The Washington herald., 1912-03-15
What Is the Remedy?

The Washington Herald heartily in
dorses the efforts Of the women who
would improve conditions in Washing
ton ALLEYS. There is no doubt that
these conditions are bad. Within a
stones throw of the fashionable resort
where the ladies held their meeting
there are slums which ought not to
exist.
d 1t is impossible. however. to escape
the reflection that the statements which
are made and the pictures which are
shown merely enlarge upon facts with
which we are already more or less IA
miliar. We know that human existence
in the alleys is accompanied by squalor,
and VIC are only TOO sadly aware that
!. filth breeds disease 1t is also a fact
: not to be gainsaid that where people are
huddieif together IN impoverished state
the moral status is likely TO be unsat-
isfactory
All these things being admitted, how
ever. the question still arises. Where is
the remedy? The existence OF the prob
lem is undeniable The trouble is that
those who force it upon public atten-
hon do not seem to offer a practical So
luton. 1t must be remembered that
these people in the alleys whose con-
dition cNcitcS our protest belong to the
class of unskilled labor whose capacity
Tor earning a livelihood is most limited
Washerwomen and servants who earn
a few dollars a month. men who work
for 81 or SI.5o day. cannot afford to
pay a large sum for rent when food and
clothing are also nccc>Saries of life
Houses and land. even in alleys, cost
money. and the owner of property is en-
titled TO a fair percentage of return upon
his investment No one will expend
thousands OF dollars IN building homes
supplied with modern conveniences and
then rent these houses for less than
would pay interest upon their cost, un-
less. indeed. he be millionaire phi
lsnthropist
II these alley houses which are so
Objectionable should be torn down,
where will their occupants go? Will the
cmploycrA-af- -labsf Kindly raise their
wages 50 that they can find homes in
more desirable locationsP The answer
must be in the negative Il is all very
,,-ali tbcreFora 20 JoDI,-o ,l,o .o.J;
tions which exist, but what will be done TO
relieve them? The experiment of con-
structing cheap but sanitary houses which
has already been successfully inaugurated
in this city is good as far as it goes, bu:
it necessarily brings relief to only a
very small proportion of the popula-
tion. Much may be done. of course, by
the health authorities through constant
inspection and by insistence upon the
observance of the ordinary rules of
cleanliness. This would. at least. de-
crease the danger of disease. The
health officer has ample authority TO
enforce sanitary conditions. and these
Ndn bS SNNuiSu hltiiOul duuHlS 10 IlG
burden of the cost OF living.
There is another reform, too, which
is feasible. provided that it is operated
upon an equitable basis. All so-called
blind alleys-the inner courts which
have only one narrow outlet and which
harbor dirt and crime-ought to be
abolished and made open by extending
the alley through to the nearest street
This would let in light and air. The
trouble is. however, that this improve
ment means the condemnation of prop
.rty, and the old law which placed the
assessment of cost upon the holders of
contiguous property was most unjust In
some cases it would literally amount TO
bankruptcy for these owners The ex-
pense should be more widely distributed,
a view of the case, which Congress has
never seen fit to adopt. Much that
might have been accomplished has,
therefore, remained undone.
The problem Of the alleys is a serious