Its Origin, Plans, Purposes, Endorsements, Constitution & Officers. VVc lmve hold of an important secret; and we must not hush "l*' Rev. Dr. Howard Orosry, at Cooper Institute. ORGANIZED, NOVEMBER 27, 1874. NEW YORK: J. W. ORR CO., 113 LIBERTY STREET. 3 5 /.‘S' 3 JSbtA Inasmuch as the great Metropolis so readily forgets even those plans for its own improvement that have met with the highest favor, it has been thought best by the friends of “ The Down-Town Dwelling and Lodging-House Move- ment,” in bringing it again before the general public, to present it in the shape of extracts from the numerous arti- cles upon the subject that appeared in the New York daily papers during last winter and spring. These give such a complete history of the rise and progress of the en- terprise, that little needs to be added, in order to show what has been done in this connection, and what further action is proposed. It will be remembered that the immediate cause of the efforts put forth last winter toward a systematic and or- ganized movement for improving the homes of the masses in this city was, the suggestion of a plan for using down- town lofts as residences for a portion of the population that is now — according to the best sanitary authorities — crowding to suffocation some of the upper wards. It was at first proposed to organize a society for practi- cal experiment, and with a fund for guaranteeing owners against loss ; but as will be seen by the “ constitution ” annexed, the final conclusion was to confine the work of the Association, as such, to gathering and disseminating valuable information, leaving the testing of theories tb in- dividual members. p 3991 4 4 The constitution says: “The objects of the Society will be to improve, cheapen and render more accessible and more attractive the homes of the masses of the people, and to promote the normal distribution of population in town and country.” The last feature could be made to pay all the expenses of the society, if carried out according to the plan of the “ Migration Bureau,” of which Horace Greeley was the zealous president, and which died with him. As to the general progress of the down-town dwelling movement, it may be said that tenement houses of the or- dinary style are rising all over the first, second and third wards. This army of invasion has one picket as high up Greenwich Street as the corner of Dey (in place of old North River Bank), and another on John, near William. At the finest point on State Street, fronting the Battery, where middle-class French flats would bring high rents, two common tenement houses have just been erected ; but it is not too late to save that beautiful district for those who would thoroughly appreciate it. Special attention is invited to the statement of that sa- gacious and successful real-estate operator, Mr. Edward Matthews, who has had the two upper lofts of a fine store on Broadway, below Wall Street, in profitable use as dwellings (7 suites) for over a year. It should be noted also that thousands of janitors are occupying corners of otherwise deserted upper floors in palatial buildings, which would furnish delightful homes for ten times as many oc- cupants. The remarkable interest excited by this project last winter has not abated. The final public act of the tempo- rary committee having it in charge was, to hold the meet- ing on March 9tli, in Cooper Institute. The Committee of seven selected at that meeting to prepare a plan met at Dr. Crosby’s Church ; all appointed being present. They chose a sub-committee to prepare a “constitution.” When this had been done, and the proofs sent to the other members, the season had so far advanced that some of the D Committee and many other leading citizens were about to start for Europe, and it was therefore decided to defer fur- ther action until Autumn. Meantime, those who have been active in the matter have been frequently questioned by persons of all classes concerning the progress of the proposed society. Even the workingmen, usually so suspicious of plans for their benefit, originating outside of their class, have in several cases passed resolutions in their most important society meetings, favoring the proposed new style of tenements ; while many of our most eminent citizens candidly acknowl- edge, that New York to-day, is behind most other great cities of the civilized world, in providing suitable homes for its laboring population, and readily agree to the urgent necessity of promptly remedying this grave and threaten- ing evil. From Daily Graphic and World , Feb. 5 & 6, 1874. NOVEL CO-OPERATION. A New Scheme for Down-Town Lodging-Houses for Clerks and Saleswomen — Endorsements by Rey. Howard Crosby, Peter Cooper, Rey. George H. Hepworth and others. The following correspondence on the subject of a neiv application of practical co-operation explains itself : Dear Sir : — The agents of large estates in the lower part of this city, complain that many of their old ware- houses are either vacant or rented at very low rates. Your attention is invited to that part of the accompanying pamphlet by Health Commissioner Stephen Smith which shows that New York has a denser population in some wards than any city of the world, and proposes the use of those old warehouses as tenements. As complaint would be made in some quarters that such use of the buildings would further depreciate the value of the adjacent property, it might be well to restrict their use for the present in such districts to “ co-operative lodging- houses/ 7 for clerks, saleswomen, and skilled artisans of both sexes. 7 Many of the business firms of London now furnish board and lodgings to their employes on the upper floors of their stores. American independence would interfere with the success of this system here, unless it was made very attractive. The following FLAK FOR A LODGING-HOUSE FOR CLERKS AND SALESWOMEN, would seem to meet all requirements. Let a large build- ing or the upper floors of a row of warehouses be fitted up with lodging, dining and sitting rooms — one wing to be devoted to unmarried women and another to unmarried men ; and let a portion of the building be assigned to small families, such as now board at cheap rates. Let it be understood that the establishment is to be conducted upon the plan of “ mixed schools and colleges,” like “ Anti" och,” where the unmarried meet only in the “ common rooms” — dining, sitting, &c. Here, then, will be the con- stituents of human society as nature builds it up when untrammeled. The herding of young men and women strictly by themselves must always fail, except under an iron monastic rule. No place can be properly called a 66 home ” which does not contain the old and young and middle-aged of both sexes. The institution proposed should be managed as far as possible upon the co-operative plan — the price of living the pay of superintendence and service, rising and falling each month, according to the number of inmates and the general success. Thus all would be interested in keeping the house full, preserving harmony, saving furniture, food, &c. Everything in the shape of library, reading-room, museum, lecture-room, and garden that could be added would help to insure success. The steam-engine and other inventions have so changed the mode of activity that new styles of living are necessary, especially for women, A hundred years ago the women of the farm-house had full legitimate employment in spinning, weaving, knitting, cutting and making clothes, making soap, cheese, brooms, baskets, &c. Now all this is done by machinery; and the women, robbed of their vaunted “ home industries,” are drifting by millions into the trade centres to their destruction. True, normal city homes, where’ they have a restricted association with each other, would do much to keep the young men and women of our country from being swept away by the ever-swifter cur- rent of vice and immorality. Samuel Leavitt. The above design strikes me as most valuable and feasi- ble ; and in my^opinion, if carried out, would tell strongly for the improved morality and thrift of our city. December 30, 1873. Howard Crosby. In my opinion, one of the greatest wants, sanitary and social, of the working classes of New York, is the oppor- tunity of cultivating the virtues of domestic and home life, and this opportunity is daily diminishing, owing to the constantly increasing pressure upon the limited house accommodation. The most feasible plan of meeting this want is that suggested above. Stephen Smith, M. D. December 30, 1873. I agree entirely in the favorable opinions of this plan ex- pressed by Dr. Crosby and Dr. Smith, and, as the initiative of a much-needed improvement, I should like to see it car- ried into effect. Parke Godwin. January 2, 1874. I very heartily concur in the opinion expressed by the gentlemen whose names are signed above, and should be glad to have the experiment tried. Geo. H. Hepworth. 9 The subject is one of great importance, and, while the plan is not so fully stated as to enable me to pass a very definite judgment upon it, I can see in it some elements for an experiment which might be one of great public utility. Dormant B. Eatok. January 5, 1874. I heartily concur in the general approbation of the plan set forth for improving the condition of the laboring classes. Peter Cooper. I cheerfully concur in the above. Dakiel F. Tiemax. I cordially approve of the effort to devise methods by which bodily and moral health may be secured to working men and women, in homes that will encourage habits of virtue and economy ; and I believe Mr. Leavitt’s proposi- tions tend to plans which will secure these results to classes that at present come far short of them. Elisha Harris, M. D. Of course, no substitute for home can be quite equal to home itself. But the plan here proposed seems to me bet- ter, at all events, than the present order of things, and I would like to see it tried. Roswell D. Hitchcock. January 28, 1874. The plan proposed is not “ co-operative,” and would be liable to many practical difficulties arising from the rela- tions of the two sexes and the embarrassed condition of the working classes at certain seasons of the year. Still, under strict supervision, and with a first-rate business manager, it might succeed and do a great deal of good. The experiment is worth trying. Charles L. Brace. January 28, 1874. 10 n a From the World , March 4, 1874. THE SOUTH-SIDE ASSOCIATION. Down-Town Middle-Class Dwellings, Lodging- Houses foe Clerks, &c. — A Public Meeting An- nounced. New York, March 2, 1874. To the Editor of the World: Sir : I have been requested to send you a statement concerning the progress of the down-town dwelling move- ment. A temporary Committee is organizing a “ South Side Association ” with the purpose of attracting a part of the surplus population of the more densely peopled wards into the south end of the Island, and, at the same time, utilizing the unprofitable store property in the latter dis- trict, by converting it into cheap and commodious resi- dences. To make the latter feature largely successful, it is proposed to organize the means and facilities for guar- anteeing against loss those owners who may be induced to alter their buildings in accordance with the plans of the Association ; such means to embrace a bureau, within the pale of the Association, and legally availing of such trusts, bequests and legacies as may be offered for this and kin- dred purposes. The immediate cause of the undertaking of this work, was a statement by Health Commissioner Stephen Smith, that some parts of this City are more dense- ly peopled than any equal area, elsewhere in the civilized world, and that there were many half occupied stoiu s down town which could be used as dwellings. The following comparative table exhibits the population to the square acre of the tenement-house classes of New York and Lon- don, according to the census of 1870 : NEW YORK. Eleventh Ward, 328 Thirteenth Ward, .... 311 Fourteenth Ward, .... 275 Seventeenth Ward, . . . . 289 LONDON. Strand, 307 St. Luke's, 259 East London, 26(3 Holborn, 229 The tenement wards of New York contain half the pop- ulation, and this half yields 75 per cent of the mortality, besides being fearfully degraded by defective house accom- modation. Rapid transit to the suburbs lias been generally relied upon to relieve this evil ; but it would have to be cheap 11 indeed, to attract this class from the city. A distinguished philanthropist says that the fares of the railroads will have to be reduced to 25 cents per week, to bring them within the incomes of the poor in cities. Whatever may be done in this way, there is a method immediately practicable for greatly relieving the pressure. The commerce which has neen for twenty-five* years driving these people from the First, Second and Third wards, and is now pushing them from the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth wards, is leaving the warehouses of the lower wards. The Second ward now T contains 1317 great stores and 1312 residents; while statis- tics show that, especially within the last five years, com- merce has been declining in that ward, with a corresponding increase in the Fifth and Eighth. Those spacious ware- houses, well ventilated and drained, are peculiarly adapted to such alterations. In Edinburgh, Scotland, the old build- ings of a deserted quarter were converted into model dwell- ings for the poor with gratifying results, such as a decrease of general death rate and improved morals. In London, while the Peabody and Burdett-Coutts model dwellings have improved the condition of hundreds of families, they have not paid any interest on capital. Sir Sidney Water- low’s 430 tenements, being at once convenient and econom- ically built, pay a good per cent. But the London architects have proved that it is far cheaper to convert old buildings into model tenement-houses than to build anew ; and that even there the improvements bring a return of ten to twenty per cent — tenants willingly paying a fair rent. The ex- periment has been tried in many cases in this city with fair success. It is estimated that the warehouses of the Second ward would accommodate on the average 100 persons. * * * * * * This idea of the transfer of population, in connection with the new plan — heretofore published — for co-operative lodging-houses for clerks, saleswomen, etc., has met w r ith general favor among leading citizens during the past win- ter. ****** Three private committee meetings have been held in the chapel-parlor of Dr. Howard Crosby’s church, to arrange for practical action. This committee includes Howard Crosby( chairman ), William C. Church, Elisha Harris, Ab- ram S. Hewitt, James B. Hodgskin (treasurer), Richard M. Hoe, John Taylor Johnston, William R. Martin, Willard Parker, Carl Pfeiffer, Howard Potter, Gr. W. Samson, Stephen Smith, R. L. Stuart, and other leading citizens. In addition to tlie endorsements of the plan referred to above [see “ Novel Co-operation”], that have been published and commented upon by the press, the following are taken from more recent letters : tlie proposed undertaking liat) my hearty sympathy — M. K. Jesup. Anything that can be done to lessen the legitimate expenses of the citizens of ISew York should meet with universal favor. — Wil- son G. Hunt.- The providing of comfortable homes for persons of moderate means is a most worthy object. — Paul N. Spofford. Theobject stated is a good one and well worthy of the attention of owners of real estate at the south end of the island. These I am sure will find it to their interest to promote it ; while all ben- evolent persons will wish it success. * * There may be some so sitpated that they could not avail themselves of north side ad- vantages. For such your plan is the best relief from the terrible evils which are now imposed upon residents in the lower part of the city. — Hiram Barney . T was unexpectedly prevented from appearing at the meeting. * * * I cannot do less than express my interest in the ente r- prise. — M . 8. Beach. I believe the enterprise a very good one. — Benjamin Aymar. My residence in the country prevents my attendance in the good cause of “ down-town dwellings/’ * * '* I think this must be especially deserving. — John E. Williams. The committee will hold a public meeting, Monday, March 9, at 8 p. M., in the Geographical Society’s hall, Cooper Institute, which will be addressed by eminent cler- gymen, physicians, business men and architects, whose names will be published on Saturday. Meanwhile commun- ications upon the general movement or relative to build- ings considered available for our purpose, may be addressed to Samuel Leavitt, Sec. From Com. Advertiser , Feb., 1874. — Editorial. LODGING HOUSES. The idea is that of a home on home-principles, admitting of the association of the sexes, and furnished with facili- ties for innocent intellectual recreation, such as books, music and other means for diversion ; the expenses of the institution to be defrayed equitably by all concerned. The plan is endorsed by Chancellor Crosby, Dr. Stephen 13 Smith, Ex-Mayor Tieman, and the ever philanthropieal and practical Mr. Peter Cooper, with other well-known and respected gentlemen. The intention of the scheme is certainly most excellent, and we presume, that under proper direction it might be effectually carried out. From Evening Mail , Feb., 1874 — Editorial . ROOM ENOUGH AT THE TOP. Daniel Webster once said to an aspiring but modest young lawyer, who expressed his apprehension that the profession was over-crowded : “ My young friend, there is always plenty of room at the top ” — a wise observation which applies to all professions and all sorts of business. So we might say, wresting the great statesman’s remark from its original application, that there is “ plenty of room at the top ” for tens of thousands of the workers who are crowded into the narrow limits of this island. Below Fourteenth street it is safe to estimate that there are enough wholesome, pleasant and airy, unoccupied upper rooms to accommodate comfortably at least twenty thousand persons. If these quarters could be made avail- able and attractive, they would gradually fill up with just the classes who most need to lodge within a convenient distance from their places of employment — such as clerks, seamstresses, saleswomen, etc. When a single owner or firm has the disposal of a large building, provision might be made for a common kitchen and laundry, and a steam elevator might render the height from the ground a mat- ter of slight consequence. In this connection, we are glad to welcome the practical hints given by Mr. Samuel Leavitt, who suggests the fol- lowing plan : ***** The experiments made by such institutions as the Park Bank, in providing within its own building, an excellent and economical lunch for its employees, has been a remark- 14 able success — conducing to the moral, as well as physical and economical welfare of the clerks. Why should not as beneficial results follow from the provision of suitable, well-regulated and cheap lodgings for the employees of our banks, stores and insurance companies ? From Tribune , March 10, 1874. DOWN-TOWN LODGING-HOUSES. A few weeks ago several gentleman of this city formed a Provisional Committee to investigate the feasibility of tran- forming the many unoccupied stores and lofts in the lower part of the city into attractive lodging-houses for the clerks and artisans who are employed in that neighborhood. The results of their investigations were given at a meeting held in the rooms jf the Geographical Society last evening. The Rev. G. W. Samson presided and Samuel Leavitt acted as secretary. Mr. Leavitt read a report showing the vast num- ber of stores and parts of stores which are unoccupied, even at very low rent, below Canal-st. The Rev. Dr. Howard Crosby said the whole project was a charitable one and for the benefit of the whole community. They wanted to bring out a feeling which should manifest itself in helping the poorer classes of the citizens to lodging-houses nearer the places w T here they worked and of higher and healthier char- acter than the places they at present occupy. The project besides being charitable would bring more money to owners of property, by turning their now unprofitable lofts into rent-producing residences. Carl Pfeiffer, who had been investigating the question of profit to property owners, said that stores 25 feet in width could be altered into rooms suitable for clerks for about $8,000, and easily leased so as to return an income of 11 per cent upon the investment. Tenement accommodations could be made at a lower cost, and yield a return of about 15 per cent. He submitted a number of plans for remod- eling stores and lofts for this puipose. , ^ 4 < From Fv. Post , March 10, 1874 — Editorial . ENLARGING THE CAPACITY OF THE CITY. An important meeting w r as held last evening, at one of the rooms of the Cooper Institute, to consider the propriety of 15 converting the upper lofts of our unoccupied down-town stores into dwelling-places. The Rev. Dr. Samson of Rutgers College presided and Mr. Samuel Leavitt acted as secretary. It was stated by the speakers that the object was to obtain proper lodgings and residences for clerks aid others, by the use of certain stores in the vicinity of the City Hall, Warren, Murray, around Greenwich, and Washington streets, &e. It was shown from personal in- quiry that many of the stores in this portion of the city from Barclay Street to the Battery had their third and fourth lofts idle, and could be procured at a nominal rent. They are perfectly useless as they exist, and a reproach to the citizens of New York, and instead of being dwellings for our fellow-men are used by the bats and owls of trade. Com. Advertiser , March 10, 1874 — Editorial. THE LODGING-HOUSE MOVEMENT. The meeting at the rooms of the Geographical Society, last evening, to consider the needs of clerks and artisans in the matter of lodging-houses, reached so much of a con- clusion as to appoint a committee of prominent and respon- sible gentlemen to effect an organization for the purpose of carrying out the plan desired. It was pointed out — and which is obviously true enough — that empty stores at low rents are very plentiful this season, and that these could be readily adapted for the purpose in question. Any plan which will result in giving those who care to avail them- selves of its convenience, a more agreeable home than they can ordinarily procure, and contiguous to their business, will be serviceable to those immediately concerned, and to their employers and the general public as well, in relieving the streets of idle youths who become the victims of temptations from the want of congenial association and comfortable quarters at home. The matter is in the hands of prompt and energetic gentlemen, and will doubtless, be carried through satisfactorily. 16 From World, March 10, 1874. CHEAP LOFTS FOR CLERKS. TIIK MOVEMENT TAKING FORM — MEETING OF THE SOUTII-SI f)E ASSOCIATION LAST EVENING. A meeting of those interested in the scheme of making use of the lofts in the lower part of the city as dwellings for clerks and those possessed of moderate incomes was held last night at the rooms of the Geographical Society in Cooper Institute. Dr. Samson was made chairman of the meeting and Mr. Samuel Leavitt Secretary. Mr. Leavitt read a report which gave an account of a large number of buildings visited by him during the past week, which could be used for the purposes mentioned above. In the lower- part of the city, near the Battery, and even as high as Ve- sey street, there were a large number of lofts which could be adapted easily for dwellings purposes, and which rented from $250 to $400 per year for each loft, 25 feet in width by 75 to 100 feet in depth. The best place for beginning the work would be in Warren and Murray streets ; but the prices were too high, the rents running as high as $1,200 to $1,500 per year lor each loft. Dr. Crosby said: the whole proposition is one for the benefit of our fellow-citizens, and should therefore appeal to the charitable feelings of New Yorkers to help the poorer classes of our citizens to a better class of lodging-houses, and also to bring those lodging- houses nearer their place of business. But this is not the only appeal that we can make ; we can also go to those who own these buildings and say to them; You can make money out of this business. The examination that has thus far been made will prove this latter fact without a doubt. We must have an organization to back us so that we can go to these men and say; This is not an experiment; we can guar- antee all we say. There is a still further view to take in this matter ; there is a moral advantage in such a plan. In places were we can get three or four dwellings together we purpose having in the central part of the group a large well- lighted, well-ventilated, and comfortable sitting and reading room for the husbands and sons of the families, so they may not have to go to the dram shop for society. We feel that a society should be organizedto carry on this great work, by which 100,000 families can be accommodated with homes without the men having to travel three or four miles each day to and from their places of work. Mr. Carl Pfeiffer 17 said lie had examined a large number of the buildings men- tioned by Mr. Leavitt ; and from calculations made by him he believed that these lofts could be rented, altered into dwelling-places, and then rented at prices below those at present charged in the upper parts of the city, and yet bring in a clear interest of 11 to 15 per cent, on the money invested. Mr. Pfeiffer said he had conversed with both store-owners and clerks and those who lived in tenement houses, and from all lie found the same willingness— on the one hand, to lease their lofts and make the necessary alter- ation, and on the other, to rent such dwellings when com- pleted. He also presented a number of plans for making such alterations. Mr. Wolfe and Mr. J. B, Hodgskin also spoke in favor of the plan, from Times , March 10, 1874. CO-OPERATIVE LODGINGS FOR CLERKS. In the geographical department of the Cooper Union a meeting of merchants, professional gentleman and others anxious to procure proper accommodation for clerks was held yesterday evening. Rev. Dr. Samson, President of Rutgers College, who was called to the chair, stated that Mr. Leavitt acting as secretary, would direct their attention to information he procured recently regarding the object of their meeting. The secretary said they desired to obtain proper lodgings and residences for clerks and others by con- verting stores located down town, in the vicinity of City Hall, Warren, Murray, around Greenwich, and Washington streets, &c.; and showed from personal inquiry that many of the stores in this portion of the city, from Barclay street to the Battery, had their third and fourth lofts idle, and could be procured at a nominal rent. They are perfect- ly useless as they exist, and a reproach to the citizens of New York, and, instead of being dwellings for our fellow- men, are used for the bats and owls of trade. He said there was no tangible reason why they could not be purchased and renovated. Some might say impediments would be thrown in the way by the proprietors, but it was to their advantage, as well as the citizens, that they should be util- ized. He had facts from real-estate agents showing how, in some cases, whole buildings could be procured at $1,800 or $2,000 and lofts low in proportion. He advocated the advan- 18 tages of removing Castle Garden, so inconveniently situ- ated at present for the transportation of emigrants to the railroad depots. Dr. Crosby, who was Chairman of the Pro- visional Committee, said it was for the benefit of our fellow citizens this idea of providing suitable homes was projected, and appealed to the philanthropy, love, and charity of New York to help forward the much-needed work. He said, when charity meant money many took it up and gave assistance ; so the proprietors of stores must be met by saying it was a charity to make these improvements, and that by letting their unused lofts they would receive an income on what otherwise would remain idle for a quarter of a century. He said diagrams would be placed before the meeting showing how they could be refitted for dwellings, and made healthy and comfortable. If a guarantee were required it would be given. It had a moral welfaie in view, also; when two or three lofts in stores attached were taken, a common pas- sage made through them, a large sitting-room could be set apart to which the father, children and wives, not the least attraction, could spend their evenings socially and benefi- cially, instead of resorting to the rum-shop to avoid the disgust of the present tenement-houses. Moreover, those residing far up town had the inconvenience resulting from a loss of time and expense for car-fare in crowded filthy cars. He suggested that the merchants should form them- selvs into a society as the have so much to do with this class of our citizens. This, he said, would be a practical form of rapid transit. Mr. Pfeiffer was introduced and observed that it was an enterprise paying and feasible. He gave instances in Old Slip where more could be realized by con- verting lofts into dwellings than otherwise, and showed they were cheaper and more beneficial than tenement-rooms ; that clerks and book-keepers informed him they would gladly seize an opportunity of convenience and being near their places of business. He exhibited plans of stores, showing how they could be remodeled. Mr. Hodgskin was next introduced, and combatted the idea that New York was overcrowded. He argued the contrary, pointing out the immense number these now useless stores would accommodate ; that the whole country was concerned in the enterprise, and it was right and proper the citizens should interest themselves in the project. The only persons who seemed, he said, to appreciate the lower districts were rum sellers, and it was a shame they should be the pioneers in 19 a matter of such importance. He alluded to the censures and howlings against men clamoring for an eight hour system, but said it should be remembered many of these lived at such a distance as to require their leaving home at 6 in the morning, and they could not return until 7 or 8 at night. Journal of Commerce, March 11, 1871 — Editorial. TRANSFORMING LOFTS TO TENEMENTS. * * * * * * * They estimate ( and we think there they are not out of the way) that there are top floors enough down town to hold 100,000 people comfortably. These floors, it is assumed could be rented cheaply on long leases, and when fitted up for occupancy, could be profitably sub-let to people at much lower rates than they now pay for less room up town or in Brooklyn or Jersey City. One authority assures us that buildings 25 by 100 feet could be remodeled into lodging apartments for §8,000, and easily leased so as to yield 11 per cent on the investment. * * * * 5R * * They should immediately abandon the philanthropic tone — admirable in other places — and put the whole enterprise on a simple business footing. And they should not attempt to make a joint-stock company out of it; but should content themselves with exciting discussion of the subject, and putting out facts and figures which may lodge in the minds of capitalists like seed, and ripen into action. By taking this course, the philanthropists whose names we see asso- ciated with the work can effect their object of benefiting their fellow-men much better than by establishing a society of the stereotyped pattern. If they can prove to the capital- ists of New York that a fair, safe profit can be had on the venture, they need not fear that men will hesitate to go into it. ^ ^ 20 Why could not those who have been holding meetings at Cooper Institute and consulting about this, make a simple experiment to begin with ? Among themselves they could raise enough to test the feasibility of their plan. To take a now unoccupied building down town, turn it into pleasant suites of rooms (some of them for housekeeping), rent the apartments to desirable tenants, and make 10 per cent, neat on the capital, would be worth fifty meetings of talk and a hundred reams of paper demonstration. In instituting such a test we wish those concerned in it every possible success. Their theory is excellent indeed. It seems as if a host of people would be delighted with the opportunity of living down-town, near their places of occupation, in commodious and cheerful rooms, instead of riding or walking miles away to the filthy and crowded tenements where they now live; but we can never know whether this idea is more than an illusion until some enterprising persons will put it to the crucial test as we propose — demonstrating at the same time that capitalists may be justified in taking ic up. — , — ♦— -< LOFTS FOR TENEMENTS. New York, March 11, 1874. Editor of the Jour . of Commerce : Your editorial article on transforming lofts into tene- ments in to-day’s issue is eminently sensible and practical. That . such a transformation would be a benefit to clerks and to those of the working-classes employed in the lower part of the island, can be doubted by no one who is famil- iar with the subject. To be of any real and lasting benefit to the city and its poorer inhabitants it must be pecuniarily successful. If there is a demand for down-town apartments (of which there is no doubt) — mere theorizing from a charitable point of view is a mistake. The supply of the demand will be a good investment, paying, at least, a fair interest. It is a great mistake to call it an experiment, for the ins- ult is no longer doubtful. It has been tried, and it has succeeded. Two years ago I altered into apartments two floors of a building, two hundred feet deep, in Broadway below Wall street. These lofts had been generally vacant, 21 but since the alteration they have given comfortable ac- commodation to seven families. Pecuniarily they have paid a fair profit, and I am about to alter into apartments of the same style the lofts of other buildings, the lower floors of which will still be occupied by offices. E. M. ► — ♦ *&*■ » From Daily Graphic , March 12, 1874. — Editorial . TO LET. Whatever may be the success of Mr. Samuel Leavitt’s plan of utilizing the vacant floors in the lower part of the city for lodging purposes, he has at least called the atten- tion of the public to the very large amount of vacant space that exists in the great warehouses of New York. Some years ago New York was the center of the jobbing busi- ness of the country. There were hundreds of merchants who kept on hand vast quantities of hosiery, boots, woolen and cotton goods, and other merchandise, which they re- ceived from the factories and distributed all over the Union. Latterly the growth of a few large houses here, and the increase of railroad facilities in other cities have driven the smaller jobbers out of business. Chicago, St. Louis, and other cities have become the distributing points for the West and South-west, and the consequence is that the floors and lofts once filled with goods in this city are now vacant and waiting in vain for tenants. Of course, we shall in time get back what we have lost at least in some form. We must, however, increase our facilities for handling goods. At present the cost of cart- age from Forty-second street to the warehouses, and thence to the river, or the New Jersey railroads, handicaps our merchants to an extent which renders them unable to compete in certain lines of business with the merchants of other cities. We must have some means of bringing our warehouses in close proximity with our receiving and dis- tributing agencies, and until this is done hundreds of floors in the lower part of Broadway and the business cen- tre of the city will be “ to let,” and without applicants except from the advocates of Mr. Leavitt’s philanthropic enterprise. From the Times — Editorial . LODGING-HOUSES FOR CLERKS. The movement to furnish clerks and their families with co-operative lodging-houses in unoccupied down-town stores and warehouses appears to be gaining ground. The meeting held at Cooper Institute on Monday evening was well attended, and many prominent citizens manifested their interest by appearing and taking part in the pro- ceedings. Some suggestions were made which merit at- tention. There can be no doubt, in the present condition of local transit, that the time lost by clerks in getting to and from their places of business down town to their dwellings up town or in the suburbs, is a serious business loss both to them and to their employers. And if resi- dences could be arranged in the lower part of the city, which should be at once cheap and attractive, they would, no doubt, be eagerly taken advantage of by this class of the community. The proposition is to utilize the upper lofts, which in many down-town warehouses are left at present either idle or are let at nominal rents, by converting them into apartments for families or single lodgers. In cases where two or three adjoining lofts can be had they are to be con- nected by a common passage-way, and to be furnished with a common sitting-room, where, in the language of one of the speakers, “ the father, children and wives could spend their evenings socially and beneficially, instead of resorting to the rum-shop to avoid the disgust of the present tene- ment houses.” Apparently, the inmates are to eat in com- mon, though this question could in all probability be ar- ranged to suit individual taste or convenience, and work girls are to be admitted to the advantages of the new sys- tem of lodgings. The idea seemed at first a little Utopian, but the manner in which it has been taken hold of leaves little doubt of 23 the earnestness of its projectors. Mr. Carl Pfeiffer, the architect, submitted plans for the proposed alterations, and stated that in numerous conversations with merchants and clerks, he found a general aquiescence in the scheme. He also expressed the opinion that lofts so remodeled into dwellings w T ould yield a rental very much in advance of any revenue to be derived from them in their present con- dition. There are many considerations to recommend the plan, and we hope at least, that it will have a fair trial. The proportion of the population whose interest would be subserved by the establishment of cheap and commodious dwellings in the lower part of the city is very large, and their subtraction from the tide of daily travel would per- ceptibly relieve the pressure on the horse cars. The economy in time, and in traveling expenses too, would be very great for many who can afford not the slightest ex- travagance in either, and the comfort, to working girls especially, of being well housed in the immediate vicinity of the place of their employment, instead of having to walk, as many now are compelled to do, for miles in stormy weather, would be immense. There are obvious objections to the scheme, which we suppose have been duly considered and provided against. As the proposed dwellings would be, for the most part, at the top of high buildings, every precaution would have to be taken to furnish proper facilities for escape in case of fire. Objection, too, would probably be made by many at first to living in the lower part of the City, on the score of health. These objections, however, would doubtless van- ish with experience. There is no part of Manhattan Island, in fact, so desirable for residence as its low r er ex- tremity. Once the neighborhood surrounding the Battery was the fashionable quarter of the City, and though it may never become so again, many a dweller on Murray Hill, during the Midsummer heats, may turn with a sigh of envy to its cool breezes, and regret that fashion sacrificed so eligible a site. Perhaps if the Emigrant Landing De- ( 24 pot at Castle Garden were removed, as one of the speakers at the Cooper Institute meeting suggested, to a point nearer the various steam-sliip and railroad termini, the old dwellings on State street might be renovated into suit- able adjuncts of the plan we speak of. A clerk so housed upon the bay might merit the envy of his employer, sti- lling in brown-stone grandeur. From JDaily Graphic , May 30, 1874 — Editorial. HOMES FOR WORKINGMEN. There is practical good sense in Mr. Leavitt’s proposal to utilize the empty floors of warehouses in the lower part of the city as residences for our working classes. Business has followed the upward tide of population, until at the present time there are hundreds of vacant floors and scores of vacant houses below Vesey street. Rents within this region have fallen until they are now, in many instances, fifty per cent below their former rates. To utilize these vacancies which trade will not fill, by appropriating them as cheap residences for w orking men and women wdiose daily work lies in the immediate neighborhood, is certainly a happy thought. In time there will necessarily be a re- turn to some extent of our population to the Enver part of the island, which has so long been deserted as a place of residence. State street and Battery place, where the early Knickerbocker aristocracy of the city formerly lived, ought to be recognized as affording the most delightful situation for residences in the whole city. Just at present a number of old buildings are in process of destruction on State street, in order to make room for an ordinary tenement house. There ought to be an organized effort made to se- cure this property, and prevent the erection of a building which would postpone for years the return of a middle-class population to the region of the Battery. Why does not some enterprising joint-stock company purchase the entire east side of State street and build a row of French-flat houses % •25 CONSTITUTION — OF THE — DWELLING-REFORM ASSOCIATION. I. — TITLE. This Society shall be called “ The Dwelling-Reform Association/’ II. — OBJECTS. The objects of the Society shall be to improve, cheapen and render more accessible and more attractive, the homes of the masses of the people, and to promote the normal distribution of population in town and country. It will seek to accomplish its purposes — 1. By corres- pondence with similar associations in this and other coun- tries, and with individuals interested in the objects of the Society ; 2. By collecting a library comprising all accessi- ble publication, bearing on these subjects; 3. by holding regular meetings for a public and private interchange of views, and providing for lectures, addresses, etc.; 4. By advoeating a systematic study of the evils of the present tenement system, together with the requirements and re- sources of the classes of citizens directly affected thereby ; 5. By promoting a scientific inquiry into the laws which govern the relations between the density of city popula- tions and their moral, social and intellectual welfare ; 6. By such a circulation of statistics concerning the advan- tages of the various parts of cities, towns, and the rural districts as will tend to do away with the present crowd- ing of cities, and chaotic and periodic migrations ; and foster a natural, systematic, permanent and generally sat- isfactory distribution of population. / 26 III. — MEMBERSHIP. The Society shall consist of Active, Honorary and Cor- responding Members. They si all be selected with special reference to their acknowledged interest in, and devotion to, the declared objects of the Society. Each candidate for membership shall be proposed in writing, by a member of the Society, to the Board of Directors. On recommen- dation of the Board, and on receiving a vote of two-thirds of the active members present at a regular meeting, the candidate shall be declared duly elected a member of the Society. The annual dues of active members shall be ten dollars. The Board of Directors- may, by unanimous vote, from time to time, elect Honorary Directors, not to exceed fifty in number, from those to wdiom in their opinion the Society may be under obligations. The Honorary Directors shall hold office for three years, and those who pay one hundred dollars into the treasury shall be made Honorary Directors for life. Honorary Directors shall be exempt from all dues and shall be entitled to a voice but no vote at the meetings of the Board. IV. — MANAGEMENT. A Board of Directors, consisting of twenty-one members elected by the active members of the Society, shall control its affairs, elect its officers, make By-Laws, and fill vacan- cies in their own body until the time of the next annual election. The Board first elected shall divide themselves into three classes, holding office respectively for the term of one, two and three years from the date of their election, and thereafter the Society shall, at their annual meeting, elect seven Directors, to hold office for three years, and such additional number as may be necessary to fill vacan- cies, to hold office during the remainder of the terms of the members whose places they fill. A quorum of the Board of Directors shall consist of four members.* 27 V. — OFFICERS. The officers shall be a President, two Vice-Presidents, a Treasurer and a Secretary, to be elected annually by the Board of Directors, from among their own number. PRESIDING OFFICERS. The President and Vice-Presidents shall perform such duties as usually pertain to their offices. SECRETARY. # The Secretary shall be the only salaried officer, and shall have charge of the records, library, and all other property, except the funds of the Society. He shall notify each member of the Board of Directors of all its meetings, and each member of the Society of all its meetings, and issue all other authorized notices to members. He shall keep a true record of all meetings of the Directors and of the Society, and shall conduct the correspondence. TREASURER. The Treasurer shall collect and take charge of the funds and securities of the Society, and shall dispose of them as instructed by the Board of Directors. VI.— AMENDMENTS. To amend this Constitution, the proposed amendment shall be subscribed by at least ten members, and presented to the President, who shall cause it, with the signa- tures thereto, to be brought before the Board of Directors at their next meeting thereafter. In case the Directors by a majority vote, recommend its passage, the Secretary shall issue notices enclosing a copy of the amendment to all the members of the Society, and a vote of two-thirds of all the members pre-ent at the next annual meeting thereafter, or at a special meeting to be called for the purpose, in favor of the proposed amendment, shall be requisite for its pas- sage. f 28 BY LAWS. ANNUAL MEETING. 1. The annual meeting of the Society shall be held on the last Monday in November in each and every year here* after, when the annual election of the officers of the Society shall take place ; and if, from any cause, there shall be a failure of the annual election at the time above designated for that purpose, the same may be held on the Monday next following, of which due notice shall be given. 2. Every member of the Society, who has been such for twenty days or # more, and who is not in arrears for his dues for the past year, shall be entitled to vote at the said election. 3 At the annual meeting of the Society, the Board of Directors shall present a general report of its proceedings, and of those of the Society during the past year; and the Secretary and Treasurer shall present their annual reports. MONTHLY AND ANNUAL MEETINGS. 1 The Society, unless otherwise specially ordered by the Directors, shall hold its stated meeting for the transaction of business, on the first Monday of each month oi the year, except July. August and September. 2 The President, or, in his absence, one of the Vice- Presidents may, and upon the written request of five mem- bers shall call a special meeting’ of the Society, by giving three days' notice thereof in two daily newspapers pub- lished in the City of New York. DEBTS. The debts of the Society, beyond the funds in the treas- ury, shall never exceed one hundred dollars. ORDER OF BUSINESS. At all stated meetings of the Society for the transaction of ordii ary business, the order of proceedings shall be as follows : 1. Reading of the Minutes. 2. Reports and communications from officers of the Society and Committees. 3. Election of Members. 4. Special Orders. 5. Unfinished Business. 6. Miscellaneous Business. 7. Papers and addresses delivered before the Society. 29 NOTICES AFTER THE ORGANIZATION. Times , Nov. 28, 1874 — Editorial . The organization and purposes of the “Dwelling Re- form Association,” to which reference is made in another column, deserve public attention and support. At a time when the high rate of mortality from contagious diseases in this city is mainly due to the overcrowding of our tene- ment population, no movement can be more seasonable than one which proposes to aid in furnishing cleanly and roomy abodes for the laboring classes. In its efforts “ to promote the normal distribution of population in town and country,” the society is likely to find an extensive field of operations during the present winter. * * — •> — « Ed. Mail , Nov . 28, 1874 — Editorial. HOUSING THE POOR. We have not the space to-day to develop the purposes of the “ Dwelling Reform Association,” which was organ- ized yesterday. The main object is “ to improve, cheapen, and render more accessible and more attractive the homes of the masses of the people, and to promote the normal dis- tribution of population in town and country.” There are many methods of realizing this object, one of which ha s been put in practice the past year by Mr. Edward Mat- thews, who has leased the upper lofts of a fine store in low- er Broadway, as dwellings. What he has done profitably could be imitated, with excellent results, by hundreds of owners of down-town stores, whose lofts — airy, healthy, spacious and comfortable — are now tenantless, while a sin- gle East Side block reeks with the filth of over three thous- and wretched human beings. The general introduction of elevators will add tens of thousands of fir-t-class rooms, now unused, to the facilities for quartering our poorer classes. X It is to direct public and private attention in this direc- tion of humanitarian effort ; to call out the suggestions of experienced architects, landlords and travelers, and to sup- ply hints for the owners of partly unoccupied stores and other business structures, that the “ Dwelling Reform Asso- ciation ” is instituted. Of its work more hereafter. We will only add to-day, that the President of the Association, Mr. Parke Godwin, has probably devoted more time and thought to the subject of “ housing” the poor, and has in- vestigated the foreign experiments more thoroughly than any other of our citizens. ► — ♦ Times , Nov. 28, 1874. DOWN-TOWN DWELLING REFORM. MOVEMENT OF CITIZENS TO IMPROVE DOMICILIARY FACILI- TIES — SOMETHING TO INTEREST ALL RESIDENTS — ELECTION OF OFFICERS. An organization which will hereafter be known as “ The Dwelling Reform Association ” was brought into existence yesterday, at a meeting of scientists and philanthropists and at the office of Mr. Carl Pfeiffer, No. 113 Broadway At that meeting the movement took practical shape by the election of the following officers : * * The remaining officers and directors ( to the number of 21 ) will be elected at a meeting to be held hereafter. In con- nection with a reprint edition of articles from the Times and other journals on the objects of the movement, the Association has published an explanatory prospectus, in which they say : * * * [Here was quoted the entire “ Preface ” of this pamphlet, and a statement was given of the correspondence, etc.] Com. Aclver.y Nov. 28, 1874. A COMMENDABLE MOVEMENT. DOWN-TOWN DWELLINGS. * * * * * Stated more specifically, the design is to make the lower wards of New York City more attractive as a place of resi- 31 dence. Not only is it practicable to erect buildings ex- pressly designed for dwelling purposes, but large numbers of costly and well-arranged buildings down-town, now used only for mercantile purposes, are equally well adapted in their upper floors to the use of families. A number of substantial tenement houses have recently been completed, like that on the site of the old North River Bank, corner of Greenwich and Dey streets ; also on State Street front- ing the Battery, formerly esteemed the most aristocratic in New York. A still better form of investment is, to con- vert down-town lofts into residences, rather than attempt to supplant business property for domestic purposes. As a rule, janitors in the lower wards, occupy apartments that are palatial in comparison with the tenements up-town, and the desire is to make property of this character more generally attractive, thereby utilizing buildings now occu- pied only in part, and at the same time tend to relieve the pressure up town. + The Herald , World, Sun , JEv. Post and Tribune , etc. had good notices of the formation of the society, and there was no adverse criticism. OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS, 1875. OFFICERS. President, PARKE GODWIN, Vice Pres., J. M. BUNDY, Treasurer, J. K. INGALLS, Secretary, SAMUEL LEAVITT. DIRECTORS. HIRAM BARNEY, J. M. BUNDY, HOWARD CROSBY, C. F. DEEMS, PARKE GODWIN, A. S. HEWITT, J. B. HODGSKIN, ELISHA HARRIS, J. K. INGALLS, SAMUEL LEAVITT, JOHN MAC MULLEN, CARL PFEIFFER, G. W. SAMSON, B. B. SHERMAN, STEPHEN SMITH, SAMUEL WILLETS. ' V /