' 16
THE PITTSBURG DISPATCH, SUNDAY, MAT 22. 1893.
CHILDREN
I SLUMS
John nal)l)erton Takes
Stroll Througlitlie China
town of New York.
a
DEPEAYITY Otf ALL SIDES.
The Babies, If They Do Kot Die, Learn
to Swear First Thin?.
FDSEEALS ARE VERY COMMON.
The Mongolians Are Xot the Worst Element
of the District
LITTLE OSES TLATIXG IN THE GOITER
1 CORRESrONDEKCE OF THE DIJP ATCH.
Kew Your, May 2L New Tort has the
unfortunate distinction of containing more
unusual people to the square mile than any
other portion of the civilized world. For
instance, there is a very large area right on
the line of common travel between the busi
ness portion of the city and the genera resi
dence section in which human beings are
packed as closely as sardines in a box. The
section alluded to is what is called the
"Chinese quarter," not that it consists en
tirely of Chinamen, but because pigtails
and almond eyes are the distinguishing
features of the locality. It comprises three
streets Mulberry, Doyer and PelL They
differ as to length and points of compass,
but as to Oriental complexion and Asiatic
squalor they are distinct by themselves.
When one conies to look the country over
these squares don't share much room be
tween them, for the entire area which they
describe is not much larger than an ordi
nary pasture lot behind a farmer's house;
but all measurements are relative, and in
the city of New York the ground upon
which a tenement house may be placed,
although it never is larger than 25 by 100
feet, can be made to contain 20 or more
families, with all the joys and the sorrows
which are peculiar to common humanity.
The FIctQrrsciarnrss and Hopelessness.
Pell street is named after a prominent
man uho gained American position and
universal rank by starting a large settle
ment in the county of "Westchester, and
also "taking up" some property iu the city
of New York. As he made a great deal of
money by each operation no one whose
opinion is worth anything in the real estate
market is likely to find fault witli him, but
the fact remains that the street which, is
named after him hasn't the slightest re
semblance to the dignity and respectability
which had been thought appropriate to the
lord of Ptlham Manor. It is a short street,
only two blocks in length. It starts from
one very ancient and now unpopular road
is ay to-wit, the Bowery and ends in an
other which is a great deal worse by the
name of Jlott street The three streets
named, with Doyers, which cannot be un
tangled from the others when a man has a
map in his hand, so irregular of direction is
Borers street, include a mass of humanity
Which for picturesqueness and hopelessness
cannot be equaled anywhere else in the
United States.
These several streets, all of which are in
the Chinese quarter, present diflerent as
pects at diflerent times of the dav. "Were a
philanthropist to read this paper and then
stroll down to Chinatown in the middle of
the day to see how much of it might be true,
he probably would find the streets almost
barren and deserted. In front of an occa
sional shop would be one of the Irishmen
or Germans who keep grocery stores and
always stick to a given locality as long as
they find any trade that has money in it
Very Qalet Daring tils Day.
Otherwise he would see only an occa
sional dead-broke Chinaman or a capper for
a celestial gambling den a lounger who
looks as if he were ashamed of himself be
cause he is not hard at work, like all others
who belong to the dominant race of that
locality. Perhaps, too, he would see an oc
casional African or Italian, who would
hurry away on the intimation that the
policeman of the beat had just come into
the street These streets, however, make a
very diflerent appearance at 7 o'clock in
the morning. In several of them there is a
prevalence of almond eyes, pigtails and
everything else which pertains to Chinese
custom. A man who had been in China
misrht imagine himself back again were it
not for the number of children, with faces
distinctly American and manners peculiar
onlr to unrestrained juvenility, who
sprinkle themselves liberally upon all the
sidewalks.
A little before 9 o'clock all of these chil
dren will have disappeared, not to return
again until tho middle of the afternoon.
"When they start in the morning their faces
and hands are clean, and in spite of an occa
sional patch they look as neat as any possi
ble American sovereigns, but six or seven
hours later they are sitting together on
curbstones over the gutter, having a real
good time with all their acquaintances and
teeling verv glad that school and its various
responsibilities and restrictions cannot be
gin before 9 o'clock the next day. Some of
these youngsters are entirely of Caucasian
blood and as good as any whom they may
meet in the school yard at dinner time, for
poverty does not destroy family spirit or
prevent any man from making his children
look as well as possible and giving them
a fair start in the world.
The Curse of Mixed Marriages.
On the other hand there are a great many
youngsters whose eyes suggest the tradi
tional almond which has marked the Asiatio
race. They show also that to many China
men in what is called the "laundry district"
the goddess of love has appeared in the
guise of an attractive woman of German
or Irish extraction. There have been a
number of warnings against mixed mar
riages down in that portion of the city.
Clergymen, policemen and other men.whose
business it is to know what is going on.
have said very earnestly that a woman with
any respect tor herself should avoid mar
riage with a Chinaman about as carefully as
she would avoid taking an engagement as
nurse in a smallpox hospital. But Cupid
always gets ahead of the people who give
advice, so a number of pigtailed gentlemen
in the tiny bit of Manhattan Island which
I am writing about have found satisfactory
wives and the wives seem entirelv satisfied
with their husbands. An entire newspaper
could be filled with reasons why both par
ties to such a contract would be probably
disappointed, but that wouldn't prove any
thing more than occurs after most mar
riages upon which Church and society
smile.
Every Chinaman is supposed to be here
for the sole purpose of making enough
money to go back to China and end his days
there. "Were he to take an American wile
with him all of his ancestors who may be
living would regard her first as a curiosity
and then as a siave, to be sold at whatever
price could be obtained and for whatever
purpose the purchaser might have in view.
Qnite possibly some of the Chinamen who
have married here do not intend to tro back
to China; they have memories, and know
that they are better offin a New York slum
than they ever could be in their native
laud.
Chinamen Always Go to the Slmnt,
Besides, evil communications corrupt
good manners. No Chinaman can fail to be
affected by American disrespect for age, al
though in the land of the Celestials one's
ancestors are reckoned almost among the
deities. The Chinese are said to have made
part of New York worse than it ever was
before, but the real truth is that the China
man never settles anywhere except among
the lowest and most debased people of the
city into which he happens to have strayed.
John Chinaman wasn't looking for bad com
pany when he selected ahis present colony
site, but on general '"principles he as
sumed that he had reached his proper posi
tion. Nothing around him was quite as
nasty and dirty as what he left behind him
In his own native land, where pavements,
JL Oammon Scene in Pell Street.
street sweepers and scavengers are un
known. He didn't know how anything
could be worse than China, so he was" ready
to look for what might be better with the
calm confidence of the poker player to
whom any change of cards will be gratify
ing. For some reason which no one has ever
been able to discover the Chinese fixed
upon Mott street as their permanent habitat,
although Mott street, rieht in their vicini
ty, was the site of the original Roman Cath
olic Cathedral of the city of New York an
edifice to which thousands of devout wor
shipers resort to this day. Of course, John
Chinaman couldn't be expected to pay any
respect to a place of this sort: he had no an
imosities, but neither had he any sympa
thies, so he slowly overran Mott street until
to-day, except for the Cathedral and the
house of the clergyman directly opposite,
there are very few buildings of anv kind in
front of which there is not a CEinaman's
sign.
John's Heart In the Eight Place.
In this part of the city John Chinaman
can be studied at leisure, and it is only fair
to him to say that he stands this sort of
ordeal quite as well as it he were an Amer-
can. He never pretends to be anybody in
particular and he makes no pretensions now,
but he does know that he works n full dav
for a day's pay and doesn't charge more
thpn any one else, and why it is that little
Irish boys should throw stones at him and
the German children should jeer him he
can't understand. Neither can L He has
taken an American wite, and he has the
reputation of being a very considerate hus
band and father, a virtue which is very
scarce in the part of the city of which he is
the fondest His children don't braid their
hair into queues, but they do have almond
eyes, and they are very fond of their father,
which seems to show that after all the bad
things that are said about him John still
has a heart in the right place which is out
side of his outlandish clothing.
If any Californian who is rabid on the
subject of possible Asiatic dominion in this
country were to come over here and go
through the Chinese quarter of this city he
would be obliged to see a great many things
which wouldn't be in keeping with Pacifio
coast ideas. One is that the environment
doesn't always make the man. Bight down
in shabby, dirty Pell street he would find
two or three Chinese shops, each of which Is
managed by a man who is quite as shrewd,
sympathetic and quick witted as any man
in similar position anywhere else in the
United States. One of these Americo
Chinese iellows whom I dropped in upon
was the living image of our new Secretary
of War, Mr. Steve Elkins. This statement
is not uncomplimentary to either of the
gentlemen named, for the Chinaman looked
healthy, manly and sensible, and his eyes
asked "the customary question which every
one expects of a business man, "Who are
you, how mnch money have you abont your
clothes and what do you come here for?"
W hen the San Sets on Mott Street
There is another side,however,to the slum
life of this quarter of old New York, arid it
U visible after 6 P. M. when, the workmen
in the few factories on the street go away
and tne innaoitants oi tne various tene
ment houses in the vioinity return to their
homjs. Then the aspect of the street is en
tirely different Everybody likes a resting
time once in 21 hours, and if Pell street and
Mott street and Doyers street live up to
their privileges there is nothing in the laws
of the Police Department or in the city or
dinances in general to prevent them.
It is after 6 in the afternoon and before
7 in the morning that the very un-American
spectacles which are presented in this lo
cality may be seen by any one who chooses
to look. It is due the inhabitants to say
that they make no secret of their customary
methods of life, and the social code of man
ners in the poorer districts finds no fault
with the American slummer's stare, al
though it is quite as ofienBlve as anything
British. Let the visitor beware, though;
because the people live out of doors when
the weather allows it does not follow that
ihey expect uninvited visitors to enter their
nouses. Nobody in the Chinese quarter is
likely to be ugly, but a great many are as
full of Belf-respect as if they lived on Fifth
avenue or on one of the swell streets which
cross that fashionable thoroughfare. They
sit on their doorsteps and fire escapes, in
full view of everyone, for the Chinaman
privacy is desirable only for vicious pur
poses. Visits are exchanged as informally
as among the Dutch founders of the city,
and the sidewalks are crowded with men
chatting with one another. Window shades
are not drawn, so anyone may pry into the
domestic affairs of John Chinaman to his
heart's content
Miseries and Mysteries or the Street
Indeed, one most look aside from the
Chinese if he would see the dark side of
Chinatown. The Celestials have their
vices, chief among which are gambling aud
opium smoking, but a more quiet, harmless
lot of people cannot be found in the best
streets ot the city. The miseries and
mysteries of the vicinity are to be found
not among the Asiatic heathen, but in the
houses in which Caucasians huddle together.
Why lodging houses and family tenements
should be popular in a part of the city
which is lull of beings whom the lower
classes profess to abhor is hard to explain;
that they are there, and fully occupied, can
be seen at a glance. Perhaps the occupants
have learned oy experience that tne Chinese
are inoffensive neighbors; certainly no
other class of men drink so little or make
less trouble for those who do not annoy
them.
It neves is hard to find drunken Caucasian
and negroes in Chinatiown, but a reeling
Chinaman would be a curiosity. The Irish
American corner loafer is there with his ir
repressible inclination to make Borne howl;
tramps of, any and all nationalities are
there, too, for partof Chinatown's streets
are storage places for wagons at night, and
a wagon is as good a bedroom 'as any tramp
can ask for in warm weather. Decent
women pass through the streets without fear
of being annoyed by the almond-eyed
loungers; the Chinaman seldom speaks to a
woman who does not first address him, and
women of this class abound in the Chinese
streets. ,
The Chlldran of Chinatown.
Strangest of alL however, in this strange
locality is the presence of a number of de
cent families. Perhaps they live there for
old association's sake, perhaps to be near
the place where the man of the family earns
his living. City men and women who work
hard for little money seem not to care much
where are the four walls which sheljer them
at night but how decent people can allow
their children to live amid such surround
ings Dasies comprehension. The street is
the only playground of the little ones, in
which respect the locality doesn't differ at
all trom any other tenement House district,
but there are many streets which are not
infested by toughs and tramps, and in which
dens of vice do not abound. Bents are very
high in Chinatown, for the emigrants from
China are willing to pay higher prices than
any other class of lessees. Most of the
houses are too old to be fit to live in, and
the most profitable business in the neigh
borhood, next to rum selling, teems to be
done by the undertakers.
There are healthy looking children there
some races seem to thrive better in the
gutter than others in palaces but even in
these-early spring days, when everyone
should be rejoicing in the health giving air,
one may see pallid mothers, with infants
equally pallid, and safely predict a score of
funerals at an early date. The poverty which
crushes into dumb despair
One half the human raco,
seems to have got In some of its most suc
cessful work among the Caucasian inhabi
tants ot Chinatown.
A Funeral Is a Matter of Course.
The people do not seem desperate nor bad;
they are merely hopeless of ever being any
better ofl than they are now, and they don t
easily scare at the thought of sickness or
death. As to that, they seldom are ill.
Only the fittest have snrvived in ihe long
struggle with bad air and insufficient food.
Babies born in the neighborhood generally
conclude to go back to heaven as soon as
possible, and their parents have learned to
regard a funeral as a matter of course. How
the children who survive grow to decent
manhood and womanhood, as some of them
do, can't be explained except through
recognition of the religious influences which
are brought to bear upon some of them, for
there is nothing bad which they do not see
and hear, and childhood is quite as
curious and quick-witted in the slums as
anywhere else.
The only protection Is in the fact that the
youngsters are abed and asleep $ the hours
in which the depraved classes are most
active. A good deal of mischief may be
learned, however, on the sidewalk in the
long summer evenings, while loafers of
both sexes are freeing their minds in lan
guage peculiar to their tastes and social
status.and that it is learned may be quickly
observed by any passerby who will keen
his ears open.. On the other hand, the
youngsters make the most of their oppor
tunities for innocent diversion.
The Utile Ones Seem Happy.
"What are you doing, Johnny 1" I 'asked
of a small boy who sat on the ourbstone and
stirred the foul water of the gutter with his
feet "Takln'abath," was the reply, and
the little fellow looked as happy as if he
were wading along the beach at Coney
Island. To see the scores of children try
ing to amuse themselves without anything
to do it with is to long for money enough
to send them all on an excursion some
where, no matter where, if only to an
abandoned field in the country, but whether
they would know what to do when "they
reached it is doubtful. Probably they
would wish themselves back home, with a
cool curbstone to sit upon and dark stair
nays upon which to race up and down.
The redeeming feature of child life in the
worst streets is that many of the half grown
boys and girls seem devoted to their
smaller brothers and sisters. Babes out for
an airing are generally carried by their
sisters instead of their mothers, and when
you see a 2-year-old boy toddling about
there is almost sure to be an older boy
watching him to see that he does not come
to harm. In short, there can be found more
contradictions of human nature in the
course of a short walk in the slums above
described than any novelist ever succeeded
in evolving from his own imagination.
JQHK HABBEEIOS".
TALK IS CHEAP-
EVERYBODY IS TALKING OF THE WONDERFUL TRADE
:ARE DOING
And we find when the people talk and tell their friends about our "FAIR DEALINGS AND
HONEST VALUES," Low Prices and Easy Payments,. this is the
CHEAPEST ADVERTISEMENT.
Call and see our line of
REFRIGERATORS,
Consisting of five walls, viz:
i
i Outside case of hard wood.
2 A heavy .packing of mineral
wool (not charcoal).'
3 A wall of resin-sized paper.
4 A wall of matched lumber.
5 A wall of heavy zinc, air and
water tight
sKiiHRj jmsetfrru H
GET THE BEST.
IT WILL PAY IN FOOD AND ICE SAVED-
Call or Send For Catalogue.
To see our
BABY CARRIAGES
Means to Buy.
Beautiful in Design,
Durable in Construction,
Lowest in Prices.
Cash or Easy Payments.
OUR GARRET
Department has just received
a number of fast-selling pat
terns, and if you are buying
Carpets take our advice and
call early. We have just what
you need at the right price
cash or credit.
fc We are making the finest display of PARL OR andBEDR 0 OM SUITS ever shown, $
$ and prices are low, very low, for reliable goods.
CASH OR EASY PAYMENTS.
THE MORE WE SELL
THE CHEAPER
WE SELL.
THE CHEAPER
WE SELL
THE MORE WE SELL.
AND WED O SELL MORE
THAN WE DID BE
CAUSE WE
SELL CHEAPER.
The Most Liberal Complete Housefurnishing Establishment
IITsT PITTSBTJRGr,
Cor. Tenth St: Penn Avenue
ECIAL ATTRACTIONS FOR MONDAY
GENTLEMEN
You positively can't go wrong in
buying your new spring suit
of us. You can't buy anything
but a stylish 'garment here,
and we'll not allow you to
wear it away unless it fits.
It is not our desire" to
catch you with a price, but
we do ask you to look at our
stock, knowing full well that
it will stand the closest in
vestigation and leave no
room for doubt in your mind
that you do wisely when you invest your money with us
for clothing.
We can't begin to tell you in the space at command a
tenth part ot the styles and fabrics we have to show. We
could quote
STYLES BY THE DOZEN. .V.
PRICES BY THE SCORE. .V.
FABRICS BY THE HUNDRED.
LLi lr'.7
C AVOW 'f
Fv Wa"T 1 I 1
4 My l!
mm i its.
A HAT SALE WITHOUT A PARALLEL
0N MONDAY
.
A ORAwn ftiTRPRTRpHTHE THREE AGES OF BOYSn!
For The Ladies
ANY STIFF HAT
IN THE
C
$
And then you would be but little wiser. But a visit will re
veal to you that we have the largest and finest assortment
of Men's fine Suits between the prices of
S$8
TO
$25
TV
TO BE SEEN IN THE CITY.
..STOCK..
Including the
. Latest
Blocks of
MILLER,
YOUMAN,
DUNLAP
and
KNOX.
"B GB 3 jn EE5EE5Etj E8 BB E8 E3
FOB. CHOICE II FOR CHOICE
S1.0&, 81.08, 1 1 Si L gi.co, SI.08
S2.40, S2.69. II I Ijj I I 83.40, SS-00
HAT IN.. ( J 1 I U U .....HAT IN
THE STOCK. HI tjie STOCK..
E B 83 & Rfl PH E3 a , es a
Here's an offer that should not escape the attention of
every Lady who thinks of buying a Cape this week, and
will lead many to do so who had no such intention.
YOUR CHOICE, LADIES,
Of any Cape in our grand assortment for
We are thoroughly equipped with an immense assort
ment of Boys' Clothing from which we can suit each .age.
$7.50
Colors are Black, Brown, Java, Pecan, Nutria, Cinnamon, Slate and
other shades, lined or unlined.
This is not a sale to get rid of old stock, for we have none. Every
hat in the house is new, seasonable and of the latest style.
This offer is simply a continuation of our policy to afford an op
portunity each week for the purchase of goods at prices that com
pletely annihilate competition.
As this sale means an enormous loss to us, it will positively be but
for one day MONDAY. You will be wise if you come early.
No matter what its previous price, whether 7.50, 10, 12, fi$ or
even 25, you can take your pick for just $7.50 MONDAY and
TUESDAY.
Such a sale was never heard of and such values were never given in
Pittsburg before. We advise the Ladies to come early.
Another Startler
This illustration represents an ele
gant Ladies' Blazer Suit of English
Broadcloth, Collar, belt and skirt
handsomely embroidered and
trimmed with nailheads in black,
blue, tan and gray. Never was
such a suit offered at such a price.
$9.75
Without Embroidery on Skirt,
$7.75.
THE KILT AGE
The Baby grows into a Boy when he
puts on Kilts. And a very charming
Boy frequently when he gets a becom
ing suit
Our' showing is an immense one, in
cluding all the styles found in the market;
and scores of novelties made to our order.
3&
xTHE KNICKERBOCKER AGE
THE AGE OF SHORT PANTS
For Boys Between )
6 and 15 Years
We show an assortment in which
every parent's taste can be fully
met and every pocketbook accommodated.
?THB yOTTTIEH: JLQ-EE
SHOE SNAPS THIS WEEK.
Misses' Red Goat; button, sizes 11 to 2,
widths, A to D, $1.48. Same shoes in
child's, A to D, 8 to 10, $1. 18; sizes 6 to
8, 98c; sizes 4 to 6, 65a
Our line of Oxfords in Ladies', Misses'
and Children's is complete.
t IWBWyM Htf JIHasalpvaB Mg?,T''!BrTT"""r ljLj . , r ,-,- nr
Suits for Boys from 14 to 20 years of age. Almost a
repetition of materials and styles to be found in our Men's
Suit Department A showing of nobby, stylish and perfect
fitting suits that delights the youths and at prices that please
those who pay the bill.
WE CAN SAVE YOU MONEY
.ON.,
UNDERWEAR, NECKWEAR,
HOSIERY, HANDKERCHIEFS,
NEGLIGEE SHIRTS
And the score and one articles that are
included in Gents' Furnishing Goods.
iMiWiiih
"x
i
-'
...... M