult.,
A community of this character,living in close asso
ciation, should develop that neighborly spirit and community
pride which will spur them to high levels of social-minded-
ness. It will depend largely upon the chairman and board
of directors.
Transportation ?
A sufficient number of motor busses will care for
the community needs in this direction,and this will be
amplified at rush hours by a number of small cars,which
will probably be owned by some of the citizens,enabling
them to carry some of their neighbors to and from their
work.
The transportation system is to be owned by the
community,and a reasonable charge made,only sufficient
for its maintenance,up-keep and depreciation.
8, Business management.
This should be in the hands of the original promoters
1 1 7
long enough to secure stability and permanence,after
which the administration should be relinquished entirely
and the business management also turned over to the
community.
9, Financing.-
Under ordinary circumstances a projest of this kind
would be entirely too chimerical and Utopian. The cost
of developing a community of this character would be far
beyond trie capacity oftheupoor man’s purse,but author
believes it is feasible in accordance with the plan sug
gested herewith. Most land subdivided and sold to the
public brings three to four times the actual cost of
the land, part of this represents improvements,but
most of it represents profits,partly to syndicate mem
bers, and commissions to subdividers and salesmen.
Author has investigated the methods used by sub
dividers, and finds that nearly all subdivisions are
syndicated,and an average profit of 200 to 600 percent
is earned by the syndicate; then the subdivider gets his
share,which includes overhead and profits plus the commis
sions of his salesmen.
In one instance,property purchased at $900 per acre
was subdivided a year later and sold for an average of
§800 per residence lot,and $50 per foot for business
frontage. These lots were mostly 30 and 35 feet wide,
and they were able to obtain seven or more lots to the
118
acre. Taking the minimum price of the lots,$800,the yield
is $5,600 per acre. The improvements consist of sidewalks
and graded streets,but no paving. The cost of these would
not be great,and $100 per lot for such improvements would
be ample,leaving an average of $700,or nearly six times
the original cost of the property. Even then the sale of
the business frontage has not been considered in the yield
per acre,and this would bring the returns up to a still
higher ratio.
In checking up prices of property in and around Los
Angeles,within a distance of sixteen miles,ample acreage
was found in large blocks at around $500 to $1,000 per
acre; hence the price of $750 per acre was taken as a
reasonable basis of computation.
The cost of building is rapidly pyramided by the
almost prohibitive cost of borrowing money; and it is
necessary to give an actual illustration in order to show
the insurmountable handicap which bars the ordinary day-
worker from owning a home.
A building representing an outlay of $2000 for mater
ials and labor,and $482.50 for original cost of land,in
cluding all improvements and macadamized streets, must
carry the following additions before it reaches the pur*
chaser,when the sale price of $6,000 is established:
(a)Profit of the contractor,10 to 20%, using the aver#
age of 15% this amounts to $900. In view of the hazards,
unemployment,business depressions,tight money,etc.,the
119
contractor must have a reasonable profit to insure his
remaining in business. The margin above given is not
at all unreasonable.
(b) Financing first mortgage: Most small contractors
do not have sufficient working capital,and usually have
to borrow money for building purposes. The usual rate
of interest is one per cent per month and the time re
quired to complete a building is about 00 daysjmaking this
charge $60.
■(c)There are connected with the financing of the
first mortgage the abstract and appraisal cost,fees for
legal opinion,and other items,amounting to about $25 or
$50 oh each building-an average of $37.50.
(d)?ifhen the building is completed and the mortgage
is finally placed,there is an additional charge of 3%
bonus,or $60.
(e)An interest and insurance charge while the building
is awaiting sale is estimated at $30.
(f)The contractor,after selling the property for a
small down payment,must necessarily liquidate his equity
in order to enable him to continue his building pro
gram. These land contracts,or trust deeds,are discount
ed at various levels,generally from 10 to 30 per cent--
even as high as 50 per cent--depending upon the size of
the down payment and the number of years before expira
tion. In Detroit,Michigan,the average discount on this
type of land contract will- run from 20 to 25 per cent
on the gross balance due,including the mortgage. In Los
120
Angeles the discounts are applied to the equity only,that
is,the sum between the down payment and the mortgage.
In the former case^he land contracts run continuously
until liquidated by the monthly payments,while in the
trust deed a limit of from three to five years is
usually provided,at the expiration of which time the
loan must be refinanced. Thus it may be correctly assum
ed that a minimum of 20% of the gross balance is a reason
able figure,which in jfhis case,assuming that the down
payment is $500,would be $1100.
(g)To these items should be added the commission*
of the agent for selling the property,running from 3 to
5 per cent; taking the lower figure,as a basis for our
e s t imaàe', $ 180.
(h)As another addition to the actual cost it is pro
per to add at the least 10% of the labor and material
cost,because the contractor buying for only one or two
buildings at a time,and hiring a small number of laborers
would have to pay that much more than a community buy
ing at the mills and doing mass construction. This
raises the cost $200 more,
(i)To the price of $482.50 for the lot,must be added
the syndicate’s prèfit and overhead,consisting of the
commission of the subdivider and the commission of the
salesman when the property was originally subdivided,
before it was purchased by the contractor,estimated at
$^0..OO.
121
The net cost' of this home,stripped of all profits,
as it would he if built by the community,is $3,482.50;
but it has'been pyramided until it must bring $6,000,00
in order to yield the contractor a reasonable profit.
Selling price ............................. $6,000,00
Contractor’s profit at 15% of sale price.§900.00.
Appraisal,abstract,legal fees........... 37.50
Fee for builder’s loan...... 60.00
Bonus for permanent mortgage............. 60.00
Interest and insurance charge before
property is sold...................... 30,00
Discount on sale of builder’s equity..... 1100.00
Salesman’s commission-3% on $6000.00.... 180,00
Contractor’s excess paid small quantity
basis for materials and labor......... 200,00
Syndicate’s profit and overhead--con-
sisting of commission of subdivider and ■ '
of salesman when land was originally
subdivided 950.00 . _________
Total loading, ....................$3517,5^0
Real cost of house and lot,............ 2482.50
$#00.00 $6000700
The average laboring man,earning not to exceed
$20 to $30 per week,cannot carry aagreater load than
25% of the income for home purposes, A home costing
from $2000 to $3000 can be maintained by him without
serious handicap; but when the cost is pyramided to
twice that amount,its ownership is beyond his reach. In
fact,this home,if rehted,siust yield 1$% gross on the mar
ket price of $6000,and so even the rental would be beyond
his income.
There is no possible way of meeting this situation
except by eliminating all profit,and this can be accom
plished in several different ways:
122
Method 1. Semi-philanthropic. Excellent for pio
neer experimentation, but will never solve the question
as a whole. They are necessary under our present polit
ical system. À semi-philanthropic proposition,carried
through successfully,will act as a stimulus to initiate
specific government aid.
Method 2. Co-operative? A number of people desir
ing to become home ov/ners uniting to purchase a large
piece of land,subdivide it themselves,and build their
homes thereon. This has not been successfully worked
out here. Further,it would not help the situation,be
cause the class of people we have in mind is made up of
those who are not able to invest the initial cash payments
required.
Method 3. . Building and Loan Associations.* These are
very helpful, but so long as they are constituted as at
present,they cannot serve the purpose. They do not
reduce the cost of the building to the worker. Besides
that,it is necessary to have a certain amount of capi
tal actually accumulated before building operations can
be started*
Method 4. Government assistance; This is the only
feasible method which will meet and solve the problem.
It will require no cash outlay by the government,but mere
ly the lending of its credit for a limited period of time.
Governor Smith,of New York,has recently proposed a
measure which has received general commendation. In
this instance the State of New York would condemn certain
123
areas in the slum districts of New York City,and lease
said property for a period of fifty years to a limited
dividend company. This company would put in one third
of the cash necessary to complete the project,and the State
of New York would lend said company two thirds of the
money required, at a reasonable rate of interest. This
is a combination of government assistance and semi-phil
anthropic effort.
There is objection to any philanthropic effort,as
it may stigmatize communities of this character,and
prevent certain classes of people from taking advantage
of its benefits.
There is no reason why the Federal Government
should not set aside a revolving fund of $50,000,000,00
from which states may borrow to the extent only of equal
sums loaned by the state and municipalities. Thus the
Federal Government may furnish one-half,the state one
quarter and the municipality or county one quarter of
the total cost of the project. The interest charge
should be what the Federal,state and municipal govern
ments are obliged to pay,plus an extra for handling and
development charges,which will not exceed - § - % to 1%.
These loans should cover a period of 30 to 60 years,enabl
ing the worker to finance his home without difficulty.
In the monthly payments should be included an insurance
policy which will continue the payments during periods
of illness,and,further,pay the balance in full in case
of the death of the bfead-winner, This charge is not
a heavy one,and the system is now being applied in
1 2 4
England, and also in this country in connection with the
purchase of lots,many subdividers advertising this fea
ture.
Under this system the worker is enabled to purchase
his home at cost,and,further,his burden is lightened,
because the carrying charge is much reduced,as the inter
est would be much lower than the standard rate.
There are many public spirited citizens in each
community who would be glad to serve on a housing commis
sion of this character: whose responsibilities would be
to select the land,supervise the planning and building
of such a community and arrange for its proper management,
le now have men of this type in every city serving with
out pay,as directors of the school board,regents of the
university, water and fire boards,and in various other
public activities.
In many cities either the state law or their charter
prevents municipalities from entering into projects of
this character.
This objection can be overcome by constitutional
amendment,legislative enactment or modification of char
ter; or it can be met by the formation of a separate
corporation,the corporate stock being held in trust by
a commission appointed by the proper authorities, this
commission serving without pay and supervising the entire
development of the project.
Only those of specifically limited income should be
12:
entitled to its benefits,and speculative tendencies may
be avoided by measures suggested in a preceding chapter, .
It would seem advisable to limit the initial project
of this character to men with families of two or more
children,and preferabUy American citizens of Caucasian
extraction. After the first project is successfully under
way,such limitations may be entirely removed from succeed
ing developments. Careful consideration should be given
to the question of a separate community for the colored
race.
Finally,there is no reason why any industrial muni
cipality should wait for an initial stimulus from the
Federal Government, Most of them are large enough,and
able to undertake a project of this kind independently,
since it involves no outlay of cash,but merely the exten
sion of its credit to an element of its population in
dire need of such assistance.
Millions of dollars are expended by every large
community for purposes not nearly so mandatory and laud
able.
A group of public spirited citizens,united in a
common cause,with a definite,concrete and practical pro
gram, correctly presented to the public,can beyond ques
tion force any city government to do its part in this
direction.
Table 125a gives complete data of the estimated cost
of developing such a community. Thses costs were checked
126
by experienced men and should be fairly reliable. It
will be noted . that the cheapest house,on a fifty-
foot lot,style 2 ,including two bed-rooms,costs $2286*00,
and the highest priced one,style 4 ,with three bed-rooms,
$2805,00. It is quite certain that homes of similar
character,with the advantages of all the improvements
and priveleges contemplated in author’s plan,could not
be purchased in the open market for less than two or
three times the price.
As previously stated,author has discussed this ques
tion with many people in various w^lks of life,and he feels
thoroughly convinced of its practicality,and looks forward
with keen interest to its realization.
134 ” * 2,@
1347 " * 3,8
134 ” ” 4,(
125a
Table 126a
ESTIMATED COST OP DEVELOPMENT OF MODEL SUBURBAN GOMIOTTNITY.
Land,160 acres © $760 per acre............. .,$120,000
Grading....................................... 12,000
Macadamizing,175,000 square yards # $1,35.... 236,250
Curbing,71,000 linear feet @ 60^..... 42,600
Sidewalks,141,000 feet © 15(^................. 21,150
Sewers,24ooo feet © $1.60............. 38,400
Septic tank (if needed),...................... 5,000
Water pipes,24,000 feet 0 $1.10........... 26,400
Trees for residence portion........... 1,200
Primary development of parks. ........... . .. 6,000
Possible expense of lighting poles and
fixtures(usually supplied without charge),,.. 36,000
Five busses at §8,000 each.,........... 40,000
202 bungalows,Model l,with plaster board
“1872.00 each....... 176,144
797.00 each...; .... 106,798
1099.00 each. 147,266
J1316.00 each....... 176,544
Labor cost at 60 % on above. ............. 363,950
Total. ...... $16681482
Initial management,advertising,overhead,etc., 50,000
Possible emergencies. ......... *...... 60,000
Grand total. ......... $1,665,000
After deducting from the above grand total the
amount received from the sale of the 40 business lots
at $50 per front foot,$50,000, we find that the average
price,or cost,of the 604 homes,with all improvements
and all community service and privileges,#111 bètiess
than $2,660,which means that the 336 model 1 and 2
bungalows will be considerably below this figure,and
easily within the reach of the humble wage earner.
This 60% is figured only on the bungalow material
items,which aggregate $606,552,00.
Exhibit I
Prom the Journal of American Architects,1918,THE HOUSING
PROBLEM IN WAR AND IN PEACE-Art.What is a House,by Fred
erick L.Ackerman,pages 34 and 35. Excerpt.
The Part Played by the House in
the New British Labor Program.
Under the caption ”A New Labour Programme” in the
London TIMES (November 3) there is set forth by the Exec
utive Committee of the British Workers’ League the draft
recommendations of a Program of National and Industrial
Reconstruction as a recommendation to the General Council
of the League,which was to be convened immediately to con
sider its adoption. It reads like a program based on one
of H.G.Wells’ forecasts-a chapter from his Anticipations,
as it were-and is worthy of the most serious study. It
contains the following suggestions relative to the pro
gram of providing adequate homes as a part of the plan of
reconstruction.
Hous ing;
(a) The Government to take immediate steps to ascer
tain the extent of the deficiency in housing accommodation,
both rural and urban,and where such deficiency is not being
met,to render adequate financial assistance,either in the
form of loans on easy terms or of grants covering a pro
portion of the amount required in order to provide the
necessary accommodation.
(b) The Central Authority to act under compulsory
powers where the Local Authority fails to take the re
quisite measures.
In the Report of the Proceedings of the Trades Unions
Parliamentary Congress,Just issued,there occprs this reso
lution, followed by a very sane discussion of the question:
That this Congress,in view of the great a&ortage of
working-class houses,and the consequent menace to the health
of the people,calls upon the Government to deal at once
with this important question:
(1) By making it compulsory for local authorities to
prepare and carry out adequate housing schemes to meet the
need of their area.
(2) Embracing such Government grants,free of interest,
as will enable local authorities to erect suitable houses
128
E x h ib it I , c o n t ’d .
for the people.
Further,in view of the extreme urgency of the question,
this Congress instructs the Parliamentary Committee to
press for action to be taken by the Government without
waiting for the cassation of hostilities.
In a pamphlet but recently issued by the Joint Commit
tee on Labour Problems after the War,which Committee was
composed of three representatives each from the Parliamen
tary Committee of the Trades Union Congress,the Executive
Committee of the Labour Party,the Management Committee of
the General Federation of Trade Unions and the War Emer
gency Workers’ National Committee,I quote from the full
statement merely the specific recommendations :
(a) The Government must promptly inform all the local
authorities that the requisite 1,000,000 new dwellings
have got to be built,and that each place will have its
assigned quota|
(b) The local authority should everywhere be required
to decide,within one month,whether or not it will under
take to build the quota this fixed,upon the terms offered
by the Government;
(c) The land must be at once secured(or a legal option
obtained) under the summary process of the Defence of the
Realm Act or some equally speedy procedure;
(d) The plans must equally be prepared and approved
in advance; and the local authorities should be required
to have them ready within three months of the decision to
provide so many dwellings;
(e) The Government must for four years secure Apri
ority” for these 1,000,000 working-class dwellings as
regards all building materials;
(f) The 1,000,000 new dwellings should be everywhere
begun the day after pease is declared;but should be pro
ceeded with,month by month,strictly in correspondence
with the supply of building trades workmen,so as to leave
practically none of them at any time unemployed;
(g) Where the local authority obstinately refuses to
build the quota assigned to it,the Local Government
Board should itself undertake the building,placing the
work under the supervision of a local committee appointed
by itself,on which the Trades Council,the Local Trade
Union branches,and the local women’s industrialmorganiza-
tions should be represented.
In April of 1916 a National Congress was convened to
consider Horae Problems after the war. This Congress was
composed of representatives of the Local Authorities (city
Councils,town council#,urban and district councils),
throughout Great Britain,representatives of trades unions,
architectural societies,c0-6perative societies,teachers *
associations,property owners’ associations,and individuals
129
E x h ib it IjC o n t 'd ,
generally interested in national issues. The complete re
port is a valuable contribution toward the solution of
the after-the-war problem. The following paragraphs are
taken from the Report of Deputations to His Majesty’s
Government received by the President of the Local Govern
ment Board,September 20,1916. This report represents a
most thoughtful study.
That this Congress urgently directs the attention of
the Government to the critical need for the provision of
additional housing for the working classes,and in respect
of the national interest and responsibility in the matter
urges upon the Government to set aside no less than
h 20,000,000 to make such advances to Local Authorities
and other Agencies as will enable them to provide houses
at reasonable rentals having regard to all necessary and
equitable circumstances and conditions.
That in the opinion of this Congress legislation is
necessary to simplify and cheapen the transfer of land so
as to encourage the building of houses for the working
classes.
The Future General Housing Policy
(1) This Congress urges all parties in the State to
take combined action to secure that every family shall be
housed under proper conditions,and in order to secure this
end,which is of vital and national importance,urges that
legislation should be introduced:
(a) To set up machinery in all industries to require
employers to pay wages sufficient to ensure decent housing
accommodation for the workers in these industries ;and
(b) To secure that,where such raising of wages can
only be achieved by stages,the Local Authority shall
recognize and fulfil the duty of providing decent housing
accommodation for those unable meanwhile to pay an economic
rent, and that the whole country shall bear the differ
ence in cost between the rent of the decent dwelling and
the rent which the tenants can afford to pay.
(2) That in view of the results produced by the sys
tems of providing houses for the working classes hitherto
prevailing,this Congress requests the Government to take
such steps on either local or national lines as will
facilitate and stimulate the activities of Local Author
ities and other agencies in the erection of houses that
are necessary.
(3) That,in the opinion of this Congress,housing
schemes promoted by public authorities,save in the case
of schemes intended for housing those unable meanwhile
to pay an economic rent,should be economically self-
supporting.
130
Exhibit II.
Animals and fowls ................ 1354
Bedding imclean. ..... 338
Burning garbage,refuse,etc....... 691
Carpets, curtains, etc.,unclean................. 271
Cellars unclean.............................. 80
Cesspool nuisances........ 512
Cooking in bedrooms ....................... 420
Cooking in water closets and bath rooms......149
Common towels ...... 36
Cups used in common (unsterilized).......... ..114
Drains obstructed or defective..............,.128
Fire escapes,stairs,halls obstructed...........58
Food uncovered. ........ .258
Garbage nuisances,defective cans,etc.........1697
Halls and stairways unclean........... 136
Ice boxes unclean............................ 130
Manure nuisances............... .269
Mosquitoes and stagnant water. ...........151
Odors, fumes, etc................................143
Overcrowding ............... 328
Papering on old paper,defective walls......... 82
Plumbing defective,obstructed,insanitary......830
Premises generally unclean................... 2074
Privy nuisances, ...................... .879
Rodents, vermin. .............................980
Rooms not ventilatedfvaeated) ............... .194
Rubbish nuisances, ......... .423
Sleeping in cellars,kitchens or hallways......417
Smoke and soot nuisances.. ............144
Vacant lots,alleys,etc. .................... 496
Ventilation obstructed. ...... 58
Buildings vacated or demolished..............79.
l o i
Exhibit $11.
Air inlets and air outle|s provided..............379
Baths or showers installed....... 99
Chimneys provided,repaired....................... 25
Doors provided between kitchens and bedrooms 73
Drains provided (roof s,courts,etc. )............... 46
Pire escapes painted....... 39
Fire escapes installed........................... 24
Floors provided,repaired................. 950
Garbage cans (new) provided............. 683
Gas water heaters vented,repaired................216
Janitors provided,, .................. 9
Incinerators provided. ............ 30
Kitchens painted or calcomined. ...... .141
Ladders and Shuttles provided...... 17
Lights provided in water closets and halls.......233
Plumbing replaced or repaired,..................1206
Roofs r e p a i r e d . .................. 144
Sewer connections made. ...... .885
Screens provided. ......... .3537
Sheets made legal size........... .148
Sinks installed. ............... .226
Sink boards and walls repaired................. ..204
Skylights installed or enlarged.............. . 42
Stairways and guard rails repaired.............. .229
Vent shafts and courts painted white. ........... .23
Vent shafts installed....... .28
Ventilation provided for inside rooms.......... ...58
Ventilation provided under buildings..............44
Walls and ceilings repaired,papered,etc........11491
Water closets installed. ...... .586
Water closets ventilated.............. 198
Water closet vestibules provided........... 13
Water closets marked ’ ’ men” and ’ ’ women”............96
Water supply provided..............................18
Windows installed,new.............................339
Windows and doors repaired........ 511
Yards and courts graded and drained......... 41
Miscellaneous............ .3434
Total........................................... 26785
132
E x h ib it IV .
Typical shack build of old
lumber and tin.
sink, S. P. Courts, Rear Mission Road
E x h ib it V
133
Russian oven and bath house for steam bath,
Bles Street.
Defective and unsanitary hopper
134
E x h ib it V I.
Yard.
Coiaraeroial Street.
in
I
Interior, South
Utah Street shack.
Adobe and wooden buildings, Sam Fernando
Street.
135
E x h ib it V I I .
Many orcavded in a box-car. No ventilation.
T
s. p. oafs used as habitations.
136
E x h ib it V I I I .
NEW-Li MA
Tenement, Chinât own.
137
Exhibit IX.
Bungalow No.l.
0
Style 41^—l^ a c ijic 'R m dy-Q ut H om e—^Specifications
dldRoom
lo'ulo'
C u p b .
CloI KlTCMt'A
a
Livmc, I Z o o M
lo'nH'
Door
Style 41— Size 20 x 2 8 and Porch
F o u n d a tio n — F lo o r I'- I O " above c ro u n d . W o o d steps fo r rear door. 2" x 6 "
redw ood m u d s ills ; 2 " x 4 " u nd erp ins on outsid e w a lls ; 4 " x 4 " g ird e rs ; 4 " x 4 "
underp ins on piers. F ra m e — D o ugla s fir. 2 " x 6 " flo o r jo is ts 24 " o.c. ; 2 " x .1"
stu d d in g 16" o .c .; 2 " x 4 " ra fte rs 2 4 " o.c. ; 2 " x 4 " ce ilin g jo is ts 16" o.c. D o uble
headers fo r a ll doo r openings. F lo o rs— 1" x 4 " tongued and grooved v e rtic a l g ra in
fir flo o rin g th ro u g h o u t. W a lls and P a rtitio n s — Fram ed fo r la th and plaste r o r
plasterboard. C e ilin g h e ig h t 8 '-2 > 4 ". O u tsid e of b u ild in g covered w ith in s u la tin g feit and x 4 " rabbetted and beveled re d
wood surfaced sid ing. R o of— 1" surfaced fir boards covered w ith one la yer o f ro o fin g fe lt, m opped w ith hot asph altum and
covered w ith 2 -p ly sanded ro o fin g . 2 " x 3 " ro ll edge. 2 '-0 " p ro je ctio n , supported by p u rlin s as show n. P o rch — G abled ro o f w ith
I C V c e ilin g supported by 6 " x 6 " posts. R ails and balusters as show n. W o o d flo o r and steps. D o ors— F ro n t doo r 2 '-8 " x 6 '-8 "
\Y s ” th ic k N o. 403. A ll o th e r doors N o . 201 except N o. 301 sash doo r fro m k itch e n to screen porch. W in d o w s — Casement and
I double h un g as show n. Screens— 14-mesh galvanized w ire . F u ll s lid in g screens fo r casem ent sash; h a lf s lid in g fo r double hung
w indow s. N o. 552 screen fo r fro n t d o o r; N o . 551 fo r rear. In te r io r F in is h — B aseboard N o . 1; casings N o. 1; p ictu re m o u ld in g
N o. 1. C o ntinuous head casing in kitch e n , breakfast nook and bath. B u ilt-in Features— K itc h e n cupboard N o . 2 0 7 ; d ra in board
i sugarpine ; sin k cabinets N o. 305 and N o . 306 ; breakfast nook No. 701. H a rd w a re — N ic k e l finish in kitch e n , breakfast nook and
bath. B alance of house d u ll brass. F ro n t door to have b it key lock w ith bun g a lo w handle. P a in t— Ivx te rio r and screen porch tw o
coats of p aint, e ithe r w h ite o r color. In te r io r — K itc h e n , breakfast nook and bath, three coats, tw o coats of fla t and one coat of
enamel. Balance of house one coat o f stain. F loors— L iv in g room and bedroom s one coat o f liq u id fille r and one coat o f varnish .
Screen porch, fro n t porch flo o r and fro n t and rear steps tw o coats of flo o r pa in t.
Price, with plaster-board, $872.00.
136
E x h ib it X
Bungalow No,2.
$ ^ *
S tyle 64 T*acijic ^^R^dy-Qut Home S pecifications
T h e fo llo w in g specifications b rie fly cover the m ate rials fu rn ish e d . See P rice L is t. Cost of c o n s tru c tin g th is hom e on y o u r lo t
ready fo r occupancy, in c lu d in g a ll carpenter la bor, p a in tin g la b o r, cem ent w o rk , p la ste rin g , p lu m b in g , etc., quoted on request.
F o u n d a tio n — F lo o r I'- I O " above g ro u n d . W o o d steps fo r rear door. 2 " x 6 " redw ood m u d s ills ; 2 " x 4 " und erp ins on o u t
side w a lls ; 4 " x 4 " g irde rs ; 4 " x 4 " u nd erp ins on piers.
F ram e— D o ugla s fir. 2 " x 6 " flo o r jo is ts 2 4 " o. c. ; 2 " x 3 " s tu d d in g 16" o. c. ;
2 " X 4 " ra fte rs 2 4 " o. c. ; 2 " x 3 " c e ilin g jo is ts 16 " o. c. D o u b le headers fo r door
openings. Special headers fo r casem ent sash.
F lo o r— 1" X 4 " tongued and grooved v e rtic a l g ra in f ir flo o rin g th ro u g h o u t.
W a lls and P a rtitio n s — Fram ed fo r la th and plaste r o r plaste rbo ard. C e ilin g h e ig h t
8 '- 2 j4 ” - O u tsid e o f b u ild in g covered w ith in s u la tin g fe lt and §/$" x 6 " rabbetted
and beveled redw ood sid ing.
R o of— 1" surfaced boards covered w ith 1 la ye r o f ro o fin g fe lt m opped w ith hot
a sph altum and covered w ith red o r green slate surfaced ro o fin g . 2 " x 3 " wood ro ll
edge on gables. 2 '-0 " p ro je ctio n supp orted b y brackets as show n.
P o rch — G abled roof. C V ce ilin g supported b y boxed posts, ra il and balusters as
show n. W o o d flo o r and steps.
D o o rs— F ro n t door 2 ’ -8" x 6 '-8 " \y%" th ic k N o . 49. A ll o th e r doors N o. 201 except
N o. 301 sash door from k itc h e n to screen porch.
W in d o w s — Casem ent and double h un g as show n.
Screens— 14-mesh galvanized w ire. F u ll s lid in g fo r casement sash; h a lf s lid in g
fo r double h u n g w indow s. N o. SSI screen doo r fo r fro n t and rear.
In te r io r F in is h — C asings N o . 1 ; baseboard N o . 1 ; p ic tu re m o u ld in g N o. 1. C on
tin u o u s head casing in kitch e n , breakfast nook and bath.
B u ilt- in Features— K itc h e n cupboard N o . 20 2 ; suga rpine d ra in b o a rd ; sin k cabinets
N o . 301 and N o. 30 2 ; breakfast nook N o . 702.
H a rd w a re — N ic k e l fin ish in kitch e n and bath. B alance of house d u ll brass. F ro n t
doo r to have b it key lock w ith b u n g a lo w handle.
P a in t— E x te rio r, one coat of stain, trim tw o coats o f p a in t, w h ite o r color. In te rio r,
kitch e n , breakfast noo k and bath, three coats of p a in t, tw o of fla t and one of
enamel. Balance, one coat of stain. F lo o rs , liv in g room and bedroom s one coat
of liq u id fille r, one coat of va rn ish . F ro n t and screen porch floors and outside
steps, tw o coats o f flo o r paint.
Style 64— Size 20 x 30 and Porch Refer to pages 135 to 155 for illustrations of trim, doors and built-in features.
LiYDTG {opJA
1 0 - 0 X 1 4 - 0
h) loOJK
IO -o "x 12’- o’
Price with plaster-board, #797.00
139
E x h ib it X I .
: i . PoiiçH
ED UOOM
12 '- o ' X 10 - O "
- K itchen
Style 67— Size 24 x 36 and Porch
S tyle 67 Pacific T{m dy-(^ut Horn
S pecifications
T h e fo llo w in g specifications b rie fly cover the m a te ria ls furn ished . See P rk
L is t. Cost o f c o n s tru c tin g th is hom e on y o u r lo t ready fo r occupanc;
in c lu d in g a ll carpenter la bor, p a in tin g la bor, cem ent w o rk , p laste rin;
p lu m b in g , etc., quoted on request.
F o u n d a tio n — F lo o r I '- I O " above g round . W o o d steps fo r re a r door. 2 " x 6
redw ood m u d s ills ; 2 " x 4 " und erp ins on outsid e w a lls ; 4 " x 4 " girders
4 " X 4 " u nd erp ins on piers.
Frame— D o u g la s fir. 2" x 6 " flo o r jo is ts 2 4 " o.c. ; 2 " x 3 " s tu d d in g 16" o.c.
2" X 4 " ra fte rs 2 4 " o.c. ; 2 " x 4 " c e ilin g jo is ts 16" o.c. D o u b le headers ft
door openings. Special headers fo r casem ent sash.
Floor— 1 " X 4 " tongued and grooved v e rtic a l g ra in fir flo o rin g th ro u g h o u t.
Walls and Partitions— F ram ed fo r la th and plaste r o r plaste rbo ard. C eilin
h e ig h t 8 '-2 J4 ” - O u tsid e of b u ild in g covered w ith in s u la tin g fe lt and x 4
ra b b e tte d and beveled redw ood sid in g .
R oof— 1 " surfaced fir boards covered w ith 1 la ye r o f ro o fin g fe lt, moppe
w ith h o t asph altum and covered w ith 2 -p ly sanded ro o fin g . 2 " x 3 " woo
r o ll edge. 2 ' p ro je c tio n supported by brackets.
P o rch — G abled roof. C V c e ilin g supp orted by boxed posts, ra ilin g an
balusters as show n. W ood flo o r and steps.
D o o rs— F ro n t doo r 2 '-8 " x 6 '-8 ", th ic k N o . 49. A ll o ther doors N<
201 excep t N o . 301 sash do o r fro m k itc h e n to screen porch.
Windows— Casem ent and double h u n g as show n.
Screens— 14-m esh galvanized w ire. F u ll s lid in g screens fo r a ll casemei
sash; h a lf s lid in g fo r double h u n g w in d o w s. N o . 551 screen doors fo r fro i
and rear.
In te r io r Finish— Baseboard N o . 1 ; casings N o. 1 ; p ic tu re m o u ld in g N o.
C o n tin u o u s head casing in k itc h e n and bath.
Built-in Features— B u ffe t N o . 100 ; cooler N o . 40 2 ; k itc h e n cupboard Ni
20 1 ; su ga rpine d ra in b o a rd ; s in k cabinets N o . 301 special and N o. 304.
Hardware— D u ll brass fin ish th ro u g h o u t. F ro n t d oo r to have b it key lo t
w ith b u n g a lo w handle.
Paint— E x te rio r and screen porch, tw o coats of p a in t, w h ite o r colo
In te r io r, one coat o f stain th ro u g h o u t. F loors, liv in g room , d in in g roo
and bedroom s, one coat of liq u id fille r, one coat o f varnish . F loors of screi
p orch, fro n t porch, fro n t and rear steps, tw o coats o f flo o r paint.
R efer to pages 135 to 155 fo r illu s tra tio n s of trim , doors and
b u ilt-in features.
Price with plaster-board, #1099.00
140
E x h ib it X I I
S tyle 7 2 Id^acijic ^^eady-Qut Home
S pecifications
F o u n d a tio n — F lo o r I'- IO " above gro u n d . W ood steps fo r rear doo r.
2 " X 6 " redw ood m u d sills ; 2 " x 4 " und erp ins on outsid e w a lls ; 4 " x 4 "
g ird e rs ; 4 " x 4 " u nd erp ins on piers.
F ram e— D o u g la s fir. 2" x 6 " flo o r jo is ts 2 4 " o.c. ; 2 " x 3 " s tu d d in g 16"
0.c. ; 2 " X 4 " ra fte rs 2 4 " o.c. ; 2" x 4 " ce ilin g jo ists 16" o.c. D o u b le
headers fo r doors. Special headers fo r casem ent sash.
F lo o rs— l " x 4 " tongued and grooved v e rtic a l g ra in fir flo o rin g th ru o u t.
W a lls and P a rtitio n s — F ram ed fo r la th and plaste r o r plaste rbo ard. C e il
in g h e ig h t 8 '- 2 j4 " . O u tsid e of b u ild in g covered w ith in s u la tin g fe lt and
X 4 " rab b e tte d and beveled surfaced redw ood s id in g .
R o of— 1 " X 3 " or 1" X 4 " surfaced fir shea thing covered w ith N o . 1 * A *
cedar shingles la id 4 j/ i" to the w eather. 2' p ro je ctio n lined w ith tongued
an d grooved C V c e ilin g supp orted by band saw n brackets as show n.
P o rch— U n d e r m ain gable, supp orted b y boxed colum ns. C e ilin g o f C V .
R a il and buttresses as show n. W o o d flo o r and steps.
D oors— F ro n t doo r 3 '-0 " x 6 '-8 ", i H " th ic k . N o . 1008. A ll o th e r doors
N o . 201 except N o . 301 sash doo r fro m kitch e n to screen porch.
W in d o w s — Casem ent and double h u n g as show n.
Screens— 14-mesh galvanized w ire . F u ll s lid in g fo r casem ent sash; h a lf
s lid in g fo r double h u n g w in d o w s. N o . 551 screen fo r rear d o o r; N o. 552
fo r fro n t door.
In te r io r F in is h — B aseboard N o . 1 ; casings N o . 1; p ic tu re m o u ld in g N o .
1. C o n tin u o u s head casing in k itc h e n and bath.
B u ilt- in Features— M a n te l shelf N o . 91 1 ; b u ffe t N o . 100; lin e n closet
N o . 50 1 ; m edicine cabinet N o . 6 0 1 ; cooler N o . 4 0 3 ; k itch e n cupboard
N o . 208, 4 d o o rs ; suga rpine d ra in b o a rd ; sin k cabinets N o . 301 and
N o . 302.
H a rd w a re — S o lid brass doo r knobs, escutcheons, cupboard tu rn s , d ra w e r
p u lls, etc. N ic k e l fin ish in k itc h e n and bath. D u ll brass fo r a ll o th e r
room s. B it key lo ck w ith b u n g a lo w handle fo r fro n t door. D o o r b u tts ,
hinges, sash lo cks, etc., plate d steel.
P a in t— E x te rio r and screen porch tw o coats o f p a in t, e ith e r w h ite o r
co lo r. O ne coat o f creosote sh ingle sta in fo r roof. In te r io r — K itc h e n
and b a th , thre e coats, tw o o f fla t and one o f enamel. Balance, stained
th ru o u t. F lo o rs — L iv in g ro o m , d in in g room , bedroom s and h a ll, one
coat liq u id fille r and one coat of va rn ish . F ro n t porch and screen porch
floors, fro n t and rear steps tw o coats of flo o r p a in t.
R e fer to pages 135 to 155 fo r illu s tra tio n s o f trim , doors and
b u ilt-in features.
-^à> ' < z ^77/c- P or. ch|
/ & 'X £ ' I
•KiTrHrxi ©1 .DedP-OOA-
' DMI/IG IZOOA- /
^ Cûôedo p e n i n g I ^
'L ivjagHooa I DedR - O oa
15-0"X I 1 1-0X12-0
- POUCM '
26-o'xa-o"
Wood f l o o r .
Style 72— Size 26 x 33 and Porch
Price with plaster-board, $1316.00.
THESIS BIBLIOGRAPHY
3• Books which have been responsible for the author’s
personal reaction.
Add am s, Jane,The Sjiir^t of Youth and the City Streets. The
Macmillan Co.,N.Y.,1909.
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142
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Raymond A.Pranzen,C.R.Tupper andIGrace Pernald)
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Pamphlet Forms:
Duncan,H.G.Population Problems.
Articles and Pamphlets of the Pathfinders
of America,(of which the writer ig a member)
devoted to giving aid to prisoners after
release from imprisonment.
Persons! studfes relating to Courts of Domes
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in securing the nsseage of special legisla
tion in Michigan,creating a special Court
of Domestic Relations. Special Study was
made of the first court of this kind,in
Chicago,
Series of Articles by MrLord,former Assis
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and ,later,Parole Commissioner,
Series of articles by Judge Gary,regarding
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2. References read in relation to the subject matter
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Reform,
Appleton,Curtis S.,The Gary Public Schools.General EducaG
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Little,Brown- & Co.,Boston,1916.
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Breckenridge,Sophonlsba,and Edith Abbott,The Delinquent
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*
Key,Wilhemine,Heredity and Social Fitness.
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Myers,Phillip VanNess,Ancient History.2nd ed, Ginn & Co.,
Boston,1904,
Oppenheimer,Henrioh,The Rationale of Punishment, London
Press,London,1913 «
Orr,Henry B.,A Theory of Development and Heredity. The
Macmillan Co.,N.Y.,1893,
148
Parker,George Howard,Biology and Social Problems.
Houghton-Mifflin Co . ,TI,Y,, Bos ton, 1914,
Parker,Cornelia Stratton,Working with the Yorking Woman.
Harper & Bros,,N.Y,,1922,
Parmelee,Maurice,CrIminology.The Macmillan Co.,N.Y.,1918.
Popenoe,Paul,and R.H.Johnson,Applied Eugenics. The Mac
millan Co.,N.Y.,1918.
Russell,Charles E.B.,and L.B.Rigby,The Making of a Crim
inal .The Macmillan Co.,N.Y.,London,1906.
Robinson,James Harvey,and Emma Peters Smith and James
H.Breasted,Our World Today and Yesterday.
Ginn & Co.,N.Y.,Boston,etc.,1924.
Shaw,Albert.,Municipal Government In, Continental Europe»,
Century Co.,1895.
State of California,Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment of
Children of Southern California.Reprinted
from Journal of Delinquency,vol.9,No.6,Nov.,
1925.
Thayer,Walter N.Jr.,The Criminal and the Napanock Plan.
From Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology,
Aug.,1925.
Tylor,Edward B.,Primitive Culture# G.P.Putnam's Sons,N.Y.,
1920..
The American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology,
Journal of the American Institute of Criminal
Law and Criminology. Northwestern University,
Nov.,1925 and May,1925.
149
VanWaters,Miriam,Youth In Conflict.Republic Pub.Co.,
N.Y.,1925.
Weiaman,Dr.August,Essays Upon Heredity and Kindred Bio
logical Problems. 2 vols.,vol.2, Clarendon
Press,Oxford,1892.
Whetham,W.C.D.,and Catherine P., The Family and the Nation^
Longmans,Green & Co.,London,N.Y«,etc.,1909.
Whittier State School,The Journal of Delinquency. Dep't.
of Research,Whittier,Cal.,1916.
Wilmot-Buxton,E.M.,A Short World History.E.P.Dutton & Co.,
N.Y.,1921.Methuen & Co.,ltd.,Lon.,1921.
Wiggam,Albert Edward,.The Fruit of the Family Treei.
Bobbs-Merrlll Co,,Indianapolis.1924.
Author also attended the sessions of the Criminology
section of the American Bar!Association in
Detroit,Michigan,1925,
3* Bibliography on Housing:
Aronovici,^arol,Housing and the Housing Problem. A.C.
McClurg & Co.,Chicago,1920.
Ackerman,Frederick L.,The Housing Famine.(Triangular
debate)E.P.Dutton & Co. ,NitTlyl920,
Bogardus,Emory Stephen,History of Social, Thought. J.R.
Miller,Los Angeles,1922.
Commission of Immigration and Housing of California,
Second Annual Report. Office ofnthe Comm'n.,
Underwood Bldg.,SanPrancisco,Jan.2,1916.
..... ..Community Survey of Los Angeles* 1917-18.
150
Department of Health of the City of Los Angeles,Annual
Report fojb the year ending June,30,1924.
........ .Annual Report for the year ending June 50,
1925.
Dinwiddle,E.W.,Housing Conditions In Philadelphia.
Committee of the Octavia Hill Ass'n.,
Philadelphia, n.d,
Fairbanks,Morse & Company,Eclipse Park. Booklet descrip
tive of their industrial town. Beloit,Wis.,n.d,
Healy,William,The Individual Delinquent. Little,Brown &
Co.,Boston,1915.
Housing Commission of khe City of Los Angeles, Reports,
Feb.,1906 to June,1908.Los Angeles.
..........Annual Report for 1909.
Hughes,Elizabeth A.,Living Conditions for Small Wage Ear
ners in Chicago.Chicago School of Physics and
Philanthropy,Chicago.1914.
Headley,Madge,Report of Housing Survey of the City of
Lexington,Ky.,Lexington Housing Com.,1924.
Journal of .American Institute of Architects, The Housing
problem in War and peace. The Octagon,Washing
ton,D.C.,1918.
Knowles,Morris,Industriai Housing.McGraw-Hill Bk.Co.,N.Y.,
1920.
Literary Digest,Editorial. December 27,1919,page 14.
......... Editorial.March 13,1926,page 6.
Murphy,John J.,The Housing Famine.(Triangular Debate-with
151
Frederick L. IckerLian and Edith Elmer Wood),
E.P.Dutton & Co.,N.Y.,1920.
NGlen,John,New Ideals in the Planning of Cities,Towns and
Villages. City Bureau,N.Y,,Copyright,1919.
New York Tenement House Commission,Annual Report for 1900,
Office' ofnthe Commission,N*Y.City.
Park,Robert E.,and Ernest W.Burgess,Introduction to the
Science of Sociology'» University of Chicago
Press,Chicago,1921.
Purdom,Charles B.,Garden City,A Study in the Development
of a Modern Town.E.P.Dutton & Co.,N.Y.,1914.
*
...........The Building of Satellite Towns.
Riis,Jacob,How the Other Half Lives.Chas.Scribner's Sons,
N.Y.,1904.
Shurtleff,Elavel,Carrying Out the City Plan. Survey Ass'n,,
inc.,N.Y,,1914.
The Mariemont Go.,Mariemont, Booklets No.l and Ho.2 issued
by the Mari^raont Co .,Cinn.,0. n.d.
The City Housing Corporation,Sunnyside. Booklet issued
by the City Housing Corporation,N.Y.n.d.
The Long Bell Lumber Company,Longyear. Advertising booklet
of their industrial city of Longyear,Long
year,Ore, n.d.
The New York City Club,The Housing Crisis.Chas.P.Young
Co.,190 Williams 3t.,N.Y.,Sept.,1920.
See note at end of Bibliography,
152
Thompson,W.,Housing Handbook. National Housing Reform
Council,London,London,W.C.,1903.
........ Housing Up to Date.National Housing Reform
Council,London,W.C.,1903.
The Goodyear Company,Goodyear Heights. Booklet issued by
The Goodyear Company,developers of the city
of Goodyear Heights,Ohio,for the Goodyear Tire
and Rubber Co., Akron,Ohio.n.d.
United States,Housing Problems in America. National Hous
ing Conference,Washington,D.C.,1925.
.......proceedings of the Academy of Political Sci
ence, in the City of New York,April,1912.(Na
tional Housing Ass'n.). Pub.by Academy of
Political Science,Columbia University,N.Y.,1912*
Veiller,Lawrence,Model Tenement House Law,Russell Sage
Foundation. N.Y.Charities Pub.Comm.N.Y,,1910.
...... .....Housing Reform.N.Y.Charitles Pub.Comm.N.Y.,
1910.
Wood,Edith Elmer,The Housing Famine. (Triangular Debate).
E.P.Dutton & Co.,N.Y.,1920.
.Housing of the Unskilled Wage Earner. The Mac
Millan Co.,N.Y.,1919*
.......... .Housing Progress in Western Europe. E.P.Dut
ton & Co.,N.Y,,copyright 1923,
Warbasse,Agnes P.,The A,B,C of Co-operative Housing. Tne
Co-operative League,167 West 12th St.,N.Y.,
copyright 1924.
153
Warbasse,J,P,,”Co-operative Housing” in Co-opviatlon.
April,1925,page 64,
This research has been supplemented by;(a),personal
conferences with city planners,garden-city architects
and engineers; (b),correspondence v/ith Edith Elmer Wood,
author and teacher;(c),perusal of United States Govern
ment housing statistics and (d),correspondence with execu
tives in charge of industrial,semi-philanthropic,garden-
city and co-operative housing projects.
NOTE: These books were read in Los Angeles and author's
secretary neglected to get notes on the publishers' names
and the date of publication. The bibliography was classi
fied,and arranged in Detroit,Michigan,and the missing
data could not be obtained there.
154
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Creator Herman, Samuel James (author)

Core Title A study of housing problems of the unskilled worker with tentative remedial plan

Degree Master of Arts

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag OAI-PMH Harvest,Social Sciences

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

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Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c40-15325

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