January 34, liVl





Record   and   Guide.





117





but because be believes that his opponents are either not honest
enough or else not intelligent enough to understand the compli¬
cated railway problems of the time. Having first convinced him¬
self that be understands thesituation and that bis opponents cannot
or will not, he then feels called upon to hoodwink, intimidate,
bribe, or otherwise mislead sucb opponents pro bo7W pvblico. But
as a matter of fact tbe well-informed railway official is about as
apt to be mistaken in his views as are his opponents; be is as likely
to be blinded by bis interests as are the farmers to err because ot
their ignorance. The result is an unfortunate tangle, in which
each side justifies whatever is doubtful in its own metbods by
assuming that the methods of tbe other side are still worse.

Another thing which Eastern critics of Western agitators are apt
to forget is the absolute dependence of tbe Western communities
upon the railroads. The West bas been settled aa it is in conse¬
quence of railroad building. Cities are started, and afterwards
grow or decline, not in consequence of natural advantages of loca¬
tion, but becauae they are or are not favored hy the railroads. A
community located in a prairie district where no coal mines are
near is dependent upon the roads, not only for sending its ptoduce
to a distant market, but also for obtaining at a distance its supply
of merchandise, of lumber, and of coal. Under such circum¬
stances, a variation of a very small amount in the charge for
freight per ton per mile is of vital importance.

If to the foregoing considerat'ons he added the further one, that
theownersof the railroads'are almost entirely non-residet ts, so that
it is felt tliat any unearned profits not only injure individuals but
impoverish tho community as a whole, while the representatives
of the roads witbin the State are looked upon as mere hirelings
owing duties to the companies inconsistent with good citizenship,
we see that Western radicalism is not without cause, aud that an
honorable explanalion of its existence can be given.

Amos G. V/arner.





MR. RIIS, in a bojk, "How the Other Half Lives," gives the
support of his investigations to the position taken in these
columns some time ago relating to tlie elevation of the ".'^lums" of
our city. The position taken by Th ■: Record and Guide on this
subject was, it will be remembi red, siibstantially tbis: The "slums"
are powerless to help themselves—they can be elevated only
through outside aid. Philanthropic appeals to the better emotions
of the wealthier classes of themselves amount to very little. The
interest of " up-town" people in matters which do not immediately
concern them is too apt to evaporate in lhe form of benevolent
gifts. Tiie problem of how to elevate the "slum-j" is the problem
of how not only to secui^e the interest of oth avenue citizens in
tenement dwellers of Rivington street, but more tSian this, how to
hold tbis interest when once aroused. To get and hold the atten¬
tion of the wealthier classes, their business sei-se as well as their
better emotions must be appealed to. " Philanthropy and 5 per
cent," as Mr. Riis states it, is the combination which will open the
way to the solution of the problem.





CONSIDERING the question of tenement houae rpform from a
puiely business point of view, cau well-lighted, well-ven¬
tilated respectable tenement dwellings be constructed and 5 per
cent be realized on the investment? Tbe answer to this question
is that improved tenement houses have been recently constructed
which yield this rate to their owners. The block of improved
dwellings which the Tenement House Building Company erected in
Cherry street—one of the worst streets in the city^has returned
each year, since its completion in 1886, an interest of from 5 to 5J-^
per cent on the capital invested. The Improved Dwellings Associa¬
tion constructed a block of thh-teen houses iu East 73d street nine
years ago which has realized to this company 2 per cent each six
months ever since the expiration of the first half-year of operation.
Attention bas been called more than once in The Record and Guide
to tbe success of the Brooklyn experiment in tenement house con¬
struction. The owners of tbe old block of improved dwellings for
the laboring classes erected in 1876, at the corner of Hicks and
Baltic streets of that city, bave acknowledged tbe financial success
of their experiment hy erecting a new block at the foot of Jorale¬
mon street. Attention has also been called to the efforts which are
now being made by the city of Liverpool toward the re-housing of
her poor in sanitary dwellings. Ifc is estimated that after making
ail proper deductions tbe quadrangle of artisans' dwellings already
constructed by that city will yield a net return of not less than 4)^

per cent on its cost.

--------•--------

A COMPARISON of the rents paid in the various pai-ts of the
City of New York show that they are even higher in many of
the worst parts of the " slums " than in some of tbe best residence
locations up town. Oue inclined to doubt this statement will dis¬
cover its truth on making a per.sonal iuvestigation. Capitalists
need not hesitate, therefore, to invest in tenement houses modelled
after improved plans, on the ground that the laboring classes in
the poorer quarters of the city are not able to pay rents which will





insure a fair rate of profit on such investments. The rent charged
for unfurnished apartments in the new tenement building situated
on the comer of Rivington and Willett streets are nearly as high
as the rents charged for furnished rooms of the same size above
61st street, on Madison avenue, or for rooms on tbo sti-eets run¬
ning at right angles to Madison and 5tb avenues, above 50th
street. More than this, every square foot available for habitation
is occupied in the tenement building on Rivington street, notwith¬
standing the high rents asked for. It may not be strictly orthodox
to advocate an appeal to the selfish motives of men as a means of
elevating the condition of the inhabitants of the lower quarters of
our city, but men are selfish and can only be dealt with as they are.





Men and Things.
Not long since an article several columns in length was published in
tbe Herald, signed by Rudyard Kipling, Tbis article, I beheve, was
contributed some years ago by Mi-. Kipling to an Indian paper, upon
which, up to that time, he had been a regular employe, and was the out¬
come of the impressions incident to a stay of ten days in Han t'rancisco.
Of course, written under sucb cireumstaoces and for such a purpose, it
wasnothmg but a hasty sketch, and deserves no more than the passing
attention which the contributionsof "our special correspondent" generally
get and seldom repay. But Mr. Henry Guy Carleton, in a letter to the
TToWcMafit medium), takes umbrage at Mr. Kipling's skittish criticisms
of American manners, and denounces theji with the same fine discrimina¬
tion and excellent taste that are frequently characteristic of American's
replies to foreigners' strictures. I will give just a few instances to indicate
Mr. Carletou's methotis of controvei'sy.    He says :

It would appear by two or more allusions which he makes to our " pirat -
ing" books, that Mr. Kipling has vifited us as a sort of nemesis for wrongs
done the pockets of Dickens, Thackeray, Lytton, Scott and other British
writers; possibly he himself contemplates essaying to write a book some
day. and fears that the reciprocally larcenous spirit which has hitherto
animated publishers on both sides of the water will injure him to the
extent of several hundred dollars, maybe. I hope his fears will prove
groundless, Mr, Kipling has already written several quite readable skits
of Indian life. I do not know more than twenty reporters in New York
who could have done as well. Of course, for strength of eharacte-ization
and exquisite finish of diction Mr, Kipling in no wise approaches Bret
Harte, nor is be capable of sustained efforts like those of Cable,
nor do scholarly attamments glitter through his pages as they shine
resplendently through every crystal-ent phrase of Iiafcadio Hearn.
—but Horto and Cable and Hearn are great writers, and it is manifest
injnsfcice to Mr. Kiplmg to make comparison. Of course Mr. Kipling's
grammar is sometimes unconventional, and occasionally he seems to have
rather carelessly skimmed the dictionary in learning the significance of
words he employs, but he writes neatly, crisply, and generally in an
interesting fashion of Indian life, and we a.-e glad to learn something
thereof. How interesting he may prove in fields already trodden remains
to bo seeu.    *   "   *

1 have quite admired at times Mr. Kipling's literary plumage from
afar, but tbe raspingly vulgar voice and distorted feet which his near
approach brings into notice are disappointing. For bird of paradise,
peacock; and for gentleman, cad; are exchanges which sadden me.

This is what Heury Guy Carleton thinks of Rudyard Kipling; but what
io the world will Rudyard Kipling think ot Henry Guy Carleton? I do not
know whether the latter's letter will ever ba read by Mr. Kipling; I hope
it mil not; but if it is, Mr. Kipling should be warned that Mr. Carleton's
tirade is not representative of the taste or opinions of cultivated Americans,
Mr, Carleton speaks of Mr. Kipling's " careful study of American society,
as represented by one bunco-steerer," Let the latter be warned not to
make the same mistake a second time and judge of the best American con¬
troversial courtesy as exhibited by one—Henry Guy Carleton.

***

A fitting answer to Mr. Carleton's query as to "bow interesting" Mi',
Kipling "may prove iu fields already trjdden" is found in the latter's
novelette in January Li^pmco(s, entitled the " Light tbat Failed." This
is an admirable story. My limits do not permit of a detailed analysis of its
qualities,but I cannot forbear from entering into a brief description of a
few of the many exceilenciis. The book is marked by a fine objectivity
Half of the characters in many good novels strike one as kind of tame ani.
mals—sublimated expressions of the writer's ideas of men and women, eked
out here and tbere by a dash of life. Mr. Kipling has beeu singularly suc¬
cessful in endowing his characters with flesh and blood, vivifying all their
words and actions with living emotions. Hence the story has all the fresh¬
ness and abounding vigor of a clear autumn day; it acts like a tonic pro¬
ducing a healthy elation; its ciEeet is similar to that of any good action
actually witnessed. Never an opinion is uttered, nor a word is passed that
i5" not tbe outcome of character, influenced by circumstances, A neces¬
sary concomitant of all this is abundant humor, well chosen incident
and exceUent dialogue. Every page bristles with brief sugges,
tion, Mr. Kipling evidently has what Walter Bagehot would
call an experiencing natui-e. His observation of men and women
must be as incessant and as penetrating as that of his own creation,
"Dick Heldar," It is the happy privilege of such a nature always to
grow, to accumulate new experiences and mould them into new forms.
The story is an irmnense improvement on his shorter sketches. Not only
has he discarded many crudities of manner and tricks of narration, but
his knowledge has become broader, his insight clearer, and his powers
better under command. Another quality which the book shows is an
exquisite nicety in the treatment of detail, amounting in some cases to
genius. Tbe beautifully allusive treatment of tbat yellow sea-poppy and
of Maisie's hair are cases in point. Then what could be more natural than
the temptation of poor Torpenhuw, which is vividly brought out without a
trace of prurient suggestion! Probably tbe most delicate touch in the
book is the casting of tbe three pence into the Thames by Dick—the three
pence given to bim by bis lady-love—which symbolizes that tbe world has
paid to bim its debt, and which he casts into the river, where it wiU ever
remain, as a sacrifice to Fate to secure her well-being. Many instances
could also be mentioned in which a few well-chosen words have opened up