|^Q ^w SB Ib 774 
 
 7304- 
 

 
 
... OF ECONC: 
 
 HOUSING CONDITIONS 
 
 IN 
 
 FALL RIVER 
 
 Report prepared for the Associated 
 Charities Housing Committee, by 
 
 CAROL ARONOVICI, Ph. D. 
 
 Director of the Bureau of 
 
 Soci;il i{i>s>iirrli of New 
 
 I'uhlishod hy (lu> Associntotl Charities Housing Committee 
 
A 
 
 <ltlr 
 
HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 The present report on Fall River 
 housing conditions is based upon an 
 investigation made by the Bureau of 
 Social Research of New England for 
 the Associated Charities Housing Com- 
 mittee which was appointed on Decem- 
 ber G, 1911. 
 
 The interest in housing conditions, 
 under which many of the working 
 people of Fall River are living, had its 
 inception in a number of informal con- 
 ferences held at the local Y. M. C. A., 
 the Boy's Club and the Associated 
 Charities, where the main features of 
 the problems were discussed and which 
 finally resulted in the appointment by 
 the Associated Charities of a Commit- 
 tee ** with powers to act. " 
 
 After a number of meetings and dis- 
 cussions the Committee was convinced 
 that in order to bring about perma- 
 nent and extensive improvements in 
 existing conditions, it was necessary 
 to secure sufficient data whereby an 
 accurate and intelligent estimate of 
 the seriousness and extent of the local 
 housing problem could be formed. 
 With this idea in mind the Committee 
 raised a fund of $500 to cover the 
 expense of a thorough study of condi- 
 tions and engaged the services of the 
 Bureau of Social Research of New 
 England to carry on the work. The 
 Committee in calling the Bureau of 
 Social Research to make the investi- 
 gation felt that an outside agency 
 would be more likely to study condi- 
 tions with impartiality, and that the 
 wide experience of this Bureau in 
 making housing surveys in more than 
 a dozen other cities and towns in New 
 England, commended it to Fall River. 
 
 The investigation was started about 
 the 1st of February and lasted for six 
 \\t-eks. The facts herein presented 
 are, therefore, of recent date and with 
 very few exceptions are indicative of 
 
 the present status of the local housing 
 
 problem. 
 
 REV. WILLARD L. SPERRY, 
 
 H. C. DODGE, 
 
 REV. A. C. BALDWIN, 
 
 THOMAS CHEW, 
 
 DR. GEORGE L. RICHARDS, 
 
 REV. E. W. SMITH, 
 
 GEORGE H. WARING, 
 
 OLIVER S. HAWES, 
 
 ALICE E. WETHERBEE, 
 
 DR. FENNER A. CHACE, 
 
 WILLIAM E. FULLER, JR. 
 
 CAROL ARONOVICI, Ph.D. 
 
 Director of the Bureau of Social Research of 
 New England and in charge of the investi- 
 gation. 
 
 FIELD OF INVESTIGATION 
 
 In determining upon the field of 
 investigation in a housing survey three 
 important factors must be kept in 
 mind. 
 
 1. The amount of money and time 
 available for the work. 
 
 2. The distribution of unsanitary 
 housing conditions and their relation- 
 ship to the tenement population. 
 
 3. The relation that the conditions 
 found bear to the conditions under 
 which the average wage earner's fam- 
 ily in the community must live. 
 
 In preparing for the Fall River 
 housing survey, owing to the limited 
 funds available, it was found impossi- 
 ble to cover the entire city, but a care- 
 ful examination of the city's tenement 
 districts led to the conclusion that a 
 study of the districts marked in black 
 upon the map on page two would be 
 fairly representative of existing con- 
 ditions and would cover the sections in 
 which the most serious evils exist. 
 
 In all 279 buildings either in courts, 
 rows or detached houses were exam- 
 ined. These buildings contained 1171 
 apartments with a population of 5980 
 persons or 5 % of the population of 
 Fall River. 
 
HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 The desire of the Committee was to 
 ascertain general conditions rather 
 than startling abuses. It was, there- 
 fore, found advisable in fairness to the 
 city not to pick individual houses but to 
 take whole sections and record both 
 sanitary and unsanitary conditions, 
 normal and abnormal structures and 
 base the conclusions upon an average. 
 At no time in the course of the inves- 
 tigation were individual abuses sought 
 out and recorded without thoroughly 
 
 METHOD OF WORK 
 
 The method employed in the housing 
 survey consisted of a house to house 
 canvass in the districts included in the 
 territory covered. The agents em- 
 ployed in this canvass were trained 
 men with experience in other New 
 England cities, and familiar with the 
 housing laws and ordinances in force 
 in Fall River. 
 
 Printed cards with specific questions 
 
 Map of Fall River, shaded portion indicating district covered in the preparation of this report 
 
 studying the rest of the district. A 
 glance at the map referred to above 
 will convince the reader that the field 
 of inquiry was extended over a con- 
 siderable portion of the city, which 
 practically encircled the main business 
 districts, and at several points pene- 
 trated into its very center. A consid- 
 erable portion of the houses on the 
 Mt. Hope Bay water front were also 
 examined. 
 
 concerning the structural and sanitary 
 conditions of buildings, the interior 
 condition of apartments, crowding, 
 etc. were filled out by the agents in the 
 field, using a separate card for each 
 building and for each apartment. The 
 questions printed upon the cards were 
 so framed as to leave as little as possi- 
 ble to the individual discretion of the 
 agents, and were based upon standard 
 cards used in similar investigations in 
 
HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 more than a score of other cities with 
 such modifications as local conditions 
 required. The original record cards 
 filled out in the field haye been placed 
 in the hands of the Associated Charities 
 and will be used as a basis for future 
 investigation, as well as for the guid- 
 ance of the Committee in its effort to 
 secure improved conditions. In addi- 
 tion to the field records a large num- 
 ber of photographs have been taken, 
 some of which have been reproduced 
 in the body of this report. 
 
 THE POINT OF VIEW 
 
 In the planning and carrying out of 
 the investigation the point of view of 
 the committee, as well as that of the 
 investigating agency, the Bureau of 
 Social Research, was one of impartiality 
 and thoroughness. It was evident that 
 a program of housing reform is needed 
 and the investigation was undertaken 
 with aim in view of preparing such a 
 program on the basis of the best facts 
 obtainable, dealing not only with ex- 
 isting conditions, but with the legal 
 and administrative machinery avail- 
 able, their merits, efficiency and fitness 
 for the local needs. How successful 
 we have been in carrying our point of 
 view into the work which this report 
 represents will be determined only by 
 the constructive work that the knowl- 
 edge of the facts and its application 
 will bring about, both in a more rigid 
 enforcement of existing legislation and 
 in the securing of new laws and ordi- 
 nances intended to remove existing 
 evils and prohibit in the future the 
 building of houses which do not comply 
 with a reasonable standard of sanita- 
 tion and comfort. 
 
 The above figures show that one-half 
 of the population whose homes were 
 examined were adults and in most in- 
 stances the father and mother of the 
 family. Of this number of adults 601, 
 or about one in every five, were per- 
 sons without families living as lodgers 
 in the homes of their compatriots and 
 friends. The significance of this ex- 
 tensive practice of keeping roomers 
 will be dealt with later, but its extent 
 cannot better be shown than by the 
 figures above quoted. Sufficient to say 
 that 251 families out of a total of 1171, 
 or almost one in every four families 
 opens the privacy of its home to per- 
 sons who are in no way connected with 
 its members by blood relation. 
 
 NATIONALITY 
 
 We have stated at the beginning of 
 this report that while we did not select 
 merely the tenements which were in 
 bad condition, we did consider only 
 the districts in which objectionable 
 conditions exist in largest numbers 
 without claiming that we have in any 
 way covered all the plague spots which 
 in all probability exist in various parts 
 of the city. 
 
 If responsibility rests with the city to 
 take care of the health of its people 
 when native born Americans are con- 
 sidered, vastly greater responsibility 
 ensues when the living conditions of 
 foreign immigrants with foreign stand- 
 ards and foreign modes of life are in- 
 volved. To show how predominant the 
 foreign elements are in thedistrictscov; 
 ered by this investigation we have pre- 
 pared the following table showing the 
 nationalities of persons by the place of 
 birth of the head of the family, where 
 such information could be obtained: 
 
 
 Nationality 
 
 lemoers 01 
 Faniihes 
 
 Lodgers 
 
 Total 
 
 THE PEOPLE 
 
 French Canadian 
 Irish 
 
 787 
 
 82 
 
 37 
 
 1552 
 
 824 
 
 
 Poles 
 
 457 
 
 189 
 
 646 
 
 It has already been stated that the 
 
 Portugese 
 
 1370 
 
 103 
 
 1473 
 
 investigation covered the homes of 
 
 Italians 
 
 145 
 
 24 
 
 169 
 
 5980 people. Their distribution accord- 
 ing to age was found to be as follows: 
 
 Jews 
 English 
 Syrians 
 
 137 
 282 
 130 
 
 32 
 17 
 15 
 
 169 
 299 
 145 
 
 % of Total 
 
 German 
 
 5 
 
 
 5 
 
 Adults 3006 50.26 
 Children under 5 989 16.54 
 
 Negroes 
 Greek 
 
 19 
 4 
 
 
 19 
 
 4 
 
 5 to 14 1334 22.31 
 
 Austrian 
 
 10 
 
 3 
 
 13 
 
 Over 14 651 10.89 
 
 American 
 
 145 
 
 35 
 
 180 
 
 100.00 
 
 Total 
 
 4961 
 
 537 
 
 5498 
 
HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 It is interesting to note that of the 
 4961 persons whose nationality accord- 
 ing to head of family was determined 
 beyond a reasonable doubt only 3.2% 
 were native, while 96.8% were of 
 foreign parentage and foreign born. 
 How great the responsibility for the 
 care of the housing and sanitary facili- 
 ties of these foreigners is, can easily 
 be perceived when it is realized that 
 the present investigation covered a 
 considerable share of the bad housing 
 conditions and that the distribution of 
 population by nationality is such as 
 the figures above quoted indicate. 
 
 When we consider the English speak- 
 ing people separately from the non- 
 English speaking population we find 
 that the former represent only 23.5% 
 of the population or less than one- 
 quarter. Whether the general standard 
 of housing in which the English speak- 
 ing people live is higher than that of 
 the non-English speaking is a question 
 that cannot be answered wholly in the 
 affirmative. In some cases the native 
 born and the English speaking people 
 do have better homes, but the distinc- 
 tion is to be found rather in the con- 
 gestion and the general outward ap- 
 pearance of the structure than in the 
 actual sanitary advantages and facili- 
 ties which they possess. The lack of 
 congestion and a longer residence in 
 the United States contribute consider- 
 able towards the promotion of a better 
 standard of home-making among the 
 English speaking people, although 
 many instances of the filthiest and 
 most neglected homes were found 
 in apartments inhabited by this class 
 of population. 
 
 ACCOMMODATIONS 
 
 It has been stated in the introduction 
 that 1171 apartments were examined 
 in the course of the inquiry, and in the 
 foregoing chapter the figures relative 
 to the age distribution of the 5980 who 
 occupy these apartments are given. 
 What accommodations this six thous- 
 and people have in these apartments 
 will be discussed in this section. 
 
 In all 4239 rooms used for living 
 purposes were found in the 1171 apart- 
 ments, or on an average of 3.7 rooms 
 
 per apartment. The distribution of 
 these rooms according to their use was 
 found to be as follows: 
 
 
 
 Percent of 
 
 Use of Total No. 
 
 Percent of 
 
 families hav- 
 
 Rooms of Rooms 
 
 Total 
 
 ing various 
 
 
 Rooms 
 
 kinds of 
 
 
 
 rooms 
 
 Kitchens 1141 
 
 26.9 
 
 97.44 
 
 Kitchen Bed Q n 
 Rooms 
 
 0.7 
 
 2.56 
 
 Bed Rooms 2812 
 
 64.1 
 
 100.00 
 
 Sitting Rooms 9 r n 
 or Parlors 
 
 5.9 
 
 21.34 
 
 Dining Rooms 28 
 
 0.6 
 
 2.38 
 
 Attic Rooms 78 
 
 1.8 
 
 6.66 
 
 Total 4239 100.00* 
 
 * On basis of 1171 apartments 
 
 The above table shows that only 
 21.34% of the families have any kind 
 of spare rooms which are not used as 
 kitchens or sleeping rooms and that 
 only 2.38% have a separate dining 
 room. In all other cases the kitchen 
 is used both as sitting room and dining 
 room. This fact may be expressed 
 more simply by saying that 97.62% of 
 the families whose homes were studied, 
 eat in the kitchen and that 78.66% of 
 the families carry on the daily business 
 of family life during wakeful hours in 
 the family kitchen. The difficulty that 
 this condition of extra use of the 
 kitchen brings about can be well left 
 to the imagination of the reader. 
 
 The thirty cases in which the kitchen 
 is used not only as a sitting room 
 and dining room, but where it is also 
 used as a bedroom show a still more 
 acute tendency towards untidiness, and 
 further accentuate the problem of pre- 
 serving privacy and cleanliness. In 
 five such cases lodgers were found to 
 be occupants of the kitchen beds, one 
 of whom was unquestionably in the last 
 stages of tuberculosis. The family dog 
 and the children were using the same 
 kitchen as a playroom. That the fam- 
 ily pet was carrying the disease to the 
 children and the adults of the family 
 was evident from the fact that at the 
 time of the investigating agent's call 
 the dog partook of the contents of the 
 open cuspidor. 
 
 Of the 78 attic rooms only nine were 
 actually in use in the winter months. 
 In connection with attic room use it 
 may be said that while they have their 
 advantages structurally, and dfrer ten- 
 
HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 ants an opportunity to occupy larger 
 quarters than they would otherwise 
 occupy for the same rent, they are 
 practically useless in the winter months 
 because of the problem of heating. 
 This is evident from the fact that only 
 nine such rooms were being used for 
 bed room purposes, the balance being 
 wholly idle although frequently fur- 
 nished. 
 
 The 78 attic rooms here considered 
 do not include attic apartments which 
 were counted separately in the cases 
 where all the rooms occupied by the 
 family were located in the attic. 
 
 ROOM OCCUPANCY 
 AND CONGESTION 
 
 The discussion of the conditions relat- 
 ing to room occupancy or the relation 
 between the number of people and the 
 number of rooms has frequently been 
 based upon the number of rooms in the 
 apartments, as related to the number 
 of persons residing in these rooms. It 
 seems, however, that such an estimate, 
 while fair in a sense, does not exactly 
 express the intensity of congestion. 
 Sitting rooms and dining rooms as well 
 ns kitchens, except in case of email 
 children, are seldom occupied for any 
 very long part of the day and this is 
 particularly true during warm weather. 
 The sleeping rooms, on the other hand, 
 are occupied during at least seven or 
 eight hours in twenty-four by all the 
 members of the family and practically 
 always at the same time. On the basis 
 of number of persons per bedroom the 
 following conditions were found: 
 
 1 !<! rooms 2812 
 
 I ;.'(lroom and Kitchen 30 
 
 Attic Bedroom 9 
 
 Total Rooms 2851 
 
 Number People 5980 
 
 Number Persons per Bedroom 2.09 
 
 The above figures seem to indicate 
 that in general the apartments exam- 
 ined did not show any very serious 
 congestion. When calculated on the 
 basis of total number of rooms the 
 figures seem to show a still more en- 
 couraging condition which may be ex- 
 pressed in the ratio of 1.4 persons per 
 room. 
 
 For purposes of comparison the fam- 
 ilies with lodgers were examined with 
 a view to determining room occupancy 
 and it was found that while in the 
 case of families without lodgers there 
 were only 1.3 persons per room in the 
 case of the families with lodgers there 
 were 1.7 persons per room. 
 
 The fact that whatever congestion 
 may be found in Fall River is due to a 
 considerable extent to the evil practice 
 of taking lodgers into private families, 
 was especially emphasized when the 
 population of twelve of the most 
 crowded apartments were examined 
 and in every case one or more lodgers 
 were found. 
 
 THE LODGER 
 
 Considerable has been said concern- 
 ing congestion due to the common 
 practice of taking lodgers. A word 
 should be added relative to the signi- 
 ficance of this practice from the point 
 of view of family privacy. 245 fam- 
 ilies out of a total of 1171, or one-fifth 
 of the total considered in this study, 
 keep lodgers. In other words, the 
 lodger evil affects 978 members of pri- 
 vate families out of a total of 5980 
 persons whose homes were examined, 
 or a little less than one-fifth of the 
 total. 
 
 The danger to the family arising 
 from this widespread practice of ex- 
 posing the private life of the heads of 
 the family and that of the young girls 
 to the presence of men in no way con- 
 nected by blood relationships with the 
 members of the household, is so clearly 
 evident that comment can add little to 
 the significance of the figures pre- 
 sented above. 
 
 The problem of crowding in the fam- 
 ilies where lodgers are kept does not 
 seem quite as acute as might be ex- 
 pected when averages only are consid- 
 ered. In the case of all families we 
 find 209 persons for each hundred bed- 
 rooms while in the case of the families 
 where lodgers are kept we find 216 
 persons for each hundred bedrooms. 
 By separating the families without 
 lodgers from the total it was hoped 
 that a considerable difference from the 
 total average would be found, but the 
 
6 
 
 HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 figures showed that while in the case 
 of all the families there were 209 per- 
 sons per hundred rooms in the case of 
 the families without lodgers the num- 
 ber per hundred rooms was only two 
 less. This would tend to show that 
 the keeping of lodgers does not neces- 
 sarily increase congestion, but rather 
 that the alternatives are either the 
 crowding of the family into small 
 
 This unique cellar closet is "flushed" by turning 
 on the faucet 
 
 quarters, or the hiring of larger quar- 
 ters into which lodgers must be re- 
 ceived to meet the higher rent. 
 
 That occasional abuses do exist and 
 that in some instances the figures ob- 
 tained in the course of the investigation 
 were not entirely accurate cannot be 
 denied, but even admitting a slight in- 
 accuracy, the congestion in families 
 with lodgers is not to be considered a 
 serious menace from the point of view 
 
 of health, although the moral danger 
 should not be ignored as one of the 
 most serious in threatening family in- 
 tegrity and privacy. Instances of ten 
 lodgers in two rooms, of six lodgers in 
 one room, of two lodgers sleeping in 
 the kitchen and similar conditions of 
 congestion were found, but vigilance 
 on the part of the Health authorities 
 and an increased sense of responsibility 
 both among owners and the tenants, 
 should do away with these abuses with 
 little effort and with little hardship 
 to even the poorest of families, which 
 could find larger quarters at a very 
 slightly increased cost. 
 
 RENTS 
 
 There are many factors which deter- 
 mine the character of rent in various 
 communities such as price of land, 
 taxation, ownership, legislation, build- 
 ing traditions and the industrial char- 
 acter of the community. All these 
 factors, however, are by no means as 
 powerful in their influence upon the 
 character of buildings as the standard 
 demanded by the tenants and the sup- 
 ply and demand of tenements which 
 the increase of population determines. 
 In other words we cannot expect a 
 process of natural selection to eliminate 
 ill constructed and unsanitary tene- 
 ments, when the tenants are by their 
 very presence competing with their 
 fellow workers for the cheapest shelter 
 regardless of sanitary or aesthetic 
 values, and where the demand by far 
 exceeds the supply of such accommo- 
 dations. The figures we are about to 
 cite may possibly indicate this fact. 
 
 In order to obtain a comprehensive 
 conception of the rent in Fall River the 
 apartments were classified according 
 to number of rooms, and then the 
 average rental per apartment was cal- 
 culated. The results are as follows: 
 
 Apartments rented by the Week. 
 
 Aver age 
 
 No. Rooms 
 
 Max. 
 
 Min. 
 
 Total 
 
 Monthly 
 
 
 Rent 
 
 Rent 
 
 Apts. 
 
 Rent of 
 
 
 
 
 
 each room 
 
 Two Rooms 
 
 1.60 
 
 0.75 
 
 6 
 
 2.47 
 
 Three Rooms 
 
 300 
 
 0.75 
 
 307 
 
 2.13 
 
 Four Rooms 
 
 4.50 
 
 1.15 
 
 199 
 
 2.02 
 
 Five Rooms 
 
 3.75 
 
 1.15 
 
 134 
 
 1.52 
 
 Six Rooms 
 
 3.75 
 
 1.50 
 
 52 
 
 1.61 
 
 Seven Rooms 
 
 3.75 
 
 1.50 
 
 30 
 
 1.77 
 
 Eight Rooms 
 
 3.00 
 
 2.00 
 
 4 
 
 1.35 
 
 Total 
 
 4.50 
 
 2.00 
 
 732 
 
 1.93 
 
HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 The above figures are of significance 
 both to the social worker and to the 
 tenant who might with intelligence 
 apply the simple principle involved in 
 these figures. It is apparent even to 
 the most unstatistical mind that the 
 apartments with the smallest number 
 of rooms command the highest rentals 
 per room. The two exceptions in the 
 case of the six and seven room apart- 
 ments are due to the general improve- 
 ment in the quality of the apartments 
 with six and seven rooms, while the 
 four eight room apartments were of a 
 low grade and isolated. That the 
 families with the smallest number of 
 rooms should be paying the highest 
 rate of rent is not surprising, for the 
 smaller the purchase in the open mar- 
 ket the higher the price. The poor 
 man in Fall River not only pays more 
 for his sugar, coal, potatoes and most 
 other necessities of life but also for the 
 facilities for making a home, as shown 
 by the figures herein quoted. Con- 
 ditions found in several other cities 
 like Buffalo, Providence, Springfield, 
 etc. which have recently been investi- 
 gated by the writer lead to the same 
 conclusion. 
 
 In order to excuse this difference 
 in the rental per room, owners fre- 
 quently argue that the rooms in the 
 smaller apartments are larger and 
 should, there fore, yield a higher rental. 
 Measurements were, therefore, taken 
 of 136 apartments by rooms and there 
 is absolutely no ground for affirming 
 that the average amount of floor space 
 rather than the number of rooms forms 
 the basis for the establishment of the 
 rental standard. It is also interesting 
 to note that on the whole the average 
 rental per apartment does not vary 
 materially between cities. 
 
 The complete returns of the investi- 
 gation gave accurate rent figures for 
 805 families. Of this number 732, or 
 over 90%, were rented by the week and 
 less than 10% were rented by the 
 month. The comparative figures of 
 rentals, while on the whole showing 
 the same tendency as in the case of 
 the apartments rented by the week, 
 are not numerous enough to make the 
 slight change found in the five room 
 
 apartment rentals any particular signi- 
 ficance. In Buffalo it was found that 
 the five room apartment commands a 
 higher rental than the four room apart- 
 ment and examination showed that 
 they were of a better class. How true 
 it is in the case of Fall River can only 
 be surmised from the figures as the 
 actual investigation did not yield data 
 of value on this point. The figures 
 are as follows: 
 
 Rent per Month 
 p< Room 
 
 $2.15 
 
 XT 
 
 No. rooms 
 
 Three Rooms 
 Four Rooms 
 Five Rooms 
 Six Rooms 
 
 1.81 
 1.89 
 1.50 
 
 The figures for the apartment rented 
 by the month indicate practically the 
 same tendency as in the case of the 
 tenements rented by the week. 
 
 OWNERSHIP 
 
 The stability of the population and 
 to a certain extent its thrift and indus- 
 trial efficiency may be measured by 
 the amount of home ownership. In 
 the course of the inquiry dealt with in 
 the present report an attempt was 
 made to ascertain the number of apart- 
 ments occupied by their owners. In 
 all only ten families occupied apart- 
 ments in houses which they owned, 
 four of these families lived in three 
 room apartments, five each lived in 
 four room apartments, and one each 
 in seven and eight rooms. That out 
 of a total of 1171 apartments only six- 
 teen or 1.3% should own their homes, 
 indicates a condition which should at 
 least be considered by those public 
 spirited citizens who wish to develop 
 community loyalty and stability as the 
 safest basis for business, and indus- 
 trial expansion. 
 
 CHARACTER OF BUILDINGS 
 
 The character of buildings in the 
 study of housing conditions may be 
 determined by material of construc- 
 tion, relation to other buildings, num- 
 ber of stories, location with relation to 
 front of lot and the apartments per 
 floor. 
 
8 
 
 HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 Of the 279 buildings or rows of 
 buildings examined only five were 
 constructed of brick and the balance 
 are frame buildings of various sizes. 
 In relation to the front of the lot 21 or 
 over 7% of the buildings were rear 
 tenements with the view of the street 
 partially or wholly shut off. These 
 tenements, from the point of view of 
 repair, were found to be in very poor 
 condition and the sanitary arrange- 
 ments were below the average stand- 
 ard of the buildings examined. To 
 this number of rear buildings, which 
 were occupied by 104 families with a 
 population of 611 persons, must be 
 added the buildings in courts which 
 are off the main street. Nine such 
 buildings were found and the condi- 
 tions which they revealed indicated a 
 significant similarity between them 
 and the rear buildings strictly so called. 
 
 The height of buildings can be best 
 measured by the number of stories. 
 The figures concerning the number of 
 stories per buildings are as follows: 
 
 Stories 
 
 One and a half 
 
 Two 
 
 Two and a half 
 
 Three 
 
 Three and a half 
 
 Four 
 
 Percent of total 
 Building's 
 
 0.5 
 20.7 
 32.3 
 37.4 
 
 7.1 
 
 2.0 
 
 These figures would seem to indicate 
 that the largest number of the build- 
 ings examined were three story dwell- 
 ings. The attics or half stories were 
 used as separate apartments in only 
 seven cases, and for this reason it may 
 be said that the two and two and half 
 story building prevails since about 53% 
 of all the buildings examined were two 
 and two and a half story buildings. 
 
 FIRE ESCAPES 
 
 In connection with the height of 
 buildings some consideration was given 
 to the problem of providing fire es- 
 capes. No serious criticism can be 
 made of the number of fire escapes 
 provided, except in a few cases, where 
 either they have become dangerous by 
 decay or where, although the letter of 
 the law is fulfilled, the conditions under 
 which the fire escapes were built are 
 such as to make them practically use- 
 
 less. In 74 cases wooden fire escapes 
 are provided, in 27 cases while the 
 railings are of iron the platforms are 
 of wood and in some instances in a con- 
 dition of disrepair or decay which 
 would make them practically useless 
 for the purpose for which they are in- 
 tended. In two cases on the third story 
 attics ropes were found which are in- 
 tended for use in case of fire. In four 
 cases the fire escapes are located so 
 
 A "fire-escape" with stone landing place 
 
 close to adjoining buildings as to make 
 escape in case of fire dangerous if the 
 fire should be on that part of the build- 
 ing, because the narrow space would 
 draw the smoke and fire in that direc- 
 tion. 
 
 The encumbrances which were found 
 on these fire escapes varied in degree 
 from small quantities of wood and 
 refuse to boxes of food and ashes, 
 garbage cans, etc. Where the plat- 
 form is solid the fire escapes are fre- 
 quently used for storage purposes. 
 
 The most important objection to the 
 fire escapes found is centered about 
 
HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 the wooden platform which decays 
 with age and which, in some instances, 
 is used mainly for storage purposes. 
 In two instances fire escapes in three 
 story buildings were entirely lacking. 
 
 A favorite use of the fire escape 
 THE LOWEST FLOORS 
 
 In the construction of dwelling 
 houses the lowest floor whether that 
 be a cellar or basement determines con- 
 siderable of the stability and sanitation 
 of the structure. A flimsy cellar will 
 not support solid structures and a 
 damp cellar will transmit its dampness 
 to the rest of the building either 
 through the wall or through the atmos- 
 phere rising through the hall and win- 
 dows. 
 
 Of the 279 structures examined 13 
 had basements, one had neither cellar 
 nor basement, and the balance had 
 regular cellars with entrances usually 
 from the interior of the lower hall. In 
 only two cases were basements found 
 to be used for dwelling purposes, while 
 six others were used for business pur- 
 poses. Of the latter four were saloons, 
 one a bakery and another a produce 
 store. 
 
 The ventilation in the cellars was 
 poor in most instances and in 59 cases 
 
 the ventilation was practically nil, in 
 spite of the fact that more than one- 
 half of these as we shall see later had 
 toilets located in them. In five cases 
 the windows were boarded up to keep 
 out the water and cold. 
 
 The lighting was quite as poor as the 
 ventilation and in 127 cases it was diffi- 
 cult to see across the cellar with any 
 degree of distinctness. Fifty-five of 
 these cellars were almost entirely de- 
 void of light and the experiences of the 
 investigators in attempting to secure 
 data concerning these cellars and the 
 toilets in them were so unpleasant as 
 to bear no description in a report of 
 this kind. The forty-two cases of ac- 
 cumulations of rubbish of all kinds 
 
 A "damp" cellar 
 
 added to the difficulty of ventilation 
 and in some instances the odors from 
 the cellar penetrated the whole of the 
 building and were so distinctive as to 
 prompt the investigator to designate 
 certain of the buildings as "cellar 
 strong ". 
 
 The amount of water and dampness 
 found in the cellars varied in degree 
 with each house, but fifty-three were 
 designated as positively wet and in six 
 cases the water was deep enough to 
 make the entrance impossible without 
 rubber boots. In one case while trying 
 to take a photograph of a toilet in the 
 cellar the writer found eleven inches 
 of water at the very entrance and was 
 compelled to equip his photographer 
 with rubber boots in order to secure 
 the photograph desired. In four in- 
 stances at least, the sewer pipes had 
 
10 
 
 HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 broken and the sewer was flowing 
 freely into the cellar. Two inspections 
 at these houses at an interval of five 
 days revealed the same condition of 
 disrepair. 
 
 The odor of sewer gas was very com- 
 mon and in twenty-seven instances a 
 note was made of this fact, although 
 in many other buildings such odor 
 was detected but was not considered 
 sufficiently serious to deserve special 
 notice. 
 
 DARK ROOMS 
 
 Dark rooms ' ' from the point of 
 view of Fall River or any other of the 
 smaller cities does not necessarily 
 mean rooms without any windows, 
 but any rooms in which the light is 
 obstructed so as to make the use of 
 artificial light necessary and where 
 the circulation of air, although coming 
 from the outer air or from a shaft, is 
 so reduced as to make proper ventila- 
 tion practically impossible. 
 
 A flooded cellar toilet 
 
 OUT BUILDINGS 
 
 In all 67 out buildings were found, 
 of this number 29 were stables and in 
 16 chickens were kept. With five ex- 
 ceptions the stables were not kept in 
 proper condition and the storage of the 
 horse dropping was open to criticism. 
 In one case a stable was found to be 
 a serious nuisance to the tenants in 
 the house and to the neighbors. The 
 keeping of horses and chickens does 
 not seem to be conducive to cleanli- 
 ness, and in the summer if the same 
 conditions prevail they might cause 
 considerable discomfort and possibly 
 ill-health, particularly through the 
 breeding of flies. 
 
 The findings of the present investi- 
 gation show that at least 105 of the 
 rooms examined were dark or semi- 
 dark, besides a very large number in 
 which the light comes from narrow 
 alleys or passages between buildings 
 which vary in width from four to eight 
 feet and in which on cloudy days it is 
 impossible to read or do work that 
 requires any considerable amount of 
 light. The number of such rooms could 
 not be accurately estimated because of 
 the weather conditions which varied 
 considerably from day to day in the 
 course of the investigation. It must 
 be admitted that 105 dark rooms is not 
 a very large proportion of the total 
 number examined, but with the open 
 
HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 11 
 
 space available and the occupancy of 
 lot, which was found to average only 
 58% of the total in the 329 building lots 
 examined, there seems to be no excuse 
 for permitting the existence of dark 
 rooms, since generally speaking their 
 existence does not mean either econ- 
 omy of land or any special desire to 
 adjust the interior arrangements to an 
 exterior architecture having a parti- 
 cular aesthetic value. The dismal rows 
 of buildings constructed without re- 
 gard to beauty or to the convenience 
 of the residents, in most instances con- 
 tain dark rooms because of lack of 
 legislation controlling the building of 
 such rooms and also because of the ab- 
 sence of proper architectural service 
 in the preparation of plans. 
 
 Dark bedroom with window opening against adjoin- 
 ing building, leaving an air space of only six inches 
 
 The distribution of the dark rooms 
 according to their use is as follows: 
 
 Bed Rooms 
 
 Kitchens 
 Dining Rooms 
 
 Total 
 
 94 
 
 10 
 
 1 
 
 105 
 
 The dark bed rooms were used at the 
 time of the investigation by 209 per- 
 sons, 23 of whom were lodgers. That 
 the number of lodgers is under esti- 
 mated rather than overestimated we 
 are convinced since reinvestigation of 
 the same families at brief intervals 
 .uave different results and revealed the 
 fact that the people are aware of the 
 existence of some legislation which 
 prohibits crowding particularly when 
 it is due to the keeping of lodgers. 
 
 The ten dark kitchens were found in 
 poor condition of repair in practically 
 
 every case, and in two instances they 
 were used also for sleeping and eating 
 purposes. 
 
 Of the 105 dark rooms examined, 
 53 had windows opening into the outer 
 air, but these were obstructed by 
 buildings which ranged in proximity 
 from four inches to four feet. All of 
 these windows were of normal size. 
 Twelve of the dark rooms had windows 
 opening into another room; in three 
 cases these windows consisted of tran- 
 soms, while in all other cases the win- 
 dows were subnormal in size. In 24 
 cases the windows opened into the 
 hall, three of which were only tran- 
 soms and in 15 cases the windows 
 opened into shafts which were covered 
 at the top. In five cases there were 
 no windows provided. 
 
 Dark bedroom, without any opening into the 
 outer air 
 
 The rooms with hall windows were 
 found in nine cases to be so located as 
 to derive their air from halls in which 
 poorly ventilated toilets were also 
 located. 
 
 The cases where darkness is due to 
 proximity of buildings bring out an- 
 other important point, namely, the 
 condition of cleanliness of the narrow 
 spaces between buildings which cannot 
 be cleaned because of the proximity of 
 the walls. The accumulation of refuse 
 between these walls not only becomes 
 offensive to the eye but in time, through 
 decay, pollutes the air which under the 
 best of circumstances is neither suffi- 
 cient nor of the best quality. 
 
 One of the most interesting cases of 
 dark rooms was found in the Italian 
 section of the city where the owner 
 
12 
 
 HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 Through the doorway may be seen the window of a 
 semi-dark room, deriving its only light and air 
 from the hall 
 
 desiring to increase the capacity of the 
 building joined two structures and 
 united them by a covered hall into 
 which the inside rooms open. The 
 small private halls connected with each 
 
 apartment which were light before the 
 change was made have now become 
 very dark and their ventilation has 
 been cut off, in spite of the presence of 
 the toilets, which are located in these 
 private halls. 
 
 In the main the dark room should not 
 be a difficult problem to handle in Fall 
 River. More windows could be opened 
 in most cases, and in the building of 
 new tenement houses the use of com- 
 mon sense in planning, rather than a 
 tax upon the present standard of lot 
 occupancy, should prevent in the future 
 the construction of rooms which are 
 not amply provided with light and air. 
 
 TOILET FACILITIES 
 
 There is no problem of housing that 
 has been so seriously considered by 
 building and health authorities as the 
 providing of sanitary toilet facilities. 
 This problem involves not only the con- 
 venience and health of the tenants for 
 whom such facilities are provided, but 
 the health of the whole neighborhood 
 and in its acuter forms the health of 
 the whole community may be affected. 
 The mass of laws and ordinances re- 
 lating to this subject, inadequate and 
 unintelligent as they frequently are, 
 indicate a consciousness of public re- 
 sponsibility which should serve to solve 
 the problems that exist at the present 
 time in most cities. That Fall River has 
 its problem will be shown presently. 
 
 CONDITION AND LOCATION OF TOILETS 
 
 LOCATION OF 
 
 CLEANLINESS 
 
 LIGHT 
 
 VENTILATION 
 
 TOII FTS 
 
 
 
 
 
 Clean 
 
 Dirty 
 
 Filthy 
 
 Light 
 
 Gloomy 
 
 Dark 
 
 Good 
 
 Poor 
 
 None 
 
 Hall 
 
 47 
 
 36 
 
 5 
 
 38 
 
 22 
 
 28 
 
 38 
 
 41 
 
 9 
 
 Pantry 
 
 54 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 41 
 
 20 
 
 10 45 
 
 23 
 
 3 
 
 Off Bed Room 
 
 12 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 
 11 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 Kitchen 
 
 225 
 
 149 
 
 15 
 
 172 
 
 46 
 
 171 191 
 
 122 
 
 76 
 
 Sitting Room 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 Cellar 
 
 121 
 
 111 
 
 51 72 
 
 169 
 
 42 118 
 
 137 
 
 28 
 
 Sink Room 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 2 8 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 Sink Closet 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 Basement 
 
 14 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 5 12 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 Dark Closet 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Attic Rooms 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Dining Room 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 481 
 
 343 
 
 74 
 
 356 
 
 275 
 
 266 
 
 429 
 
 312 
 
 117 
 
HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 13 
 
 The examination of the toilets was 
 made along the following lines; loca- 
 tion, cleanliness, lighting, ventilation, 
 condition of water supply, repair and 
 number of families using them. The 
 table above indicates the location of 
 all toilets within the buildings, their 
 cleanliness, light and ventilation. 
 
 The frozen toilet a widespread evil presenting a 
 serious problem. In room intended as a bedroom 
 
 It is to be noted that 384, or the 
 largest number of toilets were found 
 in the kitchen. This is undoubtedly 
 due to the desire on the part of the 
 owners to keep the water from freez- 
 ing. The conditions under which these 
 toilets are built, however, make proper 
 lighting and ventilation impossible,and 
 for this reason 171, or almost one-half, 
 are entirely deprived of light and no 
 facilities for artificial lighting are pro- 
 vided. One-fifth of the kitchen toilets 
 are entirely deprived of ventilation 
 outside of the vent pipes which in most 
 instances were found to be doing poor 
 service. It is fortunate, however, that 
 being so near the place where the cook- 
 ing is done and where in many in- 
 stances the families take their meals, 
 a certain amount of care is exercised, 
 which brings the number of filthy 
 toilets down to fifteen, by no means a 
 negligible quantity. 
 
 In sixteen cases the partitions which 
 separate the toilets from the kitchen 
 were found to be so constructed that 
 they do not meet the ceiling by from 
 six inches to three feet, in order that 
 some light and ventilation may be de- 
 rived from the kitchen. Of the 16 cases 
 of this type two were found to be in 
 filthy condition and in one instance 
 the water had been shut off to prevent 
 freezing. 
 
 The most serious condition was found, 
 however, in the cellar toilets where 
 the freezing or shutting off of the 
 water, and the tax upon the fixtures 
 by over use, have rendered some of 
 them filthy beyond description and 
 wholly out of repair. Of the 288 cellar 
 toilets examined 51 or over Yl% were 
 found in filthy condition. Only one- 
 quarter were found properly lighted 
 and 118 or considerable less than one- 
 half have proper ventilation. In the 
 28 cases where poor ventilation was 
 found, the condition of cleanliness and 
 repair was invariably worthy of seri- 
 ous criticism. In nine instances in cel- 
 lar toilets the condition of repair and 
 the cold weather had caused freezing 
 and human feces was found on the 
 floor of the toilets and, in at least two 
 cases, it overflowed into the cellar it- 
 self. In 35 cases the water had been 
 shut off to prevent freezing and re- 
 inspections of these premises at inter- 
 vals of five days indicated that there 
 was no effort made to provide the 
 necessary flushing during the frost 
 period. Water was found in three 
 cellars where the toilets were located 
 and in one instance eleven inches of 
 water was found. In twenty-three 
 cellars with toilets dampness of a seri- 
 ous character was detected. 
 
 The toilets in the pantry which were 
 found so frequently (71) were, as may 
 be noted by glancing at the table, not 
 in the best of condition. The light was 
 poor in 20 cases and 10 of these toilets 
 were entirely dark. Three of the 
 toilets had no ventilation. The cleanli- 
 ness left considerable to be desired. 
 The most serious condition, however 
 was found in the cases where the 
 toilets were located in the same com- 
 partment with the pantry. Seventeen 
 such cases were found and in three 
 
14 
 
 HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 instances the cleanliness left consider- 
 able to be desired. The shutting off of 
 the water in four cases made the con- 
 dition more serious, and in the course 
 of the inquiry complaints were being 
 made, that while, at the time of the 
 investigation, the water had been 
 turned on, during the cold weather the 
 water had been either frozen or turned 
 off for a period of from a week to six 
 weeks. 
 
 "Open plumbing" 
 
 Sink room toilets were not found 
 very common, but wherever they were 
 found they did not seem to be in the 
 best condition, in spite of the fact that 
 the kitchen utensils were frequently 
 left there and most of the kitchen 
 work had to be done in that compart- 
 ment. In three cases the filthy condi- 
 tion of the toilet, due to the lack of 
 care and absence of water supply, was 
 undoubtedly a menace to the health of 
 the occupants of the apartment and in 
 the summer would be a serious menace 
 to the whole neighborhood. 
 
 The hall toilets are usually objection- 
 able because of their location at a point 
 where the occupants of the building 
 have to pass, and because in compara- 
 tively few instances can proper light 
 and ventilation be provided. Of the 
 
 88 such toilets one-third were dark 
 and one-fourth were gloomy. The 
 ventilation was found to be poor in 41, 
 or almost half the cases, and no venti- 
 lation was provided in nine cases. 
 Aside from the structural conditions 
 which made proper maintenance im- 
 possible the absence of water which 
 was found in 27 cases made the condi- 
 tion still more serious. That under 
 the conditions, not more filthy toilets 
 were discovered in the course of the 
 investigation was surprising. 
 
 The toilets located near the bed 
 rooms, sitting rooms, sink closet, etc. 
 were on the average in better condi- 
 tion. A word must be said, however, 
 about the two toilets found in the bed 
 rooms without partitions since this 
 type of construction is so rare and 
 represents such a low standard of 
 privacy as to raise a serious moral 
 question. In one instance the father, 
 mother and three children were found 
 to be using a toilet bed room which 
 was not in the best of repair and as 
 is shown by the photograph indicates 
 a lack of privacy that is truly alarming. 
 
 A toilet in a bedroom occupied by five persons 
 
 The practice of turning off the water 
 in the winter months to prevent freez- 
 ing and the placing of toilet pipes in 
 such a manner as to make freezing in 
 ordinary winter weather possible is a 
 serious menace to health. In all of the 
 898 indoor toilets examined, 14 were 
 found without water, due to the in- 
 tentional shutting off of the supply on 
 the part of the owner and 19 cases of 
 freezing were discovered. That last 
 winter in some instances this practice 
 was perhaps necessary cannot be 
 denied, but that the water should be 
 
HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 15 
 
 shut off for from three days to two 
 months is hardly a measure that can 
 be found excusable in homes where 
 more than the average number of per- 
 sons generally reside. It was claimed 
 by the owners that the water is turned 
 off only for the night, or that it is 
 opened from time to time during the 
 day, but every desire to verify this 
 assertion proved that this practice was 
 the exception rather than the rule. 
 
 The photographs taken indicate some 
 of the details of the conditions found 
 and all that remains to be said in con- 
 nection with the indoor toilets is that 
 they were frequently in a serious con- 
 dition of disrepair and neglect ranging 
 from a general dilapidated condition 
 with bad walls, broken doors, leaking 
 pipes, etc., to the overflow of feces on 
 to the toilet floor and spreading into 
 the cellar, pantry or kitchen floors. 
 The latter cases were limited to only 
 three. 
 
 The construction of the toilets in- 
 dicated, in some instances, a desire to 
 make use of every device which would 
 save money for the owner and such de- 
 vices were the cause of many of the 
 objectionable conditions found. In one 
 case, for example, the owner failing 
 to provide a proper tank for the flush- 
 ing of the toilet, provided a faucet 
 which, however, did not meet the 
 needs and made the floor constantly 
 damp. In another case owing to the 
 absence of flushing arrangements, pails 
 of water had to be "knocked down" 
 to flush a toilet which was in bad 
 repair. 
 
 The outdoor toilet was not found as 
 frequently as was expected. In all 
 only 46 families were found to be using 
 20 toilet buildings located in the yard. 
 These buildings had 40 seats. The 
 cleanliness of these toilets was not 
 beyond reproach, although under the 
 most trying conditions some of the 
 tenants showed a desire to keep them 
 clean. Only 18 of the 40 compart- 
 ments examined had locks and in nine 
 cases the doors were found in such a 
 condition of disrepair as to be almost 
 useless. In two instances where the 
 water had frozen the toilets were in 
 such an indescribable condition of filth 
 
 Typical out-building 
 
 as to make them useless. In one par- 
 ticular instance twelve families were 
 compelled to use one toilet because of 
 the freezing of the toilets originally 
 assigned to them and every evidence 
 of such use could be detected. 
 
 In all 1171 apartments were exam- 
 ined and 898 indoor and 40 outdoor 
 toilets were found. This would seem 
 to show that not every family had its 
 own toilet facilities. The distribution 
 of toilets by families using them is as 
 follows: 
 
 Number of Families Usinj? Toilets and the Location. 
 
 Location of 
 Toilets 
 
 One Two Three Four Five 
 Family Families Families Families Families 
 
 Apartment 436 
 Hall 49 
 Cellar 133 
 Basement 15 
 Yard 26 
 Attic 
 
 33 
 116 
 
 11 
 3 
 
 6 
 27 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 Total 
 
 659 163 
 
 11 
 
 These toilets account for the ac- 
 commodations of 1144 families. The 
 balance of the families were using 
 whatever toilets were provided in the 
 building and frequently imposed upon 
 the neighbors. Owing to the condition 
 of disrepair which was so frequently 
 found particularly in the toilets used 
 by more than one family eight, ten 
 and as many as twelve families were 
 found to be using toilets which were 
 not properly ventilated and could in no 
 way be kept clean. In one such in- 
 stance the freezing of the toilets had 
 caused the families in one yard, twelve 
 in number to use one broken toilet, the 
 water of which had been shut off the 
 
16 
 
 HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 morning before the investigation to 
 prevent freezing. 
 
 Some of the conditions found were 
 so serious as to require reinvestigation 
 in order to verify the facts. When 
 the report of the Health Officer was 
 examined it was found that similar 
 conditions in much larger number had 
 been noted by the local inspectors 
 and reported in the annual report. 
 Whether anything beyond inspection 
 was done was not stated in the report. 
 
 Toilet 
 
 'facilities" on streets not connected with 
 the public sewers 
 
 Evidences indicated that a large field 
 of service was still open and that the 
 law would be of considerable assist- 
 ance in the solution of the problems, if 
 properly enforced. Over ten thousand 
 inspections made by two inspectors in 
 one year seem to be recorded in the 
 annual report for 1910. How much 
 time was spent in court proceedings 
 and how many of the evils were ac- 
 tually remedied might have been stated 
 in the same report. Inspection with- 
 out action is worse than useless. 
 
 SINKS 
 
 In a wage earner's family the work 
 of the kitchen is frequently done under 
 trying circumstances, the kitchen being 
 used as dining room, sitting room, and 
 frequently as a bed room. Here the 
 children congregate and in the winter 
 time the kitchen is the only place 
 
 where warmth is maintained. The 
 sink is an important asset of the fam- 
 ily and adds considerable to the facility 
 with which the work of the household 
 is done. It is, therefore, important to 
 ascertain what the facilities in the 
 apartments examined are. 
 
 Of the 1171 apartments in which the 
 sinks were examined the following 
 distribution of the sinks according to 
 location was found: 
 
 Pantry 
 
 Cellar 
 Kitchen 
 Closet 
 Hall 
 
 Total 
 
 446 
 7 
 
 524 
 
 192 
 
 2 
 
 1171 
 
 The location of the sinks seems to be a 
 matter of convenience to the builder 
 quite as much as to the occupant. 
 They seem to have been placed where- 
 ever room could be found for them and 
 in seven cases they were placed in the 
 cellar for reasons which cannot be ex- 
 plained. That the tenants found the 
 cellar sinks inaccessible cannot be 
 questioned, especially as the main 
 water supply of the apartment was 
 found in the same place. In some 
 instances, where the sink is located in 
 the kitchen, the place chosen has no 
 relation whatever to the use and even 
 the idea of preventing < freezing by 
 placing the pipes as near as possible to 
 the stove, does not seem to have in- 
 fluenced the location. 
 
 We can easily understand how the 
 pantry or some separate compartment 
 isolated from the kitchen might be 
 found to be a convenient place for the 
 builder to locate the sink, but the loca- 
 tion of such sinks in the toilet or the 
 location of the toilet in the same com- 
 partment with the sink where the 
 daily dishes are washed seems to be 
 more than a matter of ordinary indif- 
 ference. It indicates a degree of care- 
 lessness and stupidity on the part of 
 owners and builders that can with 
 difficulty be duplicated in other cities. 
 Seventeen such toilets and sinkrooms 
 were found in Fall River and other 
 similar instances have been reported, 
 but were not included in this investi- 
 gation. In five such instances the 
 water had been shut off for from three 
 
HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 17 
 
 days to three weeks, and in one case 
 for four weeks. 
 
 Considerable of the time of the wife 
 and mother is spent at the sink, es- 
 pecially where there are many children, 
 and it would seem, therefore, that the 
 proper repair of the pipes of such sinks 
 would be maintained, but eleven cases 
 were found where the pipes were in a 
 condition of disrepair that made the 
 walls and floors about the sink damp 
 and in one instance a pail was used to 
 catch the water that was coming out 
 of the pipes in order to prevent it 
 from running on to the floor. 
 
 The combination toilet and sink room 
 
 The shutting off of water in the 
 winter months is a common practice 
 among owners and the time during 
 which water is not provided varies 
 from three days to several weeks. In 
 twenty-nine cases the water was found 
 shut off and the statements of the in- 
 spector of health, who maintained that 
 the water is always opened up at least 
 once a day, made several reinspections 
 necessary. Whatever the statement 
 made by the owners to the inspector, 
 the reinspection proved to our satis- 
 faction that in ten instances, at the 
 time when the owners claimed to have 
 
 the water open, the Health Authorities 
 were misinformed. 
 
 The material of which the sinks are 
 constructed was found to be iron with- 
 out enameling in 87% of the cases. 
 That such sinks cannot be kept clean 
 is not to be doubted and the investiga- 
 tion proved this contention. About 6% 
 of these sinks were out of repair and 
 in some instances the body of the sink 
 had been worn to a point where the 
 water percolated on to the floor, making 
 a bad appearance and interfering with 
 the cleanliness of the room. 
 
 The construction, location and care 
 of the sink is of considerable impor- 
 tance to the comfort of the family. 
 The conditions found in Fall River in- 
 dicate a certain lack of thoughtfulness 
 and care which should be made the 
 object of legislation. 
 
 WATER SUPPLY 
 
 The water supply from the point of 
 view of water connections cannot be 
 criticised since every house examined 
 had connections with the city's system. 
 
 The location of the hydrants is of 
 considerable importance to the family, 
 particularly as related to the interior 
 or exterior of the apartment. In ten 
 buildings the only water supply avail- 
 able is from a faucet in the cellar. 
 Twenty-three families derive their 
 water supply in that manner. In one 
 case the faucet is located on the street, 
 in another in the yard, and in three 
 cases the faucets are located in the 
 halls. 
 
 The most serious evil in connection 
 with the water service is the winter 
 freezing and the shutting off of the 
 supply to prevent the bursting of the 
 pipes. To prevent such occurrences 
 the owners shut off the water and in 
 39 apartments we found that the 
 tenants had to resort to their neighbors 
 for their daily water supply. A com- 
 plete reinspection was made of all the 
 apartments in which the water was 
 found shut off at the time of the first 
 inspection, and the number of cases 
 had decreased to 31, and upon the third 
 inspection it had decreased still further 
 to 26. The claim that the water is 
 
18 
 
 HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 never shut off for more than twenty- 
 fours was not borne out by the facts, 
 and while in some instances the tenants 
 were encouraged by the investigators 
 to complain to the Board of Health, it 
 seems that few of the owners were in 
 any way under the control of the 
 Health Inspector, who had, as far as 
 we could ascertain, visited only two of 
 the apartments in question upon the 
 complaint of some of the tenants. In 
 4% the cases the pipes were so small as 
 to render the flow of water inadequate 
 for the purposes for which they were 
 intended. 
 
 PIPES 
 
 The construction of soil and waste 
 pipes as well as drain pipes is carefully 
 and specifically regulated by the ordi- 
 nances of the City, but several abuses 
 were found. In two instances the ex- 
 posed water pipes showed a condition 
 of disrepair which made their use 
 dangerous to the building, and in many 
 other cases the soil and waste pipes 
 had holes varying from small openings 
 about the base to large openings which 
 rendered the pipes practically useless. 
 In one case an exposed drain pipe was 
 overflowing over the yard making ac- 
 cess to the house difficult and unpleas- 
 ant. Similar conditions were found in 
 the interior of the apartment, especi- 
 ally the sink pipes and the plumbing 
 of the toilet. Five and three-tenths 
 per cent of the toilets appeared to have 
 damp floors due to improper piping. 
 
 BATHTUBS 
 
 Bathing facilities in most of the 
 cheaper class of houses in the smaller 
 industrial cities are far from being 
 common. The total number of bath- 
 tubs found in the course of this investi- 
 gation amounts to only 32 or less that 
 2% of the total number of apartments 
 examined. In only four cases were 
 the tubs in a condition of neglect and 
 apparently not in use, but in two of 
 these cases the water had been frozen 
 within a week from the time of the 
 investigation. The majority of the 
 tubs were in good and cleanly condition 
 and the proverbial coal or potatoes 
 
 were not to be found in them. In 
 three comparatively poor families the 
 bath rooms were found to have little 
 mats and were kept in very clean con- 
 dition. 
 
 WASTE 
 
 The storage, removal and disposal of 
 waste, especially garbage and refuse, 
 are from the point of view of sanita- 
 tion and the cleanliness of yards and 
 streets of considerable importance. 
 That the aesthetic value of efficient 
 waste storage, removal and disposal is 
 an element not to be neglected cannot 
 be denied, but the field of investigation 
 with which this report is concerned is 
 so devoid of the elements that make 
 for the beautiful in architecture or 
 surroundings as to render any consid- 
 eration of beauty a discordant note. 
 
 GARBAGE 
 
 All families have a certain amount 
 of waste material which is subject to 
 decay and is generally designated as 
 garbage. The receptacles used by 
 937 families were examined with a 
 view to determining whether they are 
 adequate for the use for which they 
 were intended, whether they are of 
 wood or iron, and where they are kept. 
 Expressed in percentages the figures 
 are as follows: 
 
 
 The problem of garbage collection 
 
 Material 
 
 Location 
 
 Adequacy of 
 Receptacles 
 
 Adequate 65.77% Metal 18.4% Yard 73.3% 
 Inadequate 34.3 Wood 87.6 Shed 6.1 
 
 Landing 10.4 
 Cellar 5.5 
 Hall 4.7 
 
 It is surprising that the city which 
 removes the garbage does not insist 
 
HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 19 
 
 upon proper receptacles and an acces- 
 sible place for the storage. That more 
 than one-third of the receptacles should 
 have been found inadequate either in 
 size or condition of repair to hold the 
 waste of the householders in the 
 building is a fact that should not easily 
 be overlooked since upon these recep- 
 tacles depends the efficient removal of 
 the refuse on the part of the city. 
 
 The regularity of removal could not 
 be ascertained from the householders 
 with any degree of accuracy. The 
 weekly removal seems to be the pre- 
 vailing practice, but little of any re- 
 liable nature from the point of view of 
 figures was secured in the course of 
 the investigation. Cases were found, 
 however, where although the recep- 
 tacles were placed in the yards where 
 they were easily accessible, the city 
 removal department had in all appear- 
 ances not taken steps to do so. Nine- 
 teen such instances of a very serious 
 
 The back yard refuse heap 
 
 nature were found and in one instance 
 the receptacle had been overflowing 
 into the yard near the window of a 
 tenement for at least one week. This 
 latter fact was ascertained by several 
 consecutive inspections and the photo- 
 graph which is appended to this report 
 taken exactly seven days after the first 
 inspection was made is evidence of 
 this fact. 
 
 That the broken boxes and various 
 other devices for the storage of gar- 
 bage found among some of the families 
 were not of sufficiently strong con- 
 struction and repair to hold quantities 
 of garbage was apparent but nowhere 
 were signs found directing the tenants 
 concerning the care of their garbage. 
 
 Paper boxes, or bags, broken barrels 
 and the bare ground were not infre- 
 quently used by the tenants. In two 
 cases troughs were being used and in 
 several instances the tenants mixed 
 their garbage with the refuse, thereby 
 making its removal impossible. In at 
 least twenty-seven cases the condition 
 resulting from the lack of receptacles, 
 the throwing of refuse into the yard 
 or between buildings resulted in creat- 
 ing a nuisance which was clearly per- 
 ceptible although the investigation 
 was carried on in the winter time when 
 the neglect of garbage is much less 
 likely to become offensive than in the 
 summer. 
 
 ASHES 
 
 The care of the ashes, while from 
 the sanitary point of view not as im- 
 portant as the care of the garbage, 
 still has considerable value in main- 
 taining a cleanly condition in the yards 
 and streets. Unfortunately it must 
 be admitted that less than one-half of 
 the yards or 46% examined had proper 
 provisions for the storage of ashes and 
 that with the exception of 31 of the 
 receptacles provided all the others 
 were of wood and 29% of them were 
 in bad repair. In 23 of the yards no 
 receptacles could be found and the 
 yards were covered with a mixture of 
 ashes and other refuse, in some in- 
 stances being mixed with garbage. In 
 the case of the ash removal little com- 
 plaint could be made except where the 
 receptacles were inadequate and their 
 collection was made practically impos- 
 sible by the lack of storage facilities. 
 
 While it is not the purpose of this 
 report to deal with the method of 
 refuse disposal a word should be added 
 concerning the dump on Bowler Street 
 which was found not only in bad con- 
 dition, but where garbage and decayed 
 matter of various kinds are deposited 
 under the very windows of a large 
 number of tenement houses and where 
 the flow of water contributes largely 
 towards the decay of the materials 
 deposited. Complaints were made by 
 many of the occupants of nearby 
 buildings that the smoke and dust and 
 odors that come from the dump are a 
 
20 
 
 HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 nuisance to the residents of the dis- 
 trict. Several children were found 
 playing upon this dump and the gen- 
 eral condition that it presents is well 
 represented in the photograph. 
 
 YARD DRAINAGE 
 
 A considerable share of the property 
 examined is located upon low land and 
 is, therefore, in need of proper drain- 
 age. This is particularly true of the 
 yards which serve as the playground 
 for the children and as is the case with 
 the eleven courts examined is the main 
 avenue of communication between the 
 street and the home. Of the 169 yards 
 for which accurate data were collected 
 27 were damp and muddy so as to 
 make access to -the buildings through 
 the yards difficult, or at least unpleas- 
 
 Tenements in a muddy courtyard 
 
 ant. In eleven cases a sufficient 
 amount of water was found to make 
 the passage from one part of the yard 
 impossible without getting actually 
 wet. In two instances the yards were 
 flooded with quantities of water which 
 was overflowing into the lower halls. 
 In these cases no sewer or surface 
 drainage was provided. In 44 cases 
 some surface drainage was found 
 which took care of most of the moisture 
 resulting from the rain and melting of 
 snow. In one court with ten families, 
 and in another with eight families the 
 yards were flooded and the garbage 
 cans, ash cans, rubbish and other waste 
 were to be seen in the mud and water 
 which covered the yard and where the 
 children were at play. 
 
 CONDITION OF STREETS 
 
 Frequently in thinking or speaking 
 of housing conditions the street is 
 forgotten, and yet upon the condition 
 of the street depends considerable of 
 the cleanliness of the homes as well as 
 the health and comfort of the resi- 
 dents. The street is the hallway that 
 connects the factory, the school and 
 the church with the home. Where 
 other playgrounds are not provided it 
 is the playground of the children, and 
 is the social center for young and 
 adult alike, at least during the hot 
 summer days and nights when the heat 
 in the apartments becomes unendur- 
 able. With this idea in mind, a partial 
 examination was made of the condition 
 of the streets upon which the houses 
 investigated are located. It was found 
 
 A city dump, foot of Bowler Street 
 
 that 29% of buildings examined were 
 located upon streets which were either 
 entirely without pavements, or which 
 had dirt and cinder construction, with 
 no lasting value and which yield large 
 quantities of dust and mud. Forty- 
 seven per cent of the buildings were 
 located upon macadam streets which 
 were of more permanent construction 
 and the balance were located upon 
 streets paved with block or brick or 
 some other hard construction. The 
 macadam road although better than 
 the unpaved street is far from satis- 
 factory, especially in a district where 
 there is heavy traffic. The numerous 
 cases of macadam pavements in poor 
 repair, added considerably to the bad 
 appearance of the streets, which do 
 not seem to receive the care they de- 
 serve from the municipal departments 
 of street cleaning and construction. 
 
HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 21 
 
 REPAIR 
 
 The life of a building depends upon 
 the care that it receives and the con- 
 dition of repair in which it is kept. 
 That many of the buildings examined 
 were far from receiving the care which 
 they needed and that in many in- 
 stances the condition of repair was in- 
 dicative of utter neglect, was evi- 
 dent when the investigation was first 
 started. Closer observation and ex- 
 amination of buildings revealed the 
 fact that 64 out of the 279 buildings 
 examined, or 22.9% were so out of re- 
 pair as to raise a question as to their 
 fitness for human habitation. Broken 
 
 The damp hallway, out of repair 
 
 doors, ceilings with holes in them, a 
 roof with a hole 2J feet by 2 feet which 
 was covered with an oil cloth in order 
 to prevent the snow and rain from 
 pouring directly into the halls, broken 
 walls and falling plaster, broken and 
 dangerous stairs, broken window panes, 
 and other similar conditions were 
 found in varying degrees. 
 
 Leaking roofs were such frequent 
 occurrences and were the cause of so 
 many complaints that notes were made 
 only of the most serious cases. A 
 family of five was using a sleeping 
 
 room where the floor was found flooded 
 on three different inspections. The 
 walls and ceiling of the floor above 
 indicated the same condition. Stairs 
 only three feet wide, broken and with- 
 out any other exit from the second and 
 third floors, missing window blinds and 
 completely broken down doors in the 
 halls were not difficult to find. 
 
 Most of the conditions of disrepair 
 were obviously of long standing and in 
 many instances the type of repair was 
 so rough and cheap as to make it short 
 lived, besides giving the buildings an 
 appearance of shiftlessness. 
 
 From some of the cases cited it is 
 evident that the condition of disrepair 
 was in some instances such as to be 
 injurious to health and, therefore, in 
 need of immediate attention. 
 
 LEGISLATION 
 
 The most effective means of con- 
 trolling bad housing conditions must 
 of necessity rest in the legislative pro- 
 visions intended for the control of such 
 conditions and the machinery provided 
 by the City or State for its enforce- 
 ment. 
 
 In the City of Fall River two sets of 
 legislative enactments are provided for 
 the control of housing both from the 
 point of view of construction and of 
 subsequent care after buildings have 
 been constructed. The Building De- 
 partment has charge of the construc- 
 tion, the Plumbing Inspector controls 
 the installing of sanitary arrangements 
 and the Health Department deals with 
 the sanitary abuses after construction. 
 This distribution of responsibility, 
 without specific co-ordination is not 
 conducive to the best service in hous- 
 ing inspection and regulation, and the 
 results obtained in the course of the 
 present inquiry seem to indicate that 
 a lack of co-operation and co-ordination 
 of departmental work is responsible 
 for considerable of the present evil. 
 
 A building before construction must 
 be passed upon first by the Building 
 Inspector who works entirely without 
 the co-operation of the Plumbing In- 
 spector or the Health Department. 
 The Plumbing Inspector deals with his 
 
22 
 
 HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 side of the construction independently 
 and when the two have done their 
 work the Health Department is called 
 upon to maintain a fair standard of 
 cleanliness and sanitation in buildings 
 over the construction of which they 
 have absolutely no control. 
 
 Another important aspect of the 
 tenement house problem and indeed of 
 the housing problem as a whole is the 
 lack of legislation compelling the im- 
 provement in old buildings constructed 
 prior to the passage of the building 
 law at present in force. 
 
 BUILDING LAW 
 
 The regulations relative to the build- 
 ing of dwelling houses as provided for 
 in the Fall River Building Laws, deal 
 almost exclusively with the new build- 
 ings and leave the unsanitary condi- 
 tions of the old buildings entirely to 
 the discretion of the Health Depart- 
 ment which in turn has no powers to 
 compel changes in construction unless 
 necessary to remedy serious sanitary 
 evils. 
 
 The only provision in the Building 
 Laws dealing with dwelling houses 
 which has any relation to sanitation is 
 Section 56 which reads: "All build- 
 ings shall have suitable water tight 
 metallic leaders, sufficient to carry all 
 the water to the street, gutter or 
 sewer, in such a manner as not to over- 
 flow to the sidewalk/' The other pro- 
 visions deal with the resistance of the 
 floors to weight and similar aspects of 
 construction applying generally to all 
 buildings constructed within the city. 
 
 A tenement house as defined by the 
 Building Laws means a structure in 
 which more than three families are 
 living independently and doing their 
 cooking on the premises. This defini- 
 tion is not only out of date, but has 
 been abandoned by all the progressive 
 cities, and in recent years New York 
 has been struggling to change its 
 ordinance which defines a tenement as 
 a building occupied by more than two 
 families into a definition which would 
 include buildings with more than one 
 tenement or apartment. In a City like 
 Fall River where the majority of the 
 families are living in two and three 
 
 family houses a definition such as is 
 provided in the Building Laws is inex- 
 cusable. 
 
 There are no specific provisions for 
 occupancy of lot, access to toilets, 
 amount of light and air in rooms, air 
 space per person, and the many other 
 provisions which modern Building 
 Laws usually contain. That such a 
 condition is conducive to laxness in the 
 construction was well demonstrated in 
 the course of the investigation, but the 
 responsibility cannot be placed upon 
 anyone except the city authorities, who 
 have not seen the necessity for con- 
 structive legislation to meet local needs. 
 
 CITY ORDINANCES 
 
 The following regulations deal with 
 sanitary conditions of the dwelling 
 houses and in some instances refer to 
 other conditions which are directly or 
 indirectly connected with housing sani- 
 tation. 
 
 Regulation 1. Whatever is danger- 
 ous to human life or health; whatever 
 building or part or cellar thereof, is 
 overcrowded or not provided with 
 adequate means of ingress and egress, 
 or is not sufficiently supported, venti- 
 lated, sewered, drained, lighted or 
 cleaned; and whatever renders soil, air, 
 water, ice or food impure or unwhole- 
 some are declared to be nuisances and 
 to be illegal; and every person, firm or 
 corporation having aided in creating 
 or contributing to the same, or who 
 may support, continue or retain any of 
 them, shall be deemed guilty of a vio- 
 lation of this regulation and liable to 
 the penalties provided by the Public 
 Statutes of the Commonwealth, for 
 violation of such regulations as the 
 Board of Health judges necessary to 
 make for the preservation of the public 
 health and safety, and shall also be 
 liable for the expense of the abatement 
 or remedy required. 
 
 Regulation 4. The owners, agents, 
 occupants or other persons having the 
 care of any building or tenement used 
 as a dwelling, or for any other purpose, 
 standing on land adjoining a street 
 through which a common sewer has 
 been, or shall hereafter be laid, shall, 
 whenever required by the Board of 
 
HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 23 
 
 Health, cause proper and sufficient 
 drains to be constructed from their 
 premises leading into such sewer by 
 proper connections, and in accordance 
 with the Public Statutes of the Com- 
 monwealth and the regulations of the 
 Board of Health, and shall abolish and 
 discontinue the use of all privy vaults 
 and cesspools on the premises accord- 
 ing to said regulations and within the 
 time stated in a notice issued by the 
 Board of Health, under a penalty for 
 failure to comply with said notice of a 
 fine of one hundred dollars. 
 
 Regulation 8. Cellars of stables in 
 which horses or cattle are kept shall be 
 built in a thorough and substantial 
 manner and shall be properly venti- 
 lated. Should any cesspool, privy vault 
 or stable cellar be located within 20 
 feet from the boundary line of the lot 
 whereon such cesspool, privy vault or 
 stable cellar is located, or from the 
 foundation wall of any dwelling house, 
 or within 50 feet from a well or other 
 source of water supply which is used 
 for domestic purposes, the Board of 
 Health may require such cesspool, 
 privy vault or stable cellar to be built 
 absolutely water-tight. 
 
 Regulation 9. No person shall con- 
 struct any drain for the purpose of 
 conveying the waste water or overflow 
 from any vault or cesspool upon his 
 premises, to the public sewer, side- 
 walk, gutter or street surface, and all 
 persons who now have such drains are 
 required to remove the same, and no 
 person shall hereafter allow or cause 
 any waste water or overflow from any 
 drain, vault or cesspool to flow from 
 his premises on to the street or side- 
 walk or upon the surface of the ground, 
 and no sewage, sink, or wash water 
 shall be allowed to run or stand on the 
 surface of the ground, but it must be 
 conveyed through a suitable drain to 
 the sewer, or into a cesspool made for 
 the purpose, and all drains entering 
 sewers or cesspools must be provided 
 with suitable traps and ventilations. 
 
 Regulation 11. Whenever any privy, 
 vault, stable cellar or cesspool shall 
 become offensive, the same shall be 
 cleansed. And in case the condition 
 or construction of any vault, privy, 
 
 stable cellar, or cesspool shall be dif- 
 ferent from the requirements specified 
 in these regulations, the Board of 
 Health may cause the same to be 
 cleansed, repaired, altered or removed, 
 and shall charge all expenses incurred 
 in so doing to the owner or party oc- 
 cupying the estate in which such 
 privy, vault, stable cellar or cesspool 
 may be; provided the Board of Health 
 shall first give such owner or his agent, 
 or the party occupying the premises a 
 written notice and allow the space of 
 at least 48 hours for such owner or oc- 
 cupant to comply with such notice, 
 and such agent, owner or occupant 
 failing to comply with such notice. 
 
 Regulation 16. When a vault, privy 
 or cesspool shall be found to contain 
 an excessive amount of tins, crockery 
 or other rubbish, the health agent or 
 inspector shall report the same to the 
 Board, and a fine of two dollars may 
 thereupon be imposed at the discretion 
 of the Board upon the owner of said 
 property. 
 
 Regulation 22. No person or persons 
 shall keep fowl, of any kind, in any 
 cellar, basement, attic or other part of 
 a dwelling house or store; nor in any 
 coop or hennery within ten feet of a 
 dwelling house, and all cellars must 
 be properly ventilated to keep them 
 dry and healthful; and no stagnant 
 water or filth of any kind, will be al- 
 lowed to remain on any vacant land, 
 or under any building, thereby causing 
 a nuisance. 
 
 Regulation 23. Whenever, upon due 
 examination, it shall appear to the 
 Board of Health that the number of 
 persons occupying any tenement or 
 building in the city is so great as to be 
 the cause of a nuisance or sickness, or 
 a source of filth, or that any tenement 
 or building is not furnished with vaults 
 constructed according to the provisions 
 of these regulations, or with sufficient 
 privies or water closets, or drains 
 under ground for waste water,or from 
 any cause has become unfit for habita- 
 tion, it will thereupon issue a notice, 
 in writing, to such persons, or any of 
 them, requiring them to remove from 
 and quit such tenement or building 
 within such time as the Board shall 
 
24 
 
 HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 deem reasonable, and unless such 
 notice is complied with within the time 
 specified therein, the Board shall take 
 legal steps to vacate and close up the 
 tenement or building. 
 
 No agent, owner or lessee of a build- 
 ing or tenement which has been ad- 
 judged by the Board of Health as unfit 
 for human habitation and vacated shall 
 thereafter allow the same to be used 
 as a dwelling until it shall have been 
 put in such condition as the Board of 
 Health shall approve and permission 
 in writing granted by said Board for 
 such use. 
 
 Regulation 28. All persons, firms 
 and corporations having refrigerators 
 or using city water from hydrants 
 upon their premises shall not allow the 
 waste water from the same to run 
 upon the sidewalks or public streets, 
 and in all cases where such property 
 abuts on a street having a public sewer 
 therein the owner, agent or occupant 
 shall be required to connect the same 
 with the sewer. 
 
 Regulation 29. No person shall de- 
 posit or cause to be deposited dead fish 
 or the entrails or heads or any part 
 thereof or dead animals of any kind in 
 any street, court, alley, vacant lot, 
 pond, creek, river, dock or any of the 
 waters within the city limits. 
 
 Regulation 30. No person or persons 
 shall throw or deposit, or cause to be 
 thrown or deposited in any street, 
 court, square, alley, public place or 
 vacant lot, or into any pond, creek or 
 river, any dirt, saw-dust, soot, ashes, 
 cinders, shavings, hair, lime, shreds, 
 manure, oyster, lobster or clam shells, 
 waste water, rubbish or filth of any 
 kind or the contents of any cesspool or 
 privy vault, or any animal or vegetable 
 substance. Nor shall any person or 
 persons throw or cast or cause to be 
 thrown or cast any dead animals, or 
 any foul or offensive ballast into any 
 dock or any other of the waters within 
 or adjoining the city. Nor shall any 
 person or persons land or deliver or 
 cause to be landed or delivered any 
 fertilizer or other foul or offensive 
 animal or vegetable substance within 
 the city unless he or they shall have 
 first obtained the permission of the 
 Board of Health to do so. 
 
 Regulation 37. Each estate or tenant 
 shall provide sufficient water tight 
 vessels to contain the swill until it is 
 removed by the garbage collector. 
 Such vessels shall stand in the base- 
 ment or back yard, where they can be 
 easily reached by the collector, and 
 must be kept covered. There shall 
 not be deposited with the swill any tin 
 cans, broken glass or crockery, oyster 
 or clam shells, old shoes, old clothes, 
 rags, papers, sweepings, sawdust, 
 lawn clippings, or any poisonous sub- 
 stances, which must be kept with the 
 ashes as formerly, nor any dead ani- 
 mals which must be buried by the 
 owners. Swill containing any of the 
 above mentioned foreign substances, 
 except lobster shells which may be de- 
 posited with the swill will have to be 
 taken care of by the owners at their 
 own expense, and any person violating 
 this regulation shall be liable to a fine 
 of one hundred dollars. 
 
 Regulation 39. Drain and soil pipes 
 through which water and sewerage 
 are carried shall be of sound iron when 
 within a building, and for a distance 
 of two feet outside the foundation 
 walls; said pipes shall be thoroughly 
 coated inside and out with coal tar, or 
 an equivalent substance, and they shall 
 be provided with suitable cleanouts to 
 such number as may be required by 
 the Inspector of Plumbing or Board of 
 Health. They shall be securely ironed 
 to the walls, suspended by iron hangers 
 or laid in trenches of uniform grade 
 having proper fall toward the drain or 
 sewer. Soil pipes shall be extended 
 through the roof two feet, open and 
 undiminished in size. 
 
 Regulation 41. When it is necessary 
 to lay soil pipe under the ground in 
 cellars, it shall be of the quantity 
 known as "extra heavy pipe." The 
 length passing through the walls of 
 the building shall also be of extra 
 heavy pipe. All cast iron pipes must 
 be sound and free from holes and other 
 defects, and of a uniform thickness. 
 
 Regulation 42. Every sink, basin, 
 bath tub, water closet, slophopper,and 
 every set of trays, and every fixture 
 having a waste pipe, shall be furnished 
 with a trap placed as near the fixture 
 as practicable. No trap shall be placed 
 
HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 25 
 
 at the bottom of a vertical line of 
 waste pipe. 
 
 Regulation 44. All water closets 
 shall be supplied with water from a 
 tank holding not less than four gallons 
 of water. The flushing pipe from the 
 tank to the closet shall not be less 
 than one and one-fourth inches in 
 diameter. 
 
 Regulation 45. There shall be in all 
 tenements or blocks on streets where 
 there is a sewer, at least one water- 
 closet for every 12 persons. In no 
 class of buildings, whether public or 
 private, will water closets be per- 
 mitted, in any room or apartment that 
 has not a window having an area of at 
 least three square feet or an air-shaft 
 of same dimensions opening directly 
 to the external air. 
 
 Regulation 47. All drains now in or 
 hereafter laid as well as soil and waste 
 pipes, shall be reconstructed whenever, 
 in the opinion of the Board of Health 
 it may be necessary. 
 
 Regulation 50. Subsoil drains shall 
 be constructed wherever dampness of 
 site is known to exist. When con- 
 structed they must be effectually 
 trapped and means provided to main- 
 tain a seal and no opening into the 
 sewer for the purpose of draining the 
 cellar of surface water will be allowed 
 unless by special permission of the 
 Board of Health. 
 
 Regulation 54. No person, company, 
 firm or corporation shall erect or main- 
 tain any manufactory or place of 
 business, within the city, dangerous 
 to life or detrimental to health, or 
 where unwholesome, offensive or de- 
 leterious odors, gas, smoke, deposit or 
 exhalations are generated, without the 
 permit of the Board of Health, and all 
 such establishments shall be kept clean 
 and wholesome so as not to be offen- 
 sive or prejudicial to public health; 
 nor shall any offensive or deleterious 
 waste substances, gas-tar, sludge, 
 refuse or injurious matter be allowed 
 to accumulate upon the premises or 
 be thrown or allowed to run into 
 any public waters, stream, water- 
 course, street or public place. And 
 every person, company, firm or cor- 
 poration conducting such manufacture 
 
 or business shall use the best approved 
 and all reasonable means to prevent 
 the escape of smoke, gases and odors, 
 and to protect the health and safety 
 of the public and all operatives em- 
 ployed therein. Any violation of any 
 of the provisions of this regulation 
 shall be punishable by a fine of not less 
 than ten dollars nor more than one 
 hundred dollars for each offence. 
 
 COMMENTS ON LEGISLATION 
 
 Regulation 1 deals with the nuisances 
 which are defined in the broadest 
 possible manner. Under its provi- 
 sions the most drastic and effective 
 measures could be taken by the Health 
 Department to remove existing evils. 
 Unfortunately, however, such is not 
 the case. Legislation that is not 
 specific in the highest degree is seldom 
 enforced for fear of inviting court 
 proceedings and involving the law en- 
 forcing authorities in controversies 
 which may be detrimental to the 
 prestige of the department. Where 
 politics are concerned such litigation 
 is detrimental to the administration in 
 power. Few are the officials who care 
 to run such a risk and the public is 
 demanding a degree of efficiency which 
 is almost impossible to maintain under 
 present conditions when laws are in- 
 definite and the sacred principle of 
 non-interference with private property 
 is at stake. 
 
 The definition of a nuisance as 
 provided in regulation No. 1 cannot be 
 improved upon in wording, but its 
 interpretation should be made the 
 subject of local legislation rather than 
 a matter of personal opinion on the 
 part of the health authorities and their 
 agents. 
 
 The provision for the vacating of 
 houses unfit for human habitation is 
 quite as forceful as that relating to 
 nuisances, but the opinion of the 
 health department is again the only 
 authority to decide upon such unfit- 
 ness. More specific regulations upon 
 this aspect of housing legislation 
 should be provided. 
 
 All other regulations as is shown by 
 the above Quotations deal with specific 
 
26 
 
 HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 unsanitary structural defects which 
 were frequently found. That these 
 regulations are far from being ade- 
 quate for the needs of a growing 
 industrial city like Fall River, the 
 contents of this report should indicate. 
 The few regulations dealing with sani- 
 tary arrangements are antiquated and 
 the provision concerning number of 
 persons per toilet is absurd since with 
 the constant moving of tenants 12 per- 
 sons per toilet may be a good standard 
 at one time and a poor standard at 
 another, may involve the additional 
 building of a toilet with the addition 
 of one person to a family. This pro- 
 vision is a dead letter and should 
 remain so. The whole health code 
 which relates to housing needs a radi- 
 cal and immediate change. 
 
 NATIONALITIES 
 
 Immigration is the most momentous 
 social factor in determining many of 
 the social and economic problems 
 which face the economist and social 
 worker, the employers and employees 
 of this country. The cities, as such, 
 receive their share of the burden of 
 the immigrant problem in the in- 
 creased needs for sanitary guardian- 
 ship. The congestion of population 
 and the overtaxing of housing and 
 educational facilities endanger health 
 and hamper the maintenance of a 
 normal American standard of home 
 making. 
 
 The housing problem in industrial 
 cities such as Fall River, Providence, 
 Waterbury, etc. is preeminently a 
 problem of immigration, a problem of 
 adjustment between the facilities for 
 home-making and the demand for such 
 facilities. 
 
 To have a housing problem is, there- 
 fore, not an indication of hopeless 
 social mal-adjustment, but rather an 
 indication of industrial progress. The 
 insufficient accommodation for the in- 
 creasing population is due to the char- 
 acteristic American tendency to con- 
 fine foresight to industry and to leave 
 the private welfare of the individual 
 worker and his family to the mercy of 
 kindly but helpless reformers and 
 charitable agencies whose problems 
 
 become more and more complicated as 
 the demand for labor increases and 
 skill becomes less and less a qualifica- 
 tion for industrial production. That 
 the efficiency of the workers, whether 
 in skilled trades or not, depends upon 
 the conditions under which these 
 workers are living is a principle realized 
 by only the select among the em- 
 ployers. The mass of them still inter- 
 pret their interest in terms of low 
 wages and complete indifference to the 
 welfare of the worker as such. 
 
 The cotton and woolen mill cities 
 have been especially characterized by 
 this attitude on the part of the em- 
 ployers and the lesson which some of 
 the recent strikes have taught us 
 should not be soon forgotten. 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 In Fall River the housing problem 
 is most emphatically a tenement house 
 problem, in the New York sense of 
 that term, since the average number 
 of tenements or apartments per build- 
 ing was found to be 4.2 or more than 
 the lowest number designated by law, 
 either in New York City or in Fall 
 River. The conditions found lead to 
 several important conclusions: 
 
 1. The housing problem is not con- 
 fined to a limited territory, but extends 
 over a wide area embracing several 
 sections of the city. 
 
 2. The congestion of population does 
 not constitute a very serious problem 
 except in specific instances and the 
 practice of keeping lodgers constitutes 
 a problem of family privacy rather 
 than a problem of congestion. 
 
 3. Rents per room bear a significant 
 relation to the number of rooms oc- 
 cupied by the family and the number 
 of persons per room. This relation 
 may be stated as follows; the larger 
 the number of rooms the less the rental 
 per room and the less the number of 
 people per room. 
 
 4. The most serious abuses from the 
 point of view of sanitation and con- 
 venience were found among the for- 
 eign residents, but abuses of the most 
 serious nature were not absent among 
 the native tenants. 
 
HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 27 
 
 5. The work of the Health Depart- 
 ment as related to the conditions over 
 which this Department has control 
 indicated a lack of law enforcement 
 which leads to the belief that the 
 Department is either unable to meet 
 the needs of the community because 
 of over work or because of inefficiency. 
 
 6. The laws relating to the con- 
 struction of new dwelling houses as 
 well as the provisions dealing with 
 the maintenance of old buildings are 
 wholly inadequate to meet the needs 
 of the community and the present 
 demands for sanitary construction in- 
 tended to meet the strain of large 
 families and small apartments. 
 
 7. The Building Department, the 
 Inspector of Plumbing and the Health 
 Department have no close relationship 
 and their work is carried on with such 
 a lack of co-ordination as to make their 
 service inefficient and in many in- 
 stances conflicting. The work of the 
 health department as an agency for 
 the control of objectional sanitary 
 condition is hampered by the ineffi- 
 ciency, carelessness and inadequate 
 legislation of the other two depart- 
 ments above mentioned. 
 
 RECOMMENDATIONS 
 
 The only purpose of the present 
 investigation was the securing of suffi- 
 cient accurate data upon which to base 
 a program of action which would bring 
 about speedy and permanent improve- 
 ments in the general housing condi- 
 tions of the city and prevent, in the 
 future, the building of structures which 
 do not provide for a reasonable stand- 
 ard of safety, sanitation and privacy. 
 The facts revealed in the course of 
 the investigation have a decided bear- 
 ing upon these three aspects of the 
 problem, and a program based upon 
 them should bring about results of a 
 constructive character. In the light 
 of the facts revealed by the present 
 investigation the following recom- 
 mendations suggest themselves: 
 
 A. The appointment of a Sanitary 
 Inspector whose exclusive duty it 
 should be to inspect regularly and at 
 frequent intervals all the buildings 
 
 inspector should have specific powers 
 as suggested in Section B. The in- 
 spector should keep a record of all the 
 inspections made and record all condi- 
 tions which are in any way contrary 
 to the State Laws or City Ordinances. 
 These records should be kept in the 
 office of the Health Department and 
 should be accessible to any physician 
 or anyone representing a philanthropic 
 agency chartered in the State of Massa- 
 chusetts. Upon these records should 
 be entered all complaints against prop- 
 erty and the disposition of the cases 
 whether by order of the Health De- 
 partment or through the local courts. 
 The said inspector should report annu- 
 ally upon the number of inspections 
 made, the abuses found and the dis- 
 position of each class of abuses. 
 
 B. The City Council of Fall River 
 should pass an ordinance changing the 
 definition of a tenement from four to 
 a two-family house and shall provide 
 specific regulations concerning the oc- 
 cupancy of lot, dark rooms, fire-escapes, 
 number of families per toilet and their 
 location, and all matters pertaining to 
 the safety of health and privacy of the 
 occupants. The City Council should 
 also pass ordinances dealing with the 
 care and maintenance of old buildings 
 requiring such changes as seem feasi- 
 ble and as are necessary in the light of 
 the facts revealed by the present in- 
 vestigation. All owners of buildings, 
 or their agents, should be required to 
 register in the office of the Health De- 
 partment the facts concerning the loca- 
 tion, size, age, rental and other details 
 which would indicate the condition of 
 the building and the sanitary arrange- 
 ments and location of them in the 
 building. A penalty should be provided 
 for failure to register the property 
 within a certain time from the passage 
 of the ordinance. 
 
 C. The appointment by the Associ- 
 ated Charities, the Y. M. C. A., the 
 Chamber of Commerce and any other 
 prominent agency in the city of a per- 
 manent Housing Committee affiliated 
 with the National Housing Association 
 whose duty it should be to devise and 
 carry out plans for the securing of 
 proper housing legislation and its effi- 
 
28 
 
 HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 The following conditions were noted 
 upon some of the field cards filled out 
 in the course of the investigation. 
 They were selected with a view to in- 
 dicating some of the prevailing condi- 
 tions rather than the uncommon abuses 
 that came to light in the course of the 
 inquiry. The numbers of houses were 
 not given for fear of offending owners, 
 but they can be obtained at the office 
 of the Associated Charities, 84 North 
 Main Street, where all the field notes 
 have been filed and are open to the 
 inspection of those interested. 
 
 Central Street W. C. used by four families, 
 
 no water 1 week. 
 
 Washington Dark kitchen and dark bed room. 
 Montaup One bed room very damp, leaking 
 
 roof. 
 
 Broadway Toilet and sink together. 
 Columbia Plaster and wall paper fall apart, 
 
 owing to leakage, windows broken. 
 Borden Toilet used by 4 families,seat broken. 
 Fourth Yard full of rubbish. No inside stairs, 
 
 outside stairs, narrow and unprotected. 
 George W. C. filthy, no water 3 weeks, used 
 
 by 5 families. 
 
 Orange Dark, dirty, damp cellar toilet. 
 Montaup W. C. in pantry, 4 people sleep in 
 
 kitchen, no cellar. 
 
 Pleasant Four dark bed rooms. 
 
 Lindsey 2 toilets in cellar for 4 families; no 
 
 water for 2 months, no chain to lever. 
 Montaup Partition between W. C. and pantry 
 
 3 ft. below ceiling. 
 Orange W. C. in bed room. 
 Minto 4 filthy toilets in cellar. 
 Flint -W. C. partition 3 feet from ceiling in 
 
 dark bed room. 
 
 Unity Filthy cellar toilet used by 8 families. 
 Jenks W. C. in clothes press in bed room. 
 Flint Doors and stairs broken, general state 
 
 of bad repair; ashes, rubbish and garbage 
 
 in yard. 
 
 Pleasant 16 people in 4 rooms. 
 Bedford Dark bed room has 2 beds, 2 lodgers, 
 
 2 children. 
 Robeson Family of 10 in 3 rooms, 3 sleep in 
 
 kitchen, 7 in 2 small rooms. 
 Robeson Ceiling leaks, toilet dark and un- 
 
 ventilated. 
 
 Robeson Attic toilet offensive. 
 Green Very damp cellar. 
 Tenth Kitchen ceiling has big hole. 
 Summer Room where 7 people sleep. 
 Platt Sink drain leaks into cellar. 
 Orange Water supply not adequate; rooms 
 
 leak. 
 Orchard W. C. in cellar used by 2 families, 
 
 no tank, water received in hydrant and 
 
 pours over earth floor. 
 Pleasant W. C. in hall used by 3 families. 
 
 Munroe Press 
 
HOUSING CONDITIONS IN FALL RIVER 
 
 29 
 
 "THE CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE MATTER' 
 
 Our Most Serious Problem 
 
*% * 
 
 14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or 
 
 on the date to which renewed. 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
 ,998 
 
 
 LD 21A-60m-3,'65 
 (F2336slO)476B 
 
 General Library 
 
 University of California 
 
 Berkeley 
 
Bros. 
 
 5. N. Y. 
 
 1, 1908 
 
 06 
 
 393430 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 U. C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES