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1 2 3

" The City

• ti??

Below the Hill

A Sociological Study of a portion of the City
of Montreal, Canada.

HERBERT BROWN AMES, B.A.

/iDoutreal :

THE BISHOP ENGRAVING pj^' PRINTING COMPANY,
169 ST. JAMES STREET.

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*"IMM<tMinit»M

CONTENTS.

I'AGE

I Introduction, - . . ■*

II Employment, ------... g

III The Composition of the Family, le

IV Family Incomes and Workers Wages, . - - . . 21

V The Homes of the Wage-Earners, 27

VI Comparative Rentals, ....... ^^

VII Density and Overcrowding, - . . . 4t

VIII The Poor of the West End, - - - - 49

IX The Death Rate, eg

X Nationalities and Religion, .... g-

Statistics of "the city below the hil r 1896 - - - 74

Introduction.

The situation and boundarini of ''The City heloiv the Hiir' — Comparison with
''The City abo-oe the in/l''-~How the fii^nres for these articks -were
ol>tained—]Vhy this district was selected —Lines upon which this
sociological investigation has been pursued— Purpose of these articles.

If one wore to draw a line across the map of a portion of the
city of Montreal, following Lagauchetiere street from its junction with
Bleury street to the Windsor Station and thence al(ni<,r the tracks of
the C.P.R. as far as the city limits, he would divide the south-western
half of our city into two occupied districts of nearly equal extent.
One of these districts, that to the west, is upon hi<;h i,n-ound ; the
other, that to the east, is in the main but little above the river level.
The former region, for lack of a better name, we shall call " The city
above the hill," the latter, in contrast therefrom, " The city below the
hill." To pass from the former into the latter it is necessary to
descend a considerable hill and with this descent becomes noticeable
•a marked change in the character of the inhabitants and in the
nature of their surroundings. Looking down from the mountain top
upon these two areas, the former is seen to contain many sjjires, but no
tall chimneys, the latter is thickly sprinkled with such evidences of
industry and the air hangs heavy with their smoke.

" The city above the hill" is the home of the classes. Within its
well-built residences will be found the captains of industry, the owners

: I

of rciil estate, aiul those who labor with lirain rather tliaii hand,
Ilere in preflomiiiatiiitj; proportitMi reside the einployinj^, the profes-
sional and the salaried classes. The niamial worker in this (hstrict is
indeed rare, the Iionie of the poor cannot there be foiuid. It is the
exclusive habitat of the rich and of the well-to-do.

" The cit)' below the hill," on the other hand, is the dwelling
place of the masses. Here it is the rich man that one finds it
difficult to discover. Salaried and professional men are not entirely
lackini^, but even when to their number are added the shop-keepers and
hotel men, these together represent but 15 per cent, of its population.
" The cit}' below the hill " is the home of the craftsman, of the
manual waj^^e-earner, of the mechanic and the clerk, and three-quarters
of its populati(jn belont;' to this, the real industrial class. This area is
not without its poor, and, as in other cities, a submerged tenth is
present with its claims upon neighborl)' s)'mpath\'.

Most of the residents of the upper city know little and at times
seem to care less -regarding their fellow-men in the city below. To
many of the former the condition of the latter is as little known as
that of natives in Central Africa. With man}' of the upper city all
that they regard as of interest to or with effect upon their daily life
is located either in the section wherein they reside or that wherein
their dail}- business is transacted. To pass from the one to the other
only well ordered thoroughfares are travelled. From this beaten
track they seldom wander and of other regions they pos.sess little or
no knowledge. At this time in the world's history, when careful
observers and honest thinkers in every land are coming more and
more to realize what is meant by the interdependence of society
when those who study city life are each day more fully persuaded that
ordinary urban conditions are demoralizing and that no portion of
the communit)' can be allowed to deteriorate without danger to the
whole, when it is being proven over and over again by enlightened
municipalities that the public health can be conserved, morals
improved and lives saved by a right knowledge of local conditions
and the proper use of measures for their amelioration, it is opportune
that the citizens of Montreal should, for a time, cea.se di.scussing the
slums of London, the beggars of Paris and the tenement house evils
of New York and endeavor to learn something about them.selvcs and

tliaii hand.
tlic profcs-
s district is
. It is the

10 dwelling-
nc finds it
lot entirely
weepers and
population,
an, of the
ee-quarters
This area is
ed tenth is

nd at times

below. To

c known as

per city all

ir daily life

lat wherein

o the other

:his beaten

ess little or

len careful

more and

of society

uadcd that

portion of

i^er to the

nlightened

ed, morals

conditions

opportune

ussing the

louse evils

iselves and

to unilerstand more perfect!)' the conditions present in their very
midst.

During the autumn and earl)- u niter of 1896, in an endeavor to
obtain accurate information along certain sociological lines for at least
a limited pf)rtion of the cit)' of Montreal, a house-to-house canvass
was made of the district alrcad)' entitled "the city under the hill."
An unofficial industrial census was taken by experienced men of the
area l\ing within the following boundaries : On the west Lagauche-
tiere street and the Canadian I'acific tracks, on the north St. Alex-
ander and McGill streets, on the east Centre street and a line
extended in the same direction as far as the ri\er, and on the .south
the city limits and Laprairie street. If one were to take a cit)' map
and describe thereon an oblong by means of lines connecting the
following points, \i/.., intersection of the CMM-i. by the cit)- limits,
St. Patrick's church, the middle of the guard piei, and St. Gabriel
church, he would fairU" enclose the area selected for examination.
This district, including part of the canals and ^v•harves, parks, streets,
etc., is about a square mile in extent and includes 475 acres dedicated
to purpo.scs of business or residence. Since nearly thirty-eight
thousand persons dwell and about seventeen thou.sand persons labor
therein, we have here sufficient material to enable us to strike rea.son-
able axerages and form fair conclusions. The enumerators were
instructed to obtain information upon the following points : regarding
each place of emjjloyment, the number of workers and their division
into men, women, and children ; regarding each residence the number
of families therein, number of rooms per family, number of persons
in family and the proportion thereof of adults, school children, young
children anrl lodgers, the rental paid, the wages earned, the sanitary
accommodation, the nationality, the religious belief and other similar
matters. The figures thus gathered were then carefully combmed
and tabulated. Vox purposes of comparison " the cit\' below the hill "
was also divided into thirty .sections and the averages for each section
worked out. This material forms the basis of the .series of articles
which, accompanied by illustrative maps appear in this pamphlet.

There are reasons why the region selected is especially adapted
to sociological investigation. It is naturally homogeneous, not as to
nationalities, but as to the social scale of its residents. It is a district

oir THe .

» sscrtoAf.
: o y£o r/f,

the boundaries of which conform with natural conditions. C'Hinbthe
hill, crossin^r anywhere our western linnt, and one emerges at once
into the habitat of the ui)|)er middle class. Cross McOill street and
one IS forthu ith amon^^ warehouses and office buildinj^s. wherein no
residential population can be foimd. liexond Centre street lies that
special district of Point St. Charles, which is almost an independent
suburb by itself, bein-; sustained b\- emplo\nient furnished in the
offices and workshops of the (i. T. k. Only to the southward, as
one crosses Laprairie .' treet, or that inia«,nnar>' line in the vicimty of
Fulford aiul Dominion streets which separates the cit\- from St.
Cune.t,r(,ndc, does one ask wh>- our census stopped here rather than at
a point be\'ond.

One more consideration i^ives to the study of this .section an
added interest. The wa<,re-earners amoni,^ oi„- people are drawn
almost exclusively from three nationalities, the iM-ench-Canadian, the
Irish-Canadian, and the Briti.sh-Canadian. In this district, and in no
other considerable area throui,diout the entire cit)-, are the.se three
nationalities blended tot;ether in not very unequal proportion.s. The
study of any other workingcla.ss region would be the stud)- of but
one predominatin«,r nationalit)-. Mere we can stud>- a class rather
than a race.

Satisfied then that the district selected is one especiallx- adapted
to ^dve returns which ma)- fairl\- be taken to represent industrial
Montreal and may be u.sed when comparintj fi^nires with other cities,
let me in closinf,^ this introductory outline i,Mve the topics under which
will be treated the material made available by this census.

2. lunploj-ment, where furnished and to what extent.

3. The composition of the typical family.

4. I%amily incomes and workers' wat^^es.

5. The homes of the industrial cla.ss.

6. Comparative rentals.

7. Density of population and over-crowdin<j in the home.

8. The poor of the " West End."

9. The de th rate and .some of its les.sons.

10. Nationalities, their location and di.stribution.

There are amoni,^ the dwellers of "the city above the hill " not a
few, we believe, who have the wellfare of their fellow-men at heart.

/•

V >l-'

oir THe H/L.1I

,, II J I __|l -x-.

«'-^^.--i

C M A R

Map A

''■r//£: c/yy bslow the: h/l±.

/raovs " fofUi-AT/of^ or « seer ion/.

^ HA RUE 5

who realize that there is no influence more elevatinjr than the proper
home, who acknouled-e that there is need for improvement in the
matter of housin- the ucrkin- chisses of this city, and who would
bj wiihn- to assist any movement of a semi-philanthropic character
having for its object the erection of proper homes for the famihes of
u'orkin- men. These persons are business men. They are not those
uho take things for granted. The)' require to have demonstrated
to them in black and white the local need for action and the
conditions-changing with every locality-to which it would be
needful to conform to meet the needs of the case, and, at the same
time, yield reasonable financial returns.

I^'or such as these this series of articles is especially intended
1 hope before man)- months to be able to supplement it with still
another paper, demonstrating, from actual experiment, that " Philan-
t iropy and 5 p.M- cent." in Montreal, as elsewhere, can be combined

II.

Employment.

fV/ij' this should be the first matter considered—The figures o„ Map B.
explained—The four questions considered— ist. : As to ivhat portions
of the lower city are employing and what residential ; 2nd: Where
the chief industrial establishments are located and the amount of
employment they furnish : jrd : As to the character of the worh. the
proportion of women and children and the kinds of labor upon which
they are employed : 4th : As to ivhether the district furnishes homes for
all therein employed— Conclusion : Why this section is eminently fitted
for philanthropic investment.

One of the first matters worthy of consideration in our stud)- of
* the city belou- the hill " is the location and distribution, the quantity
and character ..f the employment therein furnished. We have already
learned that the district furnishes homes for nearly thirty-ei-ht
thousand persons, and we nou- further desire to ascertain where a'iid
how these residents secure that employment whereby they are enabled
to subsist. In choosin- a home, all other circumstances bein<,- equal
the wa^rc-earner prefers to locate in the vicinity of his daily work,'
and. therefore, unless counteracting conditions are found to exist, the
prevalence of centres of lar-c employment will be accompanied b>-
an abundance of dwellings not far distant.

Map H shows the area under consideration divided into thirty
•sections for purposes of comparative examination. Certain figures
will be noticed inscribed within the limits of each .section and these

■'4
1

first clem:ui:l explanation Just above the Roman letters which
desinrjiate the section is set forth the number of phices therein
furnisln'ii!^ employment. Every cstabHshment, from the lar^'e factorj-
with several hundred workmen to the corner grocery which cmploy>
but one clerk, is here included as a place of empk>yp^ent. To the
left of the section luir ber is foun 1 the totality of persons therein
employed, to the right the nurri ler of " lab>)r jnits* " thercb)-
represented. In the centre we have the number o'" ' ''-i'- units ' per
acre, and below this again the average number ^ ^ " labor units " for
each place of employment. P'inally in the lower right hand corner
of the .section is a plus or minus quantity representing the excess or
lack of wage-workers employed compared with wage-earners resident
within the given section. The meaning of the figures on the map can
be made clearer by illustration : Take section I as an example. We
find that there are within its boundaries 6o places of employmen
wherein i69<S persons, represented b)' 1465 "labor units" are employed ;
that this section gives emploj-ment at the rate of 125^^^ " labor units "
per acre of territory; that on an average 24,^ "labor units" arc
assignable to each establishment; and lastly that 1441 mm' \\ii<fc-
earners obtain work within its limits than reside therein.

4^^"om these data we are enabled, bj- comparing the corresponding
figures of the several sections, to draw definite conclusions upon the
following matters :

1st. As to what sections throughout the district may be termed
" employing " and what " residential " and the location of these in
groups.

2nd. As to the location and distribution of the larger industrial
establishments and the amount of emploj-ment furnished throughout
the " employing belt."

* Tlie term " lalior unit '" is to lie thus undcrstooii : A man is taUcn as the unit of
measurement. A woman is regarded as representin<j 14 and a child % of this unit. Thus
four persons, one man, one woman and two children would represent two " labor units."
Where the number of "labor units," as in section lo, is nearly etjual to the number
employed, it is obvious that womar. and child labor in this section exi>t to a very inconsider-
able extent ; when, however, as is the case in section 2, there is apparent a great difference
between the left and right hand numliers, this signifies that here many women and children
find work.

3rci. As to the character of the employment aiui the propor-
tionate amount therein of woman and child labor.

4th. As to whether the city undc. the hill employs more persons
than It supplies with homes.

1st. The total number of places of labor throughout the entire
area of " the city below the hill" is nxkoned at 1442. In these
establishments .6,237 persons fi id work, a fi-ure represented by
• 4.289 "labor units." This does not include the employers, ,vho
would probably number 2000 more. O^nino- to the first aspect of
the question, viz., the .separation of the sections into those of employ-
ment and those of residence, we observe at once that no section
\yithm the district fails to furnish at least some employment, thouLdi
the amcnmt may vary jrreatly from 1588 units in .section 16 to 3 units
m .section 9. If we arrange the sections in their order between these
extremes as follows : 16— 1—21 -4—29—27—1 1— 23— ->- ^•.— ^o -
19-5-30-17-28-26-3-13-24- 18-14-8-12125171,0
6—15—9, we find that the first si.xteen sections above quoted
(alone e.xxluding .section 17) provide employment for 14,000 persons
that is to say, contain 90 per cent, of all the employment furnished'
In each of the fourteen remaining .sections the number of persons
employed is le.ss than the number of wage-earners resident therein
The former group of .sections therefore, which have been distinguished
upon the map by means of parallel broken lines, may ri<ditly be
characterized as "employing" and the latter as "residential" localities
The location of these "employing " .sections is readily apparent.
Ihey will be found to occupy the northern and eastern portions of
our lower city. A band of territory not unlike a broad fish-hook
with Its point at Windsor street, its back at McGill street and its'
shank followmg the banks of the canal, will include the "employino-
.sections of the district. There are a ksv places of employment lyi.t
outside of this belt, but only four of the.se provide work for oxer' loS
employes, not more than twenty employ over 25 persons, and with ex-
ception of sections 24 and 6, nowhere outside of the " employing belt "
will the establishments of any .section average 5 " labor units " each.

2nd. And now, secondly, as to the location and distribution of
the industrial e.stablishments throughout the " employing belt " and
the amount of employment by them furnished.

1 1

The district which lies between L;i<,muchetiere and \otre Dame
streets, stretching; from St. Alexander to Windsor streets, com-
prisMi^^ sections i, 2, 4, 11 and parts of 3 and 5 (but not including'
Windsor Station) in proportion to its extent furnishes more employ-
ment than an_,' other tht-ou^diout the lower city. Here are employed
4927 persons, equivalent to 4160 "labor units," which '/wcs an
averajre of <So " labor units " per acre. In this ^rroup of sections are
situated no less than 40 places of considerable employment, estab.
lishmcnts credited with at least 25 " labor units." Chief amon^r these
are E. A. Small & Co.'s wholesale clothin^^ establishment, and the
.shoe factories of The Ames-Holden Co. (Ltd.), Jas. Linton & Co., and
Geo. T. Slater & Sons in section i ; also the shirt factories of Tooke
Bros, and A. H. Sims & Co., with the Lang Matifg Co., makers of
confectionery, etc., in section 2. lk\sides these, several prominent
<irms of roofers, plumbers, makers of electrical supplies, etc., employ-
ii'g considerable labor, are to be found in this locality.

That district which is made up of sections 16, 21 and 22 ranks
next in importance, judged by the number of " labor units" per acre.
This group may be credited with 3428 units, or 61 to the acre.
Herein the nature of the employment varies greatly. In .section 16
the wholesale clothing establishment of H. Shorey & Co., the shoe
factory of The Whitham iManf'g Co., and J. M. Fortier's cigar factory
are the most important. In section 21, plong Mc<'-'!! street, are to be
found the cigar factories of Jacobs & Co., and Tasse, Wood & Co.,
Tester & Co.'s candy manufactory, the establishment of the Montreal
Biscuit Co., and G. H. Harrovver's shirt factory, all employment
centres of considerable importance. Southward from McGill street
are Watson, Foster & Co.'s wall paper factory. Miller Bros. & Toms'
machine shop, Ives & Co.'s foundry, and the several works of the
Royal Electric Co.. with a number of les.ser foundries and machine
shops. Ivsplin's box ftictory on Duke street, and Davis' tobacco
factory on Dalhousie street, are the last outposts cf considerable
employment as one penetrates the residential portion of "Griffmtown."

Sections 23 and 27, which enclose the canal basin, furnish
employment to the amount of 1579 " labor units," but owing to the
extent of these .sections the average will not exceed 25 units per acre.
Section 23 contains the machine shops and metal working establish-

fucnts of J. 6s:jk. Weir, Robert (lardiier 6c Sons, W. C. White, and
others. He)'oiKi the c.inal in section 27 arc the extensive nail works
of Peck, licnny & Co., Pillow, Hersey & Co., and the Canada
Hor.se Nail Company. Oj^ilvy'.s Royal flour mills, the Malleable Iron
C(jmpany's works, and the hcadtiuarters of the Sicily Asphalt Co.
are al.so to be found here. In simimer time one hundred men are
emploved about the locks and the canal basin, en^atfed in unloading,'
the regular river boats ; the (lovernment dry dock and the various
coal companies along the canal also are considerable employers of
labor. (The (1. T. R. offices and shops, although these emplo}' about
2000 men e.\clusi\c of trainmen, etc., are omitted from this calculation.)

Continuing along the east bank of the canal one finds half a
dozen extensi\e establishments between Wellington and Laprairie
streets. In this district the Canada Sugar Refinery is the largest
employer of labor. Next in order come Pillow, Mersey & Co.'s
rolling mills, Belding, I'aul & Co.'s silk mills, the rope-walk of the
Consumers' Cordage Co., the works of the Canada Switch and Spring
Co., J. W. Windsor's canner)', and the James Shearer Co.'s .sash and
door factory. These, together with several lesser establishments in
this district, will aggregate 1779 " labor units," or 23 to each acre of
territory.

The last district for examination in this manner is that com-
prising sections 26, 19 and 20, King west of the canal, from
Wellington bridge to the city limits. The northern portion of this
district contains several box factories and planing mills, and the new
station of the Standard Light and Power Co. In the vicinity of the
Seigneurs street bridge are MacDougall's foundry and Ogilvy's
Glenora flour mills. Southwest of these are the Montreal woollen
mills, the works of the Canada Paint Co., (irier's lumber yards, and
on the St. Cunegonde boundary line, the factory of the Singer Sewing
Machine Co. This district claims in all 1392 " labor units " or 25 to
the acre.

3rd. We will next investigate the matter of the proportionate
amount of woman and child labor throughout "the city below the hill,"
and ask where and for what purposes this labor is employed. Of the
total number of persons to be found in its industrial establishments of
all kinds, 12,5 i i or "jj per cent, are men, 3266 or 20 per cent, are women

and 460 or 3 per cent, are boys and frjrls. In order to disco\er those
sections wherein women and child labor is in lar^rer proportion we
have only to note where there is considerable disparity between the
total number employed and the number of "labor units " as set forth
upon the map. In sections 1, 2, 3, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22. 27, 28 and ?o
this difference is most noticeable. In section 1 , where are the clothin-
and shoe factoric s, about 25 per cent, of those employed are women
and children. In section 2, which contains the shirt factories, 75 per
cent, of the workers are of this character. Section 16, because of
the clothin^r, shoe and cii^.ir factories within its boundaries, will be
.ound employing, out of 1957 pcrson.s. 730 or 7,7 per cent, that are
wv men and child workers. That section 21 and 22 contain 13 per
cent, and 28 per cent, respectively of labor other than adult male, is
due agam to the presence of cij^^ar and shirt factories. In the .sections
betucen William street and the canal female labor is rare owin- to
the heav>- nature of the employment. Beyond the canal, out of 305-
persons employed in sections 27 to 30, 253 are women and 270 are
boys and -n-ls. This is about 17 per cent, of the whole number
there at work. Both women and children may be found in consider-
able numbers in the nail work.s. The silk manufactory, the cannery
and the ba- works employ many women ; the sugar refiner)- emplo>-s
boys and the rope walk and the paint works man\- boN's and girls.
I he only establishment immediately west of the canal largely
employing this kind of labor is in section 20, viz. : the Mont^al
Woollen Mills, where 100 women are to be found. Several other
sections, such as 17 and 18, contain a high comparatiNe percentage of
this labor, but the number of persons in reality is not great. When
the industrial census, upon which the.se articles are based, was taken
grown lads capable of doing a man's work, were counted as men even
though not yet of age. This needs to be borne in mind as these have
been e.xcluded from among the child workers. Our " cit>' below the
hill." then, taken as a representative locality, goes to prove that in
Montreal the proportion of woman and child ucrkers is not nearly so
high as in the old land. Hut a little over one out of ever)- five of our
tndustnal workers belong to this category and of this fact we may be
justly proud.

4th. Our finirth thcinc is worlh)- of coiisiilcratioti before we
close this stud)' upon ein|)lo)ineiit in the (h'strict of our selection.
When our special census returns were totalled, it was found tiiat
while 16,337 pLTsons secured rej,Hilar work in the industrial establish-
ments of the district, onlv io,<S53 wa^fe-earners were reported as be-
lonj^in^f to the 7671 families therein resident. The inference from this
fact is that at least 53S4 waj^e-earners of the district with their families
have homes outside of it. To ascertain the correctness of this h)po-
thesis, the main a\enues leadin^^ north, east and south were watched
for several evem'nijs at about si.x o'clock and those passinjj; each way
were counted. The contents of the West Ward debouches into
McGill street, pas.ses up Hea\er Hall or Windsor street, and but little
of it remains for the ni^ht within " the cit)' below the hill." I^'our
people come up McCiill street and turn north for e\er)' one that comes
down on his way toward " (iriffmtown." Three persons turn north
alon^ C'raij^ street for every one w ho <4()es south. Standm^ at the
intersections of .St. Antoine, .St. James or Notre Dame streets b)' the
cit)' limits, one remarks that a constant stream pours outward towards
Stc. Cune^^onde and St. Henri, while few are those who are inward
bound, rhe travel across Wellington b'idge is nearly the same both
wa\s, though there is a slight excess of i,,ward ijound. Theemplo)'cs
of the G. 1". R. shops going northwest fr(/m Centre street are counter-
balanced by those going southeast. There can, therefore, be little
doubt but that, for reasons which we ma)' later on consider, fully
one third of those employed duriih^ the day within our district pass out of it
when the day^ work is done. Is it v\'isc to endeavor to keep these per-
sons within the district, near to their work, or shall we encourage
them to become citizens of outlying municipalities ?

We shall in future articles learn something regarding the
residential conditions which obtain throughout " the city below the
hill." It ii. sufficient, however, fur our present purpose to have shown
that the district is capable of sustaining, by means of the industries
therein operated, a much larger number of families than it at present
contains, and to affirm that, with suitable dwellings and proper civic
regulations, every wage-worker employed therein might also li\e in
comfort and health within ea.sy walking distance of his daily work.
This conclusion would seem to indicate that, if some central spot
were chosen (as that starred upon the map, which is within half a
mile or ten minutes' walk of industrial establishments employing
over I2,(X)0 persons), buildings thereon erected, if suitable and of
reasonable rental, would not long want for occupants, could not
fail to be a benefit to the workingmen and should form an investment
for the capitalist at once safe and profitable. This starred spot has
been cho.scTi and here the experiment will have a fair trial. Of the
result I will have more to say later.

/ J

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tliiit
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A\a p B.

Ill

The Composition of the Family.

The subject outlined Statistical presentation of availahle data - The average
family —Explanation of Map C. — T/ie lodgers, and where they are
most numerous The typical family, 7vithout th<'. lodger element —
Variation in size of family — Possible cause for this variation —Two
pojjular ideas regarding it tested— Hoiv zvealth and poverty affects
the size of families- The larger family in the real industrial class—
The value oj this and similar information.

Having investigated, in the previous article, the subject of tlie
employment furnished throughout the district under examination, we
next turn from the study of tlie workshop to the study of the home,
and offer a few considerations upon matters affecting family life.

Two phr.scs of this subject naturally present themselves, since
two things are necessary to every home, the examination of the family
occupying and of the habitation occupied. This article is on the
former theme and is to treat of the composition of the family as it will
be found to exist in "the city below the hill." More fully explained our
task is to ascertain, 1st, the size of the average family and the local
variations from 'lis standard ; 2nd, the component parts of the average
family and the greater or lesser proportion of the several elements in
certain localities. We will also incidentally endeavor to discover and
trace the operation of several natural laws ; the object of the whole
study being to guide us to a right appreciation of propel residential
requirements for families according to the several localities.

In the first place we will make a statistical presentation of the
available data from which we are to draw our conclusions. In the
city below the hill dwell 7671 families. These families include 37,652
persons. Of these persons, 25,051 are from sixteen years of age
upwards and may be by us regarded as adults. These 25,051 adults
are divisible into three classes : the wage-earners, male and female,
numbering 10,853; the home-tenders reckoned at 11,720; and the
lodgers, who either may or may not be wage earners, in number 2478.
If we subtract the adults from the total number of persons, the
remainder, amounting in number to 12,601, will represent the
children, and this number is again divisible into children of school
age of whom there are 6948 and yonng children of whom there are

5653-

What then is the composition of typical family? Though it
may appear strange to the eye, this can best be accurately expressed
in terms of decimals. The average family contains 4.90 persons.
Of this number i..ii work for wages and are the family's suppr.t ;
1.53 remain at home and contribute more or less to its care. To
every third family there is assignable one lodger, who helps to swell
the family income, but who, further than this, does not enter into our
calculations. The average home contains 1.64 children; .91 is of
school age, while .73 is an infant in the house.

The.se proportions may perhaps be expressed more vividly if we
imagine block to a contain thirty such families. We should
then f^xpect to find in this block 147 persons, 42 of whom
would be wage-earners ; 46 of whom would be hom.c-tenders ;
10 of whom would be lodgers ; 49 of whom would be children,
of these latter 27 being of school age and 22 being infants at
home. We might carry the analysis of the wage-earning portion
still further. We noted in our study on employment that yy
per cent, of those employed were men and grown boys ; 20 per cent,
children. Of the 42 wage-earners above cited we might reasonably
expect that 33 would be grown males, 8 would be women and one
a child.

That there will be considerable variation from the average
family, when we come to a comparative examination of the figures
peculiar to the several sections, is clearly evident. These differences

aro shown by Map C, to be studied in connection with this article.
By way then of explainmg the accompanying map let it be stated
that the figures directly over the Roman letters denote — carried to
the second decimal— the average family for that section ; that the
figures to the left represent the adult portion of this average family,
the number above signifying the proportion of wage earners, the
figures below the number of home-tenders ; that the figures to the
right show, when totalled, the entire number of children in the
avenige family, the number above representing the proportion of
school children and that below the proportion of young children ;
that the figures immediately under the Roman letters indicate the
proportion of lodgers which would fall to each family of the section
were it possible for these to be evenly distributed ; and finally, that
the figures at the very bottom, within each section, express the typical
family of that locality after the "lodger element" has been eliminated.

We have seen that the average family, all included, contains 4.90
persons. Upon examining the map we are struck by the fact that in
.several sections it very considerably exceeds this figure. The con-
spicuous .sections in this regard are 2, I, 5, 3 and 1 1. The.se sections
contain numerous boarding hou.ses, and 20 per cent, of their
population are lodgers. Now it is obvious that the presence in certain
.sections of such a considerable proportion of an element not truly an
integral part of the real family, and the absence of this element in
other .sections, renders comparisons unfair until the lodgers have,
from all calculations, been eliminated. This accomplished, these
.several sections, previously accredited with unusually large families,
will not now be found greatly to differ from the others, while our
typical family group will contain 4.6 (4.S9) souls.

Now, while the fact and extent of the variation between the
.several .sections is readily apparent, by the aid of the map, in respect
to such matters as the size of the family, the prevalence of lodgers,
the increase or decrease in the wage-earning as well as the home-
tending element, the number of the children and the relative propor-
tion of .school to infant population, it is a task far more difficult
to point out any rea.sonable explanation for the.se divergencies. This
is probably due to the fact that our " city below the hill " contains a
population which, in the matter of social condition, is in the main

homogeneous. W'c find here no wealthy section, nor do we find a
real " slum district " to compare- with it. Take then 4.6 as the
average for tiie real family, and it is easy by comparison to note how
some sections surpass, while others fall below this standard. The
three sections which now lead the li.st for large families are Nos. 8, 10
and 6, all with o\er five persons. On the other hand, the four
localities where families are the smallest are 22. 13. 21 and 5, where
an average of 4% persons per family is rarely exceeded. Between
these extremes are ranged the other .sections, but the order suggests
little by way of a reason.

A comparison, however, of the figures of the several sections
may cau.se us to modify some preconceived notions and may indicate,
dimly shadowed, the working of certain natural laws which, though
subject to constant exception, appear to operate in the main with
tolerable regularity.

/ We are accustomed to say for example that certain nationalities,
especially the French-Canadian, are remarkable for large ffunilies.
Tiiis may be true in other parts of the city, but it does not seem
to be -so for the district now i:mder study. The three sections, Nos.
8, 10 and 6, which rank first in matter of large families arc peopled
in almost equal proportions by English, Irish and French Canadians.
Of the four sections which bring up the rear section 22 is mainly
Iri.sh, section 13 is four-fifths French, whilst in sections 21 and 5 the
nationalities are nearly evenly divided. Again sections 17 to 20,
immediately below Notre Dame street, show much larger families
than do sections 12 to 15 just above it, yet all these sections are alike
preponderatingly French-Canadian. The size of the family in this
part of the cit>' does not then appear to depend upon nationalit>-.
We have also been accustomed to think that the poorer the locality
the larger the family. The poor man's chief wealth is said to consist
in abundance of children. Doubtless many individual instances may
be cited in support of such an hypothesis but averages for a consider-
able number of families, at least in the district we are examining,
tend to disprove this theory. Indeed, it is the contrary, rather that
appears to be nearer the truth. Three out of four of the sections
remarkable for the smallness of their family averages, arc at the same
time localities wherein the average family incomes are among the

I'C find a
as the
lote how
•cl. The
OS. 8, lo
the four
5, where
Between
suggests

sections
indicate,
1, though
lain with

onahties,
famihes.
lot seem
ons, Nos.
'. peopled
rinadians.
is mainly
md 5 the
\y to 20,
- families
are alike
ly in this
itionality.
e locality
to consist
nces may
considcr-
iamining,
ither that
e sections
the same
mong the

lowest to be found. Extremely low income seems an accompaniment
of especially small families. The belt below Notre Dame street, where
families are large, is a region of better average incomes and fewer
poor than the belt above Notre Dame street, where the families are
not large. Nor, on the other hand, does the family in the best
sections, such as i, 2, 3, 6, and 9, exceed the average si/x, sometimes
even falling below it. Hence the law which appears to the writer to
be dimly apparent is in effect that neither wealth nor poverty is likely
on the whole to be accompanied by large average families. These
are rather to be expected among the middle industrial class, and the
average number of persons per household decreases as the social
status of the residents rises above or falls below this level.

Another matter which invites examination is the adult element
of the average family and its occupation. Our average family was
found to contain 2.94 persons no longer children. Of these 141
work to support the family, while 1.53 are .supported at home, where
probably in most cases by the performance of household tasks they
contribute their part. Here a law seems fairly apparent in that the
proportion of wage-earners seems gradually to diminish and the
proportion of home-tenders gradually to increase as one passes from
an examination of the poorer to that of the more well-to-do sections.
It is probably a fact that the poorer the locality, the greater the
pressure to increase the number of contributors to the family purse
while the richer the locality the larger the number of those who may
be allowed to remain at home.

As to the children, they are relatively most numerous in the
sections below Notre Dame street and least numerous in those above
St. Antoine street. As to the division into children of .school age
and infants, beyond noting the fact that the poorer the section the
more nearly equal are these two portions, and the better the section
the more the former exceeds the latter, we venture no conclusions.

The child element, in the typical famil>', we found to be expressed
by the figures 1.64. In an examination, made in connection with
this census, of 400 families among the very poor, this child average
was exactly maintained. This fact furnishes additional corroboration
of our claim that it is not among the very poor that the average
number of children will exceed the standard.

It has been Jisked — " Has information such as has just been
presented anj' value other than as matter of sociolo^ncal interest ?
Its practical value appears to the writer to be this. Should the
time come when capital shall be ready to be invested in the erection
of improved industrial d\vellinf;s, it is evident that for its intelligent
expenditure, in this or that localit)', definite knowledge must be in
hand as to the personnel and composition of the average family
of the section selected. The number and size of the rooms to be
provided, in the improved dwelling for the average family, will depend
not only upon the size of the family, but also upon its composition,
since the larger the proportion of the adult or school-child element
the more the amount of space and air that will need to be allowed.

To make a success of this work of improvement we can afford to
allow no facts to be overlooked. Hence this endeavor.

,.<*'

IV,

Family Incomes and Workers' Wages.

J he umty yet scfnmfin;, of these two topics -Explanation of Map D-
The family mconw, all classes included- How localities van in thi,
respect -7 he individual income, all classes included - Some 'noticeahle
variations- The minimum and where it is found -The " Real
Industrial Class." -who compose it, how large it is~Thc family
income in this stratum of society -The imge of the individual worker
therein ~- An attempt at an average by sexes - Real value of this
investigation.

Examination into the question of the faniil>- income and the
remuneration of the wage-earner, when resident within "the city
below the hill," will form the subject of this, our fourth sociolooical
stud)-. Although allied topics these tuo themes may best be
considered separately and in the above order. With regard to each
we will first survey the field as a whole, then consider the character-
istics of certain localities and finally offer some suggestions regarding
the utilization of information of this nature. '^

Let us turn first then to Map D. and familiarize ourselves with
the meaning of its figures in order that comparative examination
may become possible. Above the Roman characters, by which each
section is designated, is the amount of the average family income
therein per week, all classes included. Immediately below the
Roman letters is the average weekly income per individual for all
persons of the given section. To the left is shown, by percentages

the division of the residents of th;it section into tliree classes, \i/..
above — the well-to-do ; between -the real industrial class, and below
- the poor. In this article it will be niainl}- the middle class of
which we shall tnrat. The amount s])ecified at the bottom is e(|uiva-
lent to the a\era^c weekl)' famil)- income amon;; the " real industrial
class " ; while to the ri<fht is expressed the average wcekl)- earnings
per wa^e- worker amon^ this same order. The meaning of these
terms will become clearer as we procectl.

We have alread)- learned that there are 7671 fann'lies resident
within "the cit\- below the hill." As near as can be ascertained these
families recei\e, each week, an agt;re<j[ate amount of not less than
ei}4ht\--fi\e thousand dollars. This means eleven dollars per week to
each familw We have also found that these families include 37,652
persons. 'I'his ji[i\es, on an a\era^fe, an allowance of two dollars and
a (juarter per week to each individual. Eleven dollars per fniuily,
t7Vo and a (/itarter didlars per individual^ these then are the standards oj
average living in "■the city helow the hill."

Some secticjiis exceed, while others fall below this limit of avcra^ijc
income. Turning to the map and compariiiir the localities w ith one
another, we note that, as a rule, the familj- income is highest in the
^roup of sections north of St. James street. The averaii^e here for
the ten sections, Xos. 1 to 10, is $12.64, ^^'th only two sections, vi/. :
5 and 8 falling below this figure. Section 9 leads the list with an
avera^^e of nearly $16.00 while sections 3, 6, 2, 7 and 4, in the
order mentioned, complete the list (jf the six best sections within
the entire nether city. Next in order of merit for generous incomes
are the belts between Notre Dame and William streets, sections 16
to 20, where the average family income is $1 1.41, and below the canal,
Nos. 28 to 30, showing a combined average of $1 1.42. Then follows
the strip between St. James and Notre Dame streets, sections 1 1 to
15, averaging $10.59. F'inally there is that group l>'ing between
William street and the canal, where the lowest group average of $9.26
is to be found. There arc six sections, with reference to belts,
where the average family income falls below $10.00. There are Nos.
12, 13, 24, 22, 21 and 23 with a range from $9.87 in the first to $8.03
in the la.st meatif)ned. As we shall .see when we come to study

" povert}'," it is absence of the well-to-do aiul prevalence of the \er)-
poor which in these localities so reduce the a\era,i:je family income.

luo dollars and twenty-five cents, it will lie remembered, was
the amount detcrnn'ned upon as the a\eraL(e share per individual of
the weekly income. Comparison of famil)- with indi\itlual incomes
brinj^s out several noticeable facts. Arran^inj^" the sections in order
of merit, the northern strip is still found as a whole to ^ive the best
avera^^e per |)erson, but sections i, 5 and 8 have slipped down towards
the lower end of the list. Sections 12 and 13 niaUc a better showing
here than they flid in the matter of the famil)' incomes. Sections 21
to 2^, howe\er, still bring up the rear, and in these sections, com-
prising the major part of old Griffintown, one dollar and seventy-
five cents per week, or twciify-fh'e ants a Jay, is the amount upon
which the average resident finds it necessary to live.

Hut this paper is to ileal more especiall}- w ith the real industrial
class. It is then necessar}- that we determine who belong properly
to this order. .Among the families below the hill no less than I 176,
or 15 ':( per cent, of the total number, were classified bj- the canvas-
sers cither in accord with their own information or because of their
obviously comfortable surroundings, as " well-to-do," that is in receipt
of an average income of not less than $20.(X) per week, or a thousand
dollars a j'ear. This number included proprietors, managers, pro-
fessional men, store-keepers and a few families wherein the combined
income of several workers )ielded a generous income. It is plain,
however, that to include these, together with their profits or salaries,
when seeking to ascertain the income of the real industrial cla.ss
would unduly elevate the figures. On the other hand there were
discovered by the canvassers families to the number of 888 which,
for reasons to be studied later, were living upon incomes not exceed-
ing five dollars per week. These latter families and their meagre
earnings should also be deducted from the original figures in order to
prevent them from being unduly depressed by the presence of an
clement not properly belonging to the class now under stutly. The
" well-to-do " and the " submerged tenth," which together constitute
twenty-seven per cent, of the whole number, having been deducted,
there remains 5607 families to be by us regarded as the real industrial
class and as such examined. When then we ascertain that the.se

5607 families have an a^^rc^ate weekl}- income of $57,139.00, wc
conclude that $10.20 per famil}-, or eiij^hty cents less than the amount
established as the average income when all classes were included,
e.xpre.s.ses the avera<je weekly income amon^ the real industrial cla.ss
of the nether city. By way of further verification, were we to select
the sixteen .sections, desi<^nated by imier broken lines upon Map D,
wherein 75 per cent, or more of the inhabitants are of the class in
question, we would find that the average for these was $10.07. From
$10.00 to $10.23 /<''■ ii'e(k, tlien, is the y.nmly income of the real
industrial class. As to variation on the part of the sexeral localities
from this standard, an examination of Map D. will make the.se
apparent to such as care to pursue their researches further.

One final matter requires consideration before we abandon this
subject. What is the average remuneration of the individual
industrial wage-earner in " the city below the hill ?" The amount
previously specified as receivable weekly by all the families of this
class was earned by 7794 persons giving an average of %'/.^l for the
earnings of each worker. Taking only the sixteen typical industrial
.sections before referred to and submitting their figures to a similar
test the result is $7.21, or twelve cents less. We are safe then in
concluding that between $7.20, and $7.35 per week, or about $1.20
per day, is the average wage per ji'orker, taking as a whole the real
industrial cla.ss of the west end We ha\e not accurate data upon
which to determine the approximate wage of the .sexes, but since in
our second paper we learned to expect to find in each group of wage-
earners 20 per cent, of them to be women, and 3 per cent, to be
children, this proportion being maintained, tb.ere would be, among
the 7794 mixed workers, 6000 men, 1560 women, and 234 children.
If the men earned $8.25 per week, the women $4 50 per week, and
the children $3.00 per week, it would account for the $57,139.00, the
total amount earned by the aforesaid 7794 mixed workers. This
estimate is but conjectural, yet it does not seem likelj- to be far wide
of the mark.

This a\erage per wage-earner of %7.t,t, is not maintained in all
parts of the nether city. This is apparent by a glance at Map D.
In this calculation, however, it is the average for the largest number
that is to us of most value and therefore we will not here call

attention to the deviations in various sections. The study of poverty
yet to follou-, u'ill bring out local differences to better advantage

VVe u',11 not undertake a comparison of wages between Montreal
and other c.t.es. Nowhe:. else do I know of a study worked out
upon exactly similar lines. We may be able, however, when the
next Domm.on cen.sus is taken, to compare results with results, and
ascertam-what is of greater value-whether the number of the well-
to-ao ,s mcreasmg, the number of poor diminishing, and whether the
average wages of the real industrial class throughout " the city below
tne hill are advancing. If these conditions be then found present
we may consider that our city has truly prospered. The real measure
ot advance m any city is not the increase in the number of very
wealthy men, nor of handsome residences, but in the improved
condition of the middle industrial class. Increase in ability to
surround themselves with influences which improve the mind, morals
and health of this part of the community- means elevation forsocietx-
from Its foundations, whereby all above is also rai.sed. For signs of
such advancement we will all watch with eagerness

f'flPl

,ri

»o Workers Vi/mges

^/o^ra THE AvemmoM vym«0orrnm
Of I. oivo/va ro f^cmt. //uot/t r^t/n. cx/*f>

F'/rMic\

PA/4/I.Y or /ILL wr
C^/vr^g a /rotv MUCH

a SCO »v= r»f /tveff/ici
o<r Tut /n/o4/i r»'.

MafiD.

F'/TMICY /NCOMBS ii'>o WORKERS WMCES

fJtAf/^y or ALL wrfti/v fH£ Sm<riefr //vouir^f*.- \^oi9Hmm

C^/v^/r » /rotv MUCH ft^ neso o^Pofumrior, Lepr" fe/fctftr/tog or Pmm,t.i*.t

or THS ffl^OUS r^Timi. P»Mit-V,

truio weut. »■• »• «#»••«■) »to pdo/>u>« <-•«<:>

V- ,^

The Homes of the Wage- Earners.

The theme outlined^ What the ideal home should provide - Map E explained
and illustrated ~i St : The niimher of persons per Imilding and
tenements per house here and elseivhere. Advantages and disadznntages
of the small house- 2nd : The rear tenement. Its prevalence, the
dan^^ers arising from it and the way to secure its abolition— 3rd :
The privy pit. Where most numerous. How it may he caused to
disappear. Why there is no excuse for its continued presence—
4th: The number of rooms in the average tenement. Local
variations. Comparison -unth Glasgow -Conclusion— The difference
between the average and the ideal home should constitute a summons
to action.

We are now come to the point where investigation is necessary
as to residential conditions in "the city below the hill." Hefore we
can take up the study of comparative rentals we inust know some-
thing regarding the differing accommodation which the several
localities provide. We have then as our present task to answer a
series of questions as these : —

1st. Does the industrial class of the west-end, as a rule, occupy
lofty tenement houses or small dwellin<rs ^

2nd. Is any considerable portion of our pecjple to be found in
rear tenements ?

3rd. What sanitary accommodation do the sexeral localities
provide ?

■ (

f ',

2<S

4t!i. How main' roo'ins, on an average, constitute a home and
how L,n'catl\' docs this number \ary with different sections ?

I think we will all a^ree that the ideal home is one where the
front door is used b)' but one famil)', where the house faces upon a
throu^rh street, where water-closet accommodation is provided, and
where there are as many rooms allotted to a familj- as there are
persons composing it. That this ideal is b)- no means universally
attained goes without sa\ing. Wy means of the accompan)ing map
we can note how far the different localities fall short of this flesired
standard and, having thus accpiainted ourselves with the extent of
the deficiency of each wc can more intelligentl)- consider in our
next article the matter of comparative rentals. A few words of
explanation, howexer, are here necessary with regard to map K. The
figures above the section number denote the average number of
tenements per dwelling house. The percentage to the right indicates
the relative proportion of front and rear tenements, the percentage to
the left the proportionate sanitary equii)ment, while the figures below
signify the average number of rooms to a famih' in the section
undur consideration. If, for example, we take .section i, the average
number of tenements, (families) to each residential building therein,
will be seen to be 1.46 ; of these tenements 89 per cent, front on the
street and 1 i per cent, on lanes or rear courts ; of the occupied
tenements 81 per cent, are provided with water closets and 19 per
cent, with privies ; while there are 6.28 rooms on an average for each
family.

It ma)' be of interest at the comniencement of our enquiry to
compare the number of persons per dwelling house, as a.scertained
for .several large American cities, with our figures in this regard for
the district under consideration. According to the United States
census, the number of persons to a dwelling hou.se in Philadelphia
w as 5.6, in Baltimore it was 6.2, in Chicago 8.6 and in New York
18.52. Taking into consideration the poor districts only in the.se
same cities these figures were advanced in Philadelphia to 7.34
persons per dwelling house, in Baltimore to 7.71, in Chicago to 15.51,
and in New York to 36.78. Now our "city below the hill" can
scarcely in fairness be contrasted with the former series of averages
for it does not contain the usual pro])ortion of larger residences occupied

by siti^flc families, nor, on the other hand, can it be justl\- compared
with the so-called "poor districts" of the above cited cities ; it uonld
need then to be compared with a mean between the two series, and
so, when the average dwelliiii; house is found to contain ei^ht persons,
this fijjjure pro\es that " the cit)' below the hill," is rather one of
sinall residential buildings like l'hiladel|jhia and lialtimorc, than of
lofty tenements like New York and C'hica^fo. In fact, the average
house throuj^hout " the cit)' belov; the hill," accommodates two
families, one bein^ above the other below, as may be proven not oiiIn'
b)- observation but also by our special census which showed 4709
separate buildinj^s to contain S390 teneinents, or on an average 1. 78
per buildinj^. There is much variation between sections as to the
number of teneinents which the average jiouse in each contains. The
seven sections wherein this number is lowest, vi/., Xos. 4, 3, 2, 1, 5, 7,
and 8, ranging froin 1.25 to 1.58 are all to be found above St. James
street. On the other hand the se\en sections, wherein the average
number of tenements per building is the greatest — viz., Xos. 12, 13,
14, 15, 18 and 20— lie on both sides of Notre Dame street between
Chaboillez square and the cit\' limits. Nowhere, however, do we find
a section averaging more than 2.15 tenements per building, the case
in .section 13. The fact that the wage-earner of western Montreal
dwells in a small building is not without its effect upon him and his
family. It tends to make him independent and self-reliant, preser\ing
as it does all that pertains to separate famil)- life. This state of
affairs is without doubt more conducive to health and good morals
than if the many were herded together in huge caravansaries where
privacy was impos.sible. There are also, however, some disadvantages.
The small house means but few ratepayers per acre, and this on
expensive land, means high rentals or mean accommodation for those
who occupy. Small houses mean enhanced cost of heating, and since
it is easier to inspect a limitefl number of large dwellings than many
small ones, insanitary conditions are permitted to remain, in connec-
tion with small houses in out-of-the w aj' places, which would be noticed
and abolished b\' the authorities did they exist on a larger .scale. On
the whole, however, I am inclined to regard the advantages of the
small hou.se, occupied by few families, asoutweighing the disad\ antages
attendant upon this condition of living.

2ik1. The sccotul task set for us is to answer the (|uery : Is any
considerable proportion of our people to be found in rear tenements?
It is somewhat difficult to define just what constitutes a rear
tenement. Those buildinj^rs faci' , upon back yards or courts, to
which entrance frotn the main street is !))• a covered passaj^e or a
narrow lane, where the buildin^^s are so concealed by those in front as
scarcely to be visible from the thoroughfare without, such are rear
tenements without cjucstion. In our investigation, however, we have
also come to regard man}- dwellings, facing upf)n a passage-way
(perchance dignified b)' the title of "A\enue" or "Terrace"), so
narrow and so remote from the street that the disachantagcs of the
rear tenement were all present, as entitled to be classed in the same
category. Including such the total number of rear tenements
discovered, in the course of our special census of the district, was S6o
or an average, if evenly distributed, of about one in ten homes for
every section. Certain .sections — .see map I*', such as 13, 12 and 11,
greatly exceed this average, the first with 39 per cent., the .second
with 29 per cent, and the third 23 per cent, of rear tenements. The
neighboring sections to the.se in the same lateral belt, viz., 14 and 15,
also exceed the average, as also do sections 1, 2 and 16. Section 9
is absolutely free from this evil, while .sections 6 and 10 arc nearly so.
The presence of the rear tenement always renders a neighborhood
less desirable for residence. It is not only bad in itself but it takes
up the space, light and air which properly belong to the house in
front of it. The rear tenement is rarely well built, and, being hidden
from the public eye, is oftimes |)ermitted to be occupied long after it
has fallen into such a state of decay that it is no longer fit for human
habitation. If one desires to find where drunkenness and crime,
. di.sea.se and death, poverty and distress are most in evidence in
western Montreal, he has only to .search out the rear tenements.
The typical rear tenement is either an ancient wooden cottage of the
rural hahitatd type or a two-storey building enca.scd in refuse bricks
and reached by rickety wooden stairs and galleries. It is high time
in Montreal that the majority of these hovels were condemned as
unfit for habitation, and that our City Council were empowered by
legislature tt) confiscate and demolish such as were rot, within a
reasonable period, torn down or removed by their owners. It is

.!»

already within the power ot' the Cit)- Coiiiicil to prevent the erection
of further binkhn^s of this t} pe, and if we are to keep pace with the
advanced municipalities of the old land we must ^^o a stej) further
and <4ive to the civic authority, as representing,' the pubHc welfare, the
ri^dit to interfere e\en w ith what are know n as private interests and
vested ri.i,dus, w hen these latter are, as in this case, a menace to the
welfare of the coniniunit\-. Ihe rear tenement must •■o.

.^rd. W e now come to a consideration of the sanitar\' accom-
modation to be found in " the city below the hill." It will doubtless
be unexpected information to man\' of the citizens of the upper city
—where such a tiling is unknown—to learn that that relic of rural
conditions, tiiat insanitar\- abomination, the out-of-doijr-pit-in-the-
^mumd privy, is still to be found in the densely populated heart of
our city. That the privy pit is a dan^^er to public health and morals
needs no demonstration, and set in "the city below the hill" more
than half the households are dependent entirely upon such accommo-
dation. This evil is naturall)- -greatest in the older residential
c|uartcrs w here manv of the dwellinjrs were erected before the day
of proper drainaj^e, and where the ideas of their owners, upon what
constitutes proper accommodation for tenants, are as antiquated as
their crumblinjr properties. There is a inap in my office whereon are
colored in yellow all blocks of buildings containing only proper
sanitary accommodation, and whereon the presence of the privy
abomination is designated by shades of purple from violet to nearly
black according to its [)revalence. The sections above St. Antoine
street are upon this majj mostl\- yellow. Between Mountain and
Richmond streets this favorable color comes down as far as St. James
street Heyond Canning street it again creeps down to Dominion
avenue. This irregular strip and occasional faces along St. James
and Notre Dame streets, are the onl>- considerable patches of yellow
color upon the entire map, are in fact the onlj- neighborhruxls of any
extent throughout the nether city where water-closet accommodation
is universal. Turning to map E wc note that the belt compo.sed of
.sections i to lo contains but 22 per cent, of privie.s, although 4 and 5
greatly exceed this average. Section 9 alone is wholly excm])t,
though section 6 is nearl>- .so. The second belt, made up of .section.s
II to 1 5, contains proper and improper .sanitary accommodation in

llii

about c(|iial proportion. TIk- third belt, sections 1620, is sli^Hitly
inferior to its jMvdecessor, only 44. per cent, of the fainih'es here
havin^f water-closet privile^^es. It is reserved, however, for old
(iriffintovvn to surpass all other jocalities in unenviable pre-eminence
in this rej^^ard. Throu^diout that belt (see sections 21 to 26 on map
V.) onlv otw fivniiv in four have water-closet accommodation. In
certain sections of it (such as 22, 25 and 26) the proportion with
proper sanitary e(|uipment is but one tenement in every five. Nor
is there much improvement below the canal for the |)ercenta^e of
families usin^^ privies throughout .sections 28 to 30 reaches yz per
cent. On this score then the localities above St. Janes street are
most advanced in the process of ridding them.sehei of this evil,
those .sections bordering the canal and within the limits of (iriffintown
are most backward ami in great need of attention and ameliorating
effort.

The number of privies, throughout the entire city of Montreal,
has considerabl)' diminished during the past five years. Although
there are 1^0-day 3000 less of them than in 1891, the total number at
thebeginning of 1896 was still nearly 5800. It certainly does not
seem to me that the work of eradicating this evil is being pu.shed
forward with the energy and despatch which the urgency of the case
demands. The evil is still so wide-spread and abundant that only
drastic measures, born of persistent agitation, will suffice to extirpate
it. It is now (juite in order to prohibit the erection of further privies
within the city limits, and it would not be going too fiir were our
corporation to provide, by by-law, that, if, after a rea.sonable p'.M-iod
had elapsed — say two or three years from date — any landlord within
the city limits .shall thereafter continue to be the owner of a privy,
he shall be taxed for it at the rate of $10.00 per annum until he be
thus forced to abate the same as a public nuisance. There is no
excuse for permitting this evil longer to exist. There is not a street
or lane in our nether city which has not a water service. Only a few
small alleys are without a drainage system. Not one house in twenty
could plead exemption upon this score. But even if a water closet
in every home is a thing as yet unattainable, we can at least where
n^^cessary, adopt the Birmingham pail system, whereby all night-soil
is collected and removed once in every twenty-four hours. Even this

iin|)r()\ciiiciit would rcmoxe main- of the most objectionable features
of the pris)' pit as ue Isiiow it. This much of an a(l\aiice we mi'^ht
at least make. Would that Montreal mij^ht enter the twentieth
century with this reform an accomi)lished fact.

4th. (^ur last consideration in re|^^u"d to the homes of the west-
end is with reference to the number of rooms the avera^^e family
occupies and how this number varies with different .sections. The
special industrial census, alreadj- so fre(|uentl\- referred to, showed
that the 7671 families in " the city below the hill " occupied 3^,543
rooms. It will be seen that the avera^^e is a trifle over five (5.02 )
rooms per home. This indeetl compares favorably with other cities.
The best district in (ilas<jo\v averages but a trifle over four rooms
per family. The localitj- which makes the best showinj^ is section 9
which boasts y.yl rooms for e\er}- famil)-. The order of merit is then
as follows :— Sections 9, 3, 2, 6, i, S, 4, 10, 1 I, 5, 19, 14, 17, 16, 29, 7.
20, 23, 22, 30. 12, 21, 15, 25, 18, 28, 24, 27, 13, 26.

It will be seen that, with the exce]:)tion of No. 7, every section
above St. James street shows an axera^^e of at least 5j^ njoms per
family. In fact, the combined average of sections I — 10 is over si. \
rooms per family. This hij^h average, however, does not characterize
the remaining portion of " the city below the hill." lM)ur and a half
rooms per famiiy seems elsewhere about the usual rule. In the belt
between St. James and Notre Dame streets the average is 4^^ rooms.
In ♦;hat belt which lies between Notre Dame and William streets it is
4f rooms. In old (iriffintown it is 4-,^jy, while across the canal it is 4'i
rooms. There are in all these sections a certain number of homes
occupied by families hardly beUinging to the real industrial class ;
probably if these were d<'ducted from the calculation we woukl find
the average home of the west-end industrial worker still to contain at
least four rooms.

Dr. Russell, the head of the Glasgow Health Department,
is responsible for the published statement that of every one hundred
families in that city 30 per cent, live in one room, 44 per cent, in two
rooms, 1 5 per cent, in three rooms, and only 1 1 per cent, in four
room.s and upwards. How far superior are the conditions which we
have been examining ? This can be demonstrated by comparing
with the above figures tho.se of that section of the nether city most

likely to approximate similar conditions. Take, therefore, section 13,
where the average number of rooms reaches the lowest limit known
to our limited experience- a little under four (3.99) rooms per family
—and we find that in this section there is not a family living in a
single room, but 14 per cent, of the families having only two rooms,
31 percent, with three rooms, 31 per cent, with four rooms, 9 per
cent, with five rooms, while 15 per cent, with six rooms or more.
The comparison is overwhelmingly in our favor.

And now we have about covered the ground set apart for the
present stud}-. If we could imagine ten average families coming to
settle within " the city be.ow the hill " the division of accommodation
among them may be expressed as follows : One family might .secure
an entire house to itself, but nine families musv needs share theirs'
with another. Nine families might dwell facing the street, but one
would ha\e to live in the rear. Five families might have proper
sanitary accommodation, but as man>' more would have to put up
with t!ie pit pri\y. Three families might have six rooms, four families
might have five rooms, while the homes of the remaining three would
contain four rooms. This, then, represents the home average for the
dwellers of the west-end. There is still need for much effort before
the home average can be brought up to the standard of the home
ideal set forth in the introduction to this article.

Map E.

THE HOMES of the WAGE-EARNERS.

OF Tenements

TUSE.

>F ROOMS PER FAMir Y.

RICHT^

r= { Above^Pehcentace of tenements fronting on streets

I. BELOW percent ACE FRONTING ON LANDS AND IN REARS.

LEFT= (1°°"
I belo

E^^PERCENTACE OFTENEMENTS WITH WATER-CLOSETS
W=^PEr:CENTACE OF TENEMENTS HAVING PRIVIES.

! I

L...

J I

8/V, xr.
/?7.P

i^'

Ab
BE

---■•,• 1

J t —

-'/.si

9SV.^c

fsy*p

6.^0

Map E.

THE HOMES of the WAGE-EARNERS

BELOW —AVERAGE NUMBER OF ROOMS PER FAMILY. LEFT

Above=Averace Number of Tenements

PER DWELLING HoUSE.

Above=Percentace of Tenements fronting on streets
Selow percentage fronting on Lands and in rears.

_ I ABOVE=PEReENTACE OF TENEMENTS WITH WATER-CLOSBTS.
\ BELOW^ PERCENTAGE OF TENEMENTS HAVING PRIVIES.

ai
cc
h(
cc
a.s
ea

ev
ex

av
fac

VI.

Comparative Rentals.

^/m/ a raaat n,ap l>y Mocks will show~A few senerahzations Map F.
and Us explanation-The average renlal Jor the typical home-
Variations according to situation -The belts compared -How sanitary
cjuipment affects rental values- What proportion rental takes of
income-Some instances of very low rentals-Recapitulation-How to
avoid the most common mistake of philanthropic investment in
workingmeti s homes.

In our preceding article ue considered the homes of "the city
below the hill •• We learned what the dwelling place of the average
tamily offered b>' waj- of situation, sanitary convenience and room
space. We noted also the local variations from the standard We
are now therefore prepared (ist) to enter upon a consideration of the
cost of such accommodation to the average family ; (2nd) to examine
how th,s amount varies according to the KKality ; (3rd) to consider
certam otner conditions which influence rental values, and, (4th) to
ascertain how large a proportion of his income the axerage ua-e-
earner finds it necessary to set aside for rent.

A map of the district under examination hangs upon my study
wall. It shows by graduated colors how rental values vary with
every block. Where the average family rental for a block reaches or
exceeds $20 per month a light lemon color is used ; where the
average falls below $5 per month a deep chocolate tint renders this
tact apparent. From lemon to chocolate are nine shades of color

each representing- a lower rental as the color deepens. A glance
at this map sn<4^ests a few (generalizations. It is noticeable that
the bands of lighter color as a rule border the streets which run the
/i'/i}:;th of our nether cit)'. La^r.'iuchetiere street shows a hij^h rental
a\eraj,re for that portion within the district. St. Antoine street,
especially from Mountain street to the city limits, is also evidently
lined with residences of the better class. St. James and Notre Dame
streets, though occasionally showing a darker tint for a block or two,
indicate a hit;her than ordinary rental average. It is upon streets
runninjjj at right angles with these main thoroughfares that lower
rentals |)reclominate. The darkest spots of all, re[)resenting the
lowest rentals, will be found upon sh(jrt side streets, or blind alleys
and in rear coiu'ts. Near the cit}' limits these dark spots grow more
freciuent, but their presence here, as we shall see, is less ominous than
when the)' occur in localities nearer to the cit)' centre.

Map F, accompanying this article, regards our district as divided
not into blocks, but into sections. It deals with averages obtained
by grouping together a number of contiguous blocks. Conscxjuently
the higher rentals of the main thoroughfares are neutralized by those
of the less fret|uented streets, givmg a resultant not fairl)- representing
either class, but still of \alue for pur[X)ses of general comparison.
An explanation of this map is therefore next in order. Above the
Roman letters, designating the number of the section, will be found
the average rental throughout this group of blocks, together w ith the
number of rooms which that sum will here procure. Helow is the
average rental value per room. To the left is indicated the grade of
accommodation, estimated upon the proporti 'U of families in ever)'
hundred that ha\e water-closet accommodation. (Thus section 9,
every dwelling therein being properly ccjuipped, is graded at 100,
while section 22, with but one properly e(]uipped dwelling out of five,
is rated at 20.) To the right is .shown how large a proportion of the
average family income is required to pa)- the rent. With these data
before us we w ill take up our four points.

1st. If the rental for every family of the 7671 within the " city
below the hill," were equal, the amount would be about $<S.75 per
month. In return for this sum, as we have .seen, five rooms might be
ex[)ectcd ; there would be nine chances out of ten that the home

U\\

would be upon an open street and one chance in two that it would
contain proper sanitar\' coinenienccs. As this <rives an avera^ijc
rental value of $1.75 per room, were a fainil}' to need only four rooms
the rental should fall to $7.00, while for six rooms $10.50 would seem
a reasonable char^j^e. I am quite aware that a\era<;es, obtained by
combining the fii;ures of sections so different in character, are not of
iTuich real value, )et it is worth while noticini^ that for the real
industrial sections these [general estimates do not come ver)- wide of
the mark.

2nd. Great indeed is the variation from the average standard in
this matter of rentals. I-'or instance we have in section 3 an average
rental almost reaching $16.00, while in section 26 it is but $6.30 per
motith. Location is a most important factor in determining rental
values, and b)- grouping sections according to natural affinities we
ma\' measure the jjopular estimate of certain neighborhoods on this
score, (a) C'onsidermg as a whole that group of sections which lies
above St. James street, we find that here the highest amounts are
paid for rent. Sections 1 to 10 combined show a rental average of
$12.30 per dwelling or $1.94 per room. In sections 2, 3, 6 and 9,
about $15.00 per month is the ruling figure, while only in .sections 5
and 10 does the average rental fall below $10.00. lu|ually good
accommodation is of higher cost in the northern than in the southern
end of this belt. Thus, though only 81 percent, and S4 pe.r cent, of
the dwellings in sections 2 and 3 ha\e water-clo.set accommodation,
while ever)' residence in section 9 is suitably equipped, rents are
proportionate!)' higher near Windsor street than the\' are in the
neighborhood of the city limits, (h) With the exception of sections 1 1
and 16 — which, because of the hotels the)' contain, do not present fair
comparative averages — no section below St. James street, exhibits a
rental standard exceeding $8.50 per family. Taking that group of
eight sections which lie between Chaboillez scjuare and the city limits,
Nos. 12 to 15 and Nos. 17 to 20, the average rental is slightly under
$7.50 per family. As this is an industrial section par excellence this
estimate may be taken as fairly indicating the average rental for
families of the working class, (c) Between William street and the canal
the average rental falls to $6.67 per family, though it is just possible
that our fi'nires hardly do this locality justice owing to the custom,

somewhat prevalent, of payiiij; lower rentals in winter and hitrhcr in
summer, (d) lielowthe canal therental averajre falls yet lower to $6.57,
for this amount, however, more room space bcin^^ here given than in
" Griffintown." A room costs less in section 30 than anywhere else
witiiin our nether city. It may be laid dow n as a rule that the rental
value per room will steadil}- decline as one draws away from the
employing centres and towards the outskirts of the city. It is evident
that the wage-earner who is blessed with a large family, and who can
pay but moderate rent, withdraws to the suburbs where alone he can
obtain the room space which his famil>' demands. This, doubtless,
accounts for the nightly exodus southward across the city line into St.
Cunegonde, noted in our .second article.

3rd. Hut location and room space are not the only matters
which affect rental values, the character of the accommodation also
exerts upon them a great influence. It is difficult in this respect to
compare the houses of one localit}' with those of another, but I know
of no better method than to rank the sections according to the
proportion of residences that they contain, having water-clo.set
privileges; for this test can be fairly taken as indicative of the
percentage of dwellings which are of recent and improved construction.
It is by applj'ing this test that we arc enabled partially, at least, to
explain the difference in rentals between such sections as 18 and 25.
There is not much difference between them as to location. In both
sections 4%; rooms constitute the average home, yet this accommoda-
tion costs $7.14 in section 18, and $6.43 in .section 25. The cause is
apparent when it is noted that in the former section 53 per cent, of
the tenements have water-closets, while in the latter section this is
true of but 20 per cent, of the dwellings. Further comparisons may
interest the reader. Take sections 1 3 and 26. l^:ach supplies 4 rooms
to the average family, but the cost per room in the former is $1.80,
while it is but $1.57 in the latter. Now section 13 grades 49 points
in sanitary accommodation, while section 26 is reckoned at only 19.
By this fact the difference of rental value between them is in part at
least accounted for. Again, contra.st .sections 12 and 30. The room
average for each is 4I. A room in the former costs $1.79, in the
latter $1.42. In .sanitary accommodation section 12 is reckoned at
42 and section 30 at but 22 points. Both situation and accommoda-
tion here and in general influence rental values.

4th. It is interesting to note what proportion rental takes of
income, and hou- this proportion varies with chTfercnt sections

lakmy; the district as a whole, iS per cent, of the total eaminL^s. or
near y cnie d(,llar in every He, reaches the pocket of the la.ullord.

n the better sections of , upper belt this percenta-c is exceeded
In sections i. 2, 3. 4. 5. 6. ,. 8. 9 and 11 the proportion equals or
exceeds 20 per cent. Between St. James street and the canal it will
average about i6per cent, the sections near McGill street considerably
exceeding the figure, while those near the city limits falling below it
tnr the combined sections below the canal the average is but 13 per
cent. Nowhere else in our district docs rental take .so small a
proportion of income as beyond the canal.

The real industrial class cannot, as a rule, afford to pay more than
20 per cent of their wages for rent. It is among the well-to-do and
among the ver)' poor that a proportion higher than this will be most
frequently found.

There were .some surprisingly low rentals in certain quarters of
limited extent within " the city below the hill." Five dollars a month
for three or even four rooms in a rear tenement is not uncommon
Vhen, however, in the di.strict we are now considering, we find four
dollars for three rooms or three dollars for two room.;_unless it be
close to the cit,v limits^ we may be certain that the accommodation
lurmshed is of the poorest quality. Yet even as low as $2 for two
room.s was in several instances reported. One whole block, near the
city limits, contained 5; families, each occupying three rooms their
average rental being but $4.33 per month.

In ch.sing, let me re-state some of the more important conclu.sions
which wc have arrived at as a result of this study.

1. Tht^ average rental in " the city below the hill," is $r 75 per
month for each room, and since five rooms constitute the avera-e
home, our average family will pay $8.75 per month for rent.

2. Rental values are higher in the belt above St. James street
than elsewhere throughout the nether city. The value per room
gradually diminishes as one passes southward from McGill street and
approaches the city limit.s. Rents in Ste. Cunegonde and in St
Gabriel VV ard will be yet lower than in the districts wc have examined

3. Where location is of equal desirability the rental value will

lamclv (lencrul upo.i .iccomm.Klation. ;incl this may be best tested by
ascenainin^^ the sa.utary e(,ui,..ne,U of the houses of the ,KM|ihborho,Hl
4 |M,r the (hstrict, as a whole, the proportion which renta
takes of i.Komc is .8 per cent. For famiUes of the real inch.stnal
class .6 per cent, is a fair average. Towards the city inuts the
proportion still further decreases. It is anion- the well-to-do and the
very poor that rental is pcr.nitted to absorb from 20 to 25 per cent.

" ''' One'of the mistakes most freciucntly made, in semi-philanthropic
efforts to provide homes for workin^^ people, is the buddm^ of
dwellinL.s /.. hi^h priced for the neighborhood. Incidentally th.s may
benefit the h.cality, though only those already fairly well housed can
take advantage of this better value. The bulk of the people hve as
before In such experiments the first cpiestion should always be:
What can the peoplo of the district aff.M'd to p;i>- .- the next, what is
the best value which philanthropic investment can furnish for thi.s
the current price? The.se questions well considered in advance will
minimi/.e the risk of financial failure.

Ai. 3

!■

i
(

Map f:

Among" ' />r Avr^Aee ^t^/rAi ro0 rue ttt r/n/v

VII.

Density and Overcrowding.

The difference in meaning of the terms^-The three points to he considered:
Density, Oi^ercrowding and Vacant Property~~ist : Density—Montreal
compared zvith other cities. -The western compared 7vith other imrds-
The ^^city />eiow t/ie hi//;' its density.— Comparison of groups of sections.
How this density should be relieved 2nd: Overcnmding—The standard
for the nether city-Localities exceeding it.— The densest regions com-
pared—Instances of overcrowding— A remedy proposed— 3rd : Amount
of vacant residential property- Various causes for lack of tenancy.
The small percentage in workiugclass sections - Proof that suitable
d2vellings for tvorkino people are not too numerous-Conclusion.

Density and ovcrcro\vdin<,r, by which we mean two entirely
different matters, are to-day regarded by medical authorities as ex-
ercising so great an influence upon public health that these subjects
demand at our hands full and careful consideration. Density of
population is usually expressed in terms of persons to the acre. Over-
crowding has come to be regarded as referring to the number of per-
sons per occupied room. Were we to estimate the condition of a
neighborhood alone by the former test we might be drawn into quite
erroneous conclusions, since of two localities, having the same density
per acre, one may be occupied by three-storey dwellings with
abundant room space for all, while the other may be covered with
low-built hovels wherein the room space is wholly inadequate. Evidently
in such a ca.se the former locality would be far less in need of attention

i 1

I i

aid reformatory efforts than the latter. Density and overcrowding
must therefore be considered together, and such is the purpose of this
article, while we will also deal, in conclusion, with a third topic, viz. :
the proportion of vacant residential propert)-.

Let us first e.xplain the accompanying map G., to enable us, as
it were, to take inventory of the information at our disposal for a
comparative examination of the nether city upon these three points.
In each section the figures above the Roman letters show the total
population of the section, and the figures below the number of persons
per acre which this represents. This material will serve us for a com-
parative study regarding density. The figures to the right denot.- the
number of rooms per family, those to the left the number of persons
per occupied room. This data will aid us when we come to the study
of the subject of overcrowding. Finally in the lower right hand cor-
ner is to be found the proportion of tenements that were found to be
unrented in November last. The.se statistics will assist us in deter-
mining whether there is a demand for additional accommodation in
the section indicated. By means of broken diagonal lines the more
thickly inhabited portions are indicated upon the map, the greater the
density the closer being the.se lines. A dotted line marks off such
portions as are non-residential, though the space is still included in
the calculation of the sections.

1st. Havinglearned how to utilize the information set forth upon the
map, we are now jirepared to take up the subject of density. Judged
by old-world standards, Montreal is not a densely peopled city. It
will average throughout its entire extent about forty persons to the
acre. Neither are St. Antoine and St. Ann's wards — which are in
part included within "the city below the hill"— among the more
densely populated of our city. While St. Louis Ward averages 117
to the acre, St. James Ward, 96 ; St. Lawrence, 67 ; St. Mary's, 63 ;
and St. Jean l^aptiste, 56 ; St. Antoine Ward will only average about
47 and St. Ann's Ward 35 persons to the acre. Our "city below the
hill," which contains, over all, about 700 acres, a little over a square
mile, averages about 55 to the acre and were the population evenly
distributed could not be regarded as thickl>- inhabited. But when we
deduct, as we reasonabl)' may, the canal and wharves, the parks and
streets, Honaventure station and the non-residential section No. 2-],

we find a total population of 17,6^t, persons upon abf)ut 400 acres, or
an average of 94 persons to the acre. This expression represents the
density of the "city below the hill."

Taking one hundred persons per acre, as a standard by which to
mstitute comparisons, we will examine the groups of sections which
naturally make belts of territory, {a) Least densely populated of allis
the belt made up of sections 28 to 30. Owing to the presence of
numerous industrial establishments along or near the east bank of
the canal, the residences here do not, as a rule, commence to appear
until the second or third block back from it. Consequently for the
territory between Centre street and the canal the population will not
exceed 65 per acre, while the only locality more densely populated
than the standard (having an average of 153 to the acre) is that
situated between Shearer and Island streets. {/>) No section throughout
the belt between Notre Dame and William streets, sections 16 to 20,
exceeds or e\en reaches a density of ico per acre. Between Barre'
and Notre Dame streets there is a thickly peopled strip of limited
extent averaging 160 to the acre : just beUnv Chaboillez square lies a
half acre on which reside no less than 174 persons ; and the northern
corner of section 20 exhibits a density of 190 per acre, but the rest of
the territory in this belt does not exceed the adopted standard, (c) Be
low William street, however, throughout sections 22, 24 and 25. the
average density exceeds the standard, reacliing 120 per acre. But if
one wishes to visit the most densely populated neighborhood in
"Griffintown " he will find it within the bounds of William, Colborne,
Smith and McCord streets, where an average of 173 per acre is attained.'
The single block with highest record is that wherein is situated No. 6
Police station, where 498 persons occupy less than 2', acres, giving
a density of 2 1 7 per acre, {d) The sections above St. James street"! Xos".
1^ to 10, vary considerably but average 104 per acre taken as a whole.
Sections 6, 8 and 10 show highest averages, with 140, 134 and 147
respectively. Section 1 1 appears to have a dense population, but the
pre.sence of .several large hotels therein, with transient occupation,
prevents us from being certain in our calculations regarding it.

{e) liut it is in the zone known as the "Swamp" that we find the
greatest density. Sections 12 to 15, which com '
upon which buildings have beei

54 acres

or might be erected, have a joint

populaticn of 8863 soul.s, or an average throughout of 163 to the acre.
Some areas of limited extent far exceed this belt average. Here are
the most densely populated localities to be found m all the city be-
low the hill." One of these special districts lies below the railway
track between Mountain and Lusignan streets, where ui less than
10 acres, dwell two thousand people. Another densel)' populated
locality stretches from St. Antoine to Notre Dame streets, between
Richmond and Seigneurs streets. St. Martin street runs through the
centre of it, and here a density of 230 per acre .s reached. 1 he
densest block anywhere discovered w.thin the -f^^^!'y^:^y^
St Martin and Seigneurs streets, below the track, a bhnd alley called
liroux street traversing the middle of it. Here in a tr.fle ^er three
acres can be found 955 per.sons, or over 300 to the acre. Thmk ot
a thousand people residing upon a space the s.ze o one portion of
Dominion square. If the residents of this block stood m a row, allow-
in<. about twenty inches to each person, they would form one sohd
i,re completely enclosing the block on its four sides. It becc^es^ no
longeramatterof.surpri.se that upon election da>^ a single block in
he southern corner of St. Antoine Ward should be able to produ e
ten or even twenty times as many voters as an equal area above

Sheibrookc street. .

Two hundrcrf persons per acre throughout any considerable ex-
tent of territory is not an average which can be permitted, ni a cty
of small homes hl<e Montreal, without special vigilance ,n regard to
all that affects the public health. A district thus congested has de-
mands upon the civic chest for ex,>enditure upon amehoratmg ancl
preventa ive measures, not to be considered merely upon the bas.s o
The pn>portion of taxation which it bears. With fifteen thousand of
our fell'nv-citizens (between Mountain street and the cty hmtts above
Notre Dame street), having as their only breathing space scarcely an
ac"e, called Richmond square, what more ^"'"8 ->; "^ -'*";"«
the ^pproachin,; antuversary of ouv noble Queen can be devjscd than
o open an<l e |uip within this dcr.sely populated area a pubhc park
d mensions and adornment worthy the occasion ? Another means
of relieving the congestion would be to extend Albert street, as homo-
lo..ated, from H.mavenlure station to Canning street, open.ng a

thoroughfare belf)\v the railway track. Something certainly should
be done to give the residents of the " Swamp " more breathing space.
2nd. The second phase of our questi(jn, the subject of overcrrnvdiii;^.
now claims brief consideration. Thi.s .study deals with the matter if
room space, and examines into the number of occupi,.;d rooms per
family and per individual. As has been demonstrated, a section may
show high density yet ample individual room space, .so that the
danger arising from the former cause may be neutralized by the latter
condition. The number of occupied rooms throughout "the city be-
low the hill " is almost identical with the number of persons. In fact,
the average would be about iJj rooms per individual. "One person,
one room," may then be regarded as the standard. Where, as in
sections i to ii, the average family accommodation exceeds five
rooms, there are as a rule fewer persons than rooms, liut ^Yhere the
home contains less than five rooms then more than one person is the
average for each room. Two sections, such as lo and 25, may rank
when tested according to density nearly upon an equality, but when
it is noted that in the former locality nine persons would have the use
of ten room.s, while in the latter eleven persons would occupy the
same number, it is exident that in the former .section the congestion
is far less dangerous than in the latter. When comparison was made
between what are called "Griffintown" and the "Swamp" upon the
matter of density, the latter was found to contain a considerably
higher average per acre than the former. If, however, the two local-
ities be tested by the number of rooms per individual which each al-
lows, it will be found that while the "Swamp" (sections 13 to 15)
averages 1.08 souls per occupied room, the more thickly populated
sections of "Griffintown" (Nos. 24 to 26) .show an average of 1.13
persons per room. Evidences of overcrowding are more apparent
in " Griffintown " than in the " Swamp." The locality which surpas.ses
all others in the number of persons per occupied room is .section 24,
where a family of five persons will average but four rooms. We also
noted that, as the city limits were approached, the density increa.sed ;
the number of persons per room, however, generally grows less, so
that the evil effects of the former condition are largely neutralized by
the latter.

Iff

Instances of overcrowd in ^^ were not infrequently discovered in the
course of the industrial census, but their number was far less thaii
had been expected, in less than two per cent, of the families visited
was an avera-e of two persons per room reached, althou-h cases, where
five six seven or even ei^dit persons were huddled together in two
rooms, were discovered. Seven persons to three rooms was the con-
dition of more than a score of families. Eight, nine, ten, or even eleven
persons for three rooms ; nine, ten and eleven persons for four rooms
were found. The worst group of overcrowded homes was located on
St lames street, just beyond Fulford, where 41 persons occupied 20
rooms There is reason to beliexe that other parts of our city m this
matter are greater transgressors than those we have studied, but fov
lack of data we can make no comparisons. The laws of health
demand that in Montreal, as is already the case in Glasgow, over-
crowding be prohibited by civic enactment.

3rd The third and last point to be in this article considered is the
proportion of vacant residences throughout our nether city and what
is demonstrated thereby. Out of .S390 places of residence, 719. or
■ibout Sy, per cent, were noted to be unrented and unoccupied in
November last, when our census was made. This means one dwelling
out of every twelve, and appears at first glance to be a large propor-
tion Local causes, however, accounted for lack of tenants m mr.ny
cases Thus, in section 2 it was uncertainty regarding the widening
of St Antoine street. In sections 7 and 8, where the vacant houses
are nearly all above St. Antoine street, the vacancy was occasioned
by their undesirable position, in that they were overshadowed by the
C P R track Were it possible to deduct such residences as are ten-
antless on account of similar local causes, such as were not erected
with proper judgment in making the rental fit the locality, such as
■ire very undesirable on account of extreme dilapidation -were it pos-
sible to deduct these, it is probable that not 5 pcr cent., or ,/./ .,/.
/,>use in every twenty, would be unoccupied from other causes.
Ordinarily it is in the well-to-do sections that the percentage of unrent-
ed dwellings will run highest ; it is where the working people live
that inoccupancy is less frequent. A score of blocks, in localities of
the latter order, could be named wherein not a room is vacant. in
the more thickly populated portions of the "Swamp" and "Grithn-

town " only from 5 to 7 per cent, of vacancy is the rule. When, as
here, the number of persons desirous of residin<; within a ^nven local-
ity is .so <rreat that sixteen out of every seventeen available (lwellin<is
are regularly rented, it is quite reasonable to assume that were
modern dwellin<rs erected, carefull>- adapted to meet the needs and
the incomes of the local inhabitants, such buildings would rarely, if
ever, want for tenants.

In conclusion, we would affirm that "the city below the hill," as
a whole, is not over populated. There is still much available land
that might be built upon to accommodate that excess of wage-earners
which, as we found in article II, now find homes outside. Certain
densely inhabited localities are to be found, and such congestion
should be relieved b>' the opening of new streets and parks. There
does not appear to be great cause for alarm as to overcrowding—at
least, not m this portion of Montreal— but even here cases are
sufficiently frequent to demonstrate the necessity for regulations by
the civic authorities upon this matter. It is well that we have learned
the situation of the more densely peopled and more frequently over-
crowded districts, in order that these localities may be watched with
greatest care. The comparativel)- small percentage of uw.cnied
dwellings, among tho.se suitable to the real industriarda.ss, lead.s us
to conclude that capital judicious!)- invested in providing homes for
working people in "the city below the hill " would be almost certain
to earn reasonable dividends.

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vir.

The Poor of the West End.

117/0 lire the f>o(»-l Ifow ininwroiis an tiny! Where are I hey I Laeation
and dislrihiitiiPH-lLxplanation of Map If-- How to reckon comparative
poverty Wide diitrihiitiou oj poverty ''Grijfintou'n" and the ' 'Sjttuv/ip"
- Other like /oca/ities of smaller area - Where is poverty less freqiteiit .'
Do the well-to-do move out 1— Causes of poverty - Irregularity of work,
where most iu evidence I— The relation of the saloon to idleness and
want -Examination of ^roup of special families Composition of the
family Summary.

It is difficult to determine what shall constitute the low water
mark of decent subsistence in our "cit\' below the hill." Since a
dollar a day is regarded as the minimum wage for an unskilled
laborer, it would seem that $6.oo per week might be taken as the
point below which comfort ends and poverty commences. Hut a
dollar a day is by no means equivalent to $6.oo j^er week, since icw
arc those, amoi-.g this class of laborers, who can count upon regular
work throughout the year. It is also an undeniable fact that there
are frugal households, not a few, wherein $6.00 per week means
independence and comfort. Below $5.00 per week, however, it is
hardly possible for the weekly income to fall and yet permit of proper
provision being made for a growing ffunily, and although there are
tho.sc who do this also, and all honor to such as can, jet we may
safely fi.v the limit of decent subsistence at $5.00 jjer week and regard
such families as, throughout the year, earn no more than $260.00, as
properly to be termed " the poor."

Now that we have determined uponastaiidard of measurement, the
first quesiion to be asked the statisticiri of the "city below the hill"
is: — How many families are there in ihis district that fall below the
standard, in other words what is the extent of poverty? Of 7,67 1
families, in the area under examination, 888 or 1 1 4% stated in
November last, in response 'o the inquiry of our canvassers, that their
average weekl)- family income takin<^ the year as a whole, did not
exceed $5.00. This is then the "submerged tenth ' of western
Montreal and its examination will form the subject of this article.

The accompanying map H. is designed to furnish data for
comparison along these lines. An explanation thereof is then of first
necessity. The figures directly above the Roman letters represetit the
total number of poor families within the boundaries of the specified
section. 'I'he figures directly below the Roman letters, signify the
proportion of poor families within the boundaries of the specified
section, that is the percentage of poor families therein. To the right
is to be noted tlie percentage of families M'hose incomes arc not
regular throughout the year. To the left is shown the number
of well-to-do families- -whose incomes reach or exceetl a thousand
dollars a year — and below that again is the percentage of this class
to the wh(jle. hy these figures we can ascertain the location and
distribution of the poor, likewise of the well-to-do. We can also
examine the relative proportion of irregular incomes.

There are two sets of data furnished by map H., for comparison
between sections in respect to their poverty, viz:- the numerical and
the proportional statement. These, bj' no means, of necessity
correspond. A district may contain but few poor families and yet,
because thinly populated, may present a high povert}' percentage.
On the other hand a section wherein arc man)' poor .milies,
because densely populated, may not be promiiv.Mit when ranked
according to percentage only. In determinng then what districts are
of most unenviable pre-eminence as the luJntat of povert}', attention
must be paid to both the numerical and proportional statement.

The families of the poor are widely distributed throughout the
city under the hill. We do not here, find them as i i many ocher
cities, grouped together in a locality with clearly determinable hnits;
on the contrary, but one of our residential sections, \o. 9, ontains

none of this class among its inhabitants. The presence of the poor is
not alwaj's apparent. Sections oenerall)- considered to be wholly
consecrated to the well-to-do, contain, in out-of-the-way alleys and in
rear tenements, a small proportion at least of needy families.

Two considerable areas, however, those indicated by broken
lines upon the map, contain over half the poverty of the "city below
the hill." The.se districts are "Griffintown " and " the Swamp."

"Griffintown,"or rather that part of it which lies between William
<-ind Krcnnan streets, froin Grey Nun to Young streets, is the home
of nearly one thousand families, twenty-four per cent of whom, or one
out of every four, are /iviii}:: upon SS-oo per 7veek or even less. The
four .sections, Xos. 21 to 24, included between these boundaries,
contain 233 poor families or about one-fourth of the whole number
resident within our nether cit)-. No other district of equal extent can
surpass this cither in amount or proportion of poverty.

The " Swamp " district, from Chaboillez Square to the city limits,
and between St. James and Xotre Daine streets, comprising sections
12 to 15 upon our map. contains in all 191 5 families, of whom 221 arc
" poor." Although the number nearly equals that in the pre\ iousl>-
de.scribed district, it will be .seen that the poor families of the " Swamp"
constitute but 1 1>4%, or one-eighth part of the whole population, so
that the proportion is only half as large as in Griffintown. The two
districts above described, when taken together, account for the
location of more than half the poverty of the lower city.

Two other sections, of considerable extent, may be further
mentioned as containing more than the average proportion of
poverty. Section 16, which includes St. Maurice street, contains 40
poor families about 17, of the residential population, and .section S,
owing to the rear tenements off St. Martin and S-gneurs streets',
also contains forty poor families or 15 , of those dwelling therein.'
These two sections account for one-eleventh of the total amount, and
together with " Griffintown " and the " Swamp." or ten .sections in all,
leave but 354 pocir nimilies or only 40% of the -ooverty. to be
distributed among the twenty .sections that remain.

The two belts wherein poverty is of least frequent occurrence
are:— that above St. .\ntoine street, w here a large proportion of the
residents are well-to-do, and that between Notre Dame and William

streets, south of Inspector, which includes the well-known l^arre
street section, and is occupied almost exclusivch' by the real
industrial class, with few among them fallint^ below the standard.
Section 9 alone, as prexiously stated, has' no poor whatever.

It has often been affirmed regarding old "Griffintown," and similar
districts, that as soon as a family becomes well-to-do it moves to
another locality. That this is the case appears to be corroborated b}-
the evidence of our census. Harely one hundred families, or but 7°/
of the present residents of "(iriffintown," have an income exceeding
$20 per week. Of this number full)' one-half are grocers and saloon-
keepers whose business binds them to the locality. This fact is
unfortunate since it tends to reduce the general scale of living b}-
removing from a neighborhood such ameliorating influences as can
only be sustained where at least a fair proportion of the community
are of the well-to-do class. In the "Swamp," sections 12 to 15,
eleven per cent, of the families are of the $20 class, while in the belt
above St. James street 25% belong to this order. In no other district
does one find so many poor and so few well-to-do as in "(iriffintown."
This region appears to have been by the latter class abandoned to
its fate.

As to the causes of povert}', chief among them is insufficient
employment. Few arc the families where nothing is earned, although
there are such subsisting more or less worthily upon charitj-. Almost
without exception each family has its wage-earner, often more than
one, and upon the regularit}' with which the wage-earner secures
ein[)loyment depends the scale of living for the family.

One of the mitters investigated in our special census was this
irregularit}' of work. Although as fainilies in receipt of regular
incomes were regarded such as po.ssessed at least one worker
employed without intermission, and also all families which receiving
ten dollars or more per week for part of the jear, might be reasonabh'
ex[)ected to put aside sufficient to enable thein to get through the
remainder w ithout hardship, )et even with these regarded as "regular"
there still remained 1724 families, or 23% of the total number, whose
small incomes could not be depended upon as constant and regular
throughout the year. Of course this included man>- instances of
alternative trades, as for example, u hen a man is a brick-layer in sum-

mer and a furnacc-,nan in winter, but still the ratio „f nearly one
Januly ,n every Jour withont steady work, scem.s alar.iiinolv hj.^h and
explanis much of the povcrt)-. The relative proportion of irre^'ularity
.n employment varies <rrcatly uith the localit)-, but i.icreases as one
approaches the water front. In the belt above St. James street, the
proport.on is but one family in ei^ht. between St. James and
Will, am streets it is one family in ever)- five, beyond the canal it is
one famdy m four, while between William street a.id the canal the
proportion .s two families out of every five. Think of it, of fifteen
hundred families in all "(iriffintown," six hundred do not know what
It 1.S to have a rc-ular income and steady work. It is not at all
.-nprobablc that these six hundred families could furnish nearly
an equal number of able-bodied men to any local enterpnse which
durm^^ the winter, would offer a lixin^r ,va<,re. With most of
the wa-e-earners of these families the programme for the year
■s as follows:— Wc.rk upon the wharves in summer and odd
jobs of any sort durin- during five long winter month.s. When
sprmg arrives, overdue rent and debt at the cornei grocer)- have
•so mortgaged the coming summer's earnings that saving becomes
■mpossible. This irregularity of work is doubtless the main
cause of poverty, for the prolonged idleness unfits manv a man for
steady work even when he at length succeeds in getting it. Once
irregular ahvaj-s irregular is apt to be true, and irregularity, demoral-
ization and povertN- is the orfler of descent.

It may not be at this point out of place to consider briefly the
hquor question in its bearing upon the subject under examination.
Whether the .sale of intoxicants is the cause of irregular employment
and poverty, or whether idleness and want bring into being and main-
tain the liquor stores we will not attempt to decide. This fact is,
however, apparent to the observer, that wherever poverty a.,d irre^ruiarity
are most f^revalenf, there the opportunities for drunkenness are most
fre,/uent. Throughout "the city below the hill," there are, all
told, 105 licen.sed saloons and 87 liquor .selling groceries. Of the.se,
28 saloons and 9 groceries are to be found in sections 3, 5 and 1 1, in
clo.sc proximity to the Windsor and I^onaventire stations, where it is
apparent that they are sustained more by the travelling public than
by the residential population. These sections can the- ' rly be

eliminated from the calciilati(in, thus leaving 155 li(|uor stores to pro-
vide for the remainiiiL; 27 sections, whicli means on cin average one
for every 45 families or one for every 219 persons. This is an exact
thou^i^h startlint^ average for the "cit\' below the hill,"

Turn now to an exainination of the localit}- between William
street and the canal, and what do we find in this regard? Where
every fifth famil)- is in povcrt\', where two out of every five fainilies
arc but irrei^ularl\- employed, the |)opulation sustains one licen.sed —
and no one knows how many unlicensed — liquor store to every 33
families, or one for ever\' 160 |)ersons. Look now, by waj- of com-
parison before leaviuL^ this subject, at the district beyond the canal,
sections 28 to 30, with a population similar in respect to nationality
to that of "Griffintown". Here one liquor store is deemed sufficient
for each group of fift}' families, one for every 240 persons, and here
also one finds but //(?//" the irregularit)' in employment, and but iwo-fift/is
the proportional amount of poxerty existent in the "Griffintown"
district just across the canal. Let this stand as exidence sufficient
that drink is inseparable from idleness and poverty and vice versa.

It will be remembered that, according to our industrial census,
the total nuinber of poor families was reckoned at 888 in "thecit\bc-
U)\\ the hill." Half of this number were by the writer selected as
material for a second anti more searching in\c.stigation, with a view
of more full}- examining the ciiaracteristics, conditions and cau.scs (S
our west-end po\ert\-. h'our hundred and thirty-six families were
sought for, and the first fact that was brought to the notice of the
investigator was that 46 families, or 10^/2 ', of the abo\e number, had
left their former abodes, within the two months between the first and
.second canvass, drawing attention to one of the sad features of
poverty's lot, viz., the constant necessit}- to mo\e on because of in-
ability to satisfy the claims of the landlord. If this ratio were main-
tained, and each month saw 5 of the poor evicted, in a year not
half these families could be found at the former addresses.

A second fact, made apparent In- the special investigation, was
that our west -end poverty was not the result of recent innnigration.
Ouite the reverse from what would have been the case in New York
or Chicago, hard!)' a dozen families were discovered that had not been
residents of the cit>' for at least three \ears. The vast majorit\' were

old residents who had lived in Montreal for the greater part of their
lives. The presence of poverty, then, in the nether city is not charge-
able to any considerable influx of foreign elements.

In the case of 323 families inquiries were made as to the causes,
assigned by the pec^ple themselves, for their indigent condition. With
109 families, or 34% the reply was "irregularity of work." The wage-
earners were not without vocations but their employment was
mtermittent and often work ceased altogether for considerable periods.
With 87 families or 28% the answer was that the wage-earners had no
work whatever, nor did there seem to be any immediate prospect of
getting any. With 27 families, or 9%, old age had unfitted and
with a like number sickness had prevented the worker from earning
the requisite support. Out of these 323 families, among the poorest
of the poor, 62% claimed to be able to better their condition were
employment regular and abundant. That a certain percentage of the
answers given did not state the real facts of the case is quite probable.
Few are the families that will admit to a stranger that drink, crime
or voluntary idleness is the cause of their miser>', though in 7% of
the ca.ses visited drunkenness was clearly at the bottom of the trouble.
Still It is the belief of the investigator that the undeserving among the
poor form a far smaller proporticjii than is generally imagined.*

*The followi.it; clipping from "The Outlook" of May 8th, 1897, is of value for pur-
[loses of CDinparison: —

"The American Staiistical Association publishes the records of the Charily
Orgini/ation Societies of New Vork, Haltimore, and six smaller cities respecting the cause
of need among the families whose condition was investigated last year. In a condensed
form the results reached were as followed :

Chief cause of need. ^f'*" '''"''^- IJaltiniore. ^'ufj"

Percent. Percent. cities.

I 1 r 1 P"^'' i^ent.

Lack ot en-.ploynient 48 43 ^c

S'l^^loiess ,8 ,8 ly

Intemperance or shifilessness. . iS 13 30

Miscelhiiieoiis causes 1^ 21 -57

What is nolal.le about this tai)le is that in all these cities the want of employment
was believed to be the cause of distress in as many cases as sickness, intemperance, and
shiftlessness comiunetl. This, too, it must lie remembered, was among the families which
applied to public charities for aid. Among those which have i)een aided by the trades-
unions and by their own relatives, the prop..rtion of those whose need was due to the want
of regul.u work was doubtless much larger. One labc ■ union in this city paid " out -uf- work
beuelit '" to over one thousand families during the greater part of the recent winter."

As to the composition of the family, out <.f 390famihes, S ucre
found wherein thehccul of the household was a widow, and 54c:ises where
the husband was too old or too ill to work, making- in all 140 families,
,.,- s6 ' of the whole, that mii^ht be called "decapitated" family k^roups.
In 'about two-thirds of the families, or in 64;;, of the cases examined,
there was an able-bodied man in the house, oftimes more than one, a
man able to work and professini^ to be willin- to do so. If these
proportions mav be taken as fairly indicating" the avera-e amon- the
the families of the poor, it is evident that at least one-third of them
ire in indi-ent circumstances throu-h no fault of their own. Death
c,r disease ^lave so cripj^led the family group that it can no lon-er
unaided keep up in the fierce struggle for subsistence. C hantable
effort must come to the relief of such. With nearly two-thirds 01 the
cases, however, it is not charit>- that is demanded but a chance to
work Were emplovment obtainable these families would soon be
able to adopt a comfortable scale of lix ing. 1 f i)Hvate enterprise does
not furnish sufficient opportunity for willing men to provide for then-
families the absolute necessities of life, during the four cold winter
months, then the municipality, by careful!)- considered relief works
conducted at a minimum wage, should come to their assistance.
Still another matter, examined into by the investigator, was the
scale of living amongthese"p..or"familie.s. Of 39ofa.niliesv;s,ted, i9/„
were classified as "comfortable" even upon slender means; 40^/, were
regarded as "poor but self-supporting," that is to sa\-, able to subsist
widiout outside help; 30 were considered as "ver>- poor" and likely
to need aid belore the winter ended; while 1 i were, without ciuestion,
"destitute" and rcciuiring immediate charitable assistance. If this
proportion be constant— and we have every reason to expect that it
would be so throughout the unvisited balance of the 888 poor families--
then there are in " the citv below the hill" nearly one hundred families
in a condition of absolute destitution, while not less that 250 will need
to be helped before the arrival of spring.* This is a conservative
estimate, the actual destitution is probabl)' greater, it canhardl>'be less.
By wa>' of acquainting my.self in a measure with what was being
done through our various charitable institutions for the relief of the

♦Tliis slnu'iueiu \v;>s piopaieil in I'cliruniy 1S97.

suffciing poor, I sent to several of them a list coiitainincr the names
and addresses of needy families belon-int,^ to that special race or creed
which each society represented. 1 asked that the organization should
mdicate what names were already iij^on its relief roll. I'rom the
replies obtained I <,rathercd that a very considerable proportion of the
lamilies known to me, were alread\- bein- cared for by our charitable
lioards. The House of Industry and the National' Societies aided
the needy Protestants. The St. Vincent de Paul Societies a.ssistcd
the French-Canadian families in distress, especially the widows.
I he parish authorities seemed well acc|uainted with, and in many
instances were assistino- the worthy poor amon-;- the Irish Catholics.
Hut besides these there are als(, man\- independent oroanizations,
benevolently mindcfl <(roups and sympathetic individuals, all con-
tributin<,r to assist their sufferin- fellow-men. l^videnccs, however,
are not lackini,^ to prove that this bene\olent work frequently over-
laps with a tendenc)- to pauperize the recipients. This is a result
Ihat should be s^niarded a<;ainst with irrcatest care. I am stront,d)' of
the opinion that our <;reat weakness in the work of assistint,r the
worthy ])oor lies in lack of or-^anizcd effort amon^i; the charitable
bodies. Some Central Charit\- Hoard, upon which representatives of
c\ery race and creed mii^ht sit, should be here established. A joint
roll should be kei)t. There should be a sort of clearing house in
respect to relief effort, where e\er\- need\- case could be assigned to the
orgam'zation respoiisible for it and whcrebx' a family already in receipt
of help from one .source should not be further assisted from others
There is in Montreal abundant willingness to help those who cannot
help themselves, but it wants proi)er guidance and direction.

What now ha\e we endeavored in this article to .set forth on the
subject of the poor of the west-end? With regard to the district as
a whole we ha\e shown who are the poor, how numerous they are
then- location and their distribution. \Vc have also indicated where
poxerty was most fre(]ucnt and the ])roporti()n of well-to-do to be
found in working class sections. As to causes we have considered
irrcgularit\- of work, intemperance, decapitation and other factors,
and. b\- a more careful study of a group of poor families, brought out
certain characteristics and conditions. We have advocated municipal
relief work for the able-bodicfl and charity organization in dealing
with families incapable of self-support. Here then mav properh' be
brought to a close the present article.

D *i V* fc,_

■ ""K.'

To — O*^* '**'•■ '"

MspH

TH£ /^OOR om'rMm. WEST £t^D

f^ldMf ^ Pmitctfur/t^a »^/'»/HH-'»t vtjrn //*/*# £ iy<.4/r •>« c a <wa|

&Xi.o*v » Pattern/^ rit(,m of f»om frnMH-ims i-t^f " Mvm0m» oa; avtrm ^K»cf»ir/tt* <" W«j.i-- »■" — "»'«'»»'••'*'

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

I.I

l^|2£ 125

■ 50 ■^"

HI m

^ no

12.2
2.0

11-25 i 1.4

1.6

0%.

^'i

I' }

t< 3

mmmmm

IX.

The Death Rate.

^n accepted test of progress in sanitary science-It can he lowered- 4 l,i^~h
rate means unwholesome conditions-Comparative death rates, here and

tet^r^r' "''' ^'"' "''' ''■' "''^^'^" ''"' /- "^/- ->'■ ''-/-'
the hul -Comparison by belts in the nether city-The four localities

nuth h-:hest death rate-Summary of the conditions therein-
Conclusion.

The closer people live to one another" says Dr. Russell of
Glas,.ow, the "shorter their lives are." This statement needs no
proof, for It ,s universally admitted that urban condition.^ are less
conducive to <,.eneral sound health and long life than rural surround'-
mgs. V\,th natural conditions against the city, it is only hv tie
exerc.se of additional precautions that this handicap can be overcome
Now the test to which the cities of the civilized world by common
con.sent annually submit themselves, in order to determine how
succes.sful or otherwise each has been in the struggle against the^e
natural disadvantages, is a determination of the local death rate Ik'
means of a knowledge of the mortality of the municipalitN- " as a
uho e, a c.ty can compare itself with its neighbors and thus 'note its
relative advance along lines of sanitaiy science. Hv remarking u hat
region.s within its borders show a death rate higher t'han the ordinaiy,
that city can ascertain the sections that are lagging behind and hi
need of special attention. Thus a high death rate for any city or for
an)- particular region within it. has come to be regarded as a dan- er

siL;iial, ;i fin^i^er of warning- poiiitinL^" to tliat localitj- and declaring that
there must therein exist conthtions detrimental to the public health,
conditions which demand increased effort for their eradication or
improvement. And since it has been, durinj^ the past quarter of a
century, repeatedl}' proven, that the death rate can be materially
lowered, can be even reduced b\' half, through the amelioration of
local conditions, it gi\es us an added impulse for examination into
tlie real state of our own case, in the hope that to know our
deficiencies maj' be a step in the path towards their rcmoxal.

In this article we purpose, after a few comparative figures, 1st, to
com|jare the death rate of " the city above" with that of "the city
below the hill," 2nd, to critical!}' examine certain localities within the
hitter region wliich the test of high death rate brings into unenviable
prominence and finalh' to review the conditions of life which, in
pre\ious articles, we found existent in those sections where the rate of
mortalit)' is 'nigh. For the entire Dominion, during the year 1893,
fourteen persons out of every thousand was the j^roportion of deaths.
In the Province of Quebec this was higher, viz, 19 to the thousand.
During the same year about twenty-five (24.91) per thousand died
within the limits of the cit}- of Montreal. Quebec province exceeds
the Dominion rate, and Montreal city shows a record less creditable
than that of the provmce. In 1895, the last )ear for which the
official record for the entire cit>' is as }-et obtainable, the death rate
in Montreal was 24.81 to the thousand. Only twice before in our
civic history has it been so low, and we ma}- congratulate ourselves
upon the fact that since 1873 our civic death rate has fliminished no
less than fort\- per cent. Yet compared with other cities we have as
yd little cause for boasting. In 1894, the cities of London, Paris
and Birmingham could show that the}- liad reduced their death rate
to 20, Rome had reduced hers to 19.4, and Brussels to 18.1. Boston
in 1893, had a death rate of 24.02 and New \'ork of 23.52 and a
steaily decrease in these cities is also apparent. What has been done
el.sewhere in the lowering of the death rate should also be possible
fjv Montreal and a further reduction is expected and demanded.

(ireat are the variations of the several wards from the a\erage
death rate of Montreal. In St. Jean Baptiste ward the death rate
for 1895 was 35.51 per thousanfl, in St. Marx's ward it was 33.20, in

6[
St. Gabriel ward it w.is ^^ -.-, ^- , .

noticeable eisevvhcre O,,,- „ ,] "lannino si niptraiis

rate f„r H,e forme" , ^ T ' ""''''■ "'"' "^ '^'•"" ""-' <l™'h

Hviclen.,, .he e.: ^ „ t^t:^X"w7' "V" '""■' "'''■«■'•
not s„ .severe „„„„ |n„n-,n if, M ^ ^' ' "" ''■"" ''•"'''■"' ^'"^

eourtesy „f th^C vet n''"^""' ''"''''""'""''■ '"^^^l' ""=
■•«er.a,, the nnnbe ,;, '"''''"'''"' "^■■'™ '=™' ""^'bled to

year just cl„se<l f„r e„h I "'\'')^> "'"^'' '"">< I'l^'ce, during the
I"-"" Having/ „',„;: . rj"'"'f ^7'' "'""■" "-■ "<-■.■>,• bel„>r the

''"t""lvthcdcHthrr„rrW,^ ,''"'-' '"''^"''^' "' <leter,„i„e,

'-;• -i;,n. Ma ''i;:;;^:::,:' t :; :;,^T.-''-\r'''''" ""^-^-^

thirty sections „ ith « j.ici, „.e 1, l^ ^ "'"-''' """ ""-' ''•""e

the pop„lati„„ fo, e 1 T 'f ""''■' "^^'^-dy fantiiia,, shows

He,ewehaven,ateri Lie tt .';;'"'"' "" •™"- J"»' ^■'"-'■
population of ,. .? f, "f ""'""■-■'" '^' '''"'''' '™"*<' ""-'U »

c.t>- beio. the^'h i ■ ^^ :;,;.": r;;;'r'r'"^"™"«'^ -"■- ■■'^-

that of either St. Ant';,iue^; St A,' C «^ V'"'"" ™"^' ^■■^''■'^^''''S
thou.sand. Though this r.te I '*' " ''"''^ '>"■ -^-47 per

does no, approaci '' T '"" '"'"" """ "^ 'h'-' '^^f')' •'> iarU

higher ti,a„',L . u!' ^^ i;';' "Z"'"''^ ""^^ ''""'- •' ^ ^'^1

make in this regard ta vee' 't " \\ ''""P^'"^"" "''-" «e can
above the hill." " St t " „' , ^ ^ ''=."" "'^' '""" »"'' -'l'^' -'v

■«95. had a popu,ati„'V6;,r:rbT'^ '"■■''''' '•"""'"
P"P'ilatiou than this iu whic cC^ " l""hably l,as to day a larger

more starth,,,. |„ ha p ,f t T """''"' """''' '"-' ■"' ""^^

-ide, accord-,, to ™r'crs',^;s:':;;;;r' ;™;" ^t"" "r- •

about 3o,oco pcrsous „ ill be found " V , '" '""' ""^ '""

"llole warri is usualK. .bout ,- ' "'= ''"'"' ™"'' »""■■ 'he

that par. which .' bd UZt'TT ""' "" ''""" ™'^- ^-

"—'•'- -'--"r::c,;::;^:L;t-

lower portion of the ward is higher than the avera^^e, by so much
will the rate for the upper portion of the ward be lower than the
avera^^e. In fact, the rate for the "city above the h.ll will no
exceed 13 per thousand. If then a rate as low as 13 per thousand
has been reached for a locality in Montreal occupied by 30,000
.people why can not Hie same be obtained elsewhere ?

Hut returninir to our stu^ly of the lower city let us see if the
average rate of 22.47 holds good throughout. This exammat.on may
best be conducted by belts. Sections i to 10 above St. James street
show a rate of 1975 per thou.sand ; sections 1 1 to 15, between bt.
lames and Notre Uame streets, a rate of 26.41 per thousand ; sections
,6 to -o just below Notre Dame street, a rate of 23.32 per thousand ;
Griffintown or sections 21 to 26. a rate of 24.62 per thousand ; and
the belt beyond the canal, sections 28 to 30. a rate of 1441 P^^
thousand The most creditable showing is made beyond the canal and
above St James street, the most ominous indications are those of the
" Swamp •• and of " Griffintown." The localities near the city limits,
notwithstanding the density of their population, seem especially
healthy and scarcely a block, beyond Seigneurs street, shows a death

rate equal to the average.

I have chosen four districts, of limited extent, whose boundaries
will not correspond with those of the sections with which we have
..rown familiar, but which present a local death rate so much above
the average as to demand an examination into the attendant con-
ditions The first of these regions lies between Wellington. Grey
Nun Common and Brennan streets; the second between W/ilham,
Young Wellington and McCord streets ; the third between St. James,
Richmond, Basin and Seigueurs streets ; and the fourth between the
Bonaventure Station and track, Chaboille/. Square, Notre Dame and
Versailles street. They are shown upon Map I by broken diagonal
lines Here are the mortality statistics for the.se localities together
with certain data usually regarded as having an effect thereon.
Along with these figures are given the average of our nether city,
taken as a whole, in order that the differences may be apparent.

|i! 1

c
c

^ .r

u S

2 -^

(Si
■si

1-^ u

District i , 842 26, 30.87 54

2 I 2087 65 31.15 149

3 : 2532 86 33.96 170

4 2179 84I 38.54 134

"Thelcnvcr
ity

o q

I . 10

1.08

I .09

I . 10

37,021 832, 22.47 94|i-02

gftS
o -

c- o

•05 %

.04 "

c .~

c".""

iiU

ki ■—

5 ;

80 •' 16"

Mi.xcd

I Irish

,;. .. ,;.Q.. ,, .. (French

■ -' ^ •'I jCaiiiuhan

, ,, .. f French

59 ^7 \ (' I-

^■^ ' I C aiiachan

•09-)i 51 " 15 " Mi.xefl

cy
am,
Ties,
the
ind
:)nal
thcr
eon.
city,

Here we have a series of death rates, for groups of blocks,
ranging" from 30.87 to 38.54 per thousand. It would be quite
possible to point out single blocks within these districts where the
death rate last \ ear greatl\- exceeded even these high figures, but
with areas of such limited e.xtent one can never be certain that he
is not dealing with exceptional circumstances not likely to be repeated.
In the above table, however, we have several districts, containing a
population exceeding two thousand, a sufficient population to
produce a stable average. In these four areas it will be noticed that
in the matter of population per acre, persons to a room, proportion of
rear dwellings and priv)' pits, the.se localities, almost without
exception, fail to furnish accommodation up to the standard of "the
city below th? hill." This failure without doubt is in large measure
responsible for the unusually high mortality which in these districts
prevails. Until such conditions as are remediable, as for example the
rear tenement and the privy, are legislated out of existence, and until
s.ich as are not wholly alterable, but which can yet be made less
dangerous, are ameliorated, we, of this city, have still reason for
agitation and effort. These four districts, and others like them,
demand our special attention until their death rate shall no longer
exceed the normal figure.

f«TiiiTiiWir»

In conclusion I would ag.iin draw attention, 1st, to the fact that
the death rate for "the city below the hill" is far higher than it is for
" the city above the hill" ; 2nd, that certain specified localities within
our nether city, which combined contain one fifth of its total popula-
tion, exibit a death rate exceeding 34 persons to the thousand : 3rd, that ni
these and other similar localities exist conditions which are undoubtedly
responsible in great measure for this excessive death rate, and finally
that these conditions can be improved and ought to be miproved
since thereby a saving of valuable lives ma>' result.

fir!
i ¥ t

M^ip /

« * p ■■■■ «

AOOV0 " A^O f='ut.fir

L__^

^— .* — .

IM03

11 o*

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« * ■ ■ * •

< —

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11 o* '

P.^jW'i'^;^.;

Nationalities and Religions.

an In Mls-^-Jlu- three „„„„ c/eme,,,., „/ „„r f,.p„l„,i.m~n.

l>o| ul,it,on. C,„is,clcrc<l as a vvIk.Ic, the 7670 fa.nilic. llK-rcin
rcs,dcm ,nay be classified as f„ll„„,.. |.-,-enel,.(anacHa„, ",S i
C anadmn, .6,4 ; Mri.i.sh-tanadian, ,5y6 ; all .,the,s, .4.. Thus i. Iv |
be seen that 42 per cent, of the popcdatinn (taken by fan.ilics) is I^Vench-
anad.an; 34 percent, is Irish-Canadian; ., percent, is liritish-
Canad.an, and 3 per cent is „f other nationalities

1 hat portion of the lower city which lies above Notre I)an,e
s reet and belongs ,0 S- .Antoine wani is the ho.ne of 4307 fa, n es
» popnlat,on .s thns divided:-The French-Canad.ansmnnbe ■

amd.es or 50 per cent.; the liritish-Canatlians nutnber ,079 families ,
-'5 per cent, the Iri.sh-Canadians nutnber 9.6 families or 3, pe en
am <„,,„ n„t,„,„,i„.,, ,„,„l^^.^^ .57 families or 4 per cent. ThnT t

::;; ^ir; .;" ■" *■: ""■ "= ""^^' "'^- '-'-nch-canadian.' ":

Zbined ""' • '^^ """■" •" ••■" """-'^ "■••tionalities

GronpinK the sections into belts, as has been ottr custom in

previous articles, we fir.d that the strip of sections. Nos. , to ,0 Ivi, "'

V-hM^y!iU-Wi'!'f^iir9'^'i''w^mmmif mi (i^^

above St. James street, has a population more evenly divided amont^
the various natitnialities than any other region. Of the 2183 families
here resident, 791 or ^6 per cent, are Hritish-Canadian; 659 or 30 per
cent, are Irish-Canadian ; 628 or 29 per cent, are French-C!anadian,
and 105 or 5 per cent, belong to other nationalities. The Hritish-
C'anadians have a majority in section No. 9 alone, as is indicated
upon the map J. by means of crossed diagonal lines. This element
has a plurality in sections 2, 6, 7 and 8. The Irish-Canadians arc
nowhere in a majority but are in a plurality at the extremities of this
strip, namely in sections i and 10, in each case not far from their
jxirish church. The I'Vench-Canadians are nowhere in this belt in a
majority though more numerous than any other nationality in sections
3, 4 and 5. Upon map J, these variations can be noted, as the
strongest element in each section is that for which the figures are
placed over the Roman letters.

The strip between St. James and William, streets, sections 1 1 to
20, through the centre of which runs Notre Dame street, contains
3217 families. Of this number 2190 or 68 per cent, are French-
Canadian; 510 or 16 per cent, are Irish-Canadian, and 41O or 13 per
cent, are British-Canadian, with 107 families or 3 per cent, of other
nationalities. Here the French-Canadian is almost universally the
predominating element. Only in .section 1 1 does this nationality
fall short of being more numerous than all the others combined, and
although in sections 16 and ly the majority is narrow, it soon
becomes overwhelming as one passes to sections southward.

Between William street and the canal, sections 21 to 26, the Irish-
Canadian is the most important element. Here are to be found 15 17
families, of which 1047 or 69 per cent, are of Irish extraction. The
British-Canadian and French-Canadian elements are of nearly equal
strength in this district, the former numbering 239 families, or 16 per
cent, of the resident population, the latter 215 families, or 14 percent,
of the whole. Other elements here form but i per cent, of the
population. Sections 21 and 23 of this belt are but sparsely occupied
by dwellings, only 220 families being found therein. Along Grey
Nun and Common streets there is a considerable group of French-
Canadian families. In fact, this element is the predominating one in
section 21 and forms more than one-fifth of the population of 23.

■ill

<^7

lual
;r
Mit.
Ithe
lied
Irey
Ich-
in

1-3

l^lsew here thi-()ii<jjh()Ut " Griffintfiw n " the Irish-C;inadians are in
majority, the proportion steachl)- increasinj^ as one approaches St.
Ann's Parish Church.

l^eyond the canal, sections 2S to 30, taken as a whole, show an
Irish-Canadian inajoritx' o\er all others. The ijojjiilation hero
nmnbjrs 754 families. Of thesj 398 or 53 per cent, are of Irish
descent; i<S5 or 24 per cent, of French extraction, and 1 5C or 21 per
cent, are British-Canadians. Only 15 families or 2 per cent, ma)' not
bj included am m.T these three nationalities. It is to be noted that
the French-Canadian element, with a stren<.^th of but 5 per cent in
.section 28, claims 24 per cent, of the families in 29 and, in section 30,
—which is partly in St. Gabriel ward— is the nKJSt powerful element,
comprisiuii^ here 41 [)er cent, of the total number. Beyond Laprairie
Street, in that part of St. (iabriel w.ird which is west of tlie rail wax-
track, the Frcnch-Canadains are in the lar^e maj(jrit\-.

I Ia\in;^' dealt with the three mam nationalities, let us now consider
briefly the number ami location of the forei|^n elements in "the cit}-
bslow the hill." These are here but 3 pjr cent, of the total popula-
tion, numberini^ in all only 242 f.iinilics. Of these the German and
Dutch number 94 families ; Russian and Polish, 70 ; Negro, 24 ;
Chinese, 18 ; Italian, 17 ; Scandina\ian and Danish, 17 ; Spanish and
l^eh^ian one each. The (Germans are to be found in almost every
section, especially along the avenues of trade. The Russians and
Poles, who are nearly all Jews, are found mainl}' along St. Maurice
street in .section 16 and also in section 11. The negro element is
nowhere numerous, but is to be found in greatest number above
Bonaventure Station in sections 5 and 6. The Chinese arc mainly to
be found abo\e St. James street. The\- have 14 laundries, a hotel
and a mission within the lower cit)' and arc usuall)' located upon the
main streets. Owing to our inabilitx- to obtain defim'te information
regarding then), the Chinese have been gcnerall)' .omitted from
pre\ious calculations. There are but few Italian families; section 16
contains si.x, section 5 includes three and section 1 has two. The
Scandinavians are scattered. The)' ha\e become, as a rule, merged
into the English Protestant element. In fact, the few families of
foreign lineage, within "the cit)- below the hill," exclusive of the

^■K^^mm^f^

^^^^gyp^wjpwiWBBiiiPPJ

Chinese, cannot fail soon to be, if they are not already, so fully
identified with our native population as to be essentially Canadian.

Perhaps it may not be out of place, in view of the fact that we
possess considerable data regarding the various localities within the
lower city and now know the predominating nationality in each, that
we here turn our attention to a consideration of race characteristics
to see if any such, through our series of articles, have been made
apparent. I trust I may offend no one in so doing and that it will
be borne in mind that I am not giving opinions but stating facts.
Let us, for purposes of such comparison, regard .sections 12 to 20 as
the typical French-Canadian belt, since over two-thirds of the families
are of this race. These sections are shown by horizontal broken
lines on map J. The district made up of .sections 21 to 30 we will
call the Irish-Canadian belt, as here two-thirds of the population are
of Irish descent, being indicated on the map by perpendicular
broken lines. Sections I to i I we will call the "mixed belt,"
containing as it does the three elements in nearly equal proportions.
Section 9, the only section occupied in majority by British-Canadians,
is hardly of sufficient extent to be compared with the other areas.

We have treated of many subjects in previous articles, we will
see how the.se three belts: — the French-Canadian, the Irish-Canadian
and the "mixed" belt, compare with each other upon these matters.

The average size of the family (after deducting the lodgers)
in the "Mixed" belt is 4.67 persons.

" " Irish-Canadian " " 4.57
" " French-Canadian " " 4.52

The average number of wage-earners per family
in the Irish-Canadian belt is 1.43 person.s.
" " "Mixed" " " 1. 4 1

" " French-Canadian " " 1.40 "

The average number of home-tenders per family
in the "Mixed" belt is 1.72 persons.

" " French-Canadian " " 1.48
" " Irish-Canadian " " 1.48

The proportion of children under five )-ear.s of a-c in the
avera-e famil>' of the French-Canadian belt is i6 per cent. "^
" " Irish-Canadian " " i6 "
" " "Mixed" " " ,3 "

The percenta^re of school children in the axcrajre famil)-

of the French-Canadian belt is ->o ) ^

Irish-Canadian " " ... -'o

" "Mixed" " '. " ''■'''■

16 p.c.

The proportion of well-to-do families amon- the population
of the " Mixed " belt is ' / ^^^

French-Canadian " " 7^

12 p.c.

Irish-Canadian " "

9 pc.

The proportion of families belonging to the "n^al industrial class-
in the French-Canadian belt is

Irish-Canadian " " „

" "Mixed" " " ;^;}''"'^"

66 p.c.

The proportion of regular and irregular incom'-.s
in the "Mixed " belt is 8; p.c.'keo-ular and ,3 p.c. Irregular.

I^rench-Canadian " " 79 p.c. " " 21 pc

Irish-Canadian " " 64 p.c. " " 36 p.c.

The proportion of families, living upon $5.00 per week or less

among the total mmiber, in the Irish-Canadian belt is 1; p.c'

" " French-Canadian " " , , p.^

" " " Mixed " " •• Q

There is a marked difference between the several nationalities
which compose our population in ability to comfortabI>- subsist upon
\ery small incomes. Of the poor families especially investigated
among the French-Canadians 62 per cent, were comfortable and in-
dependent even upon $5.00 per week. 58 per cent, of the British-
Canadians were in similar condition, but only 51 per cent, of the
Irish-Canadians of this grade were not in need of assistance.

The average family income for all classes
in the " Mixed " belt is. . . .$,2 54 ; per individual . . $2 36

French-Canadian "".... 10 73 ; " " ^ -,7

" Irish-Canadian " " looo- " " I "

.... !»_; yju , ..210

The axcrn^c earnings per wage-earner

in the " Mixed " belt amount to $8 89 per week.

r'rench-Canadian " " ." 7 62 "

Irish-Canadian " " " 7 00 "

The average family income of the real industrial class only

in the " Mixed " belt is $10 92 per week.

French-Canadian " " 9 92

Irish-Canadian " " 9 <^7

The average wage per worker among the " real industrial class "

in the " Mixed " belt is $7 92 per week.

r'rcnch-Canadian " " 7 26

Irish-Canadian " " 6 89

The average number of rooms in the " Mixed" belt is 6. 1 3 per f.imily.

h'r. Canadian " 4.50 " "
Irish Canadian " 4.33 "

1 he axerage number of persons |)er occu|)ietl room

in the Irisli-Canadian belt is 1.09

I'^rench-Canadian " " 1.04

" " Mixed " " " ,S6

The axerage f;imil\' rental

for the " Mixed " belt is $12 19 per month.

" French-Canadian " " 7 56 "

" " Irish-Canadian " " 6 64 "

The |)roportion which rental takes of income

in the " Mixed " belt is 24 p.c.

h'rcnch-Canadian " " 171/; p_c.

" Irish-Canadian " " 1(3 p c.

The axerage death rate
throughout the hVench-Canadian belt was. .25 per thousand in 1896
" Irish-Canadian " " ..21 "

" " Mixed " " " . . 18 " " " "

As to the sale of intoxicants. In the

Irish-Canadian belt there are 26 saloons and 34 liquor groceries, or

one liquor shop for exery 179 per.sons. In the

" Mi

" Mixed " belt are 40 saloons and 24 liquor groceries, or I liquor shop
for every 198 persons. In the

French-Canadian belt are 39 saloons and .19 liquor <rrocerics, or 1
liquor shop for every 208 persons.

On the whole the " mixed " belt, from these comparisons, m <<es
the best showinj^. Incoiiits and wages, renta's and accomnK)dation,
are all upon a better scale there than elsewhere. The size of the
family and the proportion of the elements which compose \^ are ver}'
nearly the same in the French-Canadian and m the Irish-Canadian
belts. Among the French-Canadians is U) be found the largest pro-
portion of families belonging to the " real mdustrial class." Vov
density and high death rate the French-Canadians take undesirable
precedence; for overcrowding and poverty the Irish-Canadian sections
make the least creditable showing. Upon other points the comparison
between these two belts is, as a rule, more fa\orable to the former
than to the latter nationalit}'.

It has frequently been asked why a location in •' (iriffintow n "
should be selected as the spot upon which should first be tried in
Montreal the experiment of philanthro])ic investment in the form of
improved dwellings for the working classes. I think the foregoing
comparisons ha\e already given the answer. It is because in this
region the need at the present time is greater than in any other locality
within our nether city, and because if success can be here attained it
will be certain elsewhere.

In closing this article, the figures of our census respecting the
religious beliefs of the families in "the city below the hill" may al.so be
given without comment.

Belt I. Sections i-io contain 1237 Roman Catholic families,
893 Protestant, 41 Jew, 1 1 I'agan.

Belt II. Sections 11-15 contain 1790 Roman Catholic families,
302 Protestant, 31 Jew, i Pagan.

Belt III. Sections 16-20 contain 915 Roman Catholic families,
135 Protestant, 42 Jew, I Pagan.

Belt IV. Sections 21-26 contain 1229 Roman Catholic families,
285 Protestant, i Jew, i Pagan.

Belt V. Sections 27-30 contain 600 Roman Catholic families,
152 Protestant, o Jew, 2 Pagan.

; !i

By the above it will be seen that y^H per cent, of the families of
"the city below the hill" are Roman Catholic, 23 per ceiU. arc
Protestant, .01 1^ per cent, are Jewish, and about .ooj^ per cent, are
Pagan. Except in Belt I, where 41 per cent, are Protestant, this
element nowhere e.xceeds one-fifth of the population. Belt II
contains 14 per cent., Belt III 12 per cent, Belt IV 18 per cent,
and Belt V 20 per cent, of families belonging to the Protestant faith.

I trust that a fuller knowledge of " the city below the hill " may
result in the putting forth of more earnest and effective efforts for the
improvement of this district.

This investigation has necessarily dealt with but a limited
portion of our city, it has considered the case of barely one-sixth of
our population. If, however, besides calling attention to certain
local deficiencies the publication of this series of articles shall have
accomplished anything by way of impressing upon the main body of
our citizens the immense importance of collecting and interpreting
similar figures for the city as a whole, my main object .shall have
been attained. It is unwise, even if it were possible, for private
enterpri.se to undertake duties properly belonging to the municipality
or the State. It is the duty of our civic and provincial authorities to
.secure for us similar data with respect to the entire city. By means
of our civic servants, in the Police and Fire Departments and at the
City Hall, a civic census could be annually taken within at most
three days time. The task of obtaining accurate sociological
stati.stics might be accomplished with le.ss haste by our Assessors in
connection with their regular annual rounds, or should a special
department be required, an annual expenditure o^ a sum not
exceeding $5000 would suffice to .secure this much needed information.

Were we by such means enabled each year to accurately
determine what progress was being made in improving the general
condition of .society, were we able every twelve months to place the
finger upon every district which exhibited unhealthy symptoms, I
have faith to believe that our citizens would not be unwilling to take
the necessary steps towards betterment.

STATISTICS OF **THE CITY BELOV/ TH

KMI'LOVNil'.N'T

KKSinKNCli.

TIIK

1-A.MI1,\-.

4
1

1
1

5
=

■0

i
■3

•s

a
1

3
1

1^
>

II
P

^ s
ffaS

•<

w .
i 5

-:: c
= H

5 .

f 5

1-5

s
a §

u
k

9
y.

I •

—

— -

...

11.

1.698

1-235

454

1.465

[135

198

177

181

361.137

$2.19.!

|i8i

t.045

763

'257

294

'5'

'3'

212

7-4

15 947

242

668

5^'^

i '^'

121

103

104

749

1.56:.'

104

645

, 465

124

166

IC2

175

9.0 42 231

160

195

J114

145

139

134

>»

108

974

2.'3^

'34

722

556

167

245

106

'44

^'•3'^i

1.264

1.054

191

1-54

132

166

'59

'57

101

93'

2.0^157

8.4

579

218

238

'44

')'

123

'5-7; 90

457

39S

427

244

375

357

344

186

'58

1. 94 1

3-2^^344

1.898

1.428

446

50 '

226

244

= 481

lo.o: 13

163

279

277

262

237

1.796

3.010

|.'62

1.405

948

39-

480

253

204

.92

30.

271

259

221

1.658

3.272

2S9

'•275

899

399

442

225

'5'

i ■'5^

10.0

147

106

126

1.78

283

257

253

'77

'•533

2- 736

253

'•343

9.6

397

496

243

184

1 1.2

ii 14

207

178

.78

1.372

2.650

.78

828

578

2,8

352

16c

ic I i.o 31

193

334

325

250

1.72.

2.997

'3"

1.626

1.072 469

578

3'o

244

1 1 6.8 09

^75

587

630

129

224

172

209

'•335

2-325'

2CO

1.115

829

288

325

160

126

216

12 10.

130

108

119

172

334

297

30'

'25

176

1.322

2.38:

301

1.425

927

410

448

246

2^2

'3 t96

180

169

175

i328

706

428

278

661

325

33(^

2.639

4-763

661

2.901

1.866

910

880

576

459

14 14-7

157

142

'5°

276

534

461

496

38 266

230

2.364

496

2-399

'•583

769

714

494

322iICO

•5 9-5

57' 19

<'7

24450^^452

457

49,223

234 '-936

3-o'3

457

2.041

1.283

6i8

640

404

3541 25

1 4

16 20.4

'5'

'•957

1.227717

1.588

158 267 227

227

401 70

'57 '-312

2.007

227

1.184

8'5

^16

335

'95

174 16^

17 14.0

379

296 82

33^

188 299 282

1726732 95

172 1.264

2.262

267

I 327

816

382

379

293

218

i 3

18.2.5

'73

141

>57

125 266 248

18249

17 131 118 1.057

1.778

249

1.201

736

316

392

212

i 2

'4-3 35

557

495

526

130 212 192

'93

19 fi8 751 927

1.546

19^

9' 3

609

285

298

146

'58

>4-5 38

631

483

.48

557

88 180

168

I 2

'57

23 65; 92i 722

1-123

157

785

5021227

252

160

'23

21 174

1,372 1. 187

177

1.27S

12, 38

45 362

62:

406

262

129

2 2

•-5

29 O47 476

.46

5^'2

'97

374

358

3S6

18I 72

285 1.597

2-533

356

'-595

i.c6i

470

524

263

271

'5-5

42 633 625

629

76147

146

136 1 1 40

96 614

912

136

646

430

.78

218

118

'7-3

'73 165

169

305424

403

394 30

'05

289 1.64.S

2.540

394

'•955

'•'60543

567

436

359

14.0 50

119

. .

ro8

260 480

459

45^3°

90 360

1. 917

2.896

450

2.087

1.359672

630

382

346

285! 22

324

299

309

56;ioi 98

'8, 79

387

612

444

291142J

134

66-

500 23

T.oqo

9'5

135

95c

' 3

3 3

. .

• •

It 2

15'

. .

12.4 45

385

257

128

321

183 3 '3 29'

284

82 202

1.197

1. 89 1

284! '347

8SW39

398

275

189

21.8

1. 103

995

1.041

80 147 '33

131

531 78

610

938

'3'

^'59,

403 188

194

146

1 io[

23.4

362

417

,200

368

344

33(i

75i26i

1.489

2.125

336;

i.6o?

1.022

5'2

466

316

264I

-»
0-

'1-

1.4

■0

h«

1-4

-1-

t>.

*•*

i^ THE HILL." (J896.)

INCOMKS.

NATIONALITV

AND

KKI.KJION'.

SUKKO ;Nn.

iXds.

^ 1

Z.~ __»1i.X.«-

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