The Washington herald., 1907-07-07

quarters, the southeast being inhabited
mostly by negroes and the nsthwest by
white folk. Members of the East Wash
ington Citizens Association are the ones
who have taken DIT. Hale to task for his
uttcTances. made before the annual con
venti1n of the Free Religious Association
Of America in Boston on May 81. The
sTecch caused considerable comment in
Washington at the time. particularly
among the ministry
The citizens of the association are not
Of the opinion that DIR. Hale made the
statement intending 20 do the people Of
this city an injustice. They believe that
he simply had been misinformed. and that
he viii have no hesitancy in retracting his
remarks
Furthermore. members Of the organiza-
tion have gathered statistics showing the
number Of persons living i'm the various
police precincts of Washington white and
colored Including these figures in a let
ter. they have been sent to Dr. Hale.
Write Letter to DIR. Hale.
The letter 20 Dr. Hale. signed by mem
bers Of the executive committee of the
association is as follows.
Dear Doctor: In behalf of the East
Washington Citizens Association. we beg
20 acknowledge receipt Of your letter Of
the 18th, in which You inclosed a printed
copy Of the speech delivered by you in
Boston on May 81 before the f0rty-eighth
annual convention of the Free Religious
Association Of America. In the course Of
this speech you made the following as
founding assertion:
Washington is a city Of four quarters. There are
what cau northeast, northwest southeast, and
southwest. Southeast is inhabited mostly by re-
gIoes. Northwest is inhabited by white folks gem
lie folks. just such people as you and are-peopls
who can change their clothes SIX times in a week f
they want tc-pcUrle whG-Wel. people who can
have anything for dinner that they want 10 have.
The death rate IN southeast is q in l00o.
1--WE are at a loss to understand how
man Of your well-known intelligence
could give utteranCe 20 such a misrepre-
sentati0n Of the actual existing condi-
zion Of affairs in the city of Washington.
in which you claim to have resided for
the last two or three years, and which
gave sou an opportunity 70 be cOnver-
SAINT with your surroundings.
Has Not Informed Himself.
your statement shows that you have
failed 90 avail yourself of the opportu-
nifty 20 acquire information from the
specific authorities having charge Of the
enumeration Of the inhabitants of the
city #ccording to race and section. We
aIlude 20 the police department and the
health department
In 1907 the total population was 329.-
b91. Z33 lo3 were white. g6lSS ColOred The
Colored are distributed as follows: 1866
in the city. northeast and southeast:
7.27 in the county. east, and l3.S3i in
southwest. leaving 6o.4H for the north
west. city and county. to be included in
your gentle folk
Your residence. 17is y street. is To-
Gated IN the Third police precinct. and
contained a population in 1901 of 53,225
persons. only 1906 white and 14.1Ig col
ored. Please compare this fact with the
residents Of East Washington northeast
and southesst-63.21 white and 1856 col
Ored. Total East Washington, 1926
How can yoU reconcile these census re-
turns with YOUR claim that it is inhabited
mostly by negToes?''
After 4 residence Of three years in
Washington you certainly ought to realize
that i'm proportion 10 the number of in
labitauts there are more owners and less
tenants In East Washington tnan i'm any
other part of the DistTiCt-eveD its col |
ored residents form conservative ele-
ment. more law-abiding as the records Of
the police department clearly Indicate in
Southeast Washington there are eight
churches for colored people compared
with ffty-seven similar churches in the
Northwest
More Schools Also.
There are three public schools for ne /
groes-Giddings, Lincoln, and Payne-in |
the Southeast, against twenty-five exclu- /
sively for colored pupils in the Northwest. |
and as we have a compulsory school law IN
the District of Columbia, the school ac-
commodations furnish exclusive proof as
TO the respective colored population in the |
different sections. We advise you to
study the population table.
Your comments on the prevailing death |
rate in the District Of Columbia are
equally unjusjifable, and we refer you to /
the latest report on this subject. lust
issued by the health officer Of the District /
Of Columbia, showing the total deaths for
the calendar year Of 1895 to be 6.205. being /
at the rate Of 1920 per 1,O00-S4i2 white. at /
the rate Of 1516 per 1000. and 2,757 coIored, |
at the e/rate Of 2S.1 per 10oo-and not a ]
per 1000 for the white and p per 1000 for /
the Golored, as you stated in your speech /
at Yeston.
Dn page 3n Of DIR. W. c. Woodward's
report you will find table "a, showing pop
ubtion. deaths. and death rates in the
District of Columbia, divided into 50 local
districts. and in the same book. after page
SbI. there is a map OF the District Of Co
lbmbia, showing in detail the various sub
districts and death rates, divided accord
Ing to race. BY eliminating the deaths in
the public institutions you. too will be-
come convinced that the death rate Of the
white population is certainly as favorable
in East Washington as it is in the north
west, it being less than 10 per LOCO.
Injured by Attack.
your inexcusable attack on our section
accompanied by such Interpretations. un-
intentional though they may have been.
are calculated to inflct grievous injury
upon the attractive part Of the city that
contains within its boundary the Library
Of Congress, the Capitol, Congressional
office buildings. L. 6. Navy Yord L.
s. Marine Corps Barracks. Providence
Hospital, schools and churches. Of every
Continued on Page q, Column z, /