The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-01-06

from the Journal Bureau Colorado Building,
Washington.
Washington, Jan. 6.-This city isl
known far and wide as beautiful
city. Its parks. it's public grounds,
it's homes, it's public buildings, and
the long, wide sweeps of its finely
arranged and well-shaded streets and
avenues have been advertised from
one side of the civilized world to the
other; and the average Washingtonian
has come to believe that he Is one
of the most highly favored Of man
kind. That his city contained any of
the noisome, pestilential, offensive,
immoral blotches so characteristic of
other cities, he did not believe, and
it required the presence here of Jacob
Riis the well-known authority on mu-
nicipal affairs and the energetic
champion Of urban decency, to make
him see the city as 1t really is
Back of the splendid avenues and
streets, lined with federal buildings
and magnificent homes, and within
stones throw Of all the most exclusive
and aristocratic localities, are dark,
narrow and filthy alleys, teeming with
population. Here 1t Is that more than
one-third Of the city's $4,000 colored
people live, in want and squalor, which
Mr.. Riis declares reminds him Of
Whitechapel In its darkest days. and
of the worst quarters of New York,
before the wave of reform swept over
that city.
Mr.. Riis came here purposely to
investigate the alley situation, and he
spent an entire day in that work, &C
companied by leading citizens and
several members of congress, who are
part Of the standing committees on
the District Of Columbia. In the
evening he delivered an address In
the First Congregational church, to a
large audience, In which he described
what he had seen during the day.
The following morning he repeated his
story, with recommendations Tor I'M
provements, to the joint committees
of congress on the District of Co
lumbia, and the officers OF the AS
ISOLATED Charities, the board Of trade
and other civic and ph1lanthroplc
bodies. The result is that DR.. Gal
linger. now the chairman Of the SEN
ate committee on district affairs, is
to Introduce a bill in congress pro-
viding for change Of conditions This
bill will also be introduced in the
house of representatives. and before
the close of the present session 1t
will become law.
Alleys Densely Populated.
About $4,000 Of the negroes of
Washington live in alleys within a
radius Of half mile Of the depart
ment OF, the interior dt oeE =
enth and G. streets northwest. In
many Eases Mr.. Riis found as many
as fourteen persons eating, sleeping
and living In one room. In the larger
number of cases investigated he found
not to exceed two rooms making up
q home and Inhabited on the average
by from ten to fifteen persons each,
big and little, old and young. The
infant mortality among the colored
people Of the city Is more than one
, half which, as Mr.. Riis points out, is
criminally large. More than one-half
Of all colored children born in Wash
ington die before reaching the age
Of one year.
Following Is a brief extract from
Mr.. Riis' address in the First Congre-
gational church,
I confess I had no idea there were sucf
things as I saw in this city yesterday wher
went in several Of the alleys and wit
messed the way the colored people arr
living The inside Of these houses Is to-
dreadful to conceive. You need the sam
sort Of cleaning UP process we have beef
having in New York city for severa
years.
Your blind alleys remind me Of White
chapel, In London, when 1T was at 1t
worst. The alleys lead nowhere, and tn
air in them simply stagnates. 1t is thor
oily bad. The obvious way to deal wit
these alleys is to cut them clear thru.
went thru less than half a dozen Of you
alleys. but I am told by Dr. Woodwar
that there are 29S here, with $4,000 colore
people living in them.
You want to remember when you I'm
dertake this kind Of work that 1t cost
money. That was the obstacle we met
New York Such a work cannot cost to
| much money. The conditions you no.
1 have permit wholesale murder.
The foregoing words carry thei
own moral. ...
To clean out the unspeakable tene
ments and novels Of New York cos
$1,5O0,0O0, but Mr.. Riis declares tina