.. Upon the doorsteps weary mothers are nursing little
babies who will never know the meaning of innocent childhood, but will
be versed in the immoral lore of the Underworld before they learn their
alphabet. Ragged children covered with filth play about the pushcarts
and the horses in the street, while their mothers chatter in greasy
doorways, or shout from upper windows into the hordes below, or clatter
about creaky floors, preparing the foul mess of tainted edibles which
constitutes a meal."
With many other phases of this gruesome picture this author deals, and
then concludes with the following: "But in the rookeries which, like
their inmates, skulk and hide out of sight in the crowded street; in
these ramshackle structures which line the back alleys, and there breed
their human vermin amid dirt and rags--in these there is no direct
sunlight throughout the long year. Rookeries close to the front windows,
shutting out light and air, and rookeries close to the rear windows, and
rookeries close to each side, and never a breath of fresh air to
ventilate one of these holes wherein men and women and children wallow
in dirt, and live and fight and drink and die, and finally give way to
others of their kind." So long as such conditions as these continue in
our country, sanitation as a manifestation of patriotism will not have
done its perfect work, and the stars and stripes of our flag will lack
somewhat of their rightful luster.
Pages:
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81