They are colder, and more exposed to the elements, but
the suffering in them is no greater.
TENEMENT HOUSES.
The scarcity of land in the city has led to the construction of numbers
of buildings known as "Tenement Houses." These are large edifices,
containing many rooms and, often, as many families. They abound chiefly
in the Tenth, Eleventh, and Seventeenth Wards. The majority of persons
living in these houses are foreigners. "It is not to be inferred,
however, that it is poverty only that causes such dense settlement,
since a spirit of economy and frugality manifests itself among these
people, which forbids too much expenditure for the high rents charged,
or for much riding on the railroads." Still, whatever may be the causes
which lead persons to herd together in such buildings, the effect is
the same in all cases. The neighborhood becomes dirty and unhealthy,
and the buildings themselves perfect pest-houses. Some of them are neat
and tasteful in their exteriors, others are vile and filthy all over.
They are now generally built for this purpose. As pecuniary investments
they pay well, the rents sometimes yielding thirty-five per cent. on
the investment. The following description will convey a fair idea of
them to the reader. One of the houses stands on a lot with a front of
fifty feet, and a depth of two hundred and fifty feet. It has an alley
running the whole depth on each side of it.
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