The Washington times., 1902-04-13
Many Letters of Encour-
agement Received by
Committee.
BlLLPREPARED FOR CONGRESS
Effort to Be Made to Secure Necessary
Legislation on Condemning Houses in
Which Filth and Uncleanliness Is
Found.

The third meeting of the committee on
the Improvement OF the housing conditions
of the District was held in the office OF
the Associated Charities yesterday after
noon. There were present S. W. Wood
ward. chairman. Col. George Truesdell.
vice chairman; DR.. George Kober, second
vice chairman. and Messrs. H. B. F. Mac
farland. Herbert Wadsworth S. r. Boyd.
Bishop Satterlee, Gen. John NJ. Wilson,
b. H. Warner. Thomas w. Smith, Cuno
H Rudolph. Capt. Chester H. Harding.
Gen. George n. Sternberg, Gen. ". X.
Van Reypen, Charles P. Neill, s. W. Cur
ridea, J. B. T. Tupper, and Charles F.
Weller.
A letter was read from Gen. Leonard
Wood, who had been invited to serve upon
the committee after he returns to the
United States, in which he said: Il shall
arrive in Washington about May 25, and
shall be very glad to be Of service to you
and your committee, and will take up the
matter with you on my arrival"
Secretary Weller read letters of advice,
encouragement. and congratulation from
similar committees in other cities.
A letter was received from Hon. r. T.
Payne. of Boston, speaking of aggravated
tenement house evils in New York and
Boston, in which he said: Il believe the
housing conditions in most of the other
great cities demand the immediate at
tention of public spirited citizens of
sound judgment and resolved that serious
evils shall not take root and become ag-
gravated within their limits. ] believe
that nuisance removal, epidemic inspec-
ton, cleansing, ventilation. and suppress
sion of overcrowding are all good up to
a certain point, but in relation TO the
persistent and slowly accommodating evils
of cur great towns the social rottenness.
so to speak, that is in them all, these
are mere surface measures.
The destructive part of the duties of the
authorities is more important if possible.
than the constructive. The first and most
essential step is TO get rid of the exist
ing haunts CT moral and physical degra-
dation."
Mr.. Robert W. de Forest. i New York
attorney whom President Roosevelt. as
Governor of New York, appointed on a
special tenement house commission, and
who was recently appointed on a similar
commission by Mayor Low, of New York
wrote the committee a letter of congratu-
lation in which he said:
1T would seem to me important, unless
there be extraordinary devotion on the
part of some volunteer member of the
committee. that It should have the pro-
fessional assistance Of scTne one who can
give his whole time to the work. and
usually such services must he paid for. "
Mr.. dc Forest also offered to loan to the
Washington committee the tenement
house exhibit uced to awaken public in
terest in Paris. New York, Buffalo. Chi
cago, and elsewhere.
Mr.. Ernest B. B!cknell. general super
intendent Of the Chicago Bureau OF
Charities wrote q letter of encourage
ment, and number OF others were re-
ceived.
The committee then went into the con-
sideration of number of reports re-
ceived of personal inspection made by
local members. Messrs. T. W. Smith and
S. W Curriden reported a surprising con-
dition of filth and unwhclesomeness and
absolute neglect Of sanitary conditions ia
the northeast section CT Washington
within a square OF the Capitol grounds. In
one or two instances outhouses were used
by five or six families who lived in one
or two rooms. At another place in the
same locality a woman was found in a
hovel who was doing the washing for ter
families.
Mr. C. H. Rudolph, Mrs. H. B. F. Mac
Fsrlsnd, and Mr.. J. B. T. Tupper reported
that in alleys and small streets OF south
west Washington they were impressed by
the filth in yards and houses, by unclear
closets and oyercrowded rooms. They
suggested that condemnations of unsani-
tary property be made on Van Street, be-
tween NJ and n Streets southwest.
Capt. Chester Harding, assistant to the
Engineer Commissioner of the District
read the substitute bill for condemnation
of unsanitary dwellings, which was pre-
pared by Dr. w. c. Woodward, the health
officer.
A special committee. consisting of Hon
John w. Foster, chairman: Messrs. Johr
Joy Edison. Gen. Walter Wyman, DR.
George M Kober, and Prof. Charles p
Neill were instructed TO ask a hearing OF
the bill before the Congressional District
Committees Secretary Weller reported
that Senators Mcmillan and Gallingel
have already made an inspection of som'
of the sGualid resorts, and are PERSONAL!
familiar with the existing conditions.
1t was decided to address a letter to the
District Commissioners. making a report
OF the generally unsa nitary conditions
which could be improved TO a certain eH'
tent under the existing laws and ash
that special attention be given them will
view TO overcoming them.
The committee will meet again mex
Saturday.