The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-08-09
WHICH THE PUBLIC SELDOM
SEES.
WHERE CRIME AB0UNDs
AND MALARIA AND CONTAGIOUS
DISEASE REVEL IN
FILTH.
GASES IN A MORAL DESERT.
Pitiful Efforts of Il Few Poverty
Stricken Residents to Reach
Better Things.

! Special to the Globe.
WASHINGTON, Aug THE alleys
| and byways of great city are seldom
visited by the workers of the world,
and are almost entirely neglected by
those officials who are paid to keep
them in a sanitary condition. In this
city, however, a recent inspection of
the thorougfares Of the poor and low
ly developed the fact that the alley
ways are in general as neat and clean
as the streets themselves. There are
some isolated cases where ancient
buildings remain among the modern
fashionable residences Of the city, and
these, although now in a dilapidated
condition, are occupied by members
OF a threadbare aristocracy who are
poth too poor and too proud to keep
their premises clean. In one of the al
legs, close to the doorstep of what was
once handsome residence, a large,
razor-backed hungry mother hog, was
doing light housekeeping with a litter
OF a dozen White-spotted offspring,
apparently as hungry as herself and as
sorry to find themselves alive in the
midst of the luxury of modern civiliza-
ton, but with nothing wherewith to
satisfy their constantly growing appe-
tites
In that portion Of the city known as
South Washington, and which was for
merly known as the Island" because
it was separated from the rest of the
city by the old canal, there was dis
covered degree of squallor, filth and
utter recklessness OF health as deplor-
9hlQ n n T,,fn L
which are not unlike the celebrated
Whitechapel district of London, the
street sweeping machines cannot be
driven, and it is almost impossible to
maintain a force of broomhandlers to
keep pace with the constantly accumu-
| lating dirt In one little court 1 found
families living in little rows of houses
| containing but one room, each, wherein
all the duties of domestic life were per-
formed. This is the criminal section Of
the city, region of famine and Woe
1t is section seldom penetrated by the
lovers Of the Lord, who wear broad
phylacteries and thank the Lord that
they are not as other men. Those peo--
pie who cry aloud for contributions of
| money to send abroad to the poor ami
mails in Africa, termed heather, know
absolutely nothing concerning the need
of civilizfng and Outstanding influ-
ences within the boundaries of their
own city corporations. After seeing
the suffering, physical and mental. in
single one of these alleys, any man of
fa1r Intelligence and Christian culture
| would be willing to leave the savage
heathen to the tender mercies of the
Lord and devote his dimes, dollars and
talents to the worthy and suffering
| poor very near his door,
Through a crate in the middle of the
worst alley in South Washington the
Stops and garbage of an entire neigh
borhood drip into the sewer below, and
from this are emitted odors with which
the malaria-laden air is burdened, and
1t seems almost impossible for human
life to continue free from disease germs
even for twenty-four hours. 1 remain
ed there less than twenty minutes and
was glad to escape into a purer atmos-
phere and make my notes from mem
DRY. Although in broad daylight this
visit OF inspection was made, and with
in easy walking distance of both the
capitol and the Washington monument,
had it not been for the company of
uniformed policeman this letter might
never have been written. Upon the bru-
tai countenances of many loafing.
lounging men, there was imprinted the
murder mark of Cain, and for a pal
try dime or half dollar, possibly, they
would sacrifice a human life
Out in the northwest section of the
city, there is byway known as Mar
ION. court hemmed in from the fash
0f
avenue. and the business marts on
Seventh street, accessible only
through narrow over-arched pas
SageWay. There are ash heaps. de-
cayed fruit empty cans, broken bot
ties, numerous cats, vicious dogs, and
still more vicious men. There vice
and prof1igacy abound, because the
population is dense and the houses
small These people, however, are of
higher grade of civilization than
their fellow sufferers in South Wash
ington.
In one Of these little cubby-holes
there was broken-down piano, with
soap boxes for legs. Somehow it had
been tuned, and sitting on a stool be-
fore it colored girl brought forth
soulful strains of sacred music. She
sang song learned in some Sunday
school, and was accompanied by the
heavy basso Of an uncultured negro.
EVldently the girl was the servant of
some white family in the neighbor-
hood, to whom the piano had been
given when it passed it's days of use
fulness in the fashionable parlor. In
another one Of these houses in the
court, a merry making throng had
gathered. Two stalwart negroes
thrummed their banjos, while another
twain scraped the strings of squeaky
violins. In a room which one would
suppose might not contain more than
dozen people, there seemed to be
twenty or more dancing and clapping
their hands in unison with the music
The contrast outside the door and be-
meath the roof was singular in the
extreme. The alley was a picture of
neglect and squalor, and yet through
the broken window pares there came
the sounds of music, giving evidence
of ambition on the part of the per-
formers and their hearers to lift them
selves above the level of their sur
roundings. The churches are all
around them, but the churches are
builded for wealthy people and the
pews occupied by the devotees of
fashion. The poor and ill-clad know
that they are not welcome in such
house of the Lord as are builded in
these latter days. They know also
that no emissaries from those sacred
precincts enter their alleys in obedi-
ence to the Scriptural injunction: Go
out into the highway and hedges and
compel them to come in -