CHAPTER VII.
Table of Contents "Vice is a monster of so frightful mien,
As to be hated, needs but to be seen;
Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace."
"But evil is wrought by want of thought
As well as by want of heart."
The following extract from the report of the Grand Jury of this city, given publicity December 5, 1889, is self-explanatory:-
"Some of the dives and variety theaters are the nurseries of vice and crime, where drunkenness is encouraged, our youth demoralized, the unwary roped in and robbed, and crimes committed which the authorities are unable to prevent or discover. There is, of course, a broad distinction to be noted between those places of public resort where the demand for distilled, fermented, and malt liquors is supplied in a legitimate manner, and the entertainment provided, if any, is not of an objectionable character, and those places where salacious performances are presented as an attraction, and lewd women, under the guise of waitresses to serve liquors, pursue a shameful vocation. These evils may be partly remedied if respectable citizens will refuse to rent their property for such uses, and also refuse to assist in obtaining licenses whereby such headquarters for drunkenness, lewdness, and crime are in a measure entrenched behind existing general laws.
"The so-called 'social evil' is aggressive on our thoroughfares, and should be restrained by the authorities within narrower limits."
But we add our interpretation and our suggestions for these twin evils which stalk up and down the earth and apparently defy control.
The minister treats lightly upon the liquor traffic, in many instances because certain of his church members either sell it at wholesale, retail, or furnish the barley, corn, grapes, hops, or rent to the man who does. The editors of all newspapers of general circulation must treat the subject likewise, for fear of his advertising patrons. His readers are never taken into account, for the simple reason that circulation alone does not pay newspapers issued daily, and very few that are issued weekly. It will be seen by the above report that the grand jurymen too have vital interests at stake. In order to keep their respective businesses from being boycotted by their fellow-merchants, they handle the subject with soft gloves, as if it were eggs, and the "social evil" by this same jury is done up in nineteen words. But they have indicated a great deal in those few words, namely, that such an evil does exist-something the different church organizations have refused to acknowledge.
High license, with personal responsibility for results, under a sufficient bond, will in time remedy the liquor traffic.
The social evil should be licensed, and under the perfect control of the police-and not the police under its control, as seems to be the case in this city. Are they not under pay to look the other way? Its boundaries should be exact, isolated, and under the direct supervision of the health department. Is there any justice in demanding a license of a milliner, or on any other mercantile pursuit that a female may see fit to adopt, while 5,000 of these questionable women go untaxed, because you do not dare to acknowledge that their calling exists? To ask the question is to answer it-No!! Let no one think that in any way whatever we would seem to unduly countenance, or in the least encourage, this evil. But we do believe in recognizing absolute facts. They cannot be overlooked. It is surprising that, amidst all this widespread discussion of intemperance, no more has been said on this social problem. As long as men are mortal, this condition of relations will exist-it has existed through all time-but it is possible to limit it, to heavily license it, and keep it within proper bounds.
Then by all means should churches and various kinds of societies exert their influence to the legal recognition of the true status, and benefit the general condition of mankind. Boards of supervisors, aldermen, etc., are clothed with power to accomplish the ends suggested, if they are only backed by public sentiment.
If the Catholic Church organization alone will inaugurate a general agitation over the country, as they have already indicated and begun in their convention at Baltimore, on the liquor traffic, they will either break it up or put it under control; for 60% of this business is carried on by their following.
Public urinals are greater necessities than public fountains in cities and large towns. The alarming increase of diabetes and kidney troubles in cities during the last few years, while remaining normal, or actually decreasing in the rural districts, has led to the belief that the prolonged detention of the urine is the principal, and, in most cases, the only cause of this terrible malady. The foregoing facts recapitulated exhibit a few of the ills of mankind that are in the power of municipal officials to alleviate. The duties of the general government cover all of the above, and include the prevention of all criminals and paupers of every nation from landing on our shores; the compulsory education of all citizens old and young-as it is cheaper to educate than to punish criminals; to furnish employment upon all useful and needed public works for the worthy, willing poor, and cause to be distributed with equity to the deserving, all the earnings of the criminal institutions of the country, over and above their actual expenses.
It will not be out of place to complete this chapter with a few words on the necessity of giving man and beast one day in seven to rest. Sunday seems to be the preferable one, but to compel the observance of one particular day in each week for all classes and sects would be tyrannical. The majority of religious societies employ Sunday for worship and rest, but, throwing aside the moral and religious bearing, every human being would be healthier, happier, and live longer, if he rested one day in the week. We all live too fast. Though we enjoy laziness at times, yet we are too anxious to get riches or fame earlier than we ought or can. A man may work so mightily that he will be very wealthy at 40 instead of 50, but he will die at 70 instead of 80. Better prolong life by reserving forces for the future.
CHAPTER VIII.
Table of Contents "For a man's house is his castle."
After individual cleanliness and regularity, erect your next house in which you intend to live, or that you expect to rent to another, or remodel your present residence, to correspond with the following:-
Sanitary House.-It should stand facing the sun, on dry soil, in a wide, clean, amply-sewered, substantially-paved street, over a deep, thoroughly ventilated and lighted cellar. The floor of the cellar should be cemented, the walls and ceilings plastered and thickly whitewashed with lime every year, that the house may not act as a chimney to draw up into its chambers micro-organisms from the earth. If your lot is situated so that you cannot face your house either east or south, construct the rooms in such a way that your parlors and sleeping apartments will receive the sun at least 3 hours during the day. All windows should extend from floor to ceiling, adjusted to let down from the top, and in position to secure as much as possible of the through currents of air. The outside walls, if of wood or brick, should be kept thickly painted, not to shut out penetrating air, but for the sake of dryness. All inside walls should be plastered smooth, painted, and, however unaesthetic, varnished. Mantels should be of marble, plate, iron, or, if wood, plain, and, whether natural, painted, or stained, varnished.
Interior wood-work, including floors, should all show plain surfaces and be likewise treated. No paper on the walls, no carpets on the floors, but movable rugs, which can be shaken daily in the open air-not at doors or out of windows, where dust is blown back into rooms-should cover the floors. White linen shades, which will soon show the necessity of washing, should protect the windows. All furniture should be plain, with cane seats, without upholstery. Mattresses should be covered with oiled silk. Blankets, sheets, and spreads-no comforts or quilts-should constitute the bedding.
Of plumbing there should be as little as is necessary, and all there is must be exposed.
The inhabited rooms should be heated only with open fires, the cellar and halls by radiated heat, or, better, by a hot-air furnace, which shall take its fresh air from above the top of the house and not from the cellar itself or the surface of the earth, where micro-organisms most abound. Let there be no annual house cleaning, but keep it clean all the time, and have it gone through thoroughly at least four times per year.
Of course a corner lot is always preferable, but how often it is supposed that the benefit consists alone in a commanding position, in a chance for architectural display, when the greatest boon is the increased opportunity for sunlight. The atmosphere of a room where the sun never shines is never agreeable or healthful. Science has taught us that the sun is the source of all life. It will effect more than tons of disinfectants and chemicals to purge and sweeten the air of a house. Let the building be exposed to the south, and keep shade trees from checking the sun too much. Verandas and broad piazzas often do as much harm as they give pleasure-especially if they are all covered with vines. Be more careful...
