IN THIS NUMBER-A DISCUSSION OF 
MUNICIPALIZATION OF ELECTRIC 
LIGHTING AND POWER. 
By MR. R. R. BOWKER and PROP. J. R. COMMONS. ' 
MUNICIPAL 
AFFAIRS. 
ISSUED AT QUARTERLY INTERVALS. 
Vol. I, No. 4. 
DECEMBER, 1897. 
Wholk No. 4. 
MUNICIPALIZATION OF ELECTRIC LIGHTING. 
PAGB. 
( PUBLIC CONTROL, OWNERSHIP OR OPERATION OF 
-j MUNICIPAL FRANCHISES - - R. R. Bowker 605 
( MUNICIPAL ELECTRIC LIGHTING - Professor John R. Commons 631 
MUNICIPAL ART Frederick S. Lamb 674 
THE RELATIONS OF THE CITY AND THE STATE 
Professor F. J. Goodnow 689 
CIVIC SERVICE OF THE MERCHANTS' ASSOCIATION 
OF SAN FRANCISCO ... J. Richard Freud 705 
GREATER NEW YORK A CENTURY HENCE 
Col. George E. Waring, Jb. 713 
THE PHILADELPHIA GAS LEASE - Dr. Frederic W. Speirs 718 
MUNICIPAL GAS IN PHILADELPHIA - Col. John I. Rogers 730 
IMPROVED TENEMENT HOMES FOR AMERICAN 
CITIES - - - - . - G. A. Weber 745 
BOOK REVIEWS 763 
LEADING ARTICLES 770 
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INDEX 781 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES 803 
NEW YORK: 
Reform Club, Committee on Municipal Administration, 
52 William Street. 
Pm Year, $1.00. Per Number, 25 ete. 
Entered at the Poet Oftloe at New York, and admitted for transmission through the malls, 
aa eecond-clase matter. REFORM CLUB. 
Club House, 233 Fifth Avenue; Office Committees, 52 William Street. 
COMMITTEE ON MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION: 
JOHN DE WITT WARNER, Chairman. Milo Rot Maltbib, Secretary. 
SUBCOMMITTEE ON MEETINGS : SUB-COMMITTEE ON LECTURES: 
Hbnry Deforest Baldwin, Chairman S. Stanwood Menken, Chairman, 
Avert D. Andrews, George M. Cassatt, George Louis Beer, Lawrence Dunham, 
James Loeb, James Robison Burnbtt 
SUB-COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATIONS: SUB-COMMITTEE ON FINANCE! 
Arthur W. Milbury, CAairwraw. George M. Cassatt, Chairman. 
William B. Hornblower, John DeWitt Warner, John G. Agar, William M. Ivins, 
William A. McQuaid, Samuel C. Van Dusen. Henry B. B. Stapler. 
TELEPHONE No. 1093 CORTLANDT. 
The problems of Municipal Administration which have so rapidly developed 
during the last few years demand careful and thorough study on the part of the people 
as prerequisites to their correct solution. These problems have recently been forced 
upon the attention of the citizens of New York and vicinity by the consolidation 
of the cities about this port into a " Greater New York." The Municipal Administration 
Committee of the Reform Club has been engaged for some time in the collection 
of a reference library (now numbering 1,200 volumes) on the subjects included within 
the scope of its work, and in other ways has prepared itself to push educational work on 
municipal affairs, and to aid in the creation and organization of public sentiment in 
favor of the most efficient and beneficent administration of city affairs. Among the 
subjects to which attention will be given are those of Finance, Assessments for Benefit, 
Franchises, Transportation, Public Works, Gas and Water Supply, Electric Lighting, 
Schools, Charities, Hospitals, Prisons, Docks, Street Cleaning, Police, Protection 
against Fire, Parks, Markets, Excise, Libraries, Museums, Amusements, Public Art 
(Including Music, Paintings, Statuary, Monuments, etc.),-and other matters within, or 
proposed to be included within, the scope of municipal administration. 
The means to be used will be lecture courses, public meetings, literature distribution 
(leaflet, pamphlet, serial, etc.) and active assistance in every step tending to secure or 
continue the best municipal administration possible. While the Committee will thua 
utilize every means to reach the people, it will not undertake political organization or 
become responsible for political campaigns. 
Address all communications to 
COMMITTEE ON MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION, 
52 William Street, New York City. 
Advertising Rates--One page for the year (four numbers) >50 00 ; half page, >30.00; 
quarter page, >16.00. IMPROVED TENEMENT HOMES FOR AMERICAN CITIES. 
Gustavus A. Weber. 
There is no agency in the world that has a greater influence 
upon the welfare of the people than one which directly affects 
their health and social environment. Before modern institutions 
brought about the rapid concentration of population in the larger 
cities, there was little occasion for serious thought upon the 
housing problem. When it is considered, however, that the pop- 
ulation of the eight leading cities in the United States in- 
creased from 24 to 119 per cent, from 1880 to 1890, and that this 
concentration steadily continues while the value of land is in- 
creasing in the crowded centres, the question becomes a serious 
one. It is serious, not only because it concerns the welfare of 
those whose circumstances compel them to live in crowded areas, 
but because the influences of disease and immorality resulting 
from improper city housing affects all the inhabitants of cities 
where "slum" conditions exist. It is in the slums of great 
cities that infectious diseases usually have their origin. It is there 
that pauperism, ignorance, cruelty, intemperance and crime are 
daily placing their stamp upon the coming generation. In a coun- 
try where the ballot controls the destiny of the nation, too much 
cannot be done to remove all influences which tend to degrade 
the moral and physical condition of the people. 
It has been the experience of all who have entered upon the 
work of improving the habitations of the poor, that such im- 
provements have had a decided influence upon the character of 
the inmates. George Picot, the French philantrophist, has said 
that " the improvement of dwellings is the best guarantee of civ- 
ilization." Lord Shaftesbury, the pioneer of the model housing 
movement in England, has remarked that he was certain that 
many people who are in a filthy and deplorable condition have 
been made so by their own surroundings. Dr. E. R. L. Gould, 
in his official report on "The Housing of the Working People," 
says, " Drunkenness is sometimes the cause, but is oftener the 
effect of poor housing. Physical exhaustion, nervous depression, 746 
MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS. 
want of nutritious food, etc., stimulate alcoholic indulgence. 
Saloons are thickest in the worst centres. They would not be 
found there if they did not receive patronage." Again he says, 
" Bad housing is a terribly expensive thing to any community. 
Moreover, it explains much that is mysterious in relation to 
drunkenness, poverty, crime and all forms of social decline." 
Fortunately, the introduction of rapid transit has afforded 
opportunities to many to escape from the crowded sections of 
large cities and to find homes in the outskirts where fresh air is 
plentiful. But the number of these who can afford the expendi- 
ture of the time and money necessary to avail themselves of this 
luxury is quite limited. It does not include any of what Mr. 
Jacob Riis terms " the other half." 
The census reports show that the populations within the city 
limits continue rapidly to increase notwithstanding the removal 
of large numbers to the suburbs. A very considerable proportion 
of the people in large cities find it necessary to live within 
easy reach of their places of work. They must, therefore, 
not only live in the cities, but must concentrate in certain 
sections. Thus in New York city, at the time of the police cen- 
sus in April, 1895, one-half of the population of the entire city 
was crowded into certain wards whose total area was less than 
one-tenth of the entire city area. Two of the wards had a pop- 
ulation of 643.8 and 539.5 persons to the acre, respectively, while 
in the city as a whole, the population was 46.7 per acre. Other 
leading cities show a similar though somewhat more favorable 
condition of concentration. 
How these people are housed in New York city is so fully told 
in the works of Mr. Jacob Riis, in the report of the New York 
Tenement House Committee and in other official publications, that 
it is unnecessary to elaborate upon it here. It may be mentioned, 
however, that according to the last report of the New York 
Health Department, 1,487,392 persons comprising 339,237 families 
lived in what the law designates as tenement houses, occupying in 
the aggregate, 42,909 tenement houses, of which 2,448 were rear 
buildings. 
A fair idea of the conditions in the leading American cities 
may be obtained from the "Slum Report" of the ?U. S. Depart- 
ment of Labor. In 1893 this Department conducted an investiga- 
tion into the condition of residents in the slums of New York, IMPROVED TENEMENT HOMES FOR AMERICAN CITIES. 
747 
Philadelphia, Chicago and Baltimore. A house-to-house canvass 
was made, and the work was confined in each case to a small 
portion of the city, comprising what was considered to be the worst 
of the slums. The population of the districts canvassed was 
28,996 in New York, 19,748 in Chicago, 18,048 in Philadelphia 
and 17,960 in Baltimore. The report shows that one-room tene- 
ments were occupied by 13.16 per cent, of the families canvassed 
in Baltimore, 12.10 per cent, in Philadelphia, 5.87 per cent, in 
Chicago and 5.62 per cent, in New York. In New York over 
one-half of the families canvassed lived in tenements of two 
rooms and less. In the other cities, the greater proportion occu- 
pied from one to three rooms. 
It is generally conceded that every adult person ought to 
have 600 cubic feet of air-space in his bedroom, and if it is less 
than 400 cubic feet per person the health of the occupants is 
seriously endangered. The above-mentioned report shows that 
of the slum population canvassed in New YTork city, 80 per cent, 
had less than 600 cubic feet of air-space each in their bedrooms, 
and 61 per cent, had less than 400 cubic feet. In Chicago, the 
proportions were almost exactly the same. In Baltimore and 
Philadelphia the conditions were more favorable. In the former 
city, 61 per cent, of the slum population canvassed had less than 
600 cubic feet of air-space per person, while 33 per cent, had less 
than 400 cubic feet. In Philadelphia, the percentages were 60 
and 36 respectively. It must also be remembered that 
in most cases the bedrooms were poorly lighted and ventilated 
and were often used for cooking, working and other purposes 
during the day. It is needless to say that in the congested dis- 
tricts of large cities, the lack of sufficient sleeping accommodations 
necessitates the crowding of persons of opposite sex, of children 
and adults, of members of the family and boarders, into the same 
bedrooms and even into the same beds. 
A glance at the rent rates charged in the slum districts investi- 
gated shows that the tenants of the slums do not obtain their 
habitations as cheaply as might be supposed. In the slums of 
Baltimore, the greater number of the two-room dwellings can- 
vassed rented for from $0.70 to $1.15 per week; in Chicago and 
Philadelphia, from $1.15 to $1.60 per week ; and in New York 
city, from $1.60 to $2.10 per week. For the three-room tenements 
the rents generally ranged from $1.15 to $1.60 per week in Balti- 748 
MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS. 
more ; from $1.60 to $2.30 per week in Chicago and Philadelphia, 
and from $2.30 to $3.00 per week in New York. Experience in 
New York, Brooklyn, Boston and many European cities, shows 
that by charging similar rates as those usually paid for tene- 
ments in slum property, model houses can be constructed at a 
fair profit. 
In order to secure improved housing conditions in crowded 
districts of large cities, both public intervention and private en- 
terprise are essential. It is plain to every thinking mind that 
under existing conditions, the subject of providing better habita- 
tions for the poorer working classes and thereby securing their 
hygienic and moral improvement, is a proper one for the con 
sideration of state and municipal governments. The only ques- 
tion is, how far shall the public authorities go, and in what 
manner shall they exert their power in order to bring about the 
desired improvement. 
The first and most important step is the enactment of 
proper sanitary and building laws and the inauguration of a 
thorough system of tenement house inspection. Second in im- 
portance is the expropriation of property in the crowded dis- 
tricts. Another step, which is common in European countries, is 
the encouragement of model tenement enterprises by granting 
them special favors, such as reducing the tax rates, ceding land, 
granting subsidies, making loans at a low rate of interest, etc. 
Lastly, when private and philanthropic enterprises refuse to pro- 
vide proper housing facilities, it becomes the duty of the local 
authorities to do so. 
With regard to the first step much has been done in a few 
American cities. New York city has to-day probably the best 
sanitary code and the best organized corps of sanitary inspectors 
that can be found in any American or European city.* The 
Health Department has executive, judicial and legislative 
powers, and establishes its own sanitary code in conformity to 
the sanitary laws and ordinances. It may order the inspection 
of tenement houses at any time and may call upon the police au- 
* The special laws which govern tenement and lodging houses in the city of New 
York may be found in Sections 642 to 667 of the Statutes of 1882 and Chapter 84, 
1887; Chapter 275, 1892, and Chapter 567 of 1895. The last mentioned law was 
passed in compliance with the recommendations of the New York Tenement House 
Committee appointed by Governor Morton in 1894. IMPROVED TENEMENT HOMES FOR AMERICAN CITIES. 
749 
thorities to enforce the sanitary laws and regulations. It may 
order houses vacated when unfit for human habitation and may 
even have them removed. Also, it may issue orders requiring a 
reduction in the number of occupants of overcrowded tenements. 
Any refusal to conform to these regulations or obey these orders 
may be punished as a misdemeanor. The department has at its 
disposal a corps of eighty-seven sanitary officers and inspectors, 
whose duties are to make regular inspections of tenement and 
lodging houses, investigate complaints and see that the sanitary 
laws and regulations are complied with.* Notwithstanding the 
excellent laws in force, the work of transforming the slums of 
New York City is such a stupendous undertaking that it requires 
a long time and much energetic work on the part of the author- 
ities. 
Of the other leading cities, Philadelphia and Chicago have in 
recent years had improvements made in their sanitary laws and 
ordinances relating to tenement houses. A Pennsylvania statute 
of 1893 provides that each tenement house shall have an adjoining 
open space of at least twenty per cent, of the entire area ; that it 
shall have receptacles for ashes and fire escapes ; that every room 
and every hall on each floor shall have at least one window open- 
ing upon a street or open space ; that no room shall have less 
than 700 cubic feet of air space, and that each flat shall have a 
separate water closet, sink and water supply. This act, of course, 
applies only to tenement houses erected or altered after its pas- 
sage. Recent improvements have also been made in the organi- 
zation of the Philadelphia Board of Health looking toward the 
establishment of a more efficient corps of medical inspectors for 
the purpose of detecting the causes of contagious diseases, etc. 
In Chicago, during the present year, an ordinance has been 
passed by which buildings unfit for human habitation are re- 
garded as a public nuisance and are required to be vacated. 
Boston and Brooklyn have made no changes in recent years in 
*To give an idea of the work of the New York Health Department with refer- 
ence to tenement houses it may be stated that in 1896 109,134 inspections were made, 
resulting in 38,858 complaints upon which orders were issued. Three hundred and 
twenty-two houses unfit for human habitation were ordered vacated. In 264 cases 
the houses were placed in proper sanitary condition and in 58 cases they were vacated. 
During the year 45,601 night inspections were made, resulting in the issuing of 213 
orders to reduce the number of occupants in overcrowded apartments. 750 
MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS. 
their sanitary laws, but existing regulations are fairly compre- 
hensive and their health departments are well equipped. 
In regard to the second step, namely, the expropriation of 
crowded areas for sanitary purposes, the city of New York is the 
only one of the larger American cities that has done anything in 
recent years. In 1895, two acts were passed by the State Legis- 
lature authorizing the expenditure of $5,000,000 for the expropria- 
tion of propery and the establishment of small parks in the most 
crowded sections of New York city. The following table, kindly 
furnished by Mr. Charles G. Wilson, President of the Health De- 
partment of the city, shows to what extent the provisions of these 
acts have been carried out: 
PROPERTV EXPROPRIATED FOR PARK PURPOSES IN NEW YORK CITY. 
Location. 
Area in acres. 
Value of expropriated 
property. 
Population displaced. 
Mulberry Street 
Park Street 
Baxter Street 
Bayard Street 
2.74 
$1,476,557 
2,643 
East Broadway 
Canal Street 
Essex Street 
Hester Street...., 
Suffolk Street..... 
Jefferson Street 
1.9 
Not yet fixed. 
2,917 
Pitt Street 
East Houston Street 
Sheriff Street 
Stanton Street 
3.44 
Not yet fixed. 
3,879 
Cherry Street 
J ackson Street 
South Street 
Corlears Street 
8.3 
$1,370,421 
Unknown, mostly small 
houses and many lum- 
ber yards and shops. 
East 111th Street 
First Avenue 
East 114th Street 
River 
8.5 
Not yet fixed. 
4,104 
West 28th Street 
Tenth Avenue 
West 29th Street 
Ninth Avenue 
3.67 
Not yet fixed. 
1,763 
In addition to the above there were condemned during the 
year 1896, eighty-seven separate pieces of property (rear tene- 
ments) for sanitary reasons. 
While in other American cities, little or nothing has been 
done in this direction, and while parks, play-grounds and other 
breathing places are still very scarce in the sections where they 
are most needed, European cities for many years have directed 
their attention to this feature of reform. As early as 1868, urban IMPRO VED TENEMENT HOMES FOR AMERICAN CIIIES. 
751 
sanitary authorities in England were authorized to provide for 
the improvement or demolition of houses inhabited by working 
people. In 1890 a very comprehensive law was passed byParlia- 
ment, known as the "Housing of Working Classes Act," which 
relates to the clearance of unhealthy areas and the erection 
thereon of dwellings for the working classes, the inspection, clos- 
ing and demolition of unhealthy dwelling houses, and the estab- 
lishment of public lodging-houses. 
The cities of London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Man- 
chester, Birmingham, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Dundee have 
availed themselves of the provisions of these acts and have con- 
demned and removed houses in crowded or filthy sections; in 
some cases providing open spaces and play-grounds, and in others 
constructing model tenement houses. A recent official publica- 
tion of the London County Council states that up to December 
31, 1895, $10,104,727.61 were expended upon schemes carried out 
under this and previous acts. Of this amount $9,252,710.52 were 
used for clearing unhealthy areas and $563,195.18, for the erec- 
tion of dwellings. 
In Belgi m, as early as 1858 and 1867, laws were passed regu- 
lating'the expropriation of unsanitary quarters in cities. 
Nothing has been done by public authorities in American 
cities in the way of encouraging model tenement enterprises, un- 
less we include under this designation, the enactment of laws for 
the closing and demolition of unhealthy tenement houses and the 
placing of such restrictions upon the builders of new ones as will 
practically produce model houses. Such laws and regulations, 
if rigidly enforced, would necessarily give the greatest encourage- 
ment to all enterprises for the improvement of the housing of the 
working people. 
In England the public authorities have gone much further. 
In addition to the provision of rigid sanitary laws and regula- 
tions the English statutes require all corporations which obtain 
the right of expropriation to make provision on the same site 
or in the neighborhood for the accommodation of at least one-half 
the number of people displaced. An act passed in 1882 author- 
izes municipal corporations to make grants or leases for terms 
not exceeding 999 years, of any land belonging to them, for the 
erection of workingmen's wellings, the corporations being em- 
powered to bind the grar ees or lessees to build in a prescribed 752 
MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS. 
manner, to repair and maintain the buildings and to impose 
other limitations. In the city of London, millions of dollars 
have been loaned by the public authorities to model tenement 
enterprises. 
France, Belgium and Austria also have laws providing for the 
encouragement of private enterprises. These relate principally 
to the recognition of such enterprises as institutions of public 
utility and thus they receive many privileges, such as the remis- 
sion of taxes. 
The erection of model tenement houses by municipal corpora- 
tions meets with disfavor among many persons. Experience in 
England, Scotland and France has shown that where the public 
authorities have built model tenements, a higher class of people 
than those for whom they were intended, have often availed 
themselves of these advantages. Whenever this is the case, the 
public authorities come into competition with private enterprise 
for there are usually a sufficient number of suitable private houses 
to be had, the rentals of which are within the means of the better 
paid artisans, clerks and shop keepers. The provision of general 
living accommodations is in no sense a natural monopoly, and it 
is certainly not advisable for public authorites to embark in that 
business unless, on account of the failure of private enterprise, it 
becomes necessary for the safety and welfare of the poorer people 
to do so. Whenever large, populous areas are expropriated and 
the displacement of the inhabitants is likely to cause serious 
hardships, or whenever it is apparent that the poorer people are 
in need of proper accommodations, and that all means have been 
exhausted to induce private enterprise to supply the need, then 
and then only are public authorities justified in erecting tene- 
ment houses or other living accominoditions for the poorer work- 
ing classes. 
In the United States, no steps have ever been taken by the 
public authorities in the way of erecting municipal tenements. 
In England, more than in any other country, municipal authori- 
ties have embarked in such enterprises. In London, Manchester, 
Liverpool, Glasgow, Birmingham and Huddersfield, dwelling 
houses have been constructed and are being managed by the 
municipal corporations. While in some cases these buildings do 
not accommodate the poorest classes, their erection was usually 
the result of circumstances which justified the undertaking. IMPROVED TENEMENT HOMES FOR AMERICAN CITIES. 
753 
Illustrative of such instances is the case of Liverpool. Here 
the authorities concluded to improve what was then considered to 
be the filthiest and most crowded section of the city, and in order 
to do so, they expropriated an area of 18,770 square yards, ex- 
clusive of streets. This site had been occupied by low class, 
unhealthy dwellings, interspersed with stables and tanneries, and 
had a population of about 282 persons per acre. The entire area 
was acquired by the city and the buildings razed to the ground. 
At first it was not the intention of the authorities to construct 
municipal tenements and the land was offered for sale. But as 
the conditions of the sale required the purchaser to construct 
suitable and healthy dwellings, and to charge rates which would 
be within the means of the people displaced, no purchasers could 
be found. Finally, the city concluded to build tenement houses 
on a portion of the site, another portion being sold by the corpo- 
ration. 
In Glasgow, as in Liverpool, the construction of model tene- 
ments by the municipal authorities, was the result of the expro- 
priation of an unsanitary area, and the inability to secure private 
enterprise to construct suitable dwelling houses for the displaced 
population. In this case, however, the tenement houses erected 
by the corporation were so elaborate in their interior arrange- 
ments that the rents necessarily charged were too high for the 
poorer classes. The result was that the tenements were rented to 
artisans, clerks and shop-keepers, and the real purpose in view 
was not attained. 
In London, in addition to the expenditure of over ten million 
dollars by the County Council for the expropriation of unsani- 
tary areas and the creation of model tenements, as already men- 
tioned, the corporation of the City of London in 1895, demolished 
164 tenements, cleared 79,198 square feet of land and constructed 
five blocks of buildings at a total expense of 8980,885. 
While in exceptional instances municipalities may be justified 
in providing healthy homes for the poorer working classes, the 
great work of furnishing improved homes for these people de- 
volves upon commercial and philanthropic enterprises. Philan- 
thropy has done much in European cities towards accomplish- 
ing this end, but it alone can do but a very small proportion of 
the work needed in all large cities. The great problem with re- 
spect to model tenement houses is how to secure the investment 
of capital on a paying basis in such enterprises. 754 
MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS. 
As legislators and executive authorities begin to realize the 
importance of good housing, and as the sanitary and building 
regulations of large cities become more and more in 
their requirements, the ownership of slum property will gradually 
become less profitable and less desirable. Landlords owning 
property which is in such a condition that they are constantly 
required to make changes and improvements or to vacate the 
premises, will eventually become tired of the importunities of the 
sanitary authorities, and will either dispose of this class of prop- 
erty or will thoroughly renovate it. 
This circumstance opens a splendid field for model building 
enterprises. While it might be unprofitable to invest compara- 
tively small amounts of capital in the construction of tenements 
in crowded centres which fulfill the requirements of stringent 
sanitary and building regulations, the clearing of considerable 
areas and the construction of model tenements on a large scale 
realizes fair profits on the capital invested. 
During the past twenty years large tenement enterprises have 
been organized in many cities, frequently as a direct consequence 
of improved sanitary and building laws. New York city, 
Brooklyn and Boston in this country ; London,.Manchester, Liv- 
erpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle-on-Tyne, in Great 
Britain ; Paris, Lyons, Marseilles, Rouen, Rheims and several 
smaller cities in France ; Berlin, Frankfort, Leipsic, Dresden, 
Hanover and Halle, in Germany; Amsterdam, in Holland ; and 
Stockholm and Gothenburg, in Sweden, all have large com- 
panies for the construction of model tenements which have been 
successful. Some of these institutions were organized on a 
purely commercial basis and distribute all their net earnings as 
dividends to the share-holders. Most of the companies in Eng- 
land and America are of this character. 
Another class may be called semi-philanthropic. These are 
organized on a commercial basis, but the dividends are usually 
limited to four or five per cent, of the actual invested capital, 
the balance of the net income being devoted to improvements, 
the extension of building operations, etc. In some cases in 
Europe such enterprises receive special favors from the public 
authorities.* 
* The City and Suburban Homes Company and the Tenement House Building Com- 
pany of New York and many of the European companies are organized on this plan. IMPROVED TENEMENT HOMES FOR AMERICAN CITIES. 
755 
Purely philanthropic institutions are usually the results of 
donations or bequests. These funds are usually in the hands of 
trustees who construct and manage the buildings and devote all 
the net earnings to the extension of operations. Such enter- 
prises exist in London, Paris, Leipsic, Dresden and Gothenburg. 
In a few German cities working people have created co-opera- 
tive building funds for the construction of model tenements. By 
making small weekly contributions they accumulate, from time 
to time, sufficient amounts to purchase building sites and erect 
buildings. The tenements are then rented to share-holders and, 
as the funds increase, new buildings are added, and the contribu- 
tions continue until all share-holders are housed. 
But whatever may be the character of the enterprise many 
elements determine its success or failure. If it is properly man- 
aged, if the houses conform to the peculiar requirements of the 
locality and are economically constructed, and if the rents charged 
are about the same as are usually paid in the vicinity, there is no 
doubt that the money invested will bring sure, safe and stable 
returns. The question of proper management is easily solved if a 
board of experienced men can be secured who will guard the 
interests of the company or trust, and who will keep constantly 
in touch with the actual administration ; if the officers and em- 
ployees are well paid and are thereby encouraged to put forth 
their best efforts to promote the success of the enterprise ; and if 
strict and inflexible rules are adopted to secure the prompt pay- 
ment of rents and the maintenance of peace and order on the 
premises. 
Whenever tenement houses are constructed they should be 
placed on sites which are convenient to the class of people in- 
tended to be housed. In the construction of the buildings the 
chief aim should be to insure privacy, health, safety and comfort 
to the tenants. The buildings should not be too ornamental in 
architecture, nor so severe as to be uninviting. Both extremes in 
this respect should be carefully avoided. Some years ago a mag- 
nificent tenement house was constructed which proved a failure 
because its "high-toned" appearance frightened away the 
people for whom it was intended, and its location made it undesir- 
able for a better paid class of tenants. 
Whenever the cost of the land will permit, small tenement 
houses are preferable to these on a larger scale. In the crowded 756 
MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS. 
sections of New York, London and a few other cities where land 
is very valuable and where the people are necessarily confined to a 
comparatively small area, large tenement houses of five and six 
stories cannot be dispensed with. But in cities like Philadelphia, 
Baltimore and St. Louis model tenement houses need not exceed 
three or four stories in height.* 
A few suggestions for general application in the construction 
of m ode] tenement houses may be of interest in this connection. 
While they may not all be applicable in any one case, they may 
in a general way serve to guard against serious mistakes, such as 
have been made in the past. 
When a site is being selected, preference should be given, if 
possible, to one which is regular in shape, as this will permit the 
most favorable arrangement of the buildings. The buildings 
should be arranged in such a manner that daylight can penetrate 
directly into each room. Where the conformation of the site per- 
mits the building of rows, the latter should, if possible, run from 
north to south so that the windows face east and west. By this 
arrangement the sunlight can penetrate more vertically into the 
courts and streets, while the oblique rays enter both the front 
*A very desirable style of tenement house for less crowded localities is the type 
adopted by the Boston Co-operative Building Company in what is known as the Har- 
rison Avenue Estate. This consists of four blocks or rows, comprising twenty four 
houses, arranged around a hollow square. Each house has twenty feet frontage and is 
thirty-eight feet deep, leaving an open space in the centre eighty by one hundred feet in 
area, which is used as a play-ground. The houses are three stories high, most of them 
having one, and a few having two tenements on each floor. The tenements contain 
two, three and four rooms each, and are self-contained in every respect. The twenty- 
four houses accommodate eighty-four families. The annual rent receipts amount to a 
little over ten per cent, of the original cost of the estate. 
When large modern tenement houses are necessary, the plan adopted by the City 
and Suburban Homes Company of New York, or that of the Riverside Buildings of 
Brooklyn may be recommended. The former seems to be the most nearly perfect form 
of structure that can be desired for economizing space, and embodies the latest ideal 
with regard to the provision of light, ventilation, and privacy. But as the buildings on 
this plan have only recently been constructed, nothing can be said to the degree of favor 
with which they will be received by tenants. 
The Riverside Buildings in Brooklyn have been in use since 1890, and their con- 
struction has been a paying investment. A complete technical description of the River- 
side Buildings, together with plans, may be found in the Eighth Special Report of the 
U. S. Department of Labor on " The Housing of the Working People," which also con- 
tains much other valuable and interesting material. The plans adopted by the City and 
Suburban Houses Company are illustrated and described in the December, 1896, number 
of the "Review of Reviews." IMPROVED TENEMENT HOMES FOR AMERICAN CITIES. 
757 
and rear windows. Cellars, basements and attics should never be 
used for living purposes. They may be used for laundries, dry- 
ing, fuel storage, etc. A separate space should be provided for 
each tenant for fuel and storage. Each tenement should be self- 
contained, that is, it should have a separate water supply, sink, 
pantry, water-closet, and, if possible, a bath-room and a vestibule 
within the confines of the dwelling. The rooms of each tenement 
should be so arranged that they may be independent of one 
another and that they can be easily ventilated by opening the 
doors and windows. If one-room tenements are provided, they 
should be rented only to single persons, and they should have all 
tlie conveniences that are provided for larger apartments. Arrange- 
ments should be made for the prompt disposition of slops, ashes, 
refuse, etc., and, in general, the best provisions possible should 
be made to facilitate the tasks of the housewife. 
Tenements should contain, as a rule, from two to four rooms 
each. There is not much occasion for larger apartments, as the 
class of people housed cannot afford to pay for them. If the 
tenement buildings are extensive, it may be desirable to provide 
space for stores on the ground floor, play-grounds for the children, 
and offices and dwellings for the care-takers. The staircase 
should be near the outer walls in order to be sufficiently lighted 
and ventilated. They should be easy of passage and should be 
constructed of non-combustible material, especially in large tene- 
ment houses. The tenements should, if possible, be grouped 
around the staircase so as to communicate directly and to avoid 
common hallways and corridors. The latter are difficult to light 
and keep clean, and often serve as loafing places. If the tene- 
ments consist of more than one room they should be lighted from 
two sides in order to be better exposed to the sunlight and more 
easily ventilated. The courts should be as open as possible and 
should never be obstructed by sheds or other objects. It is well to 
set aside a portion of the court for walks or driveways, for 
plants and for children's play-grounds. Whatever space is not so 
used should be paved with concrete and the surface should be in- 
clined toward the sewers. 
Many other suggestions might be made in regard to materials 
used in construction, interior arrangements, dimensions of rooms 
etc., but their application would depend largely upon local con- 
ditions, the character of the buildings and other considerations. 758 
MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS. 
Much has been published regarding the various model tene- 
ment enterprises in this country and in Europe, their business 
operations, plans, etc. It is unnecessary to describe any of them 
in detail, but a brief review of some of the representative types of 
organization and their distinctive features is of interest. 
Purely philanthropic tenement building enterprises do not ex- 
ist in this country. The oldest and wealthiest of such institutions 
is the Peabody Trust in London. This fund was created in 1862, 
by Mr. George Peabody. Up to the close of the year 1893, £1,- 
242,048 ($6,045,000) had been expended by this trust upon land 
and buildings. Of this amount, £500,000 was donated and be- 
queathed by the founder, £610,908 had accummulated from rents, 
and the balance had been borrowed, mostly from the Public 
Works Loan Commissioners. Since the founding of the Trust, 
the net annual earnings have been from 3| to 3| per cent, on the 
accrued capital. All the net earnings of the fund are added to 
the principal and thus serve to permanently extend the work 
of tenement house construction. 
At the close of the year 1893, the trust owned eighteen groups 
of buildings, containing 11,273 rooms, and accommodating 5,070 
families, and several other buildings were in course of construc- 
tion. The weekly rents paid by the tenants varied from $0.49 
to $0.73 for single rooms, $0.79 to $1.28 for two-room tenements, 
$1.03 to $1.58 for three-room tenements and $1.70 to $1.83 for 
four room tenements. The average weekly rent charged is about 
fifty-two cents per room. The Peabody tenements are very much 
in demand and the annual loss in rentals is insignificant. The 
buildings are scattered throughout the crowded sections of Lon- 
don, and the greatest care is exercised in the selection of the 
sites so that the buildings are located where they are most 
needed. Some idea of the influence of the Peabody tenements 
upon the condition of the people is obtained when one learns 
that the death-rate in these houses is lower and the birth-rate 
higher than in the city at large. 
Other leading institutions of this character are the Guinness 
Trust of London, founded by Lord Iveah (Edward Cecil Guin- 
ness), a wealthy brewer ; the tenement houses of the Philan- 
thropic Society of Paris, France ; the model tenement buildings 
at Leipsic, constructed by Herrmann J. Meyer, a wealthy pub- 
lisher of that city; and the Robert Dickson Fund of Gothen- 
burg, Sweden. IMPROVED TENEMENT HOMES FOR AMERICAN CITIES. 
759 
There are three large tenement enterprises in this country 
that may be classed as semi-philanthropic, namely, the Tene- 
ment House Building Company of New York and the Improved 
Dwellings Association of Boston, which limit their dividends to 
four per cent, and the City and Suburban Homes Company of 
New York, which places the limit at five per cent. All net earn- 
ings beyond these figures are set aside as reserve funds, which 
may be used to secure stock holders against cessation of dividends 
in periods of depression, to make improvements and to increase 
the field of operation. 
The property of the Tenement House Building Company of 
New York, which is valued at $160,000, is situated at Nos. 338 to 344 
Cherry street. It consists of a row of houses six stories high, 
and provides accommodations for ninety four families. The 
tenements consist of two and three rooms each. The two-room 
tenements rent for from $6.50 to $8.00 per month, and the three- 
room tenements for from $9.50 to $14.00. Since its organization 
this company has paid the full four per cent, dividend. 
The Improved Dwellings Association of Boston has a capital 
stock of $100,000, and its lands and buildings cost $120,687. The 
Association owns three estates, accommodating ninety families. 
Only one of these estates consists of original model tenements ; 
the others were old buildings cleaned and remodeled by the com- 
pany. The weekly rent rates in the model tenements vary from 
$1.00 to $1.10 per week for one-room tenements, $l.25ato $1.80 for 
two-room tenements, $1.75 to $2.40 for three-room tenements, and 
$2.50 to $2.75 for four-room tenements. In the remodeled build- 
ings the rental rates are much lower. A dividend of four per 
cent, has been paid since the formation of the Association. 
The City and Suburban Homes Company, which was organ- 
ized July 6, 1896, promises to become the most extensive model 
building enterprise in this country. Its organization was the out- 
come of the Improved Housing Conference held in New York 
city in the spring of the same year. Its object is to supply to 
wage earners in New York city improved sanitary homes at cur- 
rent rates, and at the same time to offer to capital a safe and 
permanent investment. Its capital stock is $1,000,000. While a 
large number of the share-holders are among the wealthiest men 
in New York, the company is intended to become a thoroughly 
popular institution and to afford a depository for the savings of 760 
MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS. 
the masses, which may be utilized in benefiting their fellow-men. 
For this reason the denomination of the shares is fixed at ten 
dollars each. Thus far, the Company has purchased three sites. 
On oneof these sites situated on West Sixty-eighth and WestSixty- 
ninth streets, between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, a group of 
buildings accommodating 375 families, is in course of construc- 
tion, and will be ready for occupancy on February 1, 1898. These 
buildings, as already mentioned, contain all the advantages sug- 
gested by the experience of all other leading enterprises, in re- 
gard to economy of space, light, ventilation, comfort, privacy, 
etc. In addition to the construction of model tenement houses, 
this Company provides suburban homes for a better paid class 
of working people. These houses are to be purchased by the 
tenants and paid for in monthly installments during periods of 
ten, fifteen or twenty years, at the choice of the purchasers. The 
payments also cover the cost of life insurance, so that in case of 
the death of the purchaser the debt is immediately paid. 
Semi-philanthropic companies are also found in London, Glas- 
gow, Marseilles, Berlin, Frankfort, Dresden and Gothenburg. 
By far the greatest number of model tenement enterprises are 
organized on a purely commercial principle. The Improved 
Dwellings' Company of Brooklyn, New York, founded by Mr. 
Alfred T. White, is the largest and perhaps the most successful 
institution of this class in this country. This Company owns 
three groups of buildings accommodating nearly five hundred 
families. The total value of the land and buildings owned by 
the Company amounts to about $673,000. The weekly rent rates 
range from $1.20 to $2 for two-room tenements, $1.80 to $2.60 for 
three-room tenements and $2 to $3.30 for four-room tenements. 
The net annual profits derived from this investment have been 
from five to ten per cent, on the capital. The tenants of this 
Company are mostly of the poorer working classes. The build- 
ings contain, in addition to the excellent housing accommoda- 
tions, a circulating library and a bath house with hot and cold 
water, both of which are for the free use of the tenants. The Riv- 
erside Building, which is the largest of the group, has a spacious 
open court with driveway and parking, a music pavilion and a 
children's play-ground. The houses are attractive in architecture 
and strongly built, and have fire-proof staircases. The tenements 
are always fairly well filled. IMPROVED TENEMENT HOMES FOR AMERICAN CITIES. 
761 
The Improved. Dwellings' Association of New York city is 
another successful enterprise of this class. This Company owns 
one tenement building accommodating about 220 families. The 
value of the land and buildings is estimated to be about $300,000, 
and the enterprise pays about 9 per cent, per annum on the 
investment. The building contains two, three and four room 
tenements. Hot and cold baths are provided for the free use of 
the tenants. 
In Boston, Mass., the Boston Co-operative Building Company 
lias existed over twenty-five years. This Company has five estates 
valued at about $340,000, and accommodates 32J families. The 
buildings owned by this Company are smaller than those usually 
known as tenement houses, being from two to four stories in 
height. The weekly rents vary from 75 cents to $1.07 per room. 
The enterprise pays about six per cent, on the capital invested. 
Companies organized on a purely commercial basis have ex- 
isted in London, England, for over thirty years, many millions 
of dollars being profitably invested in such enterprises. They 
are also found in Edinburgh, Paris, Rouen, Berlin, Frankfort 
and other European cities. 
While the model tenement enterprises do not usually realize 
immense profits to the investors, they certainly insureji safe and 
fair return on the money invested. This fact has been established 
beyond a doubt both in this country and in Europe. It is not 
only in such largely overcrowded cities as London and New 
York, that better tenement houses are needed, but all large 
cities which have proper sanitary and building laws offer profita- 
ble fields of investment for model tenement enterprises. The 
best form of organization is what is here referred to as the semi- 
philanthropic plan. With a limited dividend, the surplus earn- 
ings can be devoted to a fund for the extension of the operations 
and for use in case the earnings should fall below the fixed rate. 
Thus the investment is safe, and a fair rate of interest is always 
assured. 
In addition to receiving a fair return from investments in 
model tenement houses, investors in such enterprises have the 
satisfaction of knowing that they are improving the health, and 
the mental and moral condition of their less fortunate fellow men ; 
that they are reducing the death rate and thereby saving many 
lives; that they are reducing the amount of drunkenness and 762 
MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS. 
crime ; and that they are providing clean and happy homes, where 
before were squalor and misery. The results of such changes 
upon the coming generation are inestimable. 
But, as stated before, the successful model tenement enter- 
prise depends very largely upon the sanitary and building regu- 
lations and their enforcement. It therefore becomes the duty of 
all who are interested in state and municipal affairs, to study the 
question of tenement housing, and to use their influence to 
secure the passage and enforcement of such laws as will forever 
wipe out the slums of all American cities.