Why is there so much lint? Because we have too many
things in a room--too much wear and tear.
And unnecessary dirt is found even in the newer apartment-houses with the
ever-changing population and ever-lessening space for maids' quarters,
together with the sham character of construction due to the fact that most
of these houses have been put up by speculators at the lowest cost of the
cheapest materials which will show wear in a few months. Flimsy
construction is a direct result of the notorious lack of care taken by the
tenant, so that quick returns must be the rule; also of the probability
that the neighborhood will deteriorate and that a class which will bear
crowding and be less critical will replace the first tenants.
Conveniences for doing work in the houses built to rent, that is to bring
in the greatest returns in the shortest time, will not be put in (for the
first cost is great) unless the house will rent for more. The sharpest
Hebrew or Irish landlord will allow his architect to add bathtubs if he
believes the flat will rent for a few dollars more, where he will not do
it for the sake of cleanliness. The supply of hot water, together with the
gas stove, has done much to reconcile the housewife who does her own work
to the cramped quarters of the flat, and also has done more than anything
else to render the maids discontented with that legacy from the nineteenth
century which requires the building of a coal fire before hot water can be
had.
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