Evening star., 1911-08-13
CONDEMNlNG HVSANrTARY BUILDINGS

Z VEN more startling in It's appearance
L than the various colored warnings of
the presence Of disease is the large vel
low sign that proclaims house con-
demned by the vote Of the board Of con-
demnation Of insanitary buildings Of the
District. Since its creation In 1906 the
work Of the board has resulted In the
repairing of over 1000 buildings and the
removal OF about 1850. For the first
two or three years the members Of this
body found an abundance Of work In in
vestigating and condemning houses alone.
and various other buildings became mat
ters OF interest.
An act Of Congress May /, 1906 which
created the board designated that the
said body should consist of the assistant
to the Engineer Commissioner In charge
OF buildings. the health officer and the
inspector of buildings OF the District. The
first Of these Offices, that OF assistant to
the Engineer Commissioner. is at present
filled by Capt. E. M. Markham, while DR..
w. C. Woodward Of the health depart
ment, and Morris Hacker, inspector OF
buildings, complete the board. h. f.
Haynes. whose duty It Is to make q first
investigation Of a building In question, Is
inspector for the board.
The attention Of the board is called to
some building or row OF houses by va
rious means. A great number OF cases
come through the health department. In
the case Of six houses known as Jones
Sunken Row." because Of the grade
changes, one to three cases of consump-
ton are reported in each house This fact
was referred to the board an: an inves-
had SO affected the houses as to cause
wet fioers and walls. No means could
be found to repair this condition. and the
buildings were demolished.
Every week letters Of complaint are
received by the board. Many Of these are
illiterate and written with pencil on
scraps Of paper. But they are given as
much attention from the board as would
q neatly typewriter communication. They
come from neighbors objecting to the In
sanitary condition Of q nearby house or
building: with the address given, the In
spector for the board starts out.
II the condition of the house warrants
the attention of the board. the inspector
calls q meeting and the members examine
the premises. A majority vote is neces-
sary for the condemnation OF q building.
II, in the opinion OF the board. the house
is in bad sanitary condition, a notice Is
served on the owner requiring him to show
cause within not less than twenty days
why the building should not be con-
demned.
II within the time specified In this pre-
liminary notice the owner has shown no
cause sufficient to prevent the condemna-
ton Of the building. the board issues an
order condemning the building. A copy OF
this 10 served on the owner and another
copy printed on large piece Of yellow
cardboard is affixed to the building. A
fine OF not more than 500 or imprison-
ment of not more than ninety days is the
punishment for defacing or removing
these signs.
y
Any occupants OF the house are required
under law to vacate within thirty days.
This time is occasionally extended In cases
of sickness. poverty or other good causes.
At the end Of the time the house Is torn
down.. either under the direction Of the
owner or tho board. In the majority OF
cases the building material is more vGlu-
able than the cost Of demolishing the
house. II the owner refuses to tear down
the building the board takes the case In
hand. and any profit that may result is
turned over to the tax department to the
credit. of the owner. II there Is an op-
posite result, any cost which accrues Is
put on record In the tax department and
added to the regular assessment OF the
owners property.
Until November 1909, there was nothing
TO prevent the establishment OF lunch
rooms In any building selected by the
tenant r,y0UidoA he NnadA anDlicafiou IN