In the first place, there is the question of water supply. Cleanliness
of house, clothing, and even of person is extremely difficult in a
modern industrial community, without an adequate supply of hot and
cold water within the dwelling. We are, however, very far from
realizing this condition. In some cities[13] the law requires that
there shall be a sink with running water in every dwelling, but in
other cities even this minimum is not required. The United States
Immigration Commission, for example, found that 1,413 households out
of 8,651 foreign-born households studied in seven large cities, shared
their water supply with other families. Conditions have improved in
this respect during the last decade, but it is a great handicap to
efficient housekeeping if water has to be carried any distance.
Further inconvenience results if running hot water is not available,
which is too often the case in the homes of the foreign born.
[Illustration: THIS PUMP SUPPLIES WATER TO FOUR FAMILIES]
Cleanliness is also dependent, in part, upon the facilities for the
disposition of human waste, the convenient and accessible toilet
connected with a sewer system. These facilities are lacking in many
immigrant neighborhoods, as has been repeatedly shown in various
housing investigations. For example, in a Slovak district in the
Twentieth Ward, Chicago, 80 per cent of the families were using
toilets located in the cellar, yard, or under the sidewalk, and in
many cases sharing such toilets with other families. One yard toilet
was used by five families, consisting of twenty-eight persons.[14] The
danger to health, and the lack of privacy, that such toilet
accommodations mean have been often emphasized. In addition, it
enormously increases the work of the housewife and makes cleanliness
difficult, if not impossible.
There is also the question of heating and lighting the house. Whenever
light is provided by the oil lamp, it must be filled and cleaned; and
when heat is provided by the coal stove, it means that the housewife
must keep the fires going and dispose of the inevitable dirt and
ashes. In the old country the provision of fuel was part of the
woman's duties; and in this country, as coal is so expensive, many
women feel they must continue this function. Here this means picking
up fuel wherever it can be found--in dump heaps and along the railroad
tracks. A leading Bohemian politician said that he often thought, as
he saw women prominent in Bohemian society, "Well, times have changed
since you used to pick up coal along the railroad tracks."