The Children of the Poor

Register of Children’s Charities

As Published by the Charity Organization Society

In addition to the charities given here, seventy-eight churches of all denominations conduct weekly industrial and sewing classes, generally on Saturdays, for which see the Directory of the Charity Organization Society, under Churches, where may also be found the register of thirty-two fresh-air funds not recorded below, and of some kindergartens and clubs established by various churches for the children of their congregations.

NURSERIES.
		AGES RECEIVED.
Ahawath Chesed Sisterhood, 71 East 3d St.		3 to 6 yrs.
Bethany Day Nursery, 453 East 57th St.		2 weeks to 6 yrs.
Beth-El Society, 355 East 62d St.		2½ to 6 yrs.
Bethlehem Day Nursery, 249 East 30th St.		1 week to 7 yrs.
Children’s Charitable Union, 70 Av. D.		3 to 7 yrs.
Day Nursery and Babies’ Shelter, 118 West 21st St.		1 to 5 yrs.
École Française Gratuite and Salle d’Asile, 69 Washington Square.		2 to 11 yrs.
Emanu-El Sisterhood, 159 East 74th St.		3 to 6 yrs.
Grace House Day Nursery, 94 Fourth Av.		1 to 8 yrs.
Hope Nursery, 226 Thompson St.
Jewell Day Nursery, 20 Macdougal St.		2 to 5 yrs.
Manhattan Working Girls’ Association, 440 East 57th St.		2 weeks to 10 yrs.
Memorial Day Nursery, 275 East Broadway.		1 to 6 yrs.
Riverside Day Nursery, 121 West 63d St.		1 mo. to 8 yrs.
St. Agnes’ Day Nursery, 7 Charles St.		8 days to 6 yrs.
St. Barnabas’ House, 304 Mulberry St.		4 weeks to 8 yrs.
St. Chrysostom Chapel Nursery, 224 West 38th St.
St. John’s Day Nursery, 223 East 67th St.		1 to 6 yrs.
St. Joseph’s Day Nursery, 473 West 57th St.		2 weeks to 7 yrs.
St. Stephen’s Equity Club, Kindergarten and Nursery, 59 West 46th St.
St. Thomas’ Day Nursery, 231 East 59th St.		— to 6 yrs.
Salle d’Asile et École Primaire, 2 South 5th Av.		3 to 8 yrs.
Silver Cross Day Nursery, 2249 Second Av.		2 weeks to 10 yrs.
Sunnyside Day Nursery, 51 Prospect Pl.		2 weeks to 7 yrs.
Virginia Day Nursery, 632 5th St.		6 mos. to 6 yrs.
Wayside Day Nursery, 216 East 20th St.		2 mos. to 7 yrs.
West Side Day Nursery, 266 West 40th St.		18 mos. to 7 yrs.
Wilson Industrial School Day Nursery, 125 St. Mark’s Pl.		1 mo. to 6 yrs.
KINDERGARTENS.
Ahawath Chesed Sisterhood Free Kindergarten		71 East 3d St.
All Souls’ Church Free Kindergarten		70th St. East of Lexington Av.
Beth-El Society Free Kindergarten		355 East 62d St.
Central Presbyterian Church Free Kindergarten		454 West 42d St.
Cherry Street Kindergarten		340 Cherry St.
Children’s Charitable Union Kindergarten		70 Av. D.
East Side Chapel and Bible Women’s Association Kindergarten		404 East 15th St.
East Side House Kindergarten		Foot of East 76th St.
Emanu-El Sisterhood Kindergarten		159 E. 74th St.
Free Kindergarten Ass’n, of Harlem, No. 1 School		2048 First Av.
Free Kindergarten of St. John’s Chapel		Varick near Beach.
French Free School		69 South Washington Sq.
Hebrew Free School Association		East B’way and Jefferson St.
Kindergarten of Madison Square Presbyterian Church House		Third Av. and 30th St.
″ ″ St. George’s Av. A Mission		253 Av. A.
″ ″ ″ Chapel		130 Stanton St.
″ ″ Shearith Israel Congregation		5 West 19th St.
Ladies’ Bikur Cholim Society Kindergarten		177 East Broadway.
Neighborhood Guild Kindergarten		146 Forsyth St.
N. Y. Foundling Hospital Kindergarten		175 East 68th St.
N. Y. Kindergarten Association Schools: No. 1, 221 East 51st St. No. 2, Alumnæ Kindergarten, cor. 63d St. and First Av. No. 3, 228 West 35th St. No. 4, 348 West 26th St. No. 5, Shaw Memorial, 61 Henry St. No. 6, McAlpine, 62 Second St. No. 7, Av. A and 15th St.
St. Andrews’ Free Kindergarten		2067 Second Av.
St. Bartholomew’s ″		209 East 42d St.
St. James’ Free Kindergarten		Av. A and 78th St.
St. Mary’s Kindergarten		438 Grand St.
Shaaray Tefilla Sisterhood Kindergarten		127 West 44th St.
Silver Cross ″ ″		2249 Second Av.
Society for Ethical Culture ″		109 West 54th St.
Temple Israel Sisterhood Kindergarten		125th St. and 5th Av.
Trinity Church Ass’n ″		209 Fulton St.
Wilson Industrial School Kindergarten		125 St Mark’s Pl.
INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS.
Abigail School and Kindergarten		242 Spring St.
American Female Guardian Society		Office, 32 East 30th St.
Home School		29 East 29th St.
Industrial School No. 1		552 First Av. cor. 32d St.
″ ″ ″ 2 (Rose Memorial)		418 West 41st St.
″ ″ ″ 3		124 West 26th St.
″ ″ ″ 4		34 Willett St.
″ ″ ″ 5		220 West 36th St.
″ ″ ″ 6		125 Allen St.
″ ″ ″ 7		234 East 80th St.
″ ″ ″ 8		463 West 32d St.
″ ″ ″ 9		East 60th St. and Boulevard.
″ ″ ″ 10		125 Lewis St.
″ ″ ″ 11		52d St. and Second Av.
″ ″ ″ 12		2247 Second Av.
Children’s Aid Society.		Office, 24 St. Mark’s Pl.
Industrial Schools—
Astor Memorial		256 Mott St.
Av. B		607 East 14th St.
Cottage Place		208 Bleecker St.
Brace Memorial		9 Duane St.
East River		247 East 44th St.
East Side		287 East Broadway.
Eleventh Ward		295 Eighth St.
Fourth Ward		73 Monroe St.
Fifth Ward		36 Beach St.
Fifty-Second Street		573 West 52d St.
German		272 Second St.
Henrietta		215 East 21st St.
Italian		156 Leonard St.
Jones Memorial		407 East 73d St.
Lord		135 Greenwich St.
Park		68th St. near Broadway.
Phelps		314 East 35th St.
Rhinelander		350 East 88th St.
Sixteenth Ward		211 West 18th St.
Sixth Street		632 Sixth St.
West Side		201 West 32d St.
West Side Italian		24 Sullivan St.
Night Schools—
German		272 Second St.
Italian		156 Leonard St.
Brace Memorial (Newsboys)		9 Duane St.
Eleventh Ward		295 8th St.
East Side		287 East Broadway.
Lord		135 Greenwich St.
Jones Memorial		407 East 73d St.
Fifty-Second Street		573 West 52d St.
West Side		400 Seventh Av.
Church Society for Promoting Christianity among Jews (Industrial School for Girls)		68 East 7th St.
Eighth Ward Mission School		1 Charlton St.
Five Points House of Industry		155 Worth St.
″ ″ Mission		63 Park St.
Free German School		140 East 4th St.
Hebrew Free School Association		East Broadway and Jefferson St.
Italian Mission (P. E. School for Girls)		809 Mulberry St.
Industrial Christian Alliance		113 Macdougal St.
Louis Down-Town Sabbath and Daily School (Hebrew)		267 Henry St.
Mission of the Immaculate Virgin		Lafayette Pl. and Great Jones St.
Mission School of All Souls’ Church		213 East 21st St.
New York Bible and Tract Mission (School for Girls)		422 East 26th St.
New York House and School of Industry		120 West 16th St.
Sisterhood of the Good Shepherd (P. E.)		419 West 19th St.
St. Barnabas House		304 Mulberry St.
St. Vincent de Paul Industrial School		346 West 43d St.
St. Elizabeth Industrial School		235 East 14th St.
Spanish Industrial School		1345 Lexington Av.
Trinity Industrial School		90 Trinity Pl.
St. George’s Industrial School		Teutonia Hall.
Trinity Chapel Industrial School		15 West 25th St.
St. Augustine’s Chapel Industrial School		105 East Houston St.
St. Mary’s		Lawrence St., Manhattanville.
West Side Industrial School		266 West 40th St.
Wilson Industrial School		125 St. Mark’s Pl.
United Hebrew Charities (Industrial School for Girls)		128 Second Av.
Zion and St. Timothy Industrial School		332 West 57th St.
FRESH AIR WORK.
The Tribune Fresh-Air Fund		Tribune Building.
Bartholdi Créche		21 University Pl.
Children’s Aid Society—Health Home		West Coney Island.
″ ″ ″ Summer Home		Bath Beach.
The King’s Daughters Tenement-House Committee		77 Madison St.
New York Infirmary for Women and Children		5 Livingston Pl.
New York City Mission and Tract Society		106 Bible House.
St. John’s Guild		501 Fifth Av.
″ ″ ″ Floating Hospital		(every week-day but Saturday).
″ ″ ″ Seaside Hospital		Cedar Grove, Staten Island.
Sanitarium for Hebrew Children		124 East 14th St.
Society for Ethical Culture		109 West 54th St.
New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor (Ocean Parties)		79 Fourth Av.
St. Barnabas Fresh-Air Fund		38 Bleecker St.
The Little Mothers’ Aid Society		305 East 17th St.
New York Bible and Tract Mission		416 East 26th St.
New York Society for Parks and Play-grounds for Children		36 Union Square.
American Female Guardian Society		Summer Home at Oceanport, N. J.
Summer Shelter		Morristown, N. J.
(Apply to Charity Organization Society, 21 University Pl.)
BOYS’ CLUBS AND READING-ROOMS.
Ascension Memorial Chapel (P. E.)		330 West 43d St.
Avenue C Club		65 East 14th St.
Bethany Church		Tenth Av., bet. 35th and 36th Sts.
Calvary Parish		344 East 23d St.
Chapel of the Comforter		814 Greenwich St.
Christ Chapel		West 65th St. near Amsterdam Av.
Church of the Archangel (P. E.)		117th St. and St. Nicholas Av.
Church of the Redeemer		Park Av. and 81st St.
College Settlement		95 Rivington St.
Covenant Chapel		310 East 42d St.
DeWitt Chapel		160 West 29th St.
East Side House		Foot of 76th St. and East River.
Free Reading-Rooms		8 West 14th St., 330 Fourth Av., and 590 Seventh Av.
Grace Mission		640 East 13th St.
Holy Communion (P. E.) Church		49 West 20th St.
Holy Cross Lyceum		43d St., bet. Eighth and Ninth Aves.
Holy Cross Mission		300 East Fourth St.
Lafayette Club (Middle Collegiate Church)		14 Lafayette Pl.
Mission Chapel of Madison Av. Church		440 East 57th St.
Madison Square Church House		Third Av., cor. 30th St.
Manor Chapel		348 West 26th St.
Memorial Baptist Church		Washington Square, South.
Monday Night Club (Church of Holy Communion)		49 West 20th St.
Neighborhood Guild		147 Forsyth St.
New Jerusalem Church		114 East 35th St.
North Side Boys’ Club		79 Macdougal St.
St. Bartholomew’s Parish House		207 East 42d St.
St. George’s (P. E.) Church (Memorial House)		207 East 16th St.
St. Luke’s M. E. Church (Knights of St Luke)		108 West 41st St.
St. Mary’s		Lawrence St., Manhattanville.
West Side		Vermilye Chapel, 794 Tenth Av.
Wilson Mission Building (“Av. A Club”)		125 St. Mark’s Pl.
CHILDREN’S LODGING-HOUSES.
Brace Memorial		9 Duane St.
Girls’ Temporary Home		307-309 East 12th St.
Tompkins Square		295 8th St.
East Side		287 East Broadway.
Forty-fourth Street		247 East 44th St.
West Side		400 Seventh Av.
Mission of the Immaculate Virgin		Lafayette Pl. and Great Jones St.
CHILDREN’S HOMES—TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT.
Asylum of St. Vincent de Paul		215 West 39th St.
Asylum of Sisters of St. Dominic (House of Reception)		137 Second St.
Berachah Orphanage (Gospel Tabernacle)		692 Eighth Av.
Bethlehem Orphan and Half-Orphan Asylum		College Point. L. I.
(Controlled by thirteen Lutheran churches of New York and vicinity.)
Children’s Fold		92d St. and Eighth Av.
Colored Orphan Asylum		West 143d St. and Boulevard.
Free Home for Destitute Young Girls		23 East 11th St.
Dominican Convent of Our Lady of the Rosary		329 East 63d St.
Five Points House of Industry		155 Worth St.
German Odd Fellows’ Orphanage		Apply at Home, 82 Second Av.
Hebrew Benevolent and Orphan Asylum		Amsterdam Av. and 136th St.
Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Orphan Asylum		Eleventh Av. and 151st St.
Holy Angels’ Orphan Asylum (for Italian Children from New York)		West Park-on-the-Hudson.
House of Mercy		81st St. and Madison Av.
Ladies’ Deborah Nursery and Child’s Protectory, Male Department, 95 East Broadway and 83 Henry St.; Female Department, East 162d St., near Eagle Av.
Leake and Watts Orphan House		Ludlow Station, Hudson R. R.
Messiah Home for Little Children		4 Rutherford Pl.
Mission of the Immaculate Virgin for Homeless and Destitute Children		Lafayette Pl. and Great Jones St.
St. Joseph’s Home for Destitute Children		House of Reception, 143 West 31st Street.
New York Foundling Hospital (Asylum of Sisters of Charity)		175 East 68th St.
New York Infant Asylum		Amsterdam Av. and 61st St.
Orphanage of the Church of the Holy Trinity		400 East 50th St.
Orphan Asylum Society		Riverside Drive and West 73d St.
Orphans’ Home and Asylum of Protestant Episcopal Church		49th St. near Lexington Av.
Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum		Madison Av. and 51st St.
St. Agatha’s Home for Children		209 West 15th St.
St. Ann’s Home for Destitute Children		Av. A, cor. 90th St.
St. Benedict’s Home for Colored Children		House of Reception, 120 Macdougal St.
St. Christopher’s Home		Riverside Drive and 112th St.
St. James’ Home		21 Oliver and 26 James St.
St. Joseph’s Orphan Asylum		89th St. and Av. A.
Shepherd’s Fold (P. E. Church)		92d St. and Eighth Av.
Protestant Half-Orphan Asylum		Manhattan Av. near 104th St.
Home for Seamen’s Children (New York and vicinity)		West New Brighton, S. I.
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children		100 East 23d St.
REFORMATORY INSTITUTIONS.
Burnham Industrial Farm		Office, 135 East 15th St.
Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society		Eleventh Av. and 151st St.
New York Catholic Protectory		Office, 415 Broome St.
New York Juvenile Asylum		176th St. and Amsterdam Av.
St. James’ Home		21 Oliver St.
House of Refuge		Randall’s Island.
House of the Holy Family		132 Second Av.
CHILDREN’S HOSPITALS AND DISPENSARIES.
All Saints’ Convalescent Home for Men and Boys (Holy Cross Mission)		Avenue C and 4th St.
Babies’ Hospital of the City of New York		657 Lexington Av.
Babies’ Ward, Post-Graduate Hospital		226 East 20th St.
Children’s Hospital		Randall’s Island.
New York Infirmary for Women and Children		5 Livingston Pl.
Five Points House of Industry Infirmary		147 Worth St.
Good Samaritan Diakonissen (Hahnemann Hospital)		Park Av. and 67th St.
Infants’ Hospital		Randall’s Island.
Laura Franklin Free Hospital for Children		17 East 111th St.
New York Foundling Hospital		175 East 68th St.
Nursery and Child’s Hospital		Lexington Av. and 51st St.
St. Mary’s Free Hospital for Children		405 West 34th St.
Harlem Dispensary for Women and Children		2331 Second Av.
Sick Children’s Mission of Children’s Aid Society		287 East Broadway.
Yorkville Dispensary and Hospital for Women and Children		1307 Lexington Av.
New York Orthopædic Hospital		126 East 59th St.
New York Ophthalmic Hospital		201 East 23d St.
ASYLUMS FOR DEFECTIVE CHILDREN.
Crippled Boys’ Home (Forty-fourth Street Lodging House)		247 East 44th St.
Institution for the Improved Instruction of Deaf Mutes		Lexington Av. and 67th St.
Idiot Asylum		Randall’s Island.
New York Institution for the Blind		Ninth Av. and 34th St.
New York Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb		Eleventh Av. and 163d St.
New York Society for the Relief of the Ruptured and Crippled		Lexington Av. and 42d St.
St. Joseph’s Institution for the Improved Instruction of Deaf Mutes		772 East 188th St.
Sheltering Arms		Amsterdam Av. and 129th St.
Society of St. Johnland		Apply at Calvary Chapel, 220 East 23d St.
Syracuse State School for Feeble-Minded		(Apply to Superintendent of Out-door Poor.)
Children’s Aid Society		Haxtun Cottage, Bath Beach, L. I.
House of St. Giles the Cripple		422 Degraw St., Brooklyn.

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How the Other Half Lives.

Studies among the Tenements of New York.

By JACOB A. RIIS.

With 40 Illustrations from Photographs taken by the Author.

This volume is the result of fifteen years’ familiarity as police reporter with the seamy side of New York life. It is, however, by no means a mere record of personal observations, but a careful, comprehensive, and systematic presentation of a thesis with illustrations. It is philosophic as well as expository, and from beginning to end is an indictment of the tenement system as it exists at present in New York.

No page is uninstructive, but it would be misleading to suppose the book even tinctured with didacticism. It is from beginning to end as picturesque in treatment as it is in material. The author’s acquaintance with the latter is extremely intimate. The reader feels that he is being guided through the dirt and crime, the tatters and rags, the byways and alleys of nether New York by an experienced cicerone. Mr. Riis, in a word, though a philanthropist and philosopher, is an artist as well. He has also the advantage of being an amateur photographer, and his book is abundantly illustrated from negatives of the odd, the out-of-the-way, and characteristic sights and scenes he has himself caught with his camera. No work yet published—certainly not the official reports of the charity societies—shows so vividly the complexion and countenance of the “Down-town Back Alleys,” “The Bend,” “Chinatown,” “Jewtown,” “The Cheap Lodging-houses,” the haunts of the negro, the Italian, the Bohemian poor, or gives such a veracious picture of the toughs, the tramps, the waifs, drunkards, paupers, gamins, and the generally gruesome populace of this centre of civilization.

THE CHEAP LODGING-HOUSES. 87

perch in the world. Uneasy sleepers roll off at intervals, but they have not far to fall to the next tier of bunks, and the commotion that ensues is speedily quieted by the boss and his club. On cold winter nights, when every bunk had its tenant, I have stood in such a lodging-room more than once, and listening to the snoring of the sleepers like the regular strokes of an engine, and the slow creaking of the beams under their restless weight, imagined myself on shipboard and experienced the very

[SPECIMEN PAGE.]

COMMENDATIONS.

The New York Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Children,
100 East 23d Street.

New York, February 28th, 1891.

Jacob A Riis, Esq.,

Dear Sir:—“It gives me very great pleasure to express my gratification in reading your valuable work ‘How the Other Half Lives.’ I regard it as one of the most valuable contributions to the history of child-saving work in this great city, and as pointing out the numerous evils which exist at the present time and which loudly call for legislative aid and interference.

“The thorough familiarity which you have shown with the subject of your work is equaled only by the accuracy of its detail and the graphic pictures which illustrate the scenes described. It is a book which every one may peruse with interest, and the larger the circulation which can be given to it, the sooner I think will the charitable and well-disposed people of this city realize the need, on the part of The Other Half, of support, aid, and assistance, and which you have so graphically described.”

I have the honor to remain, with great respect,
ELDRIDGE T. GERRY,
President, etc.

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The Christian Union,
80 Lafayette Place,
New York.

“It is one of the encouraging signs of the times that Jacob Riis’s book on ‘How the Other Half Lives’ has found so many readers that a new edition is now called for. The priest and the Levite are no longer passing by on the other side; that is itself a sign of moral weakness.

“I was first attracted to Mr. Riis’s work by an illustrated lecture which he gave in Plymouth Church which stirred our hearts very deeply, and which showed how thorough an investigation and exploration he had made.

“His book presents by pictures for the eye, and by pen and ink pictures quite as graphic, those phases of modern paganism which exist in our great cities and are beginning to arouse the wonder, the indignation, and the wrath of philanthropists and Christians.

“‘How the Other Half Lives’ is worthy to be a companion to ‘In Darkest England,’ to which, indeed, as a picture of existing conditions it is superior; nor is it without suggestions of remedy, which, if less elaborate than Mr. Booth’s, will strike the average reader as more immediately practicable.”

LYMAN ABBOTT.

“It was a murderer who asked the question ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ and hoped for a negative answer. But the affirmative answer of God has been ringing through all the milleniums since then. This eternal ‘YES’ meets the church of to-day, and there are signs that the church is waking to seek some method by which that ‘YES’ shall be adequately carried out. The first thing is to know how my brother lives, and what are his temptations, difficulties, trials, hopes, fears. On this no book that has ever appeared in this land pours such light as Mr. Riis’s book on ‘The Other Half.’ Let all who want to know what to do for these brothers of theirs in this town, read this book which is enormously more interesting than any novel that ever was written or that ever will be. Dens, dives, hovels, sickness, death, sorrow, drink, and murder, all these exist in our midst in appalling magnitude, and with all of these we must have to do if we are not to be modern Cains. No ‘eau de cologne’ business is this, if we are to uplift these brothers of ours, as will be apparent from a reading of this remarkable book. Let all who are in any way interested in the welfare of humanity buy and read it at once, and let all who are not interested repent at once and get the book, and then bring forth fruits meet for repentance.”

A. F. SCHAUFFLER.

PRESS NOTICES.

“Criticism, in the narrower sense, has no hold on ‘How the Other Half Lives.’ The book is most beautiful without, as fascinating within. Every word bears its message; every illustration—there are many—means something. Mr. Riis has deserved nobly of the public for his thorough and resourceful work. We cannot believe that his reward will fail. We should be sorry to think that his earnest words would be less to any reader than a commanding invitation to the thick of the battle against social injustice.”—The Boston Times.

“From personal observation, conducted with the perseverance and tact needed by the newspaper reporter, Mr. Riis has gathered, and here presents, many interesting, pathetic, and monitory facts concerning the extreme poverty, filth, or unhomelike existence of too many of the tenement-dwellers of New York—omitting mention of those costlier tenements which are called flats. He ventures upon some suggestions of remedy, but the chief value of his chapters lies in their exposition.”—Sunday School Times.

“The studies of Mr. Riis among the tenements of New York take the reader into strange places and bring him into contact with startling conditions; but among all the problems now pressing for solution there are none so grave or so difficult as those upon the fundamental facts of which these pages throw light. The author has made a thorough exploration of the great city, and has produced a series of pictures which illustrate strikingly the many phases of life concerned.”—The N. Y. Tribune.

“Mr. Riis’s book is an important contribution to sociological literature, and the truths it brings forward as well as the conclusions it deduces must not be evaded, for on them rest all really hopeful projects for the restriction of poverty and crime.”—The Boston Beacon.

“This is a book to be studied alike by the social scientist and by the philanthropist. It presents, in compact form, the story of the nether world of New York City, which, in general outline, varies but little from the story of the nether world of any large city.”—Chicago Times.

“This book bears evidence on every page of faithful investigation and intelligent sympathy with the subject, and should be read by everyone who has it in any way in his power to help on the work, for as the author says: ‘The “dangerous classes” of New York long ago compelled recognition. They are dangerous less because of their own crimes than because of the criminal ignorance of those who are not of their kind.’”—Milwaukee Sentinel.

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Notes

1 It is, nevertheless, true that while immigration peoples our slums, it also keeps them from stagnation. The working of the strong instinct to better themselves, that brought the crowds here, forces layer after layer of this population up to make room for the new crowds coming in at the bottom, and thus a circulation is kept up that does more than any sanitary law to render the slums harmless. Even the useless sediment is kept from rotting by being constantly stirred.

2 Report of committing magistrates. See Annual Report of Children’s Aid Society, 1891.

3 The census referred to in this chapter was taken for a special purpose, by a committee of prominent Hebrews, in August, 1890, and was very searching.

4 Dr. Roger S. Tracy’s report of the vital statistics for 1891 shows that, while the general death-rate of the city was 25.96 per 1,000 of the population—that of adults (over five years) 17.13, and the baby death-rate (under five years) 93.21—in the Italian settlement in the west half of the Fourteenth Ward the record stood as follows: general death-rate, 33.52; adult death-rate, 16.29; and baby death-rate, 150.52. In the Italian section of the Fourth Ward it stood: general death-rate, 34.88; adult death-rate, 21.29; baby death-rate 119.02. In the sweaters district in the lower part of the Tenth Ward the general death rate was 16.23; the adult death rate, 7.59; and the baby death rate 61.15. Dr. Tracy adds: “The death-rate from phthisis was highest in houses entirely occupied by cigarmakers (Bohemians), and lowest in those entirely occupied by tailors. On the other hand, the death-rates from diphtheria and croup and measles were highest in houses entirely occupied by tailors.”

5 Meaning “teachers.”

6 Even as I am writing a transformation is being worked in some of the filthiest streets on the East Side by a combination of new asphalt pavements with a greatly improved street cleaning service that promises great things. Some of the worst streets have within a few weeks become as clean as I have not seen them in twenty years, and as they probably never were since they were made. The unwonted brightness of the surroundings is already visibly reflected in the persons and dress of the tenants, notably the children. They take to it gladly, giving the lie to the old assertion that they are pigs and would rather live like pigs.

7 As a matter of fact, I heard, after the last one that caused so much discussion, in a court that sent seventy-five children to the show, a universal growl of discontent. The effect on the children, even to those who received presents, was bad. They felt that they had been on exhibition, and their greed was aroused. It was as I expected it would be.

8 The Sanitary census of 1891 gave 37,358 tenements, containing 276,565 families, including 160,708 children under five years of age; total population of tenements, 1,225,411.

9 The general impression survives with me that the children’s teeth were bad, and those of the native born the worst. Ignorance and neglect were clearly to blame for most of it, poor and bad food for the rest, I suppose. I give it as a layman’s opinion, and leave it to the dentist to account for the bad teeth of the many who are not poor. That is his business.

10 The fourteenth year is included. The census phrase means “up to 15.”

11 The average attendance was only 136,413, so that there were 60,000 who were taught only a small part of the time.

12 See Minutes of Stated Session of the Board of Education, February 8, 1892.

13 Meaning evidently in this case “up to fourteen.”

14 Report of New York Catholic Protectory, 1892.

15 If this were not the sober statement of public officials of high repute it would seem fairly incredible.

16 Between 1880 and 1890 the increase in assessed value of the real and personal property in this city was 48.36 per cent., while the population increased 41.06 per cent.

17 Philosophy of Crime and Punishment, by Dr. William T. Harris, Federal Commissioner of Education.

18 Seventeenth Annual Report of Society, 1892.

19 English Social Movements, by Robert Archey Woods, page 196.

20 The Superintendent of the House of Refuge for thirty years wrote recently: “It is essential to have the plays of the children more carefully watched than their work.”

21 Report for 1891 of Children’s Aid Society.

22 In this reckoning is included employment found for many big boys and girls, who were taken as help, and were thus given the chance which the city denied them.

23 It is inevitable, of course, that such a programme should steer clear of the sectarian snags that lie plentifully scattered about. I have a Roman Catholic paper before me in which the Society’s “villainous work, which consists chiefly in robbing the Catholic child of his faith,” is hotly denounced in an address to the Archbishop of New York. Mr. Brace’s policy was to meet such attacks with silence, and persevere in his work. The Society still follows his plan. Catholic or Protestant—the question is never raised. “No Catholic child,” said one of its managers once to me, “is ever brought to us. A poor child is brought and we care for it.”

24 The Society pleads for a farm of its own, close to the city, where it can organize a “farm school” for the older boys. There they could be taken on probation and their fitness for the West be ascertained. They would be more useful to the farmers and some trouble would be avoided. Two farms, or three, to get as near to the family plan as possible, would be better. The Children’s Aid Society of Boston has three farm schools, and its work is very successful.

25 I once questioned a class of 71 boys between eight and twelve years old in a reform school, with this result: 22 said they blacked boots; 36 sold papers; 26 did both; 40 “slept out;” but only 3 of them all were fatherless, 11 motherless, showing that they slept out by choice. The father probably had something to do with it most of the time. Three-fourths of the lads stood up when I asked them if they had been to Central Park. The teacher asked one of those who did not rise, a little shaver, if he had never been in the Park. “No, mem!” he replied, “me father he went that time.”

26 The lodging-houses are following a noteworthy precedent. From the Society for the Prevention of Pauperism, organized in the beginning of this century, sprang the first savings bank in the country.

27 That is the average number constantly in asylums. With those that come and go, it foots up quite 25,000 children a year that are a public charge.

28 Report upon the Care of Dependent Children in New York City and elsewhere, to the State Board of Charities, by Commissioner Josephine Shaw Lowell. December, 1889.

29 Mrs. Josephine Shaw Lowell on Dependent Children. Report of 1889.

30 Anna T. Wilson: Some Arguments for the Boarding-out of Dependent Children in the State of New York. This opposition the Superintendent explains in his report for 1891, to be due in part to the lying stories about abuse in the West, told by bad boys who return to the city. He adds, however, that “oftentimes the most strenuous opposition... is made by step-mothers, uncles, aunts, and cousins,” and is “due in the majority of cases not to any special interest in the child’s welfare, but to self-interest, the relative wishing to obtain a situation for the boy in order to get his weekly wages.”

31 It will do so hereafter. This autumn the discovery was made that the city was asked to pay for more children than there ought to be in the institutions according to the record of commitments. The comptroller sent two of his clerks to count all the children. The result was to show slipshod book-keeping, if nothing worse, in certain cases. Hereafter the ceremony of counting the children will be gone through every six months. Nothing could more clearly show the irresponsible character of the whole business and the need of a change, lest we drift into corporate pauperism in addition to encouraging the vice in the individual.

32 In 1854, with a population of 605,000, there were 6,657 licensed and unlicensed saloons in the city, or 1 to every 90.8 of its inhabitants. At the beginning of 1892, with a population of 1,706,500, there were 7,218 saloons, or 1 to every 236.42. Counting all places where liquor was sold by license, including hotels, groceries, steamboats, etc., the number was 9,050, or 1 to every 188.56 inhabitants.

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