Evening star., 1897-01-12

Rest of the Lot.
Zone CT the best rows Of houses reported
on any alley-three frame dwellings-ies
on Foundry place, a blind alley, twenty
Ave feet wide. Each ten by tweive-foot
yard Is paved and drained, having also Q
closet and hydrant, and every house has
four papered rooms. not needing repair.
Their rent Is so q month. Two brick
dwellings three doors away at the same
figure. have yards fifteen by twenty feet.
but no running water. only a pipe from a
neighbor's hydrant. which. of COURSE ne
cessttates bcx privies. In one of these
homes, to quote the canyasser, were found
thrift, intelligence and cleanliness that
would be a credit to any one'
Goat alley. blind at one part, open at
another. and varying in width. leads on
in high prices, with a two-room house at
10 month, destitute OF yard, the closet
In the area and the alley foul and insan!-
tary
"One conclusion at least Is evident-that
rents in these alleys are dear. considering
Moreover. the moral consequences Of such
narrow quarters are often disastrous
Crowded sleeping rooms contribute to vice
and indecency. Indeed. crowding goes on
to an extent not acknowledged to the can
vasser by the tenants. At night these poor
roofs shelter many more people than are
here reported. for this SOC ciety's agent can
do no more than give the statements Of
deeply concerned, from their point Of view,
+ to make good showing. to present a clean
bill of health and morals.
Il have no doubt that dodgers are harbor-
ed In these alleys whose presence for
many reasons not credftable to the occu-
pants, is always concealed. The confessed
r facts are startling enough. We have here
accounts Of seven persons living in two
rooms-the mother and her sons-twenty-
one, seventeen and seven years Of age, oc-
cupying one bed chamber. Again, nine in
dividuals live in two rooms; eleven people
tn four rooms. Five. almost all adults,
sleep In one room-the mother forty-three
a son twenty-one and daughters nineteen
seventeen and fourteen; and four persons
use another room-a mother forty-five, an
aunt seventy, a son twenty-five and a baby
nine months old.
Effect ON the Death Rate.
1.-The death rate. 1t must be remembered.
everywhere rises where overcrowding pre-
walls. Russell in his statistics of Gias-
cow. 1871 to 1880. has shown that NOR
tality is largely determined by the num-
ber of occupants to a room. When the
average number of persons to each room
was only 1.31, the general mortality was
21.7 per cent: and when the average num-
| ber of occupants was 2.05 for each sleep
ing apartment, the mortality reached 2S.6
per cent. Korosi of Buda-Pesth has proved
that the mortality from infectious diseases
Is increased In proportion to the num-
ber Of occupants of houses. 1t is only ~
per cent when the number Of occupants to
each room does not exceed 2. but is q,
per cent with to occupants. ~ per
cent with to 10 occupants and - per cent
when there are more than 10 occupants
to each apartment. Crowd-poison is. there
fore. a distinct evil of these alley houses.
coupled as 1t is with insufficient light.
impure air and greater chance for the
spread of contagion.
"The committee regrets that 1t has been
quite impossible to determine the exact
amount of sickness and mortality which
prevails in alley houses. BY far the iarg
est number of inmates when sick are treat
ed in hospitals, and these institutions
often fail TO record the exact address.
while in many Instances the applicants
for treatment give the address of their en-
pIoyers.
1T is no secret that many of the alleys
hide criminals. Our records reveal three
openly disreputable houses. but the in
qury In that direction was not pushed
my purpose being to show the average
rather than extremes. In one dwelling re-
sides a woman with a Jail history. Other
houses are tainted with the suspicion OF
being fast and men In them are sup
ported by women who have no visible in
come. Tenants not immoral themselves
profit by the traffic in sin, one night
chambermaid in brothel whose tips ex-
ceed her wages. In another family the
oldest unmarried daughter has two Ele-
gitimate children. Three other cases OF
drunkenness are chronicled. One woman.
upright herself SO far the evidence
goes besides her own numerous offspring.
cares for the two youngest children of a
sister In the penitentiary. whose three
daughters and two sons are In prison.
while stlli another son Is at the reform
school-seyen out of nine In that family
behind the bars"
Some of the Conclusions.
Your committee Is of the opinion that
the foregoing analysis is a fair indication
of what may be expected should every
alley house In this city be subjected to
the same critical investigation. and feels
that for wise solution Of the problem
this preliminary investigation by the Civic
Center should be followed up by an Off
ctal investigation. either by the District
authorities OF by the department of labor.
The latter has made an investigation cover
ing some of the points embraced in this
preliminary work in the cities of New
York. Philadelphia. Baltimore and Chi
cago, in accordance with a joint resolu-
ton of Congress- the results Of which were
published in the report Of the department
Of labor on the 'Slums Of Great Cities.
l. 1894.
'Frcm the results of the preliminary in
vestigation the objections to our alleys
may be summarized as follows:
| 81. The existence Of blind alleys. or cui
de sacs, shutting off small communities
from the outside world, and which are cal
Culated not only to promote sickness, but
also immortality and crime.
-. Insanitary condition of the alleys and
alley dwellings. which menace not only the
health of the immediate inhabitants, but
also of the people residing in the same
block.
3. The undue prevalence of immortality
and crime. since 1t may be taken for grant,
ed that the majority of elley tenants suffer
positive deterioration from witnessing the
uncurbed vice around them.
~. High rents in proportion to the in
GENES Of tie families. especially in con-
sideraton of the accommodations offered
and the actual value OF the property.
The. Flats Plan.
"At the first glance 1t would appear that
the best remedy for existing evils would be
the complete abandonment of every alley
house in this city, and the substitution of
sanitary flats at reasonable rental. Your
committee. after mature reflection, doubts
the wisdom of such a radical measure. and
for the following reasons: The financial sue
cess Of large sanitary fats depends upon
the interest IN the capital invested, and
the capitalist, unless he is at the same
time philanthropist. would feel obliged to
order their construction on cheap ground
In r1nd slo rfo nF nst~ rxa<L