Evening star., 1907-11-17
Ui8iting Qi9 Allcy.
The Problem of the Southeast Tenements-
Places Must Be Improved to Realize
Washington the Beautiful"

same effort at neatness and self-respect
struggled against almost impossible con-
iit0ns. The room was the home of a
woman and four children, The woman
was working out, and the ten-year- old
boy was staying out of school and caring
for the three. This room. in spite of
its shabbiness and dirt and confusion.
was trying to be a home In contrast to
the. tumbled, unmade beds that seemed
to be the rule rather than the ex-
made up smoothly with it's dingy
sheets: and the grimy pillows were
set up neatly at the head. The bureau
was decorated with four glass bottles
tie fan-shaped pieces of red crepe pa
per in the top, feeble striving for
something useless and pretty. Several
of the chairs We're bottomless, but they
were all set about with a certain ef-
fort at arrangement.
-.
The ten-year-old boy-mother was
outside with his charges, having tea
party up against the Pig Alley fence.
A very black little lady in a dirty
pink lingerie bonnet was seated at one
side of the table on a box, and op
posite her sat a small colored boy
playing the part of papa" with what
was probably considerable realism, re-
membering his local models lie was
very gruff, very rude, very dictatorial,
much to the delight of his small fam
lily, who looked with perfect satisfsc-
ton on a dinner consisting of a peeled
onion. two crackers and piece of ire--
real ice-served in small bits OF broken
crockery and set on newspaper table
cloth. The supper table was lighted
by lamp, consisting of an old oilcan
crowned by broken lamp chimney,
and the small parent warmed his hands
from time to time over the Wickiess
body of a kerosene stove. which had
served as a chair at firSt-until he had
seen fit to remove his small person, by
sudden inspiration, and let 1t be d
stove
cheerfully disposed of temporarily. was
sweeping up the alley with great serious
ness When he drew too far away the
baby cried The boy was staying out OF
school not through shiftlessness, but as
the victim of some Impossible conditions.
He was rather unwilling to answer the
agents questions about his family affairs.
but INSISTED that he was going back to
school as soon as his mother could get
washing.
There were other arrangements in the
tenement. Children of women who work
ed out were being cared for by other
mothers for from so cents to $1.5O
week, but that very likely demanded
more income than vas being earned by
the nlOIner OF lOuf. hSH lICIS diS ~
cial distinctions in Pig alley. Good and
bad are crowded into pretty close quar-
ters, and It is very obvious to the visitor
that there are strict social lines. Certain
fami les take pride in knowing no one
in the Pig alley tenement, and this may
Pig alley Is community somewhat ia
miliar to the police and the workhouse
It is a comparatively simple matter TO
send truant officer for the responsible
little ten-year-old but he is breaking in
upon complex conditions. Enforced at
on the public schools is doubtless
the greatest single factor in the better!ng
of these social conditions, but the enforce
ment of sucn law imposes further obli-
CATION. When the mothers prop is taken
from her the community is to a certain
degree responsible tor her condition; must
take an active part in securing her the
work.
The serious evils of Pig alley are hardly
to be discerned by the casual visitor. He
sees the congested life, the pressure of
poverty, the filth. the sickness. but he is
only vaguely conscious of the moral
poverty which saps the life of the COM
which generates disease and
crime.
It is against Just such vital poverty
that the Associated Charities is carrying
on its crusade. Immediate relief Is nee.
essary phase-how necessary may be in
dicated by the fact that In the city as .
whole the Associated Charities received
during the past fifteen months 17.119 ap
plications from and in behalf of needy
families, but the slower constructive work
carried on by the association acting
through it's eight agencies is no less I'M
oortant and more Fundamental 1t Is an
attempt to transform all conditions re-
su'ting in suffering and degeneration, and
/ is the groundwork Of possible Wash
ngton the Beautiful"