RECORD OF TESTIMONY AND STATEMENTS IN RELATION TO 103 



NECESSITY FOR DISTRICTING PLAN 



lessen the number who are likely to become public or private charges, and 

 that redounds to the benefit of the taxpayers. It is so all along, and was 

 illustrated before the Factory Commission by a number of men. For 

 instance, I remember very well in one of the cities up in the State that a 

 gentleman came before us and said that he had already installed various 

 improvements in advance of what we were going to compel factory owners 

 to do, not from motives of philanthropy or because it was a good thing he 

 said, but because he thought it was the best thing to do since it would pay 

 him to do it. And he said it is purely a matter of dollars and cents. I can 

 get more work out of the employees and better work ! I have not the 

 slightest doubt that I will save my own city in taxes by preventing these 

 people from becoming sick or ill and being public charges. That has been 

 proved to be true in a great many instances. 



I have not the slightest doubt that with these districting regulations you 

 are going to furnish people with not only a better place to work in, and 

 better situated buildings to work in, but improved conditions surrounding 

 their work. You will find that they will do better work, and do more work 

 and a higher class of work, and that you won't find so much sickness. In 

 other words, it is the old case of prevention, that is better than cure. Of 

 course, it is going to hurt in the transition. That is the great danger to be 

 avoided, by making the transition as easy as possible. If we could rebuild 

 the City of New York, I presume the ideal thing to do would be to put the 

 factories all along the waterfront, where you have transportation right at 

 the door, and then put the dwellings for the workers on a line inside next 

 to the factories so that the employees can walk to their work, and then put 

 the retail shops in the center of the city. I don't suppose you can do that. 

 I take it that this Commission is going to do the next best thing, and restrict 

 the future use of the streets so that they will be of the utmost benefit to the 

 great majority of the people. 



Co-ordination needed in building regulations 



Many of the advantages of the factory law are lost by reason of the 

 fact that its scope is limited to the particular building in which the factory 

 or workshop is located, and not to the locality of the factory. Many of the 

 advantages, for instance, of having large windows, well ventilated rooms, 

 are lost by persons who are next door to the skyscraper buildings which shut 

 off their light. The same may be said of the Tenement House Law. It does 

 not regulate any structures but tenements and therefore it does not control 

 other buildings which are erected adjacent to tenement houses. Any measure 

 that brings about a co-ordination in these laws or in the buildings covered 

 by these laws, distributing them in districts, where buildings of certain types 

 ma}' be located, would be a distinct benefit to the city from the standpoint 

 of health and safety. 



As a matter of fact the modern high building is much better built than 

 the old buildings. Of course, I am not a physician. I do not pretend to 

 say anything about the results to people working in high buildings, but as a 

 matter of fact the modern loft building, which is usually for factory pur- 

 poses, and which is more than six or seven stories in height, is built much 

 better as far as safety in case of fire, and sanitary conditions are concerned, 

 than the old law buildings. 



Old buildings converted to new uses 



The worst factory buildings were found to be those which were con- 

 verted tenements or warehouses. They are patched up in order to try to 



