In this chapter, Jacob Riis discusses the conditions present in tenement factories. Riis begins by describing the sweaters, those who run the sweatshops, as being simply a necessary and logical part of the greater system in place, and mentions that he is no worse than the conditions that created that line of work. He continues on that there is very little separating them from the workers beyond a small knowledge of English, and sometimes even less than that. Unable to find work elsewhere, workers in these sweatshops have to work long hours without breaks in between to eat meals. Even when they are at home and away from the tenements, many of them still bring their work home with them in order to earn extra money. Without any spare time, very few of them ever learn to speak English.

Chapter 16 of Jacob Riis’s How the Other Half Lives addresses the topic of child abandonment. Riis bemoans the fact that his society is so depraved as to force destitute mothers into a choice: watch their children starve, or give them to strangers in the hope that they’ll be in hands that can care for them. He doesn’t mention any particular immigrant group, because this problem transcends ethnic lines. It is one of the harsh symptoms of extreme poverty, a side effect of being stuck at the bottom of an exploitative social pyramid. He points out that only in fairy-tales are richly dressed, healthy children abandoned. He also emphasizes his disgust at a system which effectively murders children.

Today the world is more sanitary; babies are usually born (and may die) in hospitals, and adoption services are more readily available. Infant mortality is generally better, though inequalities on either side of the poverty line remain. Group homes, run by private charities under government scrutiny, have replaced orphanages, and people interested in adopting must undergo thorough investigation. Riis’s focus, however, still bears relevance today. East Harlem’s children deserve just as much of a chance as the Upper East Side’s. The health care, nursery, and recreational services available to them should reflect that.

In this chapter, Jacob Riis discusses the prevalence of cheap lodging-houses, and the negative impact these establishments have on the community. He begins citing police officials who refer to these places as “nurseries of crime.” The lower the price of the lodging-house, the more likely it is for crime to be common. According to Riis, immigrants flock to these parts of the city because of the low priced living costs, and in hopes of getting a start in the city. However, it becomes almost inevitable for an unsettled individual to start off in a twenty-five cent lodging-house, and end up in a ten cent lodging-house as time passes. Riis contends that these places corrupt those who stay there, and turn honest men into thieves. Furthermore, Riis uses the crowding lodging-houses as a method to put emphasis on the extremely large homeless population that existed during that time. He claims that thousands and thousands of homeless men stay in these lodging-houses nightly. In addition, to the poor living conditions, Riis asserts that these establishments are susceptible to corrupt political activity done by political bosses. Riis does not specifically mention ethnic groups in this particular chapter, but in reference to East Harlem contrasts can be made through his descriptions. Although poverty and homelessness remain to be a huge issue in East Harlem, there are more institutions and organizations that work to assist those in need, and to prevent these problems from growing. (i.e. Homeless Prevention and Housing Agency, Yorkville Common Pantry, Single Stop Center, and more)

Chapter 18: The Reign of Rum

This chapter is about the negative impact the sale of rum and the prevalence of saloons (or bars) in poverty-striken areas. Jacob Riis is concerned that this reflects badly on society, noting that there are tenfold more saloons than churches, and that more people frequent saloons than they attend church. According to the opinion of the time, which urged good, upstanding citizens to be devout churchgoers that stayed away from alcohol (the “devil’s drink”), this was a sign of decadence and sin. Drunken men were known to beat their wives and children, commit infidelity, and spurn work – all destroying the community. Riis cites statistics from poor precincts, where saloon arrests accounted for over a quarter of the crime. Even worse, the saloon owners grow rich selling “treacherous poison”, and rise to positions of influence and power. There are many unregulated saloons, shady, dangerous areas, including many that even flaunt the law to sell to children. Riis condemns saloons as a force that will “breed poverty and corrupt politics”. Though he doesn’t speak about specific ethnic groups in this chapter (being that alcoholism and the problems it brings span all races), and there is no talk about immigration to which we can compare current views, Riis does explore the impact of rum – one of the many substances those in poverty abuse, and one that plays a big role in a community’s downward spiral.

In the 20^th chapter of Jacob Riis’ How the Other Half Lives, he takes a deeper look into the lives of the young girls and women working in factories in the late 1800’s.  He follows the stories of a few young women who each describe long hours for pay that is way below sufficient to support themselves, nevertheless the families they often have to provide for at home.  Riis is concerned with the state of women workers as a whole, crossing ethnic lines.  He positively states that these young women are very much aware of the injustices being thrown upon them, and describes a meeting of the Working Women’s Society, which stated that the minimum wage idea seems not to apply to women, as it does for men.  He concludes the chapter with an idealistic sentiment, claiming that “a better day is dawning.”  Unions, and other women-centered organizations were beginning to be recognized.  However, he postulates that the result of this discrepancy in pay leads many of these young women to prostitute themselves.  Perhaps it is a sign of the time in which the book was written, but he merely alludes to the growing trouble of young women finding work by selling themselves, and makes it sound as if it is inevitable.  Currently, women in the United States are still more likely to sell themselves and be sold by others than men.

Chapter XXIII: The Man With The Knife

Chapter 23 of How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis begins with the author illustrating a scene of a man observing the daily happenings of Manhattan on Fourteenth St. and 5th Avenue. This man, an immigrant who works hard to feed his family and barely gets by becomes upset as he watches rich people walk around carrying their expensive clothing and stores selling things so expensive that they could feed his family for a year. The man bursts with anger and begins swinging his knife around, he is arrested and sent to jail and forgotten yet his message does not lose its resonance. Riis uses this example to illustrate the class struggle that existed between the rich and poor, Americans and immigrants respectively. He suggests that the biggest issue in this struggle stems from ignorance. The rich were unaware of the true living conditions of the poor because form the outside their lives did not seem all that horrible, especially in comparison to that of slums in other countries. Riis compares tenements to apples with “fair skin” but “rotten cores”. He believes that because tenements look good on the outside, the rich turn their backs to the true horror in which their residents lived in.  He suggests that overtime the people in them will become the opposite because of the horrible livings conditions, leading to a permanent struggle between rich and poor.

Gianni Rivera