The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-12-16
Mr.. RIIS DENOUNCES
SLUMS OF THE CITY


long ago it was called The Homeless
CITY, What thought that is. In a re-
pubic. which is built on the home
When the fight was begun against those
conditions in New York it was a fight
Tor the republic. not only in our own
city. but in all the land.
Here in Washington found aIIey af-
ter alley with people hidden so far that
you who live on the outside of the same
docks do not know them. You have
CLOSED over by your ignorance. a con-
duoD which cannot remain CLOSED over
long. Some day it will break out. At
ter that will come the deluge in the vi
tiation Of your homes. You can't dis
card your duty to your neighbor in this
way without being in the end the great
est sufferer yourself.
Worse Than Whitechapel.
why. l never have seen places like
those you have here. The only para..eis
know are Mulberry Bend in New York
and Whitechapel in London. Here and
in Whitechapel- Mulberry Bend has
been made into a park-you have alleys
which are worse even than our narrow
straight streets in New York. You have
peoDle shut off in them as though they
didn't belong TO you. In fact. they don't
belong to you.
There are 29S such alleys They tell
me the death rate among the negro
babies born in these alleys is 457 out of
thousand before they grow to be one
year old. Nearly one-halfi Nowhere 7
nave ever been in the civilized world
have 1 ever seen such a thing as thai.
When we arraigned New York the show
ing in the worst tenements was that
one-fourth of the babies died before they
were two years old. Here in Washing
ton. the Nations Capital, one-half die
before they are one year olds 1 ought
10 say. / think. that the rate among
white babies is 1S3 out of one thousand.
That may be one way of settling the ne
gro question; but it is not a good way.
Ihese figures make IL clear that the
battle with the slums hanks back to
Christianity and American citizenship.
If you believe in the fatherhood Of God
you believe also In the brotherhood of
man. II you believe in the brotherhood
of man can you degrade your neighbor
TO the level of slUms with such a death
rate? If you believe in American citi-
zenship you can't degrade children. who
are the citizens of tomorrow, to the level
of pigsties. A child has certain inalien-
able rights One of these is the right -
play. You must have a whole child TO
have a whole man. And whole children
cannot grow in a home where the death
rate is one child in two before the end
of the first year.
In New York our fight depended upon
an awakening of the consciousness and
conscience Of our own people You have.
or ought TO have, the whole people of
the nation behind you. But what is
everybody's business, perhaps, is no.
body's business.
Blame of Owner.
ITO fight ynnr Sums you ought first
OF all 10 acquire the right to deal with
the evil man who insists on numbering
your babies If you have II you are sure
to run against the same old cry of
property rights. What OF these prop
erty rights? These people live in Dig.
sites. They live there because some
man would rather have % per cent profit
than keep his soul. One-half your chill
dren killed for greed For such a condi-
ton there's no defense.
Where does the blame lie? With the
man who owns the house. you will say.
but it lies equally with the community
which permits him TO use his house for
such ends.
Life! Liberty The pursuit Of happi
ness. There's not a word there about
the right of property holders to kin his
neighbor any more with a bad house
than with an ak in the street.
IF Congress is slow to act in support
ing your fight, stick at It, In New
York, after a ten years fight. we have
never found in the retrospect a single
defeat which has not shown itself to be
a substantial victory. Fight on! II only
TO meet defeat. fight on anyway, 1t is
his fight who made this republic the
basis OF human freedom and the home
and basis Of the republic"
This Indictment to remedy the slums
of Washington as the slums of New
York are being remedied. closed Mr..
f2iis' more formal address. The remain |
der of his talk. and il continued through
about two hours without a sign of
" eariness anywhere in the audience. |
consisted of an informal description OF |
the pictures displayed by the stereopti- |
con. The plan seemed TO be TO sub |
stantiate the lecturers broad assertions
as to Washington slums by showing |
photographs OF buildings now used as
human habitations and following those |
pictures by views Of the slums against |
which Mr. Riffs has been fighting in |
New York.
Four in One Bed.
The showing as to Washington was |
Rooms were pictured |
where four children slept in one bed
where the wind blew through naked |
lathes over sleepers huddled on the !