The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1908-10-09
ALLEY SLUMS|
NATIONAL CAPITAL WITHOUT A
PARALLEL IN THIS RESPECT.
Jacob Riis Declares City "Rotten at
the core"-20,ooo Persons Liv.
ing in Squalor-6reeding
Ground for Disease.

GROUND Tor Disease.
The national capital, with all its
pride of marble and bronze, it's broad
avenues and green circles, is never.
theless declared to be rotten at the
core" This phrase is Jacob Riis'. He
turned Washington inside OUT a few
years ago., and wen back to New
York's East side for a breath of
fresh air.
Things have taken a turn for the
better since then, but the white
! sepulchre is still d likely metaphor to
he used in connection with the ma
tons city beautiful. Last year Presi.
dent Roosevelt got SO stirred up over
some reports of the Washington al.
leys that he appointed a commission
to devise a way of removing the lit.
eral and moral stencil from the peo'
pies nostrils.
These alleys are without a parallel
l n any other city. There are 2S6 OF
them, and they harbor a population OF
10000 persons. When Jacob Riis de-
clared that Washington had a rotten
spot at the core he added: 81 meal
that, for l have in mind the hidden
back .alleys-so we'll hidden that
passed them day after day, pleased
with the fine front the block was
making and without the least suspi
| cion of what it harbored within"
Perhaps if he had known the names
| nf c0rnn IF fhnca rncti1ort h1yu-oy,o he
might have suspected their nature
Ambush court is one, Blood alley is
another, Jonah row is another, and
there are Pig alley, Splash alley, Cat
alley and other names full of signifi
canoe.
But the name is not an unfailins
guide. Otherwise Show alley would
not be the tortuous, filthy lane which
it really is. And as for Queens court
hot two blocks from the British EN-
bassy-it would scarcely have shown
itself to the shocked Investigator, as
it did for years, a labyrinth of dirt
disease and immortality.
The alleys" says Charles F. We
Ter, of the Associated Charities OF
Washington, are hidden inner worlds
standing often in close proximity tc
the chief centers of the city's wealth
and culture. Chinch row, not sever
blocks from the White House and only
three blocks from Dupont circle, was
irdescribably bad"
Chinch row was an arm of Queens
court, and 1t was only recently that
after years of war upon it, its novels
were torn down. Some of the deplor
able houses remain, however, SO neal
the fashionable center of the city tha'
the contrast is startling.
The ordinary newspaper does MOI
print the sort Of reading which the
descriptions of many of these alleys
make. 1t is hardly fit for anything
but the reports of charity committees
and even they furnish an apology
with each report. Very few of the al
ley houses have either water or sew
erage connection, and it is hardly tt
be wondered at that the health au
thorities Of the city are always fight
ing typhoid.
Prior to 1903, the government bu
reau of labor collected for severa
years official statistics of cities. Ii
its bulletin for 1902 Washington wa!
shown as having the highest deatl
rate among the 80 largest cities in the
country.
1t was particularly strong in typhoit
fever, tuberculosis, grip and malaria
Some of the cause certainly are no
far to seek, no further, in fact, thar
the inside of many disappearing cit!
blocks.