'In England the housing question was taken up as a municipal problem, and it has recently be come a question of public policy. Lord Shaftes bury was influential in obtaining legislation as early as 1851. The housing problem on the Con tinent represents a phase of industrial life. Small homes for operatives are built near the large fac tories. As early as 1835 Andre Koechlin, a manufacturer at Mulhouse, France, began build ing houses for his workers. The United States has been far behind European countries. Public interest has finally been aroused by the reports of tenement-house commissions, and the knowl edge of what has been done abroad. The Amer ican public was astonished to learn that New York below the Harlem was the most densely populated city in the world, with 143.2 persons to the acre in 1890, and 156.7 in 1900. The eleventh ward had in 1890 a population of 763.59 to the acre.
Efforts to improve housing conditions have been made by cities and by private individuals. The municipality has two methods: (1) Expro priation; and (2 ) regulation. (1) Expropriation has been carried on to some extent in all English cities. It involves questions of increased taxa tion resulting from the expense incurred, the displacement of the population who will over crowd neighboring districts if not provided for, and occasionally the building of model tenements by the city. Liverpool (1866), Glasgow (1866), and London (1868) first undertook to re construct unsanitary districts. Later, general laws were passed, the most important of which is that of 1890, which provides for displacement and for the intervention of the municipality only when private initiative fails. Expropriation may be very expensive. The London acts of 1875-78 made unsanitary conditions a source of profit to the owners. Glasgow has been especially suc cessful in her financial management of these areas. Edinburgh and Liverpool have left much of the expropriated ground as open space, while Dundee has converted these districts into thor oughfares. London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Hud dersfield, and Birmingham have erected model dwellings. Expropriation is a success in lower ing death-rates and decreasing crime. Better methods of construction make it possible to house more people in the same area. (2) Municipalities may also improve housing conditions by sanitary and building codes and provision for inspection. Such legislation includes requirements as to light, air, cellars, halls, windows, fire-escapes, plumb ing, and sanitary conveniences. The New York laws are in advance of all others, for which they serve as a model, but adequate inspection is sel dom provided. If owners are compOed to keep
their property in a good condition, they become more careful in the choice of tenants. Thus the undesirable classes are gathered into one district where they are easily looked after. Private asso ciations do a good work in looking up abuses until laws are well enforced and the people taught to deal directly with boards of health. In New York City there are over thirty societies. The Sanitary Aid Society, Ladies' Health Protec tive Association, and time New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor may be mentioned. The .Alansion House Council on Dwellings of Poor and the Sanitary Society of Edinburgh are prominent in Great Britain. In France and Belgium the elements of household hygiene are taught in public schools.
Efforts undertaken by private individuals may be classified as: (1) Commercial, (2) semi-phil anthropic, (3) philanthropic, and (4) houses built by private employers for the benefit of their employees. The commercial enterprises pay as large a per cent. as possible, giving at t-he same time good accommodations. The semi-philan thropic companies limit their dividends to a nor mal commercial rate on high-class investments. The profits of the philanthropic trusts are used in improvements and erecting new property. Housing by employers usually pays a good re turn. The buildings put up by these various enterprises are blocks, small houses, and lodging houses. The very poor must rent rooms or small houses. For the lowest classes, so degraded that they cannot make use of improvements, the meth ods of the Octavia Hill Association are most satisfactory. Miss Hill began the work in 1861. when John Ruskin spent £3000 in purchasing unsanitary property in a vicious neighborhood. The plan is to take old property, to put in neces sary repairs. to demand a prompt payment of rent, and gradually to add. improvements out of the surplus from a repair fund. The standard of living of the people is raised by making the tenants realize that care on their part results in improvements. Thrift is encouraged by discounts for payment of rent in advance. When the ten ants are ready, new Imilding,s are erected. The association owns property, or, as agents, collects rents. Women volunteers have happily combined rent-collecting with friendly visiting. Similar methods have been adopted in other cities. Phila delphia has an Octavia Hill Association, Gotham Court in New York has been improved, and Mrs. Lincoln has used this Mel hod in I S0,44111.